A Japanese Crane at Akan last week.
I have to admit I was there for the eagles really, although they are beautiful and elegant I find the cranes a little dull in their winter feeding areas, it is almost like a zoo.
It was also a little dark when we were there.
I got a few BIFs whilst I was wiaiting for the eagles to appear.......................
We stayed a night at Akan which was bitterly bitterly cold and also birdless. The next day we headed towards Rausu stopping at Notsuke on the way. Not many birds here either...........here's a young White Tailed Eagle.
I tried to reach another eagle but floundered badly in a snowdrift and had to be helped up.........
We arrived in Rausu in the late afternoon, there was another White Tailed Eagle on a lampost in the port............
Just offshore was this Bufflehead.........................the only lifer for me on the trip.
The harbour was mostly frozen but a few common ducks were swimming around including a small group of Harlequins..........
And lots of young Glaucous Gulls too.............
The main focus in Rausu was te boat trip out to the sea ice to see the eagles...............more of that to follow soon..................
Had a chuckle at that last shot!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment, yes it was a big big yawn.............
DeleteNo chuckles if that big Glauc got hold of you - great close-up. Never realised you got Bufflehead over there.Nice BIF and close-ups of the cranes. Hope it warms up for you soon. Couldn't stand that snow into March.
ReplyDeleteHi Phil, actually the Bufflehead is a vagrant over here so I was pleased to find it.
DeleteForgive me for suggesting it, but have you tried the old 'expose to the right' method in poorer light? I found it really helps. You'd be shooting at maybe a stop higher ISO than you'd normally be comfortable with, but then you pull down the exposure on the computer, and raise the shadows back up. That way, the shadows have less noise than if you underexpose and raise the exposure afterwards. Mind you, at web viewing size, it might not make much difference.
ReplyDeleteHi, I was not so bothered about the cranes like I say. I sometimes intentionally ETTR but to be honest exposure is a bit of a lottery for me.........................
DeleteI love the cranes, so am glad you included them. They are elegant and gangly in turn. Wonderful eagles, too. Looking forward to shots from your boat trip. Try to avoid frostbite!
ReplyDeleteThanks Wilma, well it is warmng up a little now.................
DeleteLove the crane close-up first up. Maybe like a zoo but I still want to visit someday. I guess it's like the monkeys in the hot spring at Nagano. Lots of tourists and no challenge part from getting there. Still great imagery.
ReplyDeleteHi Russell, that's true and of course the eagles are only at Akan and on the sea ice because people toss out fish for them..............
Delete