- Nikon D300s, Sigma 50-500mm / f4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM
I flew to Los Angeles today because business requires my presence here tomorrow. The long daylight gave me the chance to visit the Bolsa Chica Ecological Preserve for a couple hours this evening. I have written several times before here in my blog how much I like these wetlands at the Pacific coast just south of Long Beach, California. At this time of the year we can't find by far as many birds here as during the winter. However, this is a place where always something is going on.
The light is just great for bird photography here in the evening and today I was able to make finally a picture of a Foster's Tern in flight that I really like. I have tried this many times before but never got the result I envisioned. These birds are very fast moving while hovering over the water and hunting for fish. The difficult part is not so much to get a sharp shot. The hard part is to get a catch light just right on the eye of the tern, so that it is clearly visible and doesn't just blend into the black cap of the bird. The Foster's Terns have nests nearby but the location does not allow a clear view into them. The adults look different than during the winter, when they miss the black cap but have a black eye patch and a dark bill instead. The Foster's Tern wasn't the only tern I saw today, but this is something for another "Nature clicks" post...