An encounter with the magnificent White Tailed Eagle on Mull

The magnificent White Tailed Eagle on Mull by MBK Wildlife Photography

Happy Wild Bird Wednesday :0)

Click the link below to see photographs from many talented folk around the world and feast your eyes on our fine feathered friends!!

My apologies for many weeks without a post. Normal posting will be resumed from today, but I have been struggling with health issues.

A few weeks ago I drove from Kent to the Isle of Mull, one of the “Inner Hebrides” islands off the west coast of Scotland in search of Otters!

Mull is a wildlife enthusiast’s dream as (notwithstanding Seals, Dolphins, Otters and Minke Whales), it is one of the very few places in the UK where you can see the White – Tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla)

This is the largest bird in the UK and less than 100 can be found in the UK

It has a wingspan of more than 8 feet and is similar in size the the American Bald Eagle. They are also known as the Sea Eagle and primarily feed on fish, but will take lambs, otters and any other creature unfortunate to be spotted by these huge predators!

The sheer cliffs of Granite, interspersed with Grass and Heather provide the rugged natural background
A truly awe inspiring example of wildlife to encounter!!

I have been fortunate to have been able to travel to some remarkable parts of the world in my time, to see magnificent wildlife, but this really does rank pretty much at the top of all these amazing experiences :0)

Black Headed Gull, Rye Harbour, Kent, England

Black Headed Gull Rye Harbour Kent

Happy Wild Bird Wednesday :0)

Click the link below to see photographs from many talented folk around the world and feast your eyes on our fine feathered friends!!

I have barely been out with my camera for the last few months but have been looking through some of my archives. I stumbled across this one from my first proper day out just after I got my first DSLR in June 2012. Here we have a Black Headed gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) a small gull with amber status, but common on the Kent Coast in England, where I took this in Rye Harbour. I do like this shot (especially as it was on my first “proper” day out with a DSLR (!) and was surprised not to have shared it before. I love the bokeh backdrop of waves and breakers and the position of the wings in gliding/hovering mode and the angle of the head with the drop of water on the tip of the beak.

Taken with the wonderful Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens on my Canon 7D. I am eagerly awaiting the arrival, if the rumours are well founded, of the canon 7D mark ii. I appreciate there are advantages with Full frame DSLRs, but the extra reach afforded by cropped frame for wildlife is something I see as an advantage with a cropped frame (1.6X on the Canons). though some say cropping from a full frame is at least as good image quality wise. The 7D has served me well and I have shots which I am very proud of, but I have many buried on my hard drive never to see the light of day. My main gripes are the noise above 800 ISO and the focus which is a trifle hit and miss. Sometimes it deals with tricky shots perfectly but fails miserably on static objects!!

There are more rumours about a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM mark ii. To be honest, I think I have not been good enough for Santa to get me both for Christmas, but a second body would be rather wonderful :0)

Beautiful black swans in flight

Beautiful Black Swans in flight

A shot from my Son’s”best day ever”!

We took a boat trip around the lake at the Mareeba Wetlands, Queensland , Australia, and there were several black swans (Cygnus atratus) gracefully paddling as swans do. I had assumed that all their plumage was pure black and only when these 2 appeared in flight did I see that the front third or so of the wings are pure white, which disappears entirely the moment they touch down.

the background shows a shallow fringe of reeds, Eucalyptus trees and the lighter patches are huge termite mounds

Taken from the boat with the Canon 7D and my favourite Wildlife lens, the Canon 100-400 mm F/4.5-5.6 EF L IS USM Lens

As for me, it has to be one of my best days ever too :0)

PS it is Harvey’s 12th Birthday today, so this ones for him 🙂