Sunbathing Cormorant

[Rudi Venter]

This Great Cormorant is drying his feathers and doing a but of maintenance after diving for fish.

They are excellent at catching fish, In China they are used by human fisherman to catch fish at night.

Canon EOS 7D with Canon 600mm L IS f4 at f4 and 1/250 sec

Thanks for looking,
Rudi

 

[Mark Grant]

Nice shot

One day I would like a long lens.

 

[Rudi Venter]

Thanks Mark! Carrying the 600 around saves me a lot on gym fees

 

[Mark Grant]

The only decent Cormorant photo I have is from a few years ago when I visited Lunga, one of the Treshnish Islands, Inner Hebrides , Scotland for a few bird photos while on holiday, they where nesting so it was very easy to get close

http://www.pbase.com/markgrant/image/19603996

http://www.pbase.com/markgrant/d60_shots

http://www.southernhebrides.com/treshnish-isles.html

http://www.hebrideantrust.org/treshnish.htm

 

[Rudi Venter]

Great photo Mark!

Wow, what a stunning place, would love to visit it sometime! Thanks for sharing the photo and posting the links, really interesting!

 

[Alastair Cummins]

Great detail and I like the light shining of its feathers

 

[Paul Lange]

I think I saw a photo in National Geographic of one of these with something tied around it's neck so it couldn't swallow the fish. Chinese fishermen use them to catch the fish. May have been a HSBC advert, I can't remember exactly. The exposure of the dark feathers is impressive, something I more than often get wrong and end up with a black amorphous blob.

 

[Rudi Venter]

Thanks Alastair and Paul, yes, black feathers pose a challenge, it can easily confuse the camera's auto exposure, I normally use a spot meter and then add +1/3 or +2/3

Yes, they tie a rope around the birds neck and then reel him in once he has caught something. They go out at night with lanterns so when the fish come up to look at the light the Cormorant's catch them.

 

[Glen Roberts]

It's in good condition, a nice glossy sheen to the feathers and you've brought that out nicely.