Clown of the ocean, a photo from Antrim, Northern Ireland

Photographer's Note

Since I have only realized that those beautiful creatures may be seen in Ireland I dreamed about watching them. One of the best places to see them here is most probably the Rathlin Island not far from the Giants Causeway in the Northern Ireland. There are several ferries per day from Ballycastle. Passenger ferry takes approximately 30 minutes to reach the island. There are buses which take you straight from the ferry to the RSPB Seabird Centre (about 5 miles). RSPB volunteers are very kind and helpful. They are there to help you, you can use their telescopes and binoculars for free and you can chat with them asking about the birds whatever you want all they long. It was raining in the morning and we were not sure if it is a good idea to go there but all locals were telling us that this is actually a good weather as for Northern Ireland.
They say the bird colony hosts 80,000 guillemots, 20,000 kittiwakes, 10,000 razorbills, 1,000 fulmars, and 700 puffins. Volunteers will teach you how to distinguish between them and they can teach you respective bird’s name in your own language (!) Keep in mind that the birds are just visitors here. Puffins may be spotted here April-July. Rest of the time they spent at sea and we heard they lose feathers in that time.

Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica) is a seabird species in the auk family. It is a pelagic bird that feeds primarily by diving for fish, but also eats other sea creatures, such as squid and crustaceans. Its most obvious characteristic during the breeding season is its brightly coloured bill. Also known as the Common Puffin, it is the only puffin species which is found in the Atlantic Ocean. The curious appearance of the bird, with its colourful huge bill and its striking piebald plumage, has given rise to nicknames such as "clown of the ocean" and "sea parrot"

The Atlantic Puffin is 26–29 centimetres in length (bill 3–4 cm), with a 47–63 centimetres wingspan. The male is generally slightly larger than the female, but they are coloured alike. This bird is mainly black above and white below, with grey to white cheeks and red-orange legs. The bill is large and triangular and during the breeding season is bright orange with a patch of blue bordered by yellow at the rear. The characteristic bright orange bill plates grow before the breeding season and are shed after breeding. The bills are used in courtship rituals, such as the pair tapping their bills together. During flight, it appears to have grey round underwings and a white body; it has a direct flight low over the water. The related Horned Puffin (Fratercula corniculata) from the North Pacific looks very similar but has slightly different head ornaments.

Ricx, jlbrthnn, jlbrthnn, nikkitta, Sonata11, jhm, timecapturer, sacimar, macjake, raszid62, rodgerg, ptiza, Kofman, Longroute, s_lush, COSTANTINO, PaulVDV marcou esta nota como útil

Critiques | Translate

emka (157292) 2011-07-11 8:56

Witaj,

Wreszczie udało Ci sie zobaczyć maskonury, czy Ci sie nie zobiło wstyd, ze ja już widziałam, chociaz byłam krótko w UK, a Ty nie?? Zartuję, ale moze trochę zmobilizowałam. Ale to wspaniałe pzezycia, widzieć je tak blisko. Śliczny!!!

Pozdrawiam M.

janusz2054 (2) 2011-07-11 10:18

Czesc Mariusz

Swietny portret maskonura.
Precyzyjnie wycioles waski pas ostrosci. Kapitalna glebia,rewelacyjna ostrosc w glownym temacie.
Pozdrawiam
Janusz

Ricx (13495) 2011-07-11 10:59

Hi Maurisz, a fascinating bird.. it must have been exciting to see them so close up.. .. you have caught them with such detail.. an excellent note. well done Rich

jlbrthnn (76043) 2011-07-11 15:15

Good evening Mariusz,
The title is meaning. The bird is outstandingly photographed. The light, the colors, the vagueness are pleasant. Excellent photo. Bravo.
Good evening.
Good night
Cordially
Joël

fabianoleite (13575) 2011-07-11 17:08

Very good close-up with great details and great colors, and good blurring of the background. Congratulations!

nikkitta (17070) 2011-07-11 18:22

Hola Mariusz,

Never see such a bird, he is looking at you it seems to me, must be fun watching him so close, like the creative title
Also the way you blur the BG
Great work

Greetings

Maria
By the way are you now visiting Ireland?

Sonata11 (34119) 2011-07-11 18:26

Witaj Mariusz,
sliczny, uroczy maskonur. Co za milusinski ptaszek, az chcialoby go sie poglaskac. Wyglada jak maskotka. Sliczne, wspaniale zdjecie. Moje gratulacje.
Serdecznie pozdrawiam,
Barbara

jhm (211734) 2011-07-12 3:30

Witaj Mariusz

These puffin has you nice placed in the corner he look a little bit to the backside, this gives a wonderful image.
Composition and presentation are very well. TFS.

Best regards,
John.

timecapturer (49288) 2011-07-12 5:29

Hi Mariusz
a wonderful shot of my favourite little bird. Such beautiful detail and so captivating. I love it! Excellent!

Enjoy the week - regards, Brian

sacimar (38173) 2011-07-12 10:08

Hello Mariusz,

good image of this interesting bird, I like the colors, it's a good nature composition with great details, well seen and thanks for the information,

Best regards,

Sergio

mauro61 (53411) 2011-07-12 10:14

ciao Mariusz,
simpatico animaletto colto dal tuo occhio attento.
Ottima resa dell'immagine con lo sfondo sfocato a concentrare l'attenzione su di esso,
saluti
maurizio

Silvio1953 (220775) 2011-07-12 12:01

Ciao Mariusz, great capture of fantastic bird with fine details, excellent sharpness, splendid light and wonderful natural colors, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

Fis2 (169903) 2011-07-12 14:10

Witaj Mariusz!
Co to za zmiana zainteresowania ;)
Ciekawy ptak.
Super kolorowy dziobek ;)
Pozdrawiam
Krzysztof

macjake (98262) 2011-07-12 17:12

Hi Mariusz
awwwww.....the Puffin!
being born and raised in Newfoundland, I know the Puffen very well. hecks, its NFLD's provincial bird!
so cute, so likeable.
its a shame that some people in NFLD and in ICELAND hunt and eat these gorgeous birds.
I had the fortunate experience to witness these birds up close while whale watching.
Your photo here turned out very well, these little guys are very hard to photograph.
you're tele lens did a great job in capturing the birds Eye, thats the most important part. gotta love that 1/3 compo too! :)
nice shot my friend.
thanks for your comments on the bay bridge.
cheers
craig

subhendu_bagchi (26091) 2011-07-12 22:50

namaste Mariusz,
really an interesting bird, nice to watch at. You captured it nicely with fine DOF, the blurred background is nicely separating the bird from the scene. Very well done. Tfs.
Best wishes.
Subhendu

raszid62 (18457) 2011-07-12 23:20

Cze¶æ
Wspania³a przyrodnicza fotografia. Maskonur ze swoim zadziwiaj±cym i nieco ¶miesznym dziobem jest naprawdê piêknym ptakiem. ¦wietna kolorystyka i doskonale rozplanowana g³êbia ostro¶ci.
Pozdrawiam
Józek

SWEETFREEDOM (24623) 2011-07-12 23:57

Hi Mariusz,
very nice bird, good background blur and colors.
regards
Alessandro

rodgerg (55767) 2011-07-13 2:33

Witaj Mariusz,

Excellent and interesting portrait of this curious and beautiful bird. Details and nice colors very well collected. Good balalnce too with the bird well off-centred on the left of the FG.
Best regards,
Roger

adramad (72622) 2011-07-13 6:37

Hi Mariusz.
A fantastic picture of this beautiful bird, I do not think anything should have been easy to capture in this plane so close, great color effect of the diffuse background, the greenery in the foreground also gives a nice atmosphere.
Excellent job with a good light and friendly colors. Well done.
Best regards.
Luis.

siolaw (38294) 2011-07-13 9:09

Hi Mariusz
These birds are great, we have them in France too...
Good clarity and sharpness on the bird and a fine neutral background to isolate the subject. Maybe cropping a small portion of the top part could also be an option?
A pleasure to see anyhow!
Laurent

ptiza (727) 2011-07-13 9:50

Hello dear Mariusz,
This is a great photo and very interesting note to it. These birds nest in our Commander Islands. One my acquaintance- photographer goes there each year. They ring-bark of these birds. Thanks for sharing!
With warm regards,
Irena

Graal (103040) 2011-07-13 23:28

Czesc,
ladny portret maskonura. Chyba go miales na bardzo dlugiej ogniskowej sadzac po jakosci. Dobra notka i kadr.
Milego dnia.
Aleksander

Longroute (19600) 2011-07-14 1:28

It's the first time that I see a close up photo about birds from you and I must say that it's really fine and well captured. You focused well on the animal while leaving the bg blurred. This makes the puffin stands out better and the composition neater. I think that the square format works well here.
I guess it had to be a very exciting outing on that island, an experience I'd like to have myself.

Have a nice day,
Donato

s_lush (16602) 2011-07-23 9:27

Hello Mariusz,
You have managed making a close-up portrait of this well-shaped and colorful bird with the balanced composition, good colors and perfect quality, despite the long distance of shooting. Excellent presentation with both the nice picture and interesting note!
Best regards,
Sergiy

jackart (6702) 2011-12-10 10:06

Witaj Mariusz!

Możesz odpisać jakie jest najlepsze miejsce na wyspach na focenie maskonurów? Wiem że pewnym miejscem jest wyspa Runde w Norwegii ale to całkowite odludzie, a do tego potwornie daleko...

COSTANTINO (115673) 2017-03-23 10:18

Hello dear Mariusz and have a nice time
and a happy evening
wow!!!!here we have this fascinating bird
and your notes are really useful
impressive colors very well composed
great details and great colors
regards
Costantino

gervaso (28177) 2018-09-19 4:54

Hello, Mariusz!

This is a lovely bird and it looks completely different to me with this interesting beak. You captured him with perfect sharpness, and there is a beautiful contrast of his colors with the green surroundings. Wonderful composition!

PaulVDV (62810) 2018-11-25 12:08

Hello Mariusz,
This bird indeed has a somewhat funny view.
But it looks so cute.
What a beautiful beak!
Excellent clear and sharp capture!
Best regards, Paul

Photo Information

Copyright: Mariusz Kamionka (mkamionka) (73560)
Genre: Lugares
Medium: Cor
Date Taken: 2011-07-10
Categories: Natureza
Camera: Canon EOS Kiss X4, Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
Map: view
Versão da Foto: Versão Original
Tema(s): Birdwatching by Mariusz [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2011-07-11 8:37
Favoritos: 1 [ver]

Viewed: 4904

Points: 56

Discussions

To emka: maskonur (1)
by mkamionka, last updated 2011-07-11 08:59
To nikkitta: Ireland (1)
by mkamionka, last updated 2011-07-11 10:50
To jackart: Maskonury (1)
by mkamionka, last updated 2011-12-10 10:23

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::: Clown of the ocean by mkamionka (73560)

Photographer's Note

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