On the Black Grouse Lek - part 2

Three months... yes, three months! I can't believe I left so much time pass between part one and part two of this post! What a shame... :(

               24mm f/5.0 1/100sec ISO800 +3.33

Anyway, I am going to show you now probably the most interesting part of the courtship, the actual fights.

While the mating display I told you about in the previous part continues for most of the time, once in a while a more serious action takes place, especially when females come to visit the lek.

               560mm f/5.6 1/1250sec ISO800 +1.33

               560mm f/5.6 1/500sec ISO3200 +0.67

               560mm f/5.6 1/500sec ISO3200 +0.67

               400mm f/6.3 1/640sec ISO6400 +0.67

The confrontations go from just facing each other without really "attacking", to jumping towards the adversary trying to find an opening.

               400mm f/5.6 1/1600sec ISO1250 +1.33

And then... ATTACK!

               400mm f/5.6 1/640sec ISO640 +0.67

               400mm f/5.0 1/400sec ISO3200 +0.67

               400mm f/6.3 1/400sec ISO3200 +0.67

Everything is very fast and it's quite difficult to clearly see what's happening in those few seconds. Only when I look at the pictures, later, after coming back home, I can see the drama of the action, the fierce look and the strength the birds put in the fight. Feathers fly in the air and for a short but very intense time, the two birds fight in the air, almost as if they were dancing.

               400mm f/6.3 1/1000sec ISO2000 +1

               400mm f/5.6 1/1250sec ISO800 +1.33

               400mm f/5.6 1/1250sec ISO800 +1.33

               400mm f/5.0 1/400sec ISO3200 +0.67

               400mm f/5.0 1/400sec ISO3200 +0.67

Shots have been taken throughout a period of four days, in different weather, as you can see from the colors and the light conditions.

               400mm f/7.1 1/800sec ISO2500 +0.67

               400mm f/5.6 1/800sec ISO2500 +0.67

And then, suddenly, everybody fly away... a small bird of prey arrived in the distance... better be far, you never know. It was almost time, anyway, for the birds to stop their mating activity for the day.

               722mm f/8.0 1/320sec ISO6400 -0.67

The four days spent photographing these beautiful birds have been an awesome experience that I hope to repeat one day. If you enjoyed the shots, you might enjoy also the story I published on MAPTIA:

https://maptia.com/frazgu64/stories/fight-dance

Searching for the Golden Eagle – Day 4 and 5

The time to leave has arrived. We are heading back to Skelleftea airport this morning and... yes it's a gorgeous day without a single cloud in the sky. Grrrr. Of course: when we are leaving it's going to be a beautiful day with perfect photographic conditions. Oh, well, that's how it goes.

Yesterday, on the contrary, it was the worst day, weather-wise. It's been overcast for the whole time, with really little light. Our last chance and hope to take good shots of the golden eagle was a little disappointing. Not because we didn't see the birds, but because it was very challenging to shoot them.

Since the early morning, our friends the woodpecker, the squirrel and the little birds kept us company until the eagles came.

             EOS 5D Mark II – Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM f/5.6 1/100sec ISO 2500

             EOS 5D Mark II – Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM f/5.6 1/160sec ISO 2500 +0.33

             EOS 5D Mark II – Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM f/5.6 1/80sec ISO 2500 +1

Yes, we had a decent number of visits, but the light was too bad. I shot anyway, but the very high ISO turned out to heavy digital noise that killed all the details in the pictures.

             EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF200-400mm f/4L IS USM EXT@560mm f/5.6 1/40sec ISO 8000

             EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF200-400mm f/4L IS USM EXT@560mm f/5.6 1/80sec ISO 8000 +0.67

             EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF200-400mm f/4L IS USM EXT@560mm f/5.6 1/100sec ISO 8000 +0.67

             EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF200-400mm f/4L IS USM EXT@560mm f/5.6 1/50sec ISO 6400

In the evening, after another deliciously awesome dinner cooked by Catarina, we lived a 30-minute drama when we found out our Lufthansa flight had been cancelled because of a two-day strike. We got on the phone for a wait that seemed to last forever but finally we were able to change the flight going this time through Switzerland. It turned out to be a much longer trip, but at least we were able to find a flight.

Conny had offered to bring us to see the forest were Ally shot the Siberian Jay a few days ago and relieved then, after securing our flights, we got ready to go out for some night photography. The sky was now perfectly clear and we were looking forward to some nice shots in the forest.

The experience was great. The two-hundred-year-old forest, next to the icy river, was lit by the Moon and its rays were reflecting on the ice. No photo can really make you live the same way when you experience that in person. The view was fantastic.

             EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM @17mm f/6.3 25sec ISO 3200

                          EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM @17mm f/10.0 30sec ISO 6400

                          EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM @29mm f/11.0 13sec ISO 1600

It's time. We say goodbye to Ally and Conny as they go to the hide for another day, and we go to take our luggage.

The trip will be ok, apart still some problems with our luggage not able to fit on board the last Swiss Air very busy flight, but in the end we'll get home safe and sound.

             EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM @24mm f/10.0 1/1600sec ISO 1600

             EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM @40mm f/10.0 1/8000sec ISO 1600

It's been a very good experience, despite the photographic results a little below our expectations – you can't command Nature, it's part of the game. This "adventure" gave us the possibility to meet great people and to get to know a place where we want to go back. November is probably not the best time, light-wise, so next time we'll try to plan better, if we can.

             EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM @24mm f/5.0 1/60sec ISO 800

We thank Conny Lundström for the help and guidance he gave us during this experience. He shared his 25-year experience as a nature photographer and his deep knowledge about those wonderful birds that are the golden eagles. His pictures won international prizes and have been published in famous nature photography magazines.

             EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM @24mm f/4.0 1/5sec ISO 4000 +1.67

Searching for the Golden Eagle – Day 2

After a few hours of sleep, we woke up this morning excited for the first "real" day of the eagle adventure. We meet at 5:30am for breakfast to be ready to leave at 6:00am. It's still dark and it's important to arrive on the site before the morning light, not to be seen by the birds that might be controlling their territory.

Valerio and I have to manage with what we have in our carry-ons, since our luggage didn't come in, yesterday. Luckily Sabrina got hers. The weather is not great but not too bad either and we get onto Conny's truck to head to the hide. After leaving the car, a short walk brings us to a marsh area, now covered in a white icy-frosty layer and there we'll wait for the eagles.

We receive Conny's last instructions on how to "behave" and after setting all the camera equipment, we just sit waiting for the dawn, half sleeping, half thinking at what to expect from the day.
Today (and for the rest of the stay) with us is awesome British photographer Ally Hensen. She's been photographing the Siberian jay in the past couple of days and she is now turning her attention to the eagles. This is not the first time she's been here and she hopes for more good pictures from this trip.

             EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM f/5.6 1/160sec ISO 1600

             EOS 5D Mark II – Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM f/5.6 1/200sec ISO 1250 +0.33


Soon the tits start making us hear their voices, as they approach: Great tit, Willow tit, Blue tit come to look for food. As soon as the light is enough, we start concentrating on these little birds while waiting for the eagles. Not only tits, but also a squirrel stops by, as well as a European jay and woodpeckers. In particular Great spotted woodpeckers and a species I had never seen before, the Grey-headed woodpecker. The latter is very elegant and I try to take a good picture since it's my first. It is still pretty dark, though and I need to push the ISO quite a bit... I am afraid a lot of noise will result because of that.

             EOS 5D Mark II – Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM f/5.6 1/20sec ISO 800 -0.33

             EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM f/5.6 1/200sec ISO 1600


Hours pass by, and light is better now. A Bullfinch comes too, it's beautiful and against the white backdrop it really reminds me of a Christmas postcard. The Great spotted woodpecker keeps coming to pounder the perch to get food and though we have seen it many times, it's always a pleasure to admire this bird. Unfortunately we can't keep very fast shutter speeds, and any attempts to take photos in flight results in something blurry.

             EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM f/5.6 1/100sec ISO 1250 +1

             EOS 5D Mark II – Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM f/5.6 1/125sec ISO 1600 +0.67

             EOS 5D Mark II – Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM f/5.6 1/160sec ISO 1250

But suuddenly, here it is! Not a Golden eagle, but a White-tail eagle lands on a tree nearby. We can only see the silhouette against the sky: it's really huge, even from that distance. We hope it can get closer and in better light, but our hopes are invain since the eagle flys away after some time, not to return.

             EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM  @47mm f/5.0 1/200sec ISO 640

             EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF 200-400 mm f/4L IS USM EXT @526 mm f/8.0 1/125sec ISO 1000

             EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM  f/5.6 @526mm 1/200sec ISO 1250

             EOS 5D Mark II – Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM f/5.6 1/250sec ISO 2000 +0.33


No more eagles for the rest of the day... We spend the time photographing the other birds. The European jay particularly attracts our attention because it's darker than the specimen we have in Italy, and it's very nice.

             EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM f/5.6 1/125sec ISO 2000

The sun is setting and our second day is going to be over soon. The clouds leave room to a wonderful sunset and we enjoy it with admiration and of course we do not miss to take some shots.

             EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM f/4.5 1/160sec ISO 1000 +1.33

             EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM @58mm f/4.5 1/160sec ISO 1000 +1.33

Once the light is down, we silently retrieve all the equipment and store it back in our backpacks, and then we wait till is dark enough to leave and head back to the truck.

The day didn't go exactly as we expected. Yes we did se an eagle but couldn't take a single shot of it. We all look at tomorrow as another chance, with the hope of a more successful outcome.

And after dinner, we are out again for some night photography. We ask Conny if it's possible to find an interesting spot with some elements that can enrich the scene and he suggests we go up to the mountain where the old watching tower is. We walk up for fifteen minutes in a wonderful wood, completely frozen in sparkling silver dust.
You should know that Conny is rather tall, 1.90 meters, and it's not easy to keep up with him when he walks, even when he "walks slowly".

Once at the top, we take some shots of the horizon, building the scene with the pine trees and keeping in the foreground a cabin where Conny lit some candles and a fire in the stove. The Northern Light is very moderate, less than yesterday, but it still gives us a nice green light in the background.

             EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM@17mm f/4.0 30sec ISO3200 - tripod

             EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM@17mm f/6.3 30sec ISO5000 - tripod

             EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM@17mm f/6.3 30sec ISO5000 - tripod

Cute!

Before showing you other shots of the great egret, I would like to share this new shot of the common kingfisher I took a few weeks ago. It was a very cold day and part of the water was covered by a thin layer of ice. Thinking that the kingfisher could not fish there, I moved to the side hit by the sun, where the water surface was free. A perch just in front of the hide was the "dream spot" where I hoped the bird would stop during his daily hunt for fish. The first time I shot the kingfisher I realized I should have kept more appropriate settings to get a better definition and avoid any blurry effect because of the movement. That time, however, I was shooting handheld, with no support and there was not that much light. This time, instead, I was resting my telephoto on a bean-bag and the full sun was allowing me a good time/aperture/ISO combination. It was also the first time I was trying the EF400mm f/2.8L IS USM with the extender 1.4x III, quite a good telephoto power! So, as I was looking around for any interesting subject, every time I was not shooting I brought back my camera pre-focusing on the perch top to be ready... just in case. Then, suddenly, a blue flash arrived and stopped right where I hope it would. A bunch of seconds to shoot as many photos as I could and then the bird flew away. Wow, what a cute bird this is, especially in this puffy pose during a cold winter morning. The light was perfect and the colors and details of this male kingfisher came out very nice. I am very happy for this capture.

              EOS 5D Mark III – Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS USM +1.4x III@560mm f/6.3 1/640sec ISO 200