Fantails are perhaps the most accomplished birds. The most accomplished at evading photographers. Fantails would be able to dodge the paparazzi far better than any celebrity ever has. I was trying to photograph this fantail in the forest and it literally landed right in front of me on the ground, and I still couldn’t get a shot. I eventually managed to get some clear shots by turning the ISO right up and zooming to 300mm (I’ve also since cropped the photo). But by the time this happened my arms were sore, my patience thin, and the fantail was almost certainly laughing so hard it couldn’t fly out of frame fast enough to evade me!
But I’m still a fan of fantails and will never really tire of trying to get that great shot…
The animals of Christchurch 