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Red-necked Avocet

Red-necked Avocet (Image ID 38969)
Photographed byJim Schultz on Wed 12th Feb, 2020 and uploaded on Thu 13th Feb, 2020 .
Resolution1400x881
Viewed208
ID38969
CommentI was watching this cluster of Red-necked Avocets as they were quietly resting on open water. Having set up to photograph feeding behaviour, suddenly I heard their yapping alarm call, and I knew a raptor was approaching. I only had time to rattle off a burst of 12 frames as the birds took to the wing in a panic. This is the better shot at my pre-set, moderate shutter speed. Endemic to Australia Red-necked Avocets have long, slender upwardly curved bills, and may feed in shallow water by scything the submerged bill from side to side, using sense of touch to catch miniscule prey. Also, avocets have partly webbed feet, readily swim and up-end like ducks, allowing them to feed in deeper water. Young avocets that have not yet developed curved bills may stab at the prey, rather. Highly nomadic, the species can turn up almost anywhere on the mainland outside of breeding season and are often seen in flocks at Perth’s lakes, such as is the case here. Bibra Lake, GPS. Status: Least Concern
EquipmentOlympus OM-D E-M1X camera body with Olympus 300mm f4 IS Pro ED M.Zuiko lens; Velbon Neo Carmagne Carbon Tripod with Manfrotto Ball Head Art 498RC2. Camera settings: Exposure Program/Shooting Mode: ‘Manual’; shutter speed 1/1000 sec, f5.6 & ISO-640. White Balance: ‘Cloudy-6000K’. Metering Mode: ‘Spot’; Focus Mode: ‘C-AF’ and Drive: ‘Sequential shooting (1frame)’ & maximum burst rate habitually set to 12 to prevent filling up the buffer for which reason I also only shoot in RAW. Image Stabilizer on (S-SIS AUTO). Olympus Workspace for metadata; FastStone for viewing & sorting; Adobe Photoshop Camera Raw/CC 2020 for post-processing; Topaz Pro plug-ins Sharpen AI, DeNoise AI & Studio 2 for sharpening and noise control. ‘Australian Bird Guide 2019’ for supplementary data and colour checks.
LocationBibra Lake; GPS, Western Australia
Keywordsmale, female, immature, in flight, adult
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