What a catchy title, I know, but as my usual Goldilocks-self, I had been pining for that 400mm 4.5 Nikon lens for the last year and a bit. For me, quick and nimble gets most of my best pics, but my experience yesterday, made me feel ‘Goldilocks’ should stick with the porridge she has. 500mm maybe just right for now.
It was sunny a fair bit after the January 1 earthquake, but I didn’t’t feel like standing at the edge of a remote wetland worrying about aftershocks and the near-by sea. Yesterday, was my first outing to Fukushimagata since December 28, 2023. It was pretty dull when I got there and I think most of the swans and geese have already headed north. I saw an eagle back in December, but I think any “Steller’s”, would be gone by now, though I think we should still have a chance to see a “white-tail” until the end of March. The joy of the day was the continuing views of osprey appearing every few minutes and catching fish around me.
I think my 500mm f5.6 is still pretty nice despite squeaks and rattles after five years of regular use. The new 600mm f6.3 might suit me better if I love standing around the wetlands, but as you can see by the dullness of these images, I am wary of going from 5.6 to 6.3, even though it is such a small difference.
Way back when I was young, osprey and peregrines were fading in numbers and became symbols of the damage of chemicals to the environment but I’m happy to announce that these many years later, osprey are one of the more common raptors I see in Niigata.
They seemed to be finding fish just behind a small island not so far off-shore from where I was standing but they’d disappear behind the reeds. I could hear the ‘splash’, but would have to wait for them to come back up before I could see them again.
Some ducks still remain, always lots of Great Cormorants and Great Grebe, with a few Marsh Harriers floating around the place. I love seeing them up against the snow-covered mountains. Of course it’s nice to have close-ups, but framing them in the surrounding environment is more, er, more. It’s more to look at?
Well. Not much snow this winter, and it’s raining here much of the time but I hope to return soon. March at Fukushimagata has its surprises.
