Corncrake
I remember about 35 years ago the RSPB photographer Chris Gomersall was dispatched to the Scottish Islands to take some photographs of Corncrake. His trip was a success, and he returned with several amazing photos, including one of a Corncrake emerging from the cover of an iris bed. I was totally envious at the time, and it has taken me 35 years to photograph this species myself. I have tried to find Chris's picture online, and failed, but it is on page 178 of Birds Britannica. I was blessed with early morning sunshine when I took this one near the Abbey on the Isle of Iona this spring. I was sitting, resting against a stone with my back to the sun when he cautiously emerged from the iris bed right in front of me. You can even see the rusty tint to his iris and the subtle barring on his breast feathers that looks like a moiré pattern. I say "he" because he was calling, though the sexes look pretty similar. You can also see how early it was as the shadow of his head is at the same level as his head.
Corncrake
I remember about 35 years ago the RSPB photographer Chris Gomersall was dispatched to the Scottish Islands to take some photographs of Corncrake. His trip was a success, and he returned with several amazing photos, including one of a Corncrake emerging from the cover of an iris bed. I was totally envious at the time, and it has taken me 35 years to photograph this species myself. I have tried to find Chris's picture online, and failed, but it is on page 178 of Birds Britannica. I was blessed with early morning sunshine when I took this one near the Abbey on the Isle of Iona this spring. I was sitting, resting against a stone with my back to the sun when he cautiously emerged from the iris bed right in front of me. You can even see the rusty tint to his iris and the subtle barring on his breast feathers that looks like a moiré pattern. I say "he" because he was calling, though the sexes look pretty similar. You can also see how early it was as the shadow of his head is at the same level as his head.