Surprisingly my relatives expressed interest in seeing the Gyrfalcon and we spent an hour in Sawara. The Gyrfalcon was very obliging, sitting on various pieces of driftwood on the beach striking nice poses.
It was a bright day and it was pretty tame................
These shots are all handheld with the 500 f4, a tricky job in the biting strong wind from Siberia..........
I got some nice enough BIFs..............
I was standing outside about half an hour....................without gloves. When I got back to the car my hands were in bad shape and as they warmed up and circulation returned I endured 2 or 3 minutes of quite intense pain.......................I was literally moaning in agony................
Thanks to my wife and relatives for indulging me and also to Koizumi-san for once again being very helpful.......................
Linked to Wild Bird Wednesday.
Great shots of the Gyr Falcon. I hope your hands have recovered without problems.
ReplyDeleteThanks, yes they were OK after 2 or 3 minutes but I will keep my gloves stuffed in my down parka pockets when I am out and about in winter......
DeleteHi Stuart. Wonderful shots of this lovely bird. I Am sure your relatives were Mazed at it just sitting there. Sorry to hear about your hands.
ReplyDeleteHi Margaret, my fingers recovered in super fast time..................but it didn't stop me moaning like a baby..........
DeleteJust wonderful!:) The Gyr Falcon did pose nicely for you. Glad your hands are OK!
ReplyDeleteHi, thanks for the comment. Yes it was a real poseur..........
DeleteWhat a cool looking bird! Nicely captured!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment Chris.........
DeleteWhat a treat! Amazing photos. I am far too familiar with that finger pain; hope to never experience it again, even for a few minutes.
ReplyDeleteHi Wilma..............gloves are the solution I think. Or at least remembering to put them on........
DeleteWhat a great subject, and so obliging! Lovely bird and awesome shots.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment Betty...........
DeleteReally great, Stu. You are so lucky it is so tame. Be careful of frostbite. I have learned not expose my skin even in Niigata. I had similar experience after riding a bike with exposed hands in the winter wind. Apart from the pain it gives one a nasty fright.
ReplyDeleteHi Russell,yes I was thinking how bad frostbite would be compared to my rather trivial experience.........
DeleteThe "heat burns" of cold hands growing warm are not a great thing to go through! Scotland, in the winter, climbing about on ice if I recall correctly!
ReplyDeleteThe Fairy Tern is a lot like the Little - but it has a shorted "eye stripe" and no dark / black outer primaries.
Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne
I've never spent much time in Scotland in winter, summer is cold enough...........
DeleteWOW!!! Great photos!!! Sorry about your hands. Ugh, the things we do, to get photos... :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment Anne, I think my big lens is damaging my shoulder too.........!!!
DeleteOh Ouch, I so know that feeling and you really do have to be careful...I have had so many times that I have thought, you are going to have permanent damage for doing this., WOW, you certainly got some outstanding images though, well worth the pain I suspect~
ReplyDeleteHi Mary, just about worth the pain I think........
ReplyDeleteAmazing shots really. I can't imagine a Gyr being "tame".
ReplyDeleteThanks Phil, it is a bit weird I grant you.
DeleteAmazing shots once again!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ayuwat. Hope it is still there a while longer.........
DeleteOne I never managed in Japan or anywhere else. Great shots Stu :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Sean. There must only be one or two a year in Japan and this one is ridiculously easy to see.
Delete