Black-bellied Storm Petrel by Martin Schuck
The seabird photo season looks to have reached a climax with this stunning shot of Black-bellied Storm Petrel taken off Lanzarote by Martin Schuck. This seems to be the area in the Western Palearctic to see and photograph this species, although with only three records it could hardly be called guaranteed.
Frozen in time just as it is diving down towards the water to feed, this lovely capture shows the main identification features for such a mega-rare record. Beautiful light has allowed a shutter speed of 1/1250th to be used, with a 500 mm lens wide open at f4 aperture, and the ISO set at 500. The photographer has also done well to keep a lens of this size steady on a boat.
Congratulations to Martin on his Photo of the Week. We are now in full autumn photography mode and I'm looking forward to all your seasonal images being posted.
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
Purple Sandpiper, Filey, North Yorkshire (Photo: Billy Harbottle)
Kestrel, Kingsdown, Kent (Photo: Steve Ray)
Hobby, Winterton Dunes NNR, Norfolk (Photo: Mick Davis)
Jabiru, Brazil (Photo: Trevor Ellery)
Kingfisher, undisclosed site, Worcestershire (Photo: Chris Sandys)
Green Sandpiper, Strumpshaw Fen RSPB, Norfolk (Photo: Mick Davis)
Cuckoo, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, Northumberland (Photo: Heiko Peters)
Cory's Shearwater, Scilly pelagic, Isles of Scilly (Photo: Joe Pender)
Nuthatch, Llandrindod Wells, Powys (Photo: Kev Joynes)
Black Tern, Farmoor Reservoir, Oxfordshire (Photo: Pete Blanchard)
White-rumped Sandpiper, Filey, North Yorkshire (Photo: David Aitken)
Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Marazion, Cornwall (Photo: Jaz)
Coal Tit, Whinfell Forest, Cumbria (Photo: Clive Daelman)
