Understanding an Ideal Black Skimmer Flight Situation

Your Call

Thanks for all the recent comments. Which of today’s five featured Black Skimmer action images is the strongest? All are invited to leave a comment and let us know why they made their choice. I have a favorite image that I like much better than the other four.

What’s Up?

Thursday morning was challenging with clear skies and a strong breeze from the SW blowing right at the sun. Being on the beach mega-early in that situation is of paramount importance. I got one of my favorite skimmer images ever, a quasi fire-in-the-mist shot that it there most every clear morning when the wind is coming from the wrong direction. But only if you know what to look for. I will share this special image with you here soon. I made some nice pre-dawn blurs, some good stuff on shorebirds chowing down on sand crabs, and enjoyed lots of chances on Common Terns in flight (cooperatively flying the “wrong way” way) with baitfish for their young. Tip: Shorebirds are not affected much by the wind when they are foraging.

On Thursday afternoon, old friend Carlotta Grenier hired me for an In-the-Field session to set up her two Sony A1 bodies and teach her to use her 600mm f/4 GM lens on a tripod with teleconverters. We had a fantastic session. I loaded my settings on her a1-s, taught her the various buttons and dials, how to toggle between my two AF methods, and how to set the right exposure every time using Zebras. She was a quick study. Once we got to the colony, she began making excellent images right off the bat. Carlotta could not believe how the AF system tracked the eyes of both the adult and young skimmers even in low light and with relatively distant subjects.

Today is Friday 5 August. The forecast is for partly to mostly cloudy with another SW wind. That is a much better forecast than sunny with a SW wind. I am headed to the beach very early in hopes of a spectacular sunrise with skimmer blastoffs. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, I hope that you too have a great day. This blog post took about two hours (including the time spent on optimizing five new images and on creating the diagram) to prepare and makes one hundred thirty-four days in a row with a new one.

So far, six folks have been in touch about joining me at either Nickerson or JBWR in the coming weeks. See the details below. Carlotta is returning next Monday for another In-the-Field session. Note that the first window for doing shorebirds at the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge is fast approaching. I will publish the exact dates for those In-the-Field sessions tomorrow.

Please remember to use the B&H and Amazon links that are found on most blog pages and to use the BIRDSASART discount code at checkout when purchasing your new gear from Bedfords to get 3% back on your credit card and enjoy free second-day air FedEx. Please, also, consider joining a BAA IPT. You will be amazed at how much you will learn!

Clockwise from the upper left corner back around to the center: Wilson’s Phalarope, JBWR; just fledged Common Tern, Nickerson; Black Skimmer, adult skimming, Nickerson; Black Skimmer killing tiny skimmer chick, Nickerson; American Oystercatcher foraging at sunrise, Nickerson; Common Tern chick swallowing baby bluefish, Nickerson; Short-billed Dowitcher, juvenile, double overhead wing stretch, JBWR; Black Skimmers, predawn flock blur, Nickerson; Black Skimmer, 10-day old chick, Nickerson. Click on the card to view a larger version. Nickerson Beach/East Pond JBWR composite

Nickerson Beach/East Pond at Jamaica Bay (JBWR) In-the Field Workshops

Both Nickerson Beach and the East Pond at JBWR offer some of the best midsummer bird photography on the planet. Hundreds of pairs or Black Skimmers and Common Terns along with more than a dozen pairs of American Oystercatchers breed at Nickerson each season so there are lots of chicks of all sizes and handsome fledged young to photograph. Provided that the water levels are low, hundreds of young shorebirds in their handsome fresh juvenile plumages stop by the pond each August on their way south.

Nickerson often reveals nature at it rawest, most basic level. Most days we get to photograph all sorts of dramatic behaviors ranging from skimmers and terns fishing and feeding (and tending) their you. There are often chances to shoot a variety of predatory encounters — gulls eating large skimmer chicks, skimmers eating skimmer babies, and Peregrine Falcons hunting. And rarely, if we are lucky, Peregrine Falcons catching! Consider joining me to learn a ton both about bird photography and the birds.

I am taking the Auto Train north on 31 July and will happily spend all of August on Long Island. I head south on 31 August and should be back home on 1 September (barring anything unforeseen). I am offering In-the-Field sessions at both Nickerson Beach and the East Pond at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. If you are interested, please get in touch via e-mail or text me at 863-221-2372.

Whether you are a local or would like to fly in for several days of instruction — a sort of private, or small group. — at worst, IPT, LMK via e-mail so that we can work on a schedule that could possibly include both Nickerson and Jamaica Bay.

The First DeSoto IPT

If you are interested in the first DeSoto IPT, 3 1/2 Days, Tuesday 27 September through the morning session on Friday 30 September 2022, know that I just reserved a three-bedroom AirBnB in Gulfport. Share it for four nights with many multiple IPT veteran Monte Brown and me and save a ton on lodging: $83.69/night/person for a whole home. AirBnB photos available upon request. If interested, shoot me an e-mail.

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BIRDS AS ART Image Optimization Service (BAA IOS)

Send a PayPal for $62.00 to birdsasart@verizon.net or call Jim at 863-692-0906 and put $62.00 on your credit card. Pick one of your best images and upload the raw file using a large file sending service like Hightail or DropBox and then send me the link via e-mail. I will download and save your raw file, evaluate the exposure and sharpness, and optimize the image as if it were my own after converting the raw file in Adobe Camera Raw. Best of all, I will make a screen recording of the entire process and send you a link to the video to download, save and study.

Induro GIT 304L Price Drop

Amazingly, we have two, brand-new-in-the-box Induro GIT 304L tripods in stock. They are $699.00 each (were $799.00) and the price now includes the insured ground shipping to the lower 48 states. Weekday phone orders only: 863-692-0906. Order yours here while they last.

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Diagram: Great Black Skimmer Situation

Understanding an Ideal Black Skimmer Flight Situation

I am standing at ME facing west. The sun is coming over my right shoulder and the wind is 60° from my right, east by northeast. A flock of about thirty skimmers had landed on the beach in front of me. Single birds are flying in from over the ocean to join the birds on the beach. Some skimmed for fish on the way in, others seemed to be taking a quick bath on the wing, splashing about in flight. As the birds came to sun angle, I fired away, trusting Tracking Zone. One or two or three birds as a time would walk out into the ocean, turn around and face into the wind, and begin bathing. There was a ton of action. When the skimmer action slowed for a minute or two, there were lots of Common Terns fishing in the shallow surf for sand crabs and a bit offshore for baitfish. The very best way to learn about the relationship of wind direction and sky conditions is to join an Instructional Photo-Tour.

This image was also created on 3 August 2022 at Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY. Again, standing in the shallow surf, I used used the no-longer available (except from BAA) Induro GIT 304L tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter, and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.. ISO 1250. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/3200 second at f/5.6 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 6:43:42am on clear sunny day Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version. Image #1: Incoming Black Skimmer splashing

A Swing and a Miss

I saw this behavior many times. I still am not sure if the birds were fishing and missing, or bathing on the wing. They sure made some big splashes, and they never caught a single fish.

This image was created on 3 August 2022 at Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY. Standing in the shallow surf, I used used the no-longer available (except from BAA) Induro GIT 304L tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter, and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.. ISO 1250. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/3200 second at f/5.6 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 6:43:44am on clear sunny day Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version. Image #2: Incoming Black Skimmer in early morning light with Atlantic blue background

Hard to Believe

When I saw the timestamps on the first two images, I was stunned. They were created in a two-second window. That means that the bird in Image #1 is the same bird in Image #2. Is there any additional proof that the subject in each image is one and the same?

This image was also created on 3 August 2022 at Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY. Again, standing in the shallow surf, I used used the no-longer available (except from BAA) Induro GIT 304L tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter, and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.. ISO 800. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/4000 second at f/5.6 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at7:20:16am on clear sunny day Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version. Image #3: Black Skimmer bathing

Bird Behavior is Often Repetitive

Knowing that bird behavior is often repetitive can help you to become a better photographer. If you miss an action or behavioral shot, be prepared — the same thing might happen again right in front of you. Know also that bathing birds will return to the same small area for as long as the depth remains constant.

This image was also created on 3 August 2022 at Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY. Again, standing in the shallow surf, I used used the no-longer available (except from BAA) Induro GIT 304L tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter, and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.. ISO 800. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/4000 second at f/5.6 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 7:13:27am on clear sunny day Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version. Image #4: Black Skimmer flapping after bath

What’s to Like?

I like the wing position, the light, the sharpness, the footsie positions, and that the breaking wave frames the image nicely.

This image was also created on 3 August 2022 at Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach, Long Island, NY. Again, standing in the shallow surf, I used used the no-longer available (except from BAA) Induro GIT 304L tripod/Levered-Clamp FlexShooter Pro-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens with the Sony FE 1.4x Teleconverter, and The One, the Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless Digital Camera.. ISO 800. The exposure was determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear wheel: 1/4000 second at f/5.6 (wide open) in Manual mode. AWB at 7:22:11am on clear sunny day Tracking: Zone/AF-C with Bird-Eye/Face Detection performed perfectly. Click on the image to enjoy the high-res version. Image #5: Black Skimmer flying back to the flock

Background and Background Clean-up

Dark wet sand is a killer background. The beach in this image was pretty clean as beaches go, but it was not pristine. I spent a good ten minutes with the Patch Tool and Content-Aware Fill making it pretty much immaculate. All as detailed in Digital Basics II.

Typos

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