Sea birds in flight

Not really being much of an expert of photographing birds in flight and after my recent trip to the Farne Islands, I thought I’d get a bit of practice in today at Marsden Rock off the coast of South Shields. At this time of year there is a lot of nesting birds on and around this outcrop – Fulmars, various Gulls, Crows and Cormorants and with the sun shining and a light breeze, it was ideal conditions. This is definitely a skill that needs a lot of practice, not just knowing the cameras focusing settings, exposures and lens techniques, but also knowing how the subject would behave. For the latter I realised the birds nearest to me were following a similar flight pattern and I positioned myself in a gap on the cliffs. Shooting down onto the birds made for a nicer backdrop and a more interesting view, unfortunately the mixed background and brief view of them as they flew below my view, (and not helped by their sudden twisting and turning) made for difficult focusing. After an hour and a half my images were getting better with my experience, however, hand holding a 500mm lens for that length of time meant my arms and wrist were aching and towards the end the ‘hit rate’ went down as a result.  Managed to get a few decent ones and will give it a bit more practice.