Taken Yesterday morning, sunny, hazy overcast, at Nickerson Beach. Ran into BPN member Beth Goffe again (hope you got some great shots!) and we spent some time watching the gulls and Oystercatchers clamming. As soon as the Oystercatcher found one...........it took flight from the gulls. Mark 3 and the Sigma 300-800mm lens at 379mm and ISO 800 at f7.1 and 1/3200 sec. all tripod mounted with a Wimberly head. Cropped a bit from top and left for composition..........hopefully not to much for you Artie! :D
Wow, this is mega, and NOT too tight in the frame. Love the wing position and the bi-valve! How are the skimmers doing this year?
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Roman: in my opinion the wing position and position of the bird flying toward the camera is as good as it gets. The only similar images of food in an oystercatcher's mouth that I've been able to take is slimy oyster flesh (go figure), which is not nearly as pleasing as the clam in you image. This may very well be the best oystercatcher image I've seen. The only thing lacking (and probably virtually impossible to achieve at the distance the image was taken and lighting), is a little detail in the dark head. Thanks for sharing the image!
This is a great OC flight image! Good light, nice wing & head position, flying toward you, and very sharp. Of course the clam makes it over the top. Nothing to complain about the composition from me!
Wow what a winner this is Roman. You have it all in this capture. Great flight pose , wonderful composition and exposure and then the clam to top it off. Awesome !!!!! Big congrats.
Well, Roman, your oystercatcher with clam turned out much better than any of mine. They eye contact and wing position are great. Congrats! I'm hoping that some of my clam-dropping gulls work out better. I will be back there to try again - hope to see you there!
Wow, Roman! This oystercatcher tops them all. I know this isn't a competition, but there have been lots of oystercatcher posts, and I have been trying my luck with them lately. The flight shot is not an easy one if you're not right on it at the right time. I call this a winner.