Greeting, mates! The next next round of the birding contest is up. The topic given was 'Bottom', and I can frankly say I enjoyed it, though this is not what I shoot on a regular basis, I managed to dig some pics from my archives, and also could not but add a few fresh ones.
First go a series of funny pictures of pigeons attacking small bird feeders aimed especially for small birds. No surprise what we see in this scene is mostly their bottom. Note -- it all come naturally! I wasnt focusing on it intentionally!
Below is uncropped version of the picture.
And now what I found in my folders: here are some successful close-up pictures of the grebe duck guarding its hatch. In June 2020 I had a nice opportunity to come close enough to the nest in a local park, and with the help of my 300mm telephoto lens I received very detailed and clear images.
At a certain moment (when I 'crossed the critical line') the duck left the nest, stepped back, and get herself into the water. On the frame below you see exactly this moment: the duck lifts its body and is about to leave the nest for a little swimming. What's amazing about this image, hmm ... I was personally shocked to see the "size" of its back. Well, it's a duck, right? and the size of her ass was ... similar to a cow's udder. Unusual. Perhaps this is such a seasonal change in the body, at the time of incubating the nest? To be honest, I know so little about it!
After a little swimming (by that time I stepped back with my camera) the duck decided to return to the nest. And I shoot the very moment when it left the pond, and the bottom part of the body is still wet, it is shaking the body to get rid of the water before sitting again on the nest. A splendid sight, I enjoyed this frame very much as one of the highlights of the session -- it isnt what you can see on a daily basis!
Above is the cropped version of the same frame.
This photo goes for 'Show me a photo (of a bird)' contest, round six!
Check the rules and details to take part, they are easy and pretty standard:
- weekly challenge, new prompt is published on Sunday;
- link back your entry in the comment section of the contest post;
- photo should be your own, obviously;
- post it in #FeatheredFriends community;
- your post may feature more photos, just state which one is your entry (otherwise 1st will be taken into account);
- drop some extra text description;
- mention the contest name in the title of your post.
