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Black-tailed Godwit


Black-tailed Godwit
Photo Information
Copyright: Peter van Zoest (PeterZ) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1208 W: 68 N: 2500] (8251)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2008-05-24
Categories: Birds
Camera: Nikon D300, AF Nikkor 70-300mm f4-5.6 G, Digital RAW
Exposure: f/11, 1/500 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2008-07-10 10:43
Viewed: 456
Points: 60
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Another photo of a Black-tailed Godwit in flight, photographed in my neighborhood.

The Black-tailed Godwit, Limosa limosa, is a large shorebird. It is a relatively long-legged member of the Godwit genus.

Adults have blue-grey legs and a very long straight bill with a slight upward curve and pink at the base. The neck, breast and belly are brick red in breeding plumage, off white in winter. The back is mottled grey.
Their breeding habitat is temperate wetlands in Europe and Asia on open grassland. They nest on the ground, usually in short vegetation, laying 3-6 eggs.

They migrate in flocks to western Europe, Africa, south Asia and Australia. Interestingly, although this species occurs in Ireland and Great Britain all year round, they are not the same birds. The breeding birds depart in autumn, but are replaced in winter by the larger Icelandic race, L. l. islandica. These birds occasionally appear in the Aleutian Islands and, rarely, on the Atlantic coast of North America.

These birds forage by probing on mudflats or in marshes. In short vegetation, they may pick up insects by sight. They mainly eat insects and crustaceans, but also eat parts of aquatic plants. They are much more likely to be found on freshwater than the coastal Bar-tailed Godwit.

In 2006 BirdLife International classified this species as Near Threatened due to a decline in numbers of around 25% in the previous 15 years. It is also among the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.
Between1990 and 2000 the numbers of meadow birds in the Netherlands declined appreciably. According to a recent estimate by SOVON, in the Netherlands the Black-tailed Godwit declined from approximately 100 000 breeding pairs in the mid-1980s to 50 000 in 2000.
xTauruSx, nglen, jaycee, red45, bobcat08, Silvio2006, Jamesp, maurydv, zulfu, boreocypriensis, lousat, gracious, ramthakur, albert, Amadeo, haraprasan, uleko, claudine, marhowie, eqshannon, rousettus has marked this note useful
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Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To marhowie: Black-tailed GodwitPeterZ 1 07-13 10:59
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Critiques [Translate]

Hello Peter,
Superb shot of this wonderful bird in-flight. Great composition, lighting and DOF. TFS.
G's,
Deniz

  • Great 
  • siggi Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 284 W: 3 N: 767] (2748)
  • [2008-07-10 10:56]

Hello Peter,
Graceful capture of this Godwit in flight. Great POV of the full wing span. TFS,
Regards
Siggi

  • Great 
  • nglen Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1991 W: 5 N: 5540] (20950)
  • [2008-07-10 11:00]

Hi Peter. A good inflight shot of the Godwit . Showing very good detail in the feathers with natural looking colours. It stands out so well against the Blue sky. well done TFS. Good notes as well.
Nick..

Hello Peter,
wonderful shot of godwit in flight,excellent focusing and great composition,pov,
well done,
tfs

  • Great 
  • jaycee Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1785 W: 8 N: 4627] (14955)
  • [2008-07-10 11:16]

Hi Peter,

Another excellent capture of the Godwit in flight. Superb details of the face, wings, plummage and tail feathers. I love the way he is looking sideways showing us his eye. Beautiful colors and shadings that show off very well against the blue sky.

Jane

  • Great 
  • red45 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2829 W: 75 N: 8024] (26857)
  • [2008-07-10 11:21]

Hi Peter!

Really nice pose and composition of this flying Godwit. I like shape of wings well visible against blue sky. Light is also very nice, especially on bird's head.

Hallo Peter,

Mooie "inflight" foto van deze grutto. Zo te zien vliegt hij heel relaxed. Je hebt deze foto op het goede moment genomen. Ieder detail is prachtig zichtbaar. POV, DOF en BG zijn goed. Op deze foto kan je trots zijn.

Vriendelijke groeten en tot TFS BOB

Beautiful inflight shot of this Godwit. It seems that he flies very relaxed. You have taken this picture at the right time. Every detail is beautifully visible. POV, DOF and BG are good. In this photo you can be proud.

Regards and TFS BOB

Hi Peter, splendid bird in great fly with lovely details and fantastic colors, excellent sharpness, very well done, ciao Silvio

  • Great 
  • Jamesp Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1252 W: 0 N: 4842] (14380)
  • [2008-07-10 13:20]

Hi Peter

A lovely shot of this beautiful bird. Great panning and focus work.

TFS

JAmes

Un'altra bella immagine in volo di Pittima reale, eccellente composizione, buona nitidezza, molto belli i colori e la luce. Grazie e complimenti. Ciao Maurizio

  • Great 
  • zulfu Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 527 W: 0 N: 95] (585)
  • [2008-07-10 14:06]

Hello Peter, wonderful capture of a flying bird with great colours, details and framinf. Thanks for sharing.
Kind regards,

Mehmet

Hi Peter, a perfect capture of a Black-tailed Godwit in flightwith wonderful POV and DOF. Well compoosed and detailed too. TFS.
Cheers,

Bayram

Hi,
On the road, just marking excellent pictures.
Thanks
Pekka

Hello peter,
This is so beautiful especailly the lighting that effecting the Godwit inflight!
the image is sharp with sharpness, very nice colour and details
well done
many thanks for the sharing
Tony

What a nice composition. I like the blue background and the soft light on the bird. Well done.
Best wishes,
Achim

Hi Peter,this beauty no need comment,just my best compliments fot this great artwork,thanks for share,have a nice day,Luciano

Impressive capture of this bird in flight, Peter.
You have managed a great shot with so many sharp details on the underwings of the bird.
I can only feel envious with you people capturing birds in flight with so much ease.
TFS and regards,
Ram

hi Peter
A great shot with excellent in-flight focus
TFS
Albert

Hola Peter, buena fotografia, una toma con un bonito punto de vista, buena luz y color. Un saludo

Hi Peter,
A lovely capture of this beautiful godwit in flight. Very well composed with sharp details. Lovely timing. Thanks a lot for sharing.

  • Great 
  • cako Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 385 W: 0 N: 370] (1982)
  • [2008-07-12 0:26]

Hi Peter
very good fly a bird
well done.

  • Great 
  • Argus Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2606 W: 133 N: 7480] (23317)
  • [2008-07-12 4:13]

Hello Peter,
Your in-flights of the male Black-tailed Godwit give us a good idea of the way this bird does its display flight to defend its territory. This image show the outspread tail very well as it flights and glides round its patch.
The POV, lightng and composition are great.
TFS this beauty,
Ivan

  • Great 
  • uleko Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2465 W: 168 N: 7448] (23526)
  • [2008-07-12 7:13]

Hello Peter,
What a lovely capture of this elegant bird displaying its beautiful wings. A very fine unusual POV, great focus and beautiful light and colours.
Many thanks and regards, Ulla

Hi Peter,
This is a very strange specie that I see for the first time. This is a nice capture, something not easy to realize, I found that capturing bird in flight, very difficult. Your notes are interesting. Thanks,
Claudine

Hi Peter,
I like the POV & inflight pose, it's well composed.
Good detail, DOF, colors, and exposure also.
What % was your crop on this?
Well done,
Howard

In flight they remind me a bit of the way gulls fly and also of certain shapes. I wonder if they are related in any way....hmm..rhetorical question...I shall look...very nice in flight capture Peter.
Bob

Hello Peter
great capture of this beautiful species. I took it many times. But your POV better and great. Focus and composition also great. Thanks for sharing, best wishes
Ahmet

  • Great 
  • EOSF1 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1330 W: 107 N: 4802] (21322)
  • [2008-07-14 9:13]

Hello Peter, well done on that flying Gotwit! Sharp, great exposure and well composed scene, thanks!

Mario

  • Great 
  • arfer Gold Star Critiquer [C: 2731 W: 0 N: 0] (0)
  • [2008-07-15 8:22]

Hello Peter

Great pov and detail.
The eye contact is wonderful.
Excellent plumage detail.
The focus is sharp.
A lovely in flight capture.
TFS


Rob

  • Great 
  • Mana Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1714 W: 24 N: 4988] (16346)
  • [2008-07-15 13:50]

Hi Peter,
Outstanding in-flight shot and you have done this with great timing and skill. Very neat and sharp image with nice colours and details. The blue sky acts as a fine BG and I like the wings-span here. The natural lighting provides perfect illumination. Excellent DOF, POV and composition. Kudos.
TFS.
Sumon

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