Manx Long Tail

The techs are;

Body: Nikon D2Xs
Lens: Nikon 200-400mm f/4 VR & TC 17E II

Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
Metering Mode: Spot
Exposure Comp: 0.0 EV
AF Mode: AF-C
Sensitivity: ISO 200
White Balance: Cloudy
Shutter Speed: 1/80 sec
Aperture: f6.7
Focal Length: 650mm

Tripod: Gitzo G1548
Head: Wimberley Gimbal V2

70% of Full Frame and some processing in Lightroom & Photoshop

C&C welcome! Thanks for looking!

Hi Everyone,

I was out filling my feeders this afternoon when this Long Tail started pillaging the seeds that were intended for the Blackbirds and Robins who frequent this spot! I carefully rolled over grabbed my camera and took a few frames before he disappeared into the hedge.

Now for those who are interested this mammal is a ‘Long Tail’ not the ‘R’ word. The reason is superstition. On the Isle of Man it is simply bad luck to call it the ‘R’ word so it is known as a ‘Long Tail’.

Many thanks,
Paul

Nice image Paul but i would have liked less "grass" obstruction in the foreground!
Rene de Heer

Interesting stuff Paul and good grab shot.
You learn something new every day
Funnily enough I have just got in and had been snapping away at the "R" word under the Pheasant feeders.

Major.

Nice old ratty judging by those lugs !
JohnR

I quite like this Paul - especially the way the line of his back flows from the hedge ( doesn't that sound a bit 'luvvy-darling' ) - nice shot Paul

Quite like this too, but might crop a bit from the top just to get rid of that line, somehow b#**~y Long Tail has eaten the bird food again doesn't sound right, will stick with the 'R' word, interesting little story though and gives the image that little bit extra..

Like the story and the picture. Only nit for me is the FG grass. I think that these sort of shots would benefit from a slightly higher PoV. Andy's right about the bodyline merging into the leaves, that works well for me too.
Eric

Thanks for all the comments, always appreciated!

Interesting, didnt know that about the IOM, thought you were all relatively normal