I’ve been really enjoying playing with my 300mm f/4 PF recently, getting used to a non-zoom lens for bird photography. I’ve been lab-bound for a while, escaping on the weekends to chase birds around and keep my skills sharp. If I take too long away from photography I find my reflexes deteriorate a lot – so I’ve been challenging myself by chasing tricky birds.

Anyone who’s tried to photograph fantails in flight knows thy have their work cut out for them! They’re tricky little birds, fast-flitting, constantly changing direction, performing serious aerial acrobatics when they’re foraging on insects. I came across the perfect storm of them one morning at Tāwharanui, in nice golden morning sunlight, hawking along the edge of the beach. Good bright light is a must for fantails in flight. I also wanted to capture what they were foraging on – insects too small to see! See if you can spot them in these two photos.