Off to fetch some more...

[Stu Bowie]

This is a Southern Masked-Weaver, and he was busy building his nest. Some may say that it would be better if the far wing was separated from the nest. I feel a split second later, he would have been out the frame, as I captured this vertically. An extrememly fast flier. I also had to take this between a narrow opening in a wooden fence. Removed some foliage in the URC. The blue in the BG is water. Taken in the Pilanesberg National Park last sunday.

Canon 50D
100-400 @ 375mm
1/2000
F/6.3
ISO 640

Exp Comp 0
Hand held

[Sid Garige]

Like it Stuart. Just enough wing blur with excellent take off action from the half built nest. Very well done.

[MohsenVahedipour]

Excellent take off pose with great details & wing position. TFS

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Very nicely done, Stu. Love the colors in the bg, the nest and the sharp bird. I love the motion blur in the right wing too. Did you use AF here or did you preset manual focus and fired at take off? Either way, terrific job with the focus.

[Stu Bowie]

Did you use AF here or did you preset manual focus and fired at take off?

Thanks Sid. I used AF, as he was busy all over the nest. In this, he was hanging at the bottom of the nest, and as he twitched, I pressed the shutter.

[Gary Esman]

Sweet shot Stuart. Would not change a thing. Wish it were mine.

Gary.

[christopher galeski]

very nice image Stuart,some nice detail,nice BG.thanks.

[girisholeti]

Lovely one. I prefer the wing on the nest as it is gives the feel of 'belonging' IMHO.

[Angad Achappa]

I thing the wing on the nest is perfectly fine. I wouldn't change a thing here!!

[Jonathan Ashton]

Superb shot, sharp where it needs to be and a fine exposure. I really like the moment caught.

[Doug Brown]

Excellent timing and a challenging capture from the look of things! Fantastic wing position and a great eye. About the only thing I might do is tone down the nest a bit.

[Randy Stout]

Stuart:

Great to have them both in the same frame. As you speculated, I would prefer to have the birds wing clear of the nest, but still like the story it tells a lot.

The yellow and reds work well together. Wing blur gives a sense of action.

Well captured.

Cheers

Randy

[Jim Crosswell]

Excellent image Stuart! I like the wing blur, composition and BG. Well timed image.

[gail bisson]

WOW! Shot as a vertical is really impressive. I really like the fresh green of the nest but the best part of the image is the wing spread and fanned tail. I like the uplifted head as well. A keeper for sure,
Gail

[Dumay de Boulle]

Very nice mate...Great job on the flight angle and love the red eye.

[Stu Bowie]

Thanks a stack for the kind words. Much appreciated.

[denise ippolito]

Awesome capture Stuart! You did a great job timing it to include the great wing positions and the nest.

[Arthur Morris]

Beautifully seen, framed, and captured. Love the bird, the pose, and the BKGR. Perhaps lightening the darker areas of the bird, both the face and the shaded portion of the lower (near) wing would improve it. Love the COMP as is.

[Stu Bowie]

Denise, Artie, thanks for your feedback.

Artie, lightening areas mentioned - noted.