coolpix | photoblog » african darter

27 Aug 2007 • 369 views

african darter

I had some work in george yesterday and took a turn past the George Botanical Gardens around 8am...this darter is apparently there every morning and i do have some other shots of him. He is a breeding male (non-breeding and females are a dullish brownish colour)

i used to think these where the most boring birds...then i saw the quicksilver feathers reflecting in the morning light. Those feathers really do it for me and darters now rank amongst my most fav birds here

I had another shot of the full reflection and i actually got quite confused as to which way to turn it so the right way was showing...very calm and still morning it was

camera	DMC-FZ50
exposure mode	full manual
shutterspeed	1/80s
aperture	f/11.0
sensitivity	unknown
focal length	88.8mm
resolution	3648x2736 pixels

african darter

comments (11)

Rosalyn Sears

27 Aug 2007, 07:42

What a beautiful bird! I love the detail on the wings. (:o)

liam beattie: he sure was pretty Rosalyn...as i mentioned i used to think they where so dull, but then i saw this guy and wow...i was hooked. Those silver "shards" are piercing and reflect light so amazingly

thanks for visiting again

Ginnie

Atlanta, GA, United States

27 Aug 2007, 08:09

Those quicksilver feathers are definitely captivating, Liam. And the way you have caught this bird on the water, with its reflection, is brilliant.

liam beattie: excellent...captivating is good! glad you liked and thanks for stopping by again Ginnie. I must post the one with the full reflection too...was so calm that morning

Coleen

27 Aug 2007, 08:59

Beautifull Liam, Stunning the way you caught the reflection in the still waters

liam beattie: thanks coleen

Louis

South Africa

27 Aug 2007, 09:23

Excellent - only negative to comment on is why the heck are we robbed of the full reflection - which you explained. I am a bit jealous of this opportunity - the darters and similar are normally like they have radar and don't allow me to come within 200 metres.

I consider no bird to be dull, even the lbj's can have the most interesting patterns - they are just so hard to classify.

liam beattie: he he he...nice one louis and apologies for robbing you! I will post the full reflection this eve. This one seemed quite happy as there was about 20ms of water between he and I...

ChaCha

27 Aug 2007, 10:07

wonderful shot!..I love the reflection here...Nice Work!

liam beattie: thanks very much...after a beating from louis I am going to be forced to post the full reflecion shot too

Mary MacADNski

27 Aug 2007, 10:15

That looks like our Common Cormorant. The behavior of dying their wings this way is the same too. Nice capture.

liam beattie: the darter is quite similar but has a much longer and more slender neck. The darters here are also very twitchy so hard to get close to. I had another shot of this darter from the front with sun behind and the wings are amazing...full of holes and imperfections but really stunning...i must post that one sometime

Mal

27 Aug 2007, 17:34

cool shot Liam, this beautiful blue backdrop works reall well. mal

liam beattie: cheers mal...full reflection coming tomorrow

Mallory Donen

27 Aug 2007, 19:08

wow ! beautiful photo~!

liam beattie: thanks mallory

PitwallAntix

JHB, South Africa

27 Aug 2007, 19:10

Dear Liam, EXQUISITE! That is about the only word that would do justice to such an absolutely gorgeous photograph. The subject is magnificent and the mirror image adds to the allure. Once again, you truly have such an incredible ability behind the camera. Regards, Elize :o)

liam beattie: elize you make me blush often! Its nice to know that people are enjoying these shots.

Zebigleb

27 Aug 2007, 22:53

Wow Liam, this is a great one, I love the reflection in water !

Nigel Clack

Glaawwsterrr!

27 Aug 2007, 23:00

Hi Liam, I have been flicking throught your archive, very nice, some excellent shots. I will be a frequent visitor. I like the subject, the clarity and the full reflection tomorrow

liam beattie: thanks nigel glad you like

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