Dunlin

Finally - the most-sought, full-extension, top-side bank! These guys are very small and fly hella fast, so just getting them onto the sensor is a victory. Their erratic flight compounds the challenge, and anticipating a turn - let alone a fun bank like this - is impossible while looking through the lens. I just try to get the lens squared on a straight-flying bird and hope it does something cool before the camera loses focus. This guy banked just as he came around a small rock pile, and I was lucky to get him entirely extended. It took a lot of misses but was worth the work. I needed every bit of my 1/50000 shutter to freeze this bird crisply. Interestingly, I captured a similar flight shot last year which has a more upswept pose and a smoother background. As much as I liked that frame - it made my tops frames of 2019 - I really wanted to complement it with a more elongated view. Now I gotta repeat this result with the bird in its prettier breeding plumage. Gotta wait for April to try for that. Stay tuned!

Foster City, San Mateo County, California, 11/16/20
Canon 600mm f/4 IS II on EOS 1DX Mark II
1/5000 at f/5.6, ISO 640