It's great fun to watch the antics of the Black Skimmers at Nickerson. For no reason that I can determine, two will suddenly burst upwards out of the colony on the beach, and engage in an aerial skirmish. Sometimes chasing one another low over the dunes, and sometimes shooting straight up to 100 feet or more for some high-altitude antics. I don't know if this is territorial, or protective, or what?? Occasionally it seems that one may have landed too close to another's chick in the nesting crowd on the beach, prompting the chase. But often it just looks like they're having fun. Maybe someone can tell me. In any event, the two birds in this chase were too far apart to get them both in the frame, so I cropped to this guy over the dunes.
Great action and DOF Bill. Little things that you have no control over are like it would be nice if the bird had dropped its head a bit more to clearly separate head from wing.
Another good one, Bill. Like all the feather detail in the blacks and whites, and all the other shades. As Colin pointed out, great DOF. Considering how harsh the light was at the time of exposure, you've benefited nicely with some reflected fill light from the sand. Like the BG too.
After re-reading Colin's post above, I decided to go back and clone in just a tiny smidgen of white above the bird's head, to give a little more separation. I also cropped just 5% tighter. Hope you like it.
Skimmer Attack!
Reply With Quote
