# Starling in flight



## weepete (May 14, 2020)

Got some starlings nesting on the roof, so I sat out on Sunday with my 150-600mm and tried to get some shots. They were very fast, so I had to resort to pre-focusing and trying to predict their flight path which was challenging! About 4 hours spent out and I got one single shot that's good enough to show. I'd not really been able to put my 5DmkIV to the test with birds since I bought it so it was good to give it a challengeand get back into the habit of using my long lens.

This is as one of the pair returned to the nest with a beak full of hawthorne flies, shot almost directly overhead.




Starling in Flight 1 by wee_pete, on Flickr


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## Fujidave (May 14, 2020)

Cracking shot, nice and sharp in the right places.


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## Space Face (May 14, 2020)

We've got them in the eves of our loft, right above our bed.  Bloody noisy buggers.  Used to have one a few years ago that sat in a tree in our front garden and I swear is sang the theme tune to the Adams Family TV show from way back when.

I was gonna say that looks like St Marks flies in it's gob until I realised that St Marks flies ARE Hawthorn flies

Good work and more patience than I have. 

I really need to 'exercise' along the cliffs and get some of the sea birds nesting right now.  Loads of farmland species too.


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## Jeff15 (May 14, 2020)

Excellent shooting......


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## weepete (May 14, 2020)

Fujidave said:


> Cracking shot, nice and sharp in the right places.



Thanks Fujidave, I couldn't raise the lens and get the camera to autofocus fast enough so ended up having to pre-focus and shoot through the flight. Thankfully I got one decent frame! 



Space Face said:


> We've got them in the eves of our loft, right above our bed.  Bloody noisy buggers.  Used to have one a few years ago that sat in a tree in our front garden and I swear is sang the theme tune to the Adams Family TV show from way back when.
> 
> I was gonna say that looks like St Marks flies in it's gob until I realised that St Marks flies ARE Hawthorn flies
> 
> ...



Yes, they can be very noisy. I've got quite a lot of patience for this kind of thing. I guess years of fishing has rubbed off a bit  



Jeff15 said:


> Excellent shooting......



Thanks Jeff15, maybe one day I'll be able to get this kind of shot consistantly


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## Winona (May 14, 2020)

Very good shot!


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## Jeff G (May 14, 2020)

Pete, that is just plain awesome! I know how hard a good bif shot can be.


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## weepete (May 15, 2020)

Winona said:


> Very good shot!



Thanks Winona, I do like a backlit bird xD



Jeff G said:


> Pete, that is just plain awesome! I know how hard a good bif shot can be.



Thank you very much Jeff, it was tough even getting them in the viewfinder. I think my pre-focus was at 15 feet so it was about all I could do was use both eyes to track the bird and fire off 3 frames before they dissapeared onto the roof. Being that close meant good detail though, so worth the effort. Hopefully I'll get to try a few more before lockdown is over


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## Dean_Gretsch (May 15, 2020)

A very sharp and wonderful shot. Great job on this!


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## weepete (May 15, 2020)

Dean_Gretsch said:


> A very sharp and wonderful shot. Great job on this!



Thanks Dean, it's the first shot I've been excited about for a while so glad it went down well!


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## DarkShadow (May 15, 2020)

Cracking Sharp Shot  and a great sky too.


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## Photo Lady (May 15, 2020)

wow awesome shot in every way... wow...... so beautiful


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## Derrel (May 15, 2020)

This photo easily earned the winner badge from me.


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## Irishwhistler (May 15, 2020)

Good shooting.

Mike ☘️


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## weepete (May 15, 2020)

Derrel said:


> This photo easily earned the winner badge from me.



Wow, thanks mate! I know you don't often give out that accolade and when you do it's hard earned. You really know your photography. It's pretty awesome to get that from someone I really hold in very high regard. A major badge in my book! thanks!



Irishwhistler said:


> Good shooting.
> 
> Mike ☘️



Thanks Mike, I must admit I lucked our being so close. I'd love to do some house martins too but they are even harder to get.


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## Irishwhistler (May 15, 2020)

Weepete,
Wildlife / bird photography takes patience.  Put in the time and you will get your house martin shots.  You have the skill, just couple that with patience and some luck and you will capture some great images.

Cheers,
Mike


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## weepete (May 15, 2020)

DarkShadow said:


> Cracking Sharp Shot  and a great sky too.



Thanks DarkShadow, I must admit there is a little of the sky that's been cloned in the sake of composition. I do like to think it's pretty impercepatable 



Photo Lady said:


> wow awesome shot in every way... wow...... so beautiful



Thanks Photo Lady. Glad you liked it!



Irishwhistler said:


> Weepete,
> Wildlife / bird photography takes patience.  Put in the time and you will get your house martin shots.  You have the skill, just couple that with patience and some luck and you will capture some great images.
> 
> Cheers,
> Mike



Cheers Mike, I know you get it. The hunting thing is the same for me, though I'm more fishing orientated. Waiting, watching the natural behaviour is key. Thankfully I can sit focused on nature, or on rod tips for hours.  It's a time where I can focus with tunell like vision on nothing else around me but nature. Like when I go fishing, you need to feel the sea in your soul.


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## Irishwhistler (May 15, 2020)

weepete said:


> Cheers Mike, I know you get it. The hunting thing is the same for me, though I'm more fishing orientated. Waiting, watching the natural behaviour is key. Thankfully I can sit focused on nature, or on rod tips for hours. It's a time where I can focus with tunell like vision on nothing else around me but nature. Like when I go fishing, you need to feel the sea in your soul.



Aye Mate,
I do indeed "get it".  Hunting, fishing, sporting dogs, the outdoors, and natural resources conservation are a way of life for me.  I very much understand your point of view.

Cheers Mate,
Mike ☘️


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## goooner (May 16, 2020)

Great shooting!


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## weepete (May 16, 2020)

goooner said:


> Great shooting!



Thanks gooner!


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## Lonnie1212 (May 17, 2020)

Nice and sharp!  It is neat how the light illuminates the wing feathers.


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## weepete (May 18, 2020)

Lonnie1212 said:


> Nice and sharp!  It is neat how the light illuminates the wing feathers.



Thanks Lonnie, backlighting on birds can work really well, though it can be difficult to hold the exposure. I manually set it here using the shadows on my roof gutter as a reference point. Also you may be interested to note that this was taken at 300mm, with the bird 15-20ft away.


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## Lonnie1212 (May 18, 2020)

weepete said:


> Lonnie1212 said:
> 
> 
> > Nice and sharp!  It is neat how the light illuminates the wing feathers.
> ...



Sounds like you were well prepared for the shot.  Would make a nice picture on the wall anywhere.


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## K9Kirk (May 19, 2020)

Fantastic shot.


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## Alan Koop (May 19, 2020)

Outstanding shot!


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## weepete (May 20, 2020)

K9Kirk said:


> Fantastic shot.



Thanks K9Kirk!



Alan Koop said:


> Outstanding shot!



Thanks Alan!


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## gk fotografie (May 20, 2020)

weepete said:


> Got some starlings nesting on the roof, so I sat out on Sunday with my 150-600mm and tried to get some shots. They were very fast, so I had to resort to pre-focusing and trying to predict their flight path which was challenging! About 4 hours spent out and I got one single shot that's good enough to show. I'd not really been able to put my 5DmkIV to the test with birds since I bought it so it was good to give it a challengeand get back into the habit of using my long lens.
> 
> This is as one of the pair returned to the nest with a beak full of hawthorne flies, shot almost directly overhead.
> 
> ...



Great photo! Nominated* POTM*


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## weepete (May 20, 2020)

gk fotografie said:


> Great photo! Nominated* POTM*



Thanks gk! much appreciated


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## johngpt (May 20, 2020)

Brilliant image Pete!


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## weepete (May 20, 2020)

johngpt said:


> Brilliant image Pete!



Thanks John!


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## bulldurham (May 24, 2020)

Love it when you can hit on all 8 cylinders


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## weepete (May 25, 2020)

bulldurham said:


> Love it when you can hit on all 8 cylinders



Thanks mate, good when it works, eh!


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