It was very windy when I shot this beauty at Oregon Inlet in April. All the birds were keeping close to shore to avoid the wind. I liked the reflections of the reeds close to shore in the water.
What type of bird is this ? I checked my bird resources and have not been able to identify it. This was my first time seeing this bird at Nags Head. I need you experts to weigh in. Thanks in advance.
Nikon D500, Nikon 200-500, ISO 1250, F8, 1/1250th
Looks to be some kind of coot. Possibly a juvenile, but I’m no expert. I like the ripply water, too. The lack of a defined reflection is nice to keep the viewer focused on the bird. The shadow of the beak is a little weird and could be carefully cloned, but it’s natural so you may want to keep it. A touch of dehaze on the beak might be nice as well as a radial filter to up the exposure in the eye a bit. Cool little bird.
I find images like this very pleasing with the reflected foliage in the water and a bird swimming through the water. Nice look at the bird as well. According to Merlin (I’m no expert) this is an immature Common Gallinule.
Very cool catch here. I’m pretty sure this is a juvenile American Coot. Great catch.
Hi Andrew
My Nation Geographic Field Guide to Birds, has this bird as a wintering Common Moorhen. The only nit I have with photograph is, the head room. Was there something in the head room that you fond distracting? Nice looking bird, what ever name you call it.
Peter
Thanks for the input. It is hard to see but the ripples in the water in front and around the bird are what I wanted to show in the image. To me, it adds a bit of interest to the reflections of the reeds on shore. Always try to learn from each post.
