During a coot chase I can seldom see both birds in my photos. In part of this series I can. The following five images are presented in the order they were taken with no skips.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
Photographing coot chases is fun and it’s great practice for the photographer to boot. Yesterday afternoon I noticed this American Coot assume a threat posture (stubby tail held vertically and head and neck low on the water) so I quickly focused on it and fired away as it accelerated rapidly in the direction of another nearby coot. Here the bird is just beginning its attack and is still rising up out of the water.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
Now those legs are really churning and the bird obviously has mayhem on its mind.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
The intended victim had been peacefully munching away on some “salad” when it made the mistake of coming in too close. It didn’t abandon the snack when it started to make its getaway.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
I like the way the aggressor is leaning into a turn as it attempts to cut the other coot off at the pass.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in
This is the last shot I got before the bodies of the two birds intersected and the coot on the right was obscured. A fight never resulted from the encounter and about five seconds after this shot was taken the coot with the snack was calmly munching away on its meal.
Note to photographers: In situations like this I can’t tell you how many times I’ve cut wings off as soon as they’re raised vertically as the chase begins. Only seconds before this encounter I did it again. So this time I finally had the presence of mind to lower my active focus point (rather than using my default center focusing point) and doing so made all the difference by giving me more room up top. There’s no doubt in my mind that if I hadn’t lowered it I’d have clipped or cut off wings.
Now if I can only remember to do it in the future…
Ron
Ron,
Nice tip.
Stephen
I think in another life, I may have bedn a coot….
🙂
Those coots are really aggressive. Sometimes when I clip a tip I crop a bigger chunk off to make it look intentional.
I’ve heard of that as a strategy for dealing with it, Ken.
I love coots! Their feet look like they’re inflatable rubbery things. I’m always on the lookout for coots perched out of the water to try and capture those feet in detail.
Terrific action series, Ron! Spring is fast approaching and they’ll become even more aggressive than normal. As you’ve demonstrated in the past, those cute feet can be very effective weapons.
That was a great tip on lowering the focus point. Then you went and spoiled it by saying I’d have to remember stuff. Sigh. What day is it???
That’s a bummer, Wally, isn’t it – remembering stuff!
You might check out the Sony A9 autofocus at continuous shooting – it tracks the subject. . 20 frames per second…
Don’t think I’ll be moving to Sony…
Wonderful photos. Even better, your commentary! Love the play by play! Thank you for my morning giggle, Ron! I always look forward to your emails, photos, comments and tips.
Thanks very much, Melanie.
Clipped wings I can relate .. but still Awsome series .. things happen so fast .. that I fail to react sometimes .. love your pictures so and can’t wait for cutie ( cootie) baby Pictures…
Ha, those coot babies are a sight to see.
Coots are territorial little assholes, aren’t they! 😉 Fabulous job catching the action and I love your description. Mayhem vs. Salad — now that’s a fight I’d gladly Pay-Per-View for!
“Coots are territorial little assholes, aren’t they?”
That’s it in a nutshell, Marty – perfectly said. And when they’re feeding the “territories” they defend are fluid and constantly changing so there’s a lot of conflict as they all try to keep track of the moving boundaries.
Ron: What a neat trick (lowering the focus point). Thank you.
And it actually works, Richard! The real trick is remembering to set it back when you’re through with that type of shot.
WOW! You REALLY nailed the series of photos and captured how they really have at it! 🙂 “Remembering” in the heat of the moment can be a challenge… 😉 Then remembering to change it back when you’re done…. 😉 The aggresser has obviously had “practice” doing the turn.
“Remembering” in the heat of the moment can be a challenge”
Yes, it certainly can, Judy. The other issue is I’m usually photographing other birds while waiting for coot action. For birds in flight my muscle memory automatically assumes my active focus point is the center one so when it isn’t I often struggle getting my active focus point on the bird.