juvenile Black Tern on the local pits

Actually two juveniles present now for four days - very dull and raining this afternoon when it was closest 

juvenile Black Tern

 so long since I have seen a juv on the local pits rather than the distant Humber; proved tricky with light and distance not helping the AF but eventually patience, 4 hours, paid off - 

Black Tern bonanza

thanks to Andy for the tip about this Black Tern on the pits today -- having been to the eye clinic earlier the eyes were still dropped out so focussing was even harder than normal! You soon appreciate just how fast Black Terns fly, how small they actually area and how inadequate camera AF systems are against cluttered backgrounds in dull light and heavy drizzle -- 4 hours later and a few shots -- I settled on a camera / lens system that is light and yet has good quality two years ago now and although I still spend a lot of time swearing at the auto-focus I think the compromise in speed, image quality and file size plus the bonus of excellent high ISO performance, all these are at 1600 to 2500 ISO, are acceptable -- all with Canon 5D4, at 30M Pixels per image lots of room for cropping, superb high dynamic range and high ISO performance plus a good AF system, light weight, small batteries and the Canon 400 DO2 with and without the 1.4x converter, no noticeable image difference with the is converter -- a really easily hand holdable lens at about 2Kg it packs easily for travel and I can carry the combo all day without too much shoulder trouble!