FIGHTING SKIMMERS

African skimmers were common in Southern Africa, but their numbers have dropped significantly in the last few decades. This is mainly due to the fact that they are very sensitive to human disturbance, especially close to the sandbanks in the rivers on which they breed. I've made the 3200km roundtrip from Pretoria to Northern Botswana a number of times in the last few years to photograph these elegant birds. My vision have always been to capture special behavior, especially defending territory or fighting over a mate. In the afternoon skimmers mostly become active only when the sun is about to set and the light is low. My favorite shot from all these trips was taken one afternoon when one skimmer was defending its territory from another. The sun had just dropped below the horizon and there was little light to work with. I used flash to add a bit of light.

Skimmer agression

Okavango Delta, Botswana

Canon 1D Mark III | 600mmf/4 | 1/100 sec at f/11, ISO 100

This photograph won the Earthshots.org photo of the day contest on 19 September 2011.