Red-tailed Tropic Bird

On our last trip to Lord Howe Island I was determined to try and get some decent photographs of the Red-tailed Tropic Bird in flight. This is a beautiful seabird, mostly white in colour, that is characterised by its long red tail. 

Early one morning I climbed up to Malabar, a point at the northern end of the island that is just over 200m above sea level. At this end the island finishes abruptly with sheer vertical cliffs plunging straight down to the ocean below. These cliffs provide an ideal location for sea birds to nest and at any one time countless birds can be seen taking to the air. At times the birds fly quite close to the cliffs providing a good opportunity to photograph them in flight.

I set up the 1D Mk III with a 70 to 200mm f2.8 lens and for some of the time added a the 1.4 extender. I took countless shots that morning and this is just one of several that I was pleased with (ISO 200, f5.6, 1/1250).