Avocets

Gallery: AvianPosted April 19, 2010229 views24 comments

A family of Avocets, Palo Alto California. Very fun to watch the chicks follow their parents, and the parents defend the chicks. A few times another pair of adults seemed like they wanted to adopt a few of the chicks, sparking an aggressive confrontation.
Canon 40D, 400mm, f9, 1/1600, iso400

Comments

24 comments

Comment posted by mark cillo on April 19, 2010 at 10:13 PM

Awesome capture! Great light and those little chicks are super cute

Registered on July 27, 2008, 143 Posts, 1483 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on April 19, 2010 at 10:31 PM

Great family photo. Lower angle would improve it even more

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Greg Cope on April 19, 2010 at 10:36 PM

Thanks Mark and Luke.

Luke....I know what you mean, one of my own nits of this photo. Appreciate you mentioning it because I wan't sure if I was the only one thinking that or not. The thought did cross my mind, but it was not an option at this location; a variety of factors - most notably the protection of the birds and habitat - made that angle unavailable.

Registered on January 22, 2007, 212 Posts, 2737 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on April 19, 2010 at 11:07 PM

Greg,

Glad to see you take the birds comfort over your photos, always a good thing. As for the lower angle, it's sometimes hard to remember the photos even from a car look good and "low" but as I was reminded today, actually getting on the ground is a totally different perspective.

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Charlie VanTassel on April 19, 2010 at 11:40 PM

A great family portrait, Greg.

Registered on October 18, 2006, 644 Posts, 4801 Comments

Comment posted by Cheryl Molennor on April 20, 2010 at 12:22 AM

Soo beautiful. The colors and clarity are nice.Love the reflection too

Registered on June 30, 2009, 300 Posts, 5051 Comments

Comment posted by Chris Ross on April 20, 2010 at 3:10 AM

Great shot of the family group, good warm light and the reflections lift the shot.,

Registered on November 1, 2003, 403 Posts, 2729 Comments

Comment posted by Marcello Oliva on April 20, 2010 at 6:57 AM

Very nice ..... so delicate and so sharp!
I particularly like the colors and composition.
Good work!
I agree about the angle.

Marcello Oliva, Italy

www.marcellooliva.com

Registered on April 13, 2010, 3 Posts, 18 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on April 20, 2010 at 7:18 AM

Wonderfully intimate shot Greg - you can almost see the motherly look on her face.

cheers
Rob

Registered on November 8, 2003, 617 Posts, 8267 Comments

Comment posted by Jagdeep Rajput on April 20, 2010 at 8:31 AM

So cute n beautiful !!!
Jagdeep Rajput

Registered on April 29, 2008, 686 Posts, 2857 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on April 20, 2010 at 8:46 AM

super nice light, Greg. a cool family shot. I do agree that a lower angle would be even better, but still very nice.

Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments

Comment posted by Jeff Loomis on April 20, 2010 at 9:46 AM

Oh my, this is awesome. You captured a view that most will never see and did a great job doing it. Hats off to you!

Registered on January 26, 2010, 68 Posts, 719 Comments

Comment posted by Douglas Graham on April 20, 2010 at 11:50 AM

Love this image. Solid BG, comp and exp is dead on. Small version looks sharp.

Registered on May 14, 2009, 123 Posts, 522 Comments

Comment posted by Darren Colello on April 20, 2010 at 12:52 PM

This must have been a spectacular sighting indeed. Well done.

Registered on July 27, 2009, 175 Posts, 1100 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on April 20, 2010 at 2:01 PM

Excellent!
Been waiting for the babies.. now to await good weather again..
Nice pose, fine detail, great water.
Hope most of these little ones survive..every time I go, a few more have been picked off by the hawks and coons..

Sandy r

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Catherine Reilly on April 20, 2010 at 4:19 PM

Just gorgeous, Greg! Love the implied action and behavioral interaction implied in this image. Colors look great and very nice refelctions.

Registered on August 16, 2006, 603 Posts, 9192 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on April 20, 2010 at 4:28 PM

Awesome family portrait Greg!!!

Ken Archer

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments

Comment posted by Rohn B. McKee on April 20, 2010 at 6:09 PM

Greg,
This is a real prize! Wonderful story, good composition. great combination of art and documentation. I can only hope to see this in real life some day.

Registered on November 18, 2008, 109 Posts, 415 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on April 20, 2010 at 6:16 PM

Love the colors, reflection and the moment captured here Greg. nice work!

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Willison on April 20, 2010 at 6:16 PM

You captured the mother-mood here, Greg. Well done. Nice comp, too.

Registered on April 10, 2009, 292 Posts, 3967 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on April 20, 2010 at 7:03 PM

What a great family shot, congrats Greg

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on April 20, 2010 at 8:15 PM

This is a very good photograph. I really appreciate seeing it.wouldn't change a thing. Thanks for sharing.

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments

Comment posted by Michael Lotito on April 20, 2010 at 9:40 PM

Great shot! Love the babies.

Registered on June 26, 2009, 181 Posts, 1558 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on April 21, 2010 at 1:03 AM

Wonderful combination, Greg. One of the most elegant looking of birds and those cute fuzzy chicks. Great combination and well captured.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments