Gone fishing…

I was monitoring this Black-winged Stilt at the Pensthorpe reserve here in Norfolk when its probing of the water happened on this tiny fish. It took the fish further into its beak and then, just as it seemed to be considering downing it in one, it popped it back into the water. The Stilt (Himantopus himantopus) – which, from a little research, I see bred in the UK for the first time in 2008 – usually selects crustaceans and insects from the menu, so I can only assume this lucky fish was simply not to its liking.

Canon 1Ds MkII, Canon 100-400mm IS USM lens, 1/2,700th sec, f/5.6, 400mm at ISO 800

Canon 1Ds MkII, Canon 100-400mm IS USM lens, 1/2,700th sec, f/5.6, 400mm at ISO 800