This is the first photo I have put on this thread. I really like the look of this site with all the helpful information. This species is the threatened "northern New Zealand dotterel" in breeding plumage. There are less than 2000 of this species left in the world. This photo was taken in December on a Bay of Plenty beach, North Island New Zealand. This is typical breeding habitat for this subspecies on sandy spits. This photo was taken handheld with the 100-400 IS L lens, Canon 30D camera. 1/800 sec @ f8.
Welcome to BPN! A little busy, but since you cant always choose the subjects bg, especially with one so endangered and probably skittish too, looks like you did well.
Welcome, Chris! Great to see and have the opportunity to photograph this species. The light looks very harsh, photographing earlier or later in the day helps with that. The light angle is not ideal since you should try to have the sun behind you. That way you will get a nice catch light in the bird's eye. The BG is a bit too busy and the bird could be further left in the frame. Normally a low angle like in your image is great but here you can't see the legs, a slightly higher angle would have helped with that. Keep them coming!
Thanks for the comments Grady and Axel. I agree it would be better to have less contrasting light. I guess if I have more time in the future I should try and get the sun at a better angle, and be there at a better time of day. I do have some photos with less background clutter, but my aim was to show birds in their natural habitat - sand and drift wood. I will try to think about ways I can show this differently. Since this was partly cropped from the original photo - I will recrop my best copy of the original image further to the left.
Nice shot, Chris. These little fellows are quite challenging to get with a decent BG due to their preferred habitat. If this was taken at the Ohiwa sandspit early morning light is best.
New Zealand dotterel
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