Woodchat Shrike at Chew Valley Lake 2013

April 26, 2013 • 5 Comments

This gorgeous female woodchat shrike has been around for a week now and I've been fortunate enough to have a couple of sessions photographing it. This is a lifer for me and is a complete delight to watch as it flits about catching mainly bees. Apparently they can take larger prey items including small birds even though it isn't much bigger than a sparrow itself. One person I've spoken to has seen it impale insects on thorns, saving them for later, but I haven't been that lucky. Woodchat shrike 1 Woodchat Shrike - Lanius senator Woodchat shrike 2 Woodchat Shrike - Lanius senator Woodchat shrike 3 Woodchat Shrike - Lanius senator Woodchat shrike 4 Woodchat Shrike - Lanius senator Woodchat shrike 5 Woodchat Shrike - Lanius senator Woodchat shrike 6 Woodchat Shrike - Lanius senator Woodchat shrike 7 Woodchat Shrike - Lanius senator Woodchat shrike 8 Woodchat Shrike - Lanius senator Woodchat shrike 9 Woodchat Shrike - Lanius senator Woodchat shrike 10 Woodchat Shrike - Lanius senator Woodchat shrike 11 Woodchat Shrike - Lanius senator Woodchat shrike 12 Woodchat Shrike - Lanius senator

Keywords: Chew Valley Lake, female woodchat shrike, woodchat shrike

Comments

WildImaging

Hi Ian

Nothing very clever about shot 9 (the shrike in flight). I set the focus point to the top left of the frame and the shutter speed to allow me a chance of freezing the action and then pressed the shutter release when the birdie dived down. No focusing was going on during the shot and it's not really that sharp. I also did this a lot of times and this was the best of the bunch. In really bright light, I'd have had the shutter speed higher and the f stop higher to increase the depth of field. Ideally the bird would also have been flying parallel to the focus plane but that's asking a lot in a wild set up like this.

Cheers

Tim

Ian Thorp(non-registered)

Excellent images.

The 9th image is typically a situation where focus is a problem, on mine the branch would be in focus not the bird!!

Regards Ian

WildImaging

Thanks Nicky. :)

Nicky(non-registered)

Ohhh, stunning bird Tim and marvelous shots. I want a book of your photos! x

Liz Ardman(non-registered)

Lovely photos. Tim
Lovely bird.
But you wouldn't want it as a neighbour. Well not if you were a bird. Vicious.

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Woodchat Shrike at Chew Valley Lake 2013

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