Pintail by Norman West
Photographing ducks in flight used to be extremely difficult; it’s still difficult even though the digital age has made it slightly easier, but it still takes a lot of skill to capture a pair in flight as Norman West has managed with his winning shot of Pintail.
Both birds have been caught with wings outspread rather than on the down beat, which is something a little different and a blue sky background adds to the image.
Congratulations to Norman who used a 500mm lens shooting at 1/5000th second at f6.3 on ISO400 to take his winning shot; maybe the next few weeks will see some early migrant shots posted to leave the winter months behind.
You can read more on bird photography from Steve Young, including product reviews and a regular Photo Challenge for readers, every month in Birdwatch magazine.
Other notable images
Short-eared Owl, India (Photo: Vipul Ramanuj)
Dunlin, Slimbridge WWT, Gloucestershire (Photo: Pete Blanchard)
Kumlien's Gull, Canada (Photo: Richard Smith)
Twite, Cuckmere Haven, East Sussex (Photo: Mark Leitch)
Kingfisher, undisclosed site, Worcestershire (Photo: Kirk Macey)
Dartford Warbler, undisclosed site, Suffolk (Photo: Nick Appleton)
Redwing, Denmark (Photo: Morten Scheller Jensen)
Yellow-browed Warbler, Tehidy CP, Cornwall (Photo: Ben Williams)
Little Owl, Standish, Greater Manchester (Photo: Roy Rimmer)
Barn Owl, Stow, Lincolnshire (Photo: Col Scott)
Siberian Chiffchaff, Sandhurst, Berkshire (Photo: JerryBird)
Sparrowhawk, Snettisham (village), Norfolk (Photo: Les Bunyan)
