Penduline Tit by Lee Fuller
"A seriously smart bird" was how Lee Fuller described this Penduline Tit and you have to say that he is spot on, both with the description and his superb photo!
Photographing Penduline Tits is very much hit and miss. They can be very mobile and secretive, photo opportunities often dependent on which reedmace patch they choose to feed in, but Lee has taken full advantage of his 'hit' opportunity. The light doesn't look to have been that great with ISO1000 only giving a 1/400th second shutter speed at f5.6 on a 500mm lens with a 1.4× converter attached, but the image is still sharp and the diffuse background just sets the whole image off nicely.
Congratulations to Lee on his Photo of the Week; he becomes the 49th winner this year with Penduline Tit the 45th different species represented.
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
Grey Plover, Turf, Devon (Photo: Charlie Fleming)
Yellow-browed Warbler, Broadsands, Devon (Photo: Steve Ray)
Hoatzin, Guyana (Photo: Phil Ellis)
Hoopoe, Hinksford, Staffordshire (Photo: Keith Mallett)
Buller's Albatross, New Zealand (Photo: John Anderson)
Shore Lark, Hartlepool Headland, Cleveland (Photo: Chris Downes)
Goosander, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire (Photo: Tony Kinder)
Siskin, Fillingham Lake, Lincolnshire (Photo: Col Scott)
Rufous-breasted Chat-Tyrant, Colombia (Photo: Trevor Ellery)
Black Kite, India (Photo: Andrew Moon)
Short-eared Owl, undisclosed site, Lincolnshire (Photo: David Newby)
