White Wagtail

Picture of White Wagtail (Motacilla alba) bird on beach with red sand

Picture of White Wagtail (Motacilla alba) bird on the beach
Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera April 25th 2008. Click image for larger view.
The cute white wagtail (Motacilla alba) birds are back! It is so nice to see new birds almost every day as it gets warmer and warmer. All the new birds are a good reason to go outside with a camera and capture some pictures.
The white wagtail is personal favorite of mine because of the way the bird hunt insects. The wagtail usually walks around and then suddenly fly up in an irregular way to catch some kind of yummy insect. They are very fascinating to watch and I’m thankful that they keep the fly population down.
I love the red color on the sand corns on this beach. I’m not sure why the sand is so red, but it looks very different from the other beaches around.

Check out this picture from last spring of a white wagtail sitting on a stone. Maybe it is the same bird?

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture: f/7.1
Focal Length: 300 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 70-300mm F4.0-5.6
Location: Ånstad (Andørja), Troms in Northern Norway

Picture of White Wagtail (Motacilla alba) bird on beach with red sand Read More »

Photo of White Wagtail (Motacilla alba) – A sure sign of spring and autumn in northern Norway

Photo of White Wagtail (Motacilla alba)
Taken with Olympus E500 digital camera on May 11th 2007. Click image for larger view.

The white wagtail (Motacilla alba) is a sure sign that the spring has come to northern Norway. It is one of the last birds that come flying back from their winter “holiday” in Africa. The white wagtail is also one of the last birds to fly away from northern Norway late in the autumn.
I still see some white wagtails around here, but it is a matter of weeks, if not days, until they all migrate to Africa. Sometimes I wish I could migrate to warmer climates when the winter gets rough.

I love watching the white wagtail chasing insects to feed on as it is a very good at flying and follow the insects every move.

Information about the picture:
Camera: Olympus E-500 digital SLR camera
Exposure: 0.013 sec (1/80)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 150 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Lens: Olympus Zuiko Digital 40-150mm F3.5-4.5
Location: Ånstad, Andørja (Ibestad) in northern Norway

Photo of White Wagtail (Motacilla alba) – A sure sign of spring and autumn in northern Norway Read More »