Great Crested Grebe With Eggs.

[David Cowling]

I watched this pair carrying out their courtship rituals for quite a few days and noticed them disappearing into the reeds on the far side of the river. After much wading through marshy ground I eventually found their nest in a very secluded and difficult area to get to. I have paid three visits to the nest and learned a lot about their life as egg sitters. The birds take it in turn to sit on the nest, they change over on roughly an hourly period. The returning bird carries out a little nest repairing before taking over the sitting. The other bird returns to the river to fish. For the photographer the only time there is any action is during the change over so there is a lot of waiting. The sitting bird just seems to drift off to sleep.

Canon 7D Mk 2. Canon 100-400 L Mk 2. Canon 1.4x Extender.

1/320 @ F 11. ISO 400. EV + 0.33 Adobe RAW and PS6. Cloned out a couple of OOF reed stems in the background.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Very nice indeed David, it is not very often you get to see such a clear view. Well detailed and sharp.

[John Robinson]

Good one David. Photographed these at the nest like this many times on film over the years. Very entertaining they are too. Everything spot on. One minor nit. I would like to see more room all around.
#Cheers#
John

[Marina Scarr]

So green with envy at your opportunity here. You did a good job getting enough OOF to get the entire scene in focus. I would have liked to see the bird and nest smaller in the frame, a little more space for the bird.

[Gerald Kelberg]

Hi David,
I do love these birds and I like very much what you have done here. I am sure the hours of waiting have been very rewarding for you.
I agree with John and Marina that it would be nice to have more space around the subject, but I'm not too bothered about it.
The pose of the bird and the view of the eggs make for a very nice portrait reminiscent of an old 'natural history' print.
Well done and thanks for sharing.

Gerald

[stuart wanuck]

super image love the colors