Bringing home the bacon - Puffin, Farne Islands
Puffins feed their chicks primarily with small marine fish several times a day. The prey species of the Atlantic puffin include the sandeel, herring and capelin...
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Puffins feed their chicks primarily with small marine fish several times a day. The prey species of the Atlantic puffin include the sandeel, herring and capelin.
The puffins are distinct in their ability to hold several (sometimes over a dozen) small fish at a time, rather than regurgitating swallowed fish. This allows them to take longer foraging trips, since they can come back with more food energy for their chick than a bird that can only carry one fish at a time.
This is made possible by the unique hinging mechanism of their beak, which allows the upper and lower biting edges to meet at any of a number of angles.
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The puffins are distinct in their ability to hold several (sometimes over a dozen) small fish at a time, rather than regurgitating swallowed fish. This allows them to take longer foraging trips, since they can come back with more food energy for their chick than a bird that can only carry one fish at a time.
This is made possible by the unique hinging mechanism of their beak, which allows the upper and lower biting edges to meet at any of a number of angles.
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Jul, 2017Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in the Farne Islands in Northumberland, United Kingdom. I took a ferry from the port of Seahouses to visit the Farne Islands which is a protected National Trusts reserve.Time
This was taken in the afternoon around 2 PM after having a not so great morning trying to catch these amazing birds in flight (they are damn fast), i got some good light in the afternoon.Lighting
The picture was taken with the sun at my back to get the subject front lit. This helped the camera acquire focus which is very difficult with this fast moving birds.Equipment
I used a Canon EOS 80D and a Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 lens which is a heavy monster but quite sharp. This shot was handheld.Inspiration
I am a passionate bird photographer. I have always been fascinated by Puffins because of their behaviour, habitat and they are just so damn cute. I have always wanted to get Puffin in flight shots and have managed a few times but never with fish in mouth which is something I always wanted.Editing
I always shoot in RAW. I just did some basic cropping, exposure, shadows/highlights etc.In my camera bag
The gear I always travel with: Canon 80D body Tamron 16 - 300 lens Tamron 150 - 600 lens Canon 50mm (nifty-fifty) lens Manfrotto Be-Free Tripod NiSi ND filters and Polariser Remote Shutter Lots of Memory cardsFeedback
The trick with birds in flight and specially fast and small birds like Puffins is to pre-focus on an area and then track them with half shutter press or back-button focus. Make sure your camera in on Continuous AF. Select AF point (centre) or the centre zone AF. Keep you camera in manual mode, set you aperture to f 5.6 or 6.3, keep a high shutter speed of 1/1600 at least. I usually let the ISO be at auto. It takes a lot of patience and some luck. All the best!
