Perfect Conditions for BIF
This past weekend I visited Fort De Soto at sunset one last time before leaving the area. I arrived on the beach about two hours before sunset. The tide was low and coming in and the full sun was high overhead. It was still too early photograph anything, but there was a Reddish Egret nearby dancing in the shallows. Although I had a great subject, none of those photos were very good due to the lighting and poor background.
I soon walked down to the far end of North Beach where a large flock of birds were roosting on a sandbar. There I found a lot of Royal Terns, Laughing Gulls, Sandwich Terns, Black Skimmers, Dunlin, and Sanderlings. A few Marbled Godwits were in the group too and I focused on those first, knowing that I would soon shift focus to birds in flight with the terns and skimmers.
Marbled Godwit. Keep low when photographing birds like this Marbled Godwit. The goal is to always keep your camera at eye level of the animal you are photographing. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR lens at 600mm, f/6.3, 1/3200 sec, ISO 1000.
Soon the gulls and skimmers started taking baths at the end of the sandbar. A brisk wind was coming out of the west, so the birds were facing and flying into that direction - right into the sun. It was perfect. From experience I know that terns and gulls most often take a short circular flight after bathing to dry off before returning to the flock. So I positioned myself about 50 feet upwind and slightly off angle to the birds so I could get a well-lit profile shot as they flew by.
It was a real treat to watch the birds finish their baths, then begin twisting mid-air to wring out the water. At the same time they would fall a little bit, so it was helpful to have a Zoom lens which allowed quick adjustments to keep the bird in frame.
Royal Tern. Twisting and turning mid-air to wring all the water out. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR lens at 540mm, f/6.3, 1/3200 sec, ISO 1250.
Royal Tern. All the twisting and turning happens in about 1 second. I shoot at 20 frames per second which allows images like this which are imperceptible to the human eye. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR lens at 540mm, f/6.3, 1/3200 sec, ISO 1250.
Black Skimmer. A nice banking shot of the skimmer with little underwing shadow. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR lens at 600mm, f/6.3, 1/4000 sec, ISO 1250.
Black Skimmer. Skimmers twist in the air just like the terns, but their post-bath flight is alot shorter. They tend to fly directly back to the flock rather than a longer circular flight path taken by the terns. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR lens at 600mm, f/6.3, 1/4000 sec, ISO 1400.
Spring migration will soon be upon us, with the bulk of migrating warblers coming to DeSoto from mid-April through the first week of May. Now is a good time to get pictures of these shorebirds before we all go “warbler crazy”!
This week I am visiting family in Alabama, and next week I have a work trip out to Salt Lake City, so birding is a little slow for me. My next birding adventure will be a trip to Cape Coral later this month to photograph Burrowing Owls, and hopefully some owlets.
Happy birding!
