Rare occurrance

[David Morison]

Two pairs of rare Garganey duck flew into my patch yesterday, only the third time on record, probably all the way from tropical Africa. This attractive cousin of the teal only breeds in small numbers in the UK, probably less than 100 pairs and is usually quite secretive so it was a privilege to see them. They were mainly hunkered down almost hidden around 100 metres away so my shots are not exactly top notch but the combination of the E-M5 and Canon 400mm in MF mode gave a good account of itself. The 7D with the same lens using AF did not do so well.

The Drake:



David

[Pops]

Re: Rare occurrance

I'll bet that made your day.
Can't say I have even heard of them. Looks very attractive.

[Ian]

Re: Rare occurrance

David, you're in the thick of it at the moment

Do you think the unusual weather has had anything to do with the strange pattern of bird arrivals that seems to be happening?

Any idea why the 7D didn't perform so well here?

Ian

[David Morison]

Re: Rare occurrance

I am not sure, of course the lens gives extra reach on the E-M5 but that isn't the whole story. It could be function of AF because of course using MF on the E-M5 with magnification means focus is spot on - must try MF with the 7D but that would mean using LV, not ideal for birds.

David