Great Spotted Woodpecker by Steve Young

 

 

We're in the midst of the nesting season at the moment and birds of all species are busy incubating eggs or feeding young. It's therefore a great time to be out in the field with your camera, as birds will be performing all manner of interesting behaviours that can make for a memorable shot. This can include birds toing and froing from the nest, as shown here in this terrific Great Spotted Woodpecker shot by Steve Young.

Steve evidently had this hole staked out and it was a case of playing the waiting game for a visit from one of the adult woodpeckers. Here, he has caught the female in a stunning pose as it leaves the nest, with wings spread wide and every detail of its plumage beautifully frozen due to a shutter speed of 1/3200. Thanks to the improvement in sensors, using ISO as high as 5,000 isn't much of a problem these days, with no distracting noise apparent and great colour reproduction in Steve's excellent shot. Congratulations on a fantastic capture!

 

Other notable images

 

European Turtle Dove, Undisclosed site, England (Joe Downing).

Black-tailed Godwit, La Sente, Jersey (Romano Da Costa).

Small Pratincole, Chambal River, India (Ian R Poxton).

Eurasian Oystercatcher, Marano Lagunare, Friuli-Venezia Giulia (Raffaele Cargnelutti).

Sanderling, Bardsey Island, Caernarfon (Jonathan Dodds).

Mallard, Strumpshaw Fen RSPB, Norfolk (Nick Clayton).

Goosander, Ladakh, India (Manish Panchal).

Greylag Goose, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire (Benji Stedman).

Great Northern Diver, Baltasound, Unst, Shetland (Robbie Brookes).

Gull-billed Tern, Røst, Nordland (Steve Baines).

Great Reed Warbler, Bidnija, Malta (Natalino Fenech).

Indigo Bunting, Whitburn, Durham (Frank Golding).

Woodchat Shrike, Dungeness RSPB, Kent (Shane Vale).

 

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