River Birds - Little Egrets in flight + Curlew and some other stuff I don't recognise!

[Phal]

Some bird action from the nearby Adur river at low tide. First walkabout with the new monopod and lenscoat for the 200-400. I can tell I'll like the lenscoat for the winter since it'll keep my hands warm! It also blocks out some of the sun whilst I look into the view finder if I want it to

1- One found a crab to munch on and the other looks like he/she's running to see if they can get some
Mine Mine Mine by Phal44, on Flickr

2- Shots like this are a reason why I'll probably get the 7d2. The AF on the 70d isn't bad but it does get rather easily confused when there's stuff in the background that isn't miles away.
Little Egret In Flight by Phal44, on Flickr

3- More Little Egret Action
Little Egret In Flight 2 by Phal44, on Flickr

4- These little buggers are quick and rather erratic flyers! Another where I'd like to see how the 7d2 performs
Flying Low by Phal44, on Flickr

5- More annoying background stuffs!
Little Egret In Flight 5 by Phal44, on Flickr

6- Alone in a sea of mud
Muddy Sea by Phal44, on Flickr

7- More Top Gun flying
Coming in Low by Phal44, on Flickr

8- Softened this one since it's all white! Now it's white and fluffy
Little Egret In Flight 6 by Phal44, on Flickr

 

[Phal]

9- Nice and sharp @400mm without the extender in. I don't really notice a difference generally when I have the extender in or not but I swear this looks a little sharper because I know it wasn't in
Little Egret In Flight 7 by Phal44, on Flickr

10- Muddy feet
Little Egret In Flight 14 by Phal44, on Flickr

11- First time I've caught these on photo It's hard for me to see this shot without imagining it going "cahcawwww cahcawwww" in my head. He/she was actually pretty vocal when they landed there. They didn't seem sure what I was or what I was doing since I was sat down pretty still on some old bit of boat that was sticking out of the mud and was relatively clean.
Curlew by Phal44, on Flickr

12- He/she investigating when they landed
Curlew 2 by Phal44, on Flickr

13- I've ended up de-saturating the hell out of the rest of the shot here because that damn bird just seemed to melt into the mussels otherwise!
Seafood? by Phal44, on Flickr

14- Fishing step 1 - strike!
Fishing Is A Spectator Sport 1 by Phal44, on Flickr

15- Fishing step 2 - hope you got the fish?
Fishing Is A Spectator Sport 2 by Phal44, on Flickr

16- Fishing step 3 - Look smugly over at the Seagull with your fish
Fishing Is A Spectator Sport 3 by Phal44, on Flickr

 

[BillN_33]

Really good variety of birds seen there Etienne, looks like you had a good day ……… is that the Nikon 200 400mm VR that you have used, if so how did you get on with it's weight on a monopod?

I had to look up were the Adur river was, first time I've heard of the place

 

[Phal]

Na it's the Canon 200-400mm Shots here are a mix of with and without the builtin 1.4x extender. I had a quick check online and it seems the Canon is a touch heavier by a few hundred grams. I don't really find the weight an issue unless I'm trying to handhold it for more than a few minutes lol. At 560mm it gets quite a challenge to hold perfectly steady but luckily the IS is good

Adur river is what goes through Shoreham by Sea (just west of Brighton) for those who are unaware link:

http://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/seenature/reserves/guide/a/adurestuary/about.aspx