Flocks in Flight - Thought Provoking . This is my "I and the Bird" Effort

Kathie of "Sycamore Canyon" (see link below) has asked me to submit a Post for "I and the Bird edition 82" which Kathie is hosting on her blog on 21st August. So Kathie, here goes.
See my link list for Kathie's Blog.

(All images are clickable and enlarge to a good viewable size)

Is there anything more evocative in the birdworld than a flight of Geese or Ducks observed flying across the sky at dusk. One of the reasons I took up bird watching and photography was because of the sight of such birds. Its amazing how they keep station with each other and how they navigate. This scene below speaks volumes and can remind one of many things. It brings to mind going home having experienced a cold windy day watching birds. Being wrapped up against the elements. The thought of a nice warm home and a cup of tea at the end of my journey. You may also think, "Where are they going, will they find somewhere safe for the night, how do they know where to go."









This image below makes me want to start whistling "The Dambusters March". Drawing a comparison to wartime England and the darkened skies when aircraft where going out or returning from a mission. (Not that I was around then of course)










Two of my favourites species for photographing in flight are Greylag and the Canada Geese. I often wonder, which one of them made the decision to go, is there a leader, somebody must have said, "Right everybody, off we go, follow me". If you get everything right then you end up looking at nice images on your computer screen. You look at them and can imagine that you are up there with them flying along. This is what its like to be a Goose. Of course they are large subjects and you can get plenty of detail. They tend to be creatures of habit. If you position yourself on the side of a lake or stretch of water where you have observed them flying to or from feeding grounds, that's the place to be. A good indication when they are about to take off, is that they start honking and cackling away to each other in a fairly noisey and exciting Goosey manner. Suddenly they take off into the wind, so you have to be ready with the camera, keep checking your settings before hand. So many times I have nudged the setting wheel on the top of my camera without knowing it and ended up on a "Landscape" setting when I really needed "Sports" setting. (Expletives deleted here).




























You can often produce an image that suggests specific things to the viewer. The bare Winter backdrop and bright sunlight behind the camera brings out the colouring of these Greylag Geese. It gives the impression that its cold and frosty which helps make the picture into something which it wasn't. In fact it was a warm sunny Autumn day. Having watched their habits quite regularly I have had some success with photographing them. Think about where you are taking photographs and what is behind your subject/s. I took a photo of my dear wife one day in Tuscany with a field of sunflowers as the backdrop, only to find later an ugly water tower at the rear of the field protruding up amongst the flowers.




















Starlings. (see below) Fairly dull looking birds at the best of times, but the time to see them in their element is in Winter when they are preparing to roost. Apart from on TV, I haven't seen the really large flocks performing their apparent orchestrated flight pattern moving about the sky before they all plunge down into trees or reed beds to roost. How do they achieve this?. I only managed on one occasion to see approximately a hundred do just that. This image was taken in the Winter during daytime. The flocks are much smaller at that time when they are searching for food. They certainly move purposefully across the sky.









The Woodpigeon.(see below) Such a resourceful bird that changes its eating habits greatly throughout the year in line with what is available. Woodpigeons have had to remain flexible over the years as various foods have come and gone with changing agricultural methods. How have they achieved this, how do they all learn to change, when you consider that the UK population remains constant at approximately 6 million birds. In the Winter, Woodpigeons will form in large flocks and can be as many as 500 in number. You definitely need a long lens for these, 300mm upwards. They are quite nervous in flocks and they will take off if they detect the slightest movement or sound. They are a great sight to see in such numbers and make a great image. I haven't achieved a really large flock image as yet.









Lapwings. (See below) A beautiful bird that evokes memories of my childhood in Somerset, when they were plentiful and you could easily find them nesting in the open fields. Not easy to approach and when they fly in flocks it is usually quite high. In winter when flying high in flocks they never appear to know exactly where they are going. They make a gradual change of course about every 100mtrs. When photographing flocks of them you need good light to pick out their white undersides. If you want to get close up photographs you need to be in a makeshift hide at the edge of arable land using a long lens.




























Another one of my favourites (I have lots) are Brent Geese. Its the cold Winter months when they migrate to our shores. The best place to see them in East Anglia is on the Shoreline along the Wash. It may be cold and windy, but it is well worth the effort. Brent are quite small and gregarious and you can hear them for quite some distance, especially on the ground when they are grazing. They spend the summer breeding in the Arctic tundra and visit us from October through to April. Such a long and arduous journey, how do they manage it.?









Flocks of Gulls can be found following the plough (Yet another scene that reminds me of my childhood). Lapwings will search such areas that have been freshly turned over, but not so close as the Gulls.This is one of the many ways that bird life have over time and to their advantage, learned to interact with humans. Both make good photographs. The Gulls following the tractor and plough in the image below are Black-headed Gulls. If you want to get this kind of image it generally occurs mainly in the Autumn. You can get some very interesting shots with this exercise. You can use a long lens (200 to 400mm) or why not just wait for the tractor to come to the edge of the field, turn around and take the shot as it moves away (I have used 17-85mm at 85mm).



















Pairs and small groups. If you want to get some really close up images of the larger flocking birds then you will certainly need a lens in the 200 to 400mm range and good light. Again much observation of their habits will assist you in being in that right place to get the desired results. This is a selection of Greylag and Canada Geese. As you can see there is plenty of detail on these birds at this range.
















































The Tufted Duck. Tufties are fast fliers and during the Winter period live on more remote and open rivers on the Fenland in this area. At this time they are not easy to approach and will fly off before you can get near them.

So I will end as I started this post with another evening flight. This time its a small number of Tufties. Taking photographs of flocks of birds in flight requires a 'Sports Setting' on the camera and a lens in the range of 70-200mm with the main range being above the 135 mark. Dont go above 300mm (unless you want close ups of one or two birds) as you will loose a lot of the picture and obviously the detail will decrease due to less light.

Birds are amazing and the sight of them in different situations can be quite thought provoking (and not just how to take the photograph). When you next take photographs of a flock of birds, think about the image and what it represents.

NB: The first two images and the last image on this blog were darkened to simulate what I would have seen in low light at dusk.