Black-winged Stilt

I confess to not having known a great deal about this graceful wader prior to having taken this shot. I know now that it is only a rare visitor to Britain (between April and Setember) and it has bred here. What I was drawn to through the camera lens was the bird's utter elegance, stunning livery (the black wing feathers have an almost satin sheen) and, of course, that fortuitous water droplet at the end of its beak.


Canon 1DS MkII, 1/250sec, f8, 298mm at ISO 200