Almost Fledged but Mom Still worried...

[David Roach]

EOS R RF 70-200 @200 f2.8 1/320 ISO 1250 HH, Manual EXP

A few days ago, I spotted the Mom and almost fledged chick again in a more remote spot. Mom had just brought up an apple snail and the chick ran up to grab it. Seeing me, mom flew into near by reeds and called for the chick to follow. But that hungry chick was not abandoning dinner. This past evening, I saw the chick in the water with her/his own just gathered snail walking to the shore. Mom was not in site but soon as I put the bike down she called from the reeds. I used a tree trunk to approach as the chick extricated and swallowed down dinner. I was able to approach this still unwary chick from down low just as preening started. With storms in the west late in the day, diffuse low light made the approach easier. After a good 10 minutes of preening for my camera, Mom flew to the bank further down the shore and called with purpose. The chick finally gave in and flew to the reeds. Not sure if Mom's continued protection counts this chick as fully fledged. When searching online, very little is known about the nesting and brooding behavior of these shy birds.

[Geoffrey Montagu]

Great preening capture, David. Neat pose under beautiful defused light. Like the sloping bank leading into water with nice softness on the background. Great back story.


Geoffrey




http://500px.com/geoffreymontagu

[John Mack]

Nice framing with a nice pose. Neat patterns in those feathers. Maybe warm it up a hair.