How many of you lock focus on the bird and repeatedly plea to yourself for a glance, a bank, or whatever wishful on the fly (or stationary) composition you hope for... I do all the time, I talk to myself and i talk to the bird, silently most of the time. I was tracking this puffin as it came in to land and i could tell it had prey in its beak and as it got closer i remember coaxing, begging, and anticipating the "glance" and then we locked eyes for a split second. Click. It was this shot that made me put down my camera for a while and sit on top of the cliff top watching and listening to all the activity around me. I sat there and processed my journey as a bird photographer and i was filled with emotional gratitude that i have been able to share company with many birds and excitedly appreciate their every nuance. Immersed in this colony of puffins, I truly had both guilt and shame as I shared company with them and also knew their vulnerability that is traced to the hands of humans... The puffin population in Iceland is significantly declining along with other seabird populations... Is is an Icelandic tradition to hunt puffin and many tourists contribute to the slaughter so they can say they went to Iceland and ate a "puffin" Climate change is especially brutal to wildlife because their fragile ecosystem is in jeopardy and adaptation to such a rapidly fluctuating environment brings stress, harm, and decline to the puffin population. Recent declines in populations and nesting successes have led to puffins receiving world status of Threatened and Endangered in Europe by the International Union for conservation and Nature. Meanwhile back at our guesthouse on the island, a Father and son were enjoying their puffin hunt and within a couple of days they gleefully bagged up in excess of 500 puffin to take South to their island where puffin hunting has been banned because their population has depleted... It was disturbing to sit amongst the puffins and know that we have collectively contributed to their climate change, and throughout the day there will be humans with long poled nets that will catch them and wring their necks. And if you happen to be a parent of your lone puffling, well its likely it will die as well from starvation. As Joni Mitchell sang: "pave paradise and put up a parking lot" I just had to say this...
THEME: puffin with eel pouts
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