Cormorant

from the canal near my house this afternoon, set up a hide at a favoured drying off spot

40D + 300mm F4L + 1.4 extender
ISO 640
FULL FRAME

i though i'd add the view from the hide, suprising the amount of wildlife you get despite the rubbish, saw a Water Rail a week or so back

Lovely well detailed shot, like the over the shoulder pose too. Do the white feathers on the head mean this is an immature bird? I saw some cormorants on a lake recently that had very white, and almost black and white stripy heads, very strange looking - I wondered what they were!

Nice shot!

Beautiful shot of the bird, but I find the bg overpowering. Any chance of moving the hide so that the bg is different?

It's not exactly a desireable location by our standards is it?

Hi Dawn
don't know what the white head feathers mean, have often wondered why some birds have it and not others, had wondered if it wasn't a european race or something as i only ever seem to see them like this in the South east

According to my book, white feathers on the head are more frequent in older birds (I'm saying nothing...) and in the race sinensis. Nice shot by the way, especially given the background you had to work with.

David

Hi Jack nice pic. definitely prefer the Top one. It is an adult in courtship plumage.

Hi Jack,
stunning shot of the bird and a beautiful example of how nature photography can show or
hide reality.

Bertl

What a beautiful shot of this cormorant. The background works well for me and the pose is really great.

Personally, I feel the best shot is stil to be had. A tighter shot based on the second image (the rubbish placed in the bottom half of the frame and the bird in the top) would make a really strong environmental image.

Wouldn't be pretty but would tell a story.

Cheers,
Chris

Thanks for the comments all
Mike - can't really move the hide much as most of the ground is either quite steep or sludgy, not use it would make a difference though as that blue wall is very long
Chris - was thinking about doing a shot with a wideagle and a remote, but might try your idea as well

That second shot really tells a story, great work.

Thanks for the info about the white head feathers - very interesting, learn something new everyday...

A good frame filling portrait with no shortage of detail in that dark plumage. I love the raised crest and the head turn towards the camera.

Not all BG's finish up being natural but to me this henhances the bird even more and is not so over the top that it needs changing.
Great post and a majestic looking bird it is that is full of character.

Major.

Lovely portrait and background.

Very interesting couple of shots Jack. I prefer the second one to be honest as it shows the environment birds have to put up with in some areas!! the first is still a fine portrait though!! Thinking of the wide angle shots for the future, it would be interesting to get a higher perspective, place the cormorant at the top (hiding the building, hence the higher position) and have the rubbish filling the bottom three quarters. The remote camera could be very interesting aswell but I wouldnt fancy wading through that rubbish though... perhaps the camera on the end of a long pole - counterweighted. you could just put a black box on the end of it when not in use!! Be an interesting project that I would definately love to keep track of!

I prefer the second shot - the first is tighter than I would like it to be but the second is quite shocking so has a lasting effect...

All nits mentioned but I have to say I like this a lot, but it has to be the wide shot to show the reason for the saturated background.
Cheers
JR

Very nicely done. However I'd be tempted to look for a short inbetween the two - you could get very good environmental image here. Tristan

Agree with Tristan about an in between shot but good detail in the bird. I am not sure if these white feathered Cormorants are Dutch.

Like the shots and the potential here Jack - stick at it.

Mark

Amazing when you view the two images together .The first is a cracker .

Cracker!

You told me on the phone that it had worked out well and I see that you were right.

Would be interested in seeing what wideangle potential there is here.
The feather detail though is superb!

C

Maggie, white feathers are not necessarily indicative of the origin of the animal, as although race sinensis (continental Europe) is likely to have them, our coastal race (carbo) sometimes has them as well. There is a good explanation of the differences between the two at:
http://www.paxton-pits.org.uk/id.htm
You learn something new every day - well, I did anyway.

David