On our way back home from Orkney we had a night in Inverness. Imagine my delight, walking along the riverbank, in finding a pair of goosanders perched on some stones in the water. I have always found these extremely wary birds in the past, whereas these were quite confiding. Only when I got home did I notice that the female appears to have some wing feathers missing, so I am wondering if the birds are captive and have been pinioned in some way.
Does anyone know anything about waterfowl in Inverness? Is there a collection nearby that these two could have escaped from? I have posted the female as the male kept a head-on pose the entire time, but he also appeared to be lacking some primary feathers.
I might be tempted to desaturate the greens and yellows a bit just to calm the water down slightly but it's a cracking shot of what is a really hard bird to get close to.
Perhaps she has dropped a few feathers as her new ones moult in.
That's a lovely bright, clean image. I wouldn't have thought that it was the sort of bird that would be kept in a collection, so maybe just one of those moulting things as andy says. Eric
Thanks for your comments, folks. I have taken the advice about the background to heart, and a toned down version is now included. The first version is, however, what I actually saw. The picture was taken on one of those warm, still evenings that you get so often in the north of Scotland (LOL), and lots of greens and golds were being reflected in the water.
I have also checked on a few birding websites and apparently wild goosanders are frequent on the Ness river in Inverness. If they were moulting, that would help explain why there were more approachable than usual.
Discussion
7 repliesDoes anyone know anything about waterfowl in Inverness? Is there a collection nearby that these two could have escaped from? I have posted the female as the male kept a head-on pose the entire time, but he also appeared to be lacking some primary feathers.
D200, 600mm Nikon, 1/125th @ f5.6, 320asa tripod mounted
I might be tempted to desaturate the greens and yellows a bit just to calm the water down slightly but it's a cracking shot of what is a really hard bird to get close to.
Perhaps she has dropped a few feathers as her new ones moult in.
Love it !
JohnR
I have also checked on a few birding websites and apparently wild goosanders are frequent on the Ness river in Inverness. If they were moulting, that would help explain why there were more approachable than usual.
My thanks again for the help and suggestions.
David