Yellow-eyed Penguins- The worlds rarest penguin

[gail bisson]

Not an award winning image but very special to me.
Taken near Stewart Island, New Zealand. These very endangered penguins are strictly protected and boat captains must adhere to strict rules re: how close to approach the boat to the shore.
In the 2016/17 season, there were approximately 266 breeding pairs on the South Island coast. The steep decline in nest numbers was the cumulative effect of another unidentified mass mortality (there was a mass mortality in 1990) in January 2013, widespread starvation in 2014, and an increase in predation by barracouta in early 2015. It took 3 pelagic trips before I was able to see them. (For Alex Becker-I also saw one near Moeraki- walked up from the beach to within 30 feet of me!)
I was thrilled to be able to see these special animals.
This is about a huge 55% crop.
Canon 1DX 600mm and 1.4x
ISO 1600 F 5.6 SS 1/2000
Comments and critiques always appreciated and learned from with thanks,
Gail

[John Mack]

Cool looking penguins. Never seen or heard of them. Image quality seems to have stood up to the big crop. Detail looks good.

[Joseph Przybyla]

A treasure to see. I do not know the bird so I cannot comment on the color, the techs look good especially considering a over 50% crop. Thank you for sharing, Gail.

[arash_hazeghi]

Looks nice Gail. I wish the 2nd one’s feet were visible too. As it goes with these rare sightings it’s about the experience rather than just a perfect photo

TFS

[Bill Dix]

Congratulations Gail! Great to get a rarity, and this is a decent image of these guys. One might quibble but as Arash suggests, it's not about getting the perfect photo.

Much better than my single sighting of one individual on the Otago Peninsula in 2007; he had his back to me.

[Randy Stout]

Gail:

Quite a capture for this rare bird. Crop held up pretty well. Were shooting hand held on the boat?

Cheers

Randy

[Geoffrey Montagu]

Great capture of these rare birds, Gail. Love the inquisitive looks, their subtle neck and head colors, and the unique yellow eyes.

Geoffrey




https://500px.com/geoffreymontagu

[greg cowle]

Nice to see the Y-EP Gail! No particular comments on the capture, it is very nice in the constraints you note, colors look good to my memory. I saw these penguins last year on the sub-antarctic Enderby Island (NZ), posted a photo from there a couple of month ago. More than a hop skip and a jump from the South Island I admit, but if birders are interested to get very close to these unique birds it is very worth while trip, not withstanding the perils of landings in the Southern Ocean. Lots of close encounters with unique birds and mammals, I think it is a bit like at the Galapagos where the wildlife don't see people as predators and don't get too upset by our presence.
Greg

[gail bisson]

Hi Randy,
yes, this was handheld. Hope you are well!
Gail

Gail:

Quite a capture for this rare bird. Crop held up pretty well. Were shooting hand held on the boat?

Cheers

Randy

[Alex Becker]

Really nice Gail. As mentioned, the image held up well to the crop and I like the setting. Glad you were able to see them and get a very nice frame. I should be in the area for three days so I'm hoping I can get lucky, amazing on the 30 feet sighting! Congrats again and TFS

[Jim Crosswell]

Congratulations on capturing this rare species Gail!

[dankearl]

The sighting is awesome and the photo if very nice also.
I would be thrilled to see them and to get a shot as nice as this...

[Glenn Pure]

Lucky you, Gail, but it seems a lot of persistence was involved on your part to get this. I read about these recently in a feature article on penguins in the Birdlife Australia magazine. As for your image, I'd be pretty happy with it particularly given the circumstances.