Muriwai and the Gannets

We just had a long weekend here in NZ and I figured it was time to dust off the long lens and head down to the coast to get some bird shots. 

When I was growing up back home I really enjoyed my bird watching and have a pretty good knowledge of Southern African Birds….. my knowledge of Kiwi birds leaves a little bit to be desired I must say.  Living in Auckland gives me immediate access to a range of different habitats within easy drive from home though so with this in mind I headed out to Muriwai, a beach out on the west coast that has a fairly large Gannet colony during the summer months.

Being a west coast beach it is predominately black sands and the weather out there can get pretty wild, luckily for me though it was an outstanding day so there was no worries of some dodgy weather slipping in unannounced.

Now it has been a while since I used my long lens.  A year to be exact so man did I have my work cut out for me!  I knew the birds that were flying would be shooting along at a fair pace so those were going to be a challenge for me to get sharp especially as I am now getting used to my focus button being on the back of the camera instead of linked to the shutter button.  For me though that is where the fun is, getting to grips with something new while reacquainting myself with my long lens.

Returning with nest building materials - 313mm, f/6.3, ISO 100, 1/500sec

So I decided to start out on birds that were further away from me.  I figured I could track them better and have more frame to work with and give space for the bird to move in.  This is one of the first sharp images I got - tracking gannets is hard work I had countless frames of perfectly in focus rocks or sea with a white blurry blob intruding in the frame!!

Cruising above the colony - 313mm, f/6.3, ISO 100, 1/1000sec

Here is another gannet just cruising above the colony. I'm not 100% happy with his position in the frame as i would have preferred more frame for the bird to 'fly into' as-it-were but I like how the shot turned out. The viewing platforms either side of the colony are above the level of the colony so this is why most of the shots look down on the birds which is not ideal but you can still get some great shots of the birds as they ride the up drafts pushing up the cliff face from the sea below.

In tight - 313mm, f/6.3, ISO 100, 1/1250sec

Finally I braved a close up bird!!  The hardest thing in getting this shot was trying to pick a bird that was heading towards the viewing platform then was going to bank just before it.  Now that sounds simple but believe me it is no cake walk!  The birds circle around the colony using the up drafts and can turn fairly sharply and glide at a surprisingly fast pace.  Once you have selected a bird keeping it in focus is the next trick, especially ensuring the eye is sharp as that is a crucial element of any wildlife photography.  After what felt like a zillion botched shots with a blurry tail or no bird at all I got this one.  I am pretty happy with the result, the entire bird in the frame would have been better but I still think this is a compelling image.

Hopefully the missus likes these - 164mm, f/5, ISO 100, 1/320sec

Feeling happy with what I had got flight wise I decided to look to the other side of the picture.  The birds were in full nest building mode and were making use of coastal vegetation above the beaches.

The neighbourhood - 340mm, f/6.3, ISO 100, 1/1250sec

The shot above is a section of the colony below the viewing platform.  The gannets have three areas they make use of for their nests and one is pretty spectacular as it is a large rock that rises up out of the sea and is completely separate from the main land.

Sitting on the nest - 500mm, f/6.3, ISO 100, 1/800sec

It seems such a harsh area to raise young chicks in.  Here this bird is perched right on the edge of the cliff with a massive drop to the rocks and sea below and yet the young with grow up safe and content in the nest.  Nature is truly amazing sometimes!

Mating pair - 500mm, f/6.3, ISO 100, 1/400sec

It is really interesting watching how the birds interact with each other as well.  Gannets mate for life and watching the birds they seem to go through 'rituals' when they meet each other.  The two above were mimicking movements, as if they were dancing with each other.

Time to head home - 18mm, f/22, ISO 100, 1/100sec

 
After I had finished up with photographing the birds I headed down to the beach on Maori Bay to hunt out a spot to shoot the sunset from.  Unfortunately (from a sunset photography point of view) it was a glorious blue sky day with only a few whispy clouds trespassing so any thoughts of a dramatic sunset with 'fire in the sky' were quickly forgotten.  I was able to quickly grab this shot of a group of gulls skimming over the beach which I am pretty pleased with.  I saw the birds approaching off to my left so I threw up my tripod real quick and got a pretty decent composition in the end.

It was such a worth while afternoon out on the west coast and great fun re-acquainting myself with my long lens and trying to capture some shots of these interesting birds.

I hope you enjoyed this if you have stuck around till now, thanks for dropping by!