The birds they mock me

[jmorgan]

DibblyDobbler said:

jmorgan said:

^^^^^
Thems superb. That on a prime 400? Seriously jealous.

Thanks

Yes - all on the F5.6 400L (except the Kestrel which was shot on my 16-300 Tamron walkabout lens which is surprisingly decent!). The 400L is great though and a fraction of the cost (and weight!) of one of the big boys - i.e. 500L, 600L etc.

Tis on my "when I win the lottery" list. Or when the wife ain't looking......

[Crusoe]

Eagle Owl Crop by Alan Tait, on Flickr

Tasty gulls to scare from the office roofs today, guy had his new pet rather than his regular hawk.

[Wheat]

Not really up to the standards on here, but a photo of a Kestrel hunting with an impressive back drop

Castle and Kestrel by WWArmstrong, on Flickr

[DibblyDobbler]

Wheat said:

Not quite up to the standards on here, but here's a hunting Kestrel with an impressive backdrop


A Kestrel and a Castle by WWArmstrong, on Flickr

Probably the same one as I got (posted above)! This was leaning over the side of the castle

DibblyDobbler said:

Juvenile Kestrel by Mike Smith, on Flickr

[Wheat]

DibblyDobbler said:

Yep, that's the one! Recognise him straight away

[DibblyDobbler]

Wheat said:

Yep, that's the one! Recognise him straight away

[ExPat2B]

Managed to capture this goldfinch after about 3 days chasing them about. They really are very small, fast and not keen on humans. This one finally landed about 12 meters from me and posed for a few shots whilst eating some cottongrass.

GoldFinch_CottonGrass3 by Nature Ist, on Flickr

GoldFinch_CottonGrass1 by Nature Ist, on Flickr

[jmorgan]

^^^

We have two coming to the feeder. But our house backs on to everyone else back of house, and we are on higher ground. So I dare not lurk with a zoom lens in case the neighbours think I am try to spy into bedrooms.

[ExPat2B]

jmorgan said:

^^^

We have two coming to the feeder. But our house backs on to everyone else back of house, and we are on higher ground. So I dare not lurk with a zoom lens in case the neighbours think I am try to spy into bedrooms.

Don't worry, I will take one for the team. I am sure the sight of me in full Max-4 Camo with facemask will put your neighbours minds at rest.

[jmorgan]

ExPat2B said:

jmorgan said:

^^^

We have two coming to the feeder. But our house backs on to everyone else back of house, and we are on higher ground. So I dare not lurk with a zoom lens in case the neighbours think I am try to spy into bedrooms.

Don't worry, I will take one for the team. I am sure the sight of me in full Max-4 Camo with facemask will put your neighbours minds at rest.

I like to think I can get away with the telescope, it does tend to point at the sky.

Cracking image by the way.

[Smollet]

Didn't realise this thread existed. Love photographing birds but not with too much success.
Last year I heard a thud on my French windows and saw at first what I thought was thrush staggering about but it wasn't. It was this!

A beautiful young female Kestrel. It spent a while recovering on my toolshed before flying off.

Edited by Smollet on Sunday 19th July 14:44

[Smollet]

This is a Bengal Eagle Owl I took at Mace farm a few years back

Edited by Smollet on Sunday 19th July 14:43

[Wheat]

A Kestrel posed for me today whilst I messed around with Manual Focus, nearly got it right before it had enough and flew off

Kestrel by WillWA, on Flickr

[K12beano]

Hmm - bit of a spat with a gull attacking a buzzard from earlier...


Gull n Buzzard-1 by Beano!, on Flickr

[nellyleelephant]

You may have seen my Marsh Harrier shots over the last few months, they've been nest building and mating.

Today I managed a shot of one of the juveniles (there are 2 apparently) It's a heavy crop and a bit grainy, but still excited to have captured it.



Oh yeah, and a Kingfisher!

[jmorgan]

Still learning the camera and my abilities. Found out about 7D noise so playing around and overexposed this excellent opportunity.....

Great White Egret vs Dragonfly by Jeff, on Flickr
Great White Egret by Jeff, on Flickr

Edited by jmorgan on Monday 3rd August 04:25

[nellyleelephant]

Another juvenile Marsh Harrier

[ExPat2B]

Nelly, I could use some advise on Kingfishers, I have found where one fishes, but it doesn't seem to be that regular and it is very, very shy. Anything I can do short of buying a hide and spending a couple of days hoping ?

A couple of Heron Shots from today.

Heron_Taking_Flight_04_08_2015 by Nature Ist, on Flickr

Heron_Banking_04_08_2015 by Nature Ist, on Flickr

[nellyleelephant]

I wouldn't go as far as a hide, but maybe something like this http://www.wildlifewatchingsupplies.co.uk/retail/a... as long as there's no one around to see you!

I'm quite lucky as I have an RSPB reserve near me and the birds are all used to the sound of shutters and the hides. But, the basic rules still apply! I've found the best time is dawn, preferably get there before it's light, the Kingfishers are a lot more relaxed and less flighty when the sun isn't fully up.

Unfortunately, it is a waiting game. What you will probably find though is that the birds have a favourite perch that they feed from, this at least makes it easier to prefocus. They are also quite vocal, normally announcing their arrival with quite distinctive call (youtube!), this at least gives you time to put your coffee / hip flask down.

Expect to sit still for ages and then hopefully get a few minutes or seconds of action.

In your situation, I'd visit the site a few times with no camera gear and just watch. My local birds have a routine when they turn up, flying between particular branches until they end up on their diving perch. If you don't know this you may end up missing the good stuff!

Also, have a read of this http://www.wildlifewatchingsupplies.co.uk/PDF/King...

[nellyleelephant]

You might also like to look up 2slo on here, he's done some very nice Kingfisher shots.