Embarking on a birdwatching adventure often requires a mix of patience,
resilience, and a keen eye for capturing the beauty of nature. Today,
I found myself on an eight-hour expedition to Los Toruños Park, driven
by the desire to secure the perfect picture for an upcoming
photographic competition. The journey covered a staggering twenty kilometres, leading me as well through the Algaida Pine forest and the Desamparados Saltpans, presenting both physical challenges and exciting encounters
with various bird species.
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| Oystercatcher |
My primary goal was to find the ideal shot that would stand out in the
upcoming competition. The day started with the rising sun casting a beautiful glow over the landscape, and my initial plan was to capture the elusive
Stonechat against the light. However, this proved to be a daunting task
without my trusty camouflage suit, making the birds skittish and the
perfect shot very challenging.
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| Female Stonechat |
In the end, one of the deliberately underexposed photos that I took of a male Stonechat, was one of the two pictures I sent in for the competition. I underexposed the photo by three stops to obscure the details in the plumage and to keep the silhouette with a white rim light. I was satisfied with the image, but felt there were opportunities there to take even better photos. Definitely a place to go back to one day, equipped with my ghillie suit.One of the most spectacular sights of the day was the massive flocks of
Oystercatchers and Whimbrels gracefully navigating the park's furthermost point, between the San Pedro river mouth and Levante beach.
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| A whole legion of Oystercatchers … |
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| … soon joined by an army of Bar-tailed Godwits |
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| After a little while the Godwits took off again to explore the bay |
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| Bar-tailed Godwits cruising in front of the Constitution bridge |
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| Before long the Oystercatchers followed their example … |
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| … and raced to the other side of the bay |
I just had to turn around to be amazed by another spectacular sight: over eighty Kentish Plovers were gathering in an area that was more or less protected by a fence. More or less, because I am not sure what happened to the fence, but it seemed like one side had been deliberately opened and a big part of the metal fence was even missing. For now it seemed safe enough to provide the birds with a quiet resting place, which also looked suitable for future breeding. |
| Some of the more than eighty Kentish Plovers |
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| Male Kentish Plover |
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| Grey Plover |
After I had spotted a pair of Grey Plovers just next to the colony of Kentish Plovers, I attempted a unique experiment to capture wader birds like Turnstones
and Sanderlings against the backdrop of the Constitution Bridge. Placing
my camera near the shore, I remotely pressed the shutter, anticipating
the perfect shot. However, the experiment proved treacherous as the
waves threatened to knock over my camera. The timing of the tides,
despite being meticulously researched, posed an unexpected challenge.
Unfortunately, this endeavour did not yield the desired results,
highlighting the unpredictable nature of wildlife photography. |
| A pair of Sanderlings looking for something edible on the shore |
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| Sanderlings wading in the shallow water |
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| One of our cameras, strategically positioned and equipped with a remote trigger |
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| One of the images that the camera on the sand captured |
In an attempt to get a perfect shot, what I feared eventually happened: the water did knock the camera over. Fortunately I was never far away and was able to prevent an approaching disaster. I decided to continue shooting manually, just as another flock of Oystercatchers were again on display.
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| One Oystercatcher at full speed announcing the rest of the flock … |
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| Here they come! |
After contemplating these huge groups of birds both in the air and on the shore for more than an hour, I continued my journey back along the beach. It is worth noting that beside the central trail that leads to this point, I also observed a Marsh Harrier and a big flock of Goldfinches. |
| Marsh Harrier |
As the day unfolded, the pursuit of the perfect shot led me to the Desamparados Saltpans, where gulls congregated. Here, I experimented with
underexposing the images, resulting in a stunning contrast between the
white feathers of the birds and the dark background of shrubs. It was an
unexpected success, and the resulting photograph emerged as the
standout image of the day, surpassing the initial Stonechat idea.
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| This pair of gulls finally starred in the standout image of the day, one I took seconds later with other settings |
Towards the end of my expedition, exhaustion was replaced by excitement
as I stumbled upon an ideal spot to photograph Kingfishers. Despite
capturing some exquisite images of these flying jewels, I realized that
they closely resembled previous competition winners.
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| Female Kingfisher |
Check out another visit to Los Toruños here.
Also have a look at the Bird Ringing report in the nearby Algaida forest.
