Group Dowitcher Thing

[ChasMcRae]

Field of active Long billed Dowitchers in Barrow,Ak area. Difficult to say if pre mating displays or maneuvering for mating.
I liked the pic where they are "stacked" to come to the crouched bird on ground.
Great experience to watch this activity on the tundra.

Chas.

Camera Model: Canon EOS 7D
Camera serial number: 470511630
Firmware: Adobe Photoshop CS5 Windows
Owner: Chas.McRae
Date/Time: 2010:06:13 149:24
Copyright: (c) Chas.McRae
Shutter speed: 1/1250 sec
Aperture: 6.3
Exposure mode: Av
Exposure compensation: +2/3
Flash: Off
Metering mode: Multi-segment
ISO: 640
Lens: EF600mm f/4L IS USM
Focal length: 600mm
Subject distance: 22 m
Image size: 629 x 800
Rotation: none
Color space: sRGB
Color profile: sRGB IEC619

[Arthur Morris]

Wow Chas. You killed me on this one. I did not get anything 1/100th as good as this. Two sharp birds and a killer wing position and nice blur on the middle one. Love the fanned tail and the view of the back feathers on that one too. Killer. This is the best from you that I have seen. EXP perfect and nicely processed. Way to go!

[denise ippolito]

Charles, Excellent capture. I love this one. Beautiful BG. I wish the bottom bird didn't have the blade of grass across it's face but I still love it. It's a bit tight for me(personal preference).

[Deborah Harrison]

Great shot and more importantly, great timing! I like the balance and even though the foreground is a bit of a distraction I think that any crop would deteriorate the overall impact of this image.

[Joe Senzatimore]

Outstanding image. Love the earth tones in this.

[Janet Heintz]

Charles,
This is just beautiful, I could see this one hanging over my fireplace. Good Job!

[adrian dancy]

This is simply top drawer... I like the colours , detail and interaction , wing positions.

[Declan Troy]

Most excellent. A real winner. I'm tempted to suggest a little less tight but I quite like it as it is.

[Hendri Venter]

Moment expertly captured Charles. I winner indeed and one to be very proud of.

[Morkel Erasmus]

can only add that this is excellent Chas - great behaviour! where these 2 males that were vying for the attention of a female crouching?

[ChasMcRae]

Difficult to say. I assume that ,but action was fast and furious with estimated 5-10(perhaps more) active birds in the area approaching, acting like mating ,but would keep moving or be run off by another bird. Never really saw actual mating and eventually they slowly dispersed.
Could have been territorial also. Perhaps someone with more knowledge of shorebird actions on territory could chime in !