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Birds of a Feather +1
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Birds of a Feather +1

by Bill Leggett

Gallery: AvianPosted December 7, 2017154 views5 comments
Here's another recent one from the Bosque. I was pleased to get the flock in decent focus, unlike many images I took on this trip. I've always enjoyed watching these large flocks of blackbirds taking flight, often so well synchronized as to create a nice fluid motion worthy of a good video. I hadn't noticed at the time that this Northern Harrier luckily came into the frame, which explains the reason for the chaos.

7D2 400 DO II +1.4X Wimberley I, ISO 400 1/2000 f6.3, 0.0EV

Comments

5 comments
Comment posted by Dennis Plank on December 8, 2017 at 1:25 PM
Cool, Bill.  For me, the inclusion of the Harrier makes this shot interesting.  I've tried taking shots of blackbird flocks like this in the past and without something like that to tell a story, they just don't seem to work well.
Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments
Comment posted by David Schoen on December 8, 2017 at 1:41 PM
Yes, raptors certainly inject chaos into the lives of certain species of birds as is the case here with these blackbirds.  Nice distribution and good colors in this image.  The sharp focus on the birds and the foreground grasses along with the out of focus background make this a compelling image.
Registered on November 6, 2006, 1213 Posts, 4587 Comments
Comment posted by Nate Chappell on December 8, 2017 at 5:33 PM
Nice capture Bill, it looks like you got a lot of blackbirds in focus and I like the out of focus harrier coming into the corner of the frame, I can imagine this is why the blackbirds got up.  devil
Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments
Comment posted by Richard Sandor on December 8, 2017 at 5:56 PM
Bill: having all the flock in focus is a big plus. The incoming harrier certainly the story of why the flock has taken flight. Richard
Registered on January 12, 2014, 453 Posts, 1625 Comments
Comment posted by Ed Williams on December 15, 2017 at 12:34 PM
Nice frame filling action Bill. I really like the color and the BG in this. The harrier is a total bonus.
Registered on December 28, 2010, 636 Posts, 3499 Comments