I’d say the MD135/2.8 would be spectacular if you could get close enough to the birds Birma, (you were shooting using the rear screen?) it’s doing very well there at probably quite a large crop. I know you said 1:2 (the bird is half life size) but it is not easy to gauge how much of a crop in reality that was.
Greg
Ps don’t worry Doc chit happens, I thought your lark was some kind of woodpecker when I first saw it and we don’t even get woodpeckers in oz.

It's still a very nice picture Doc .

Goldfinches in the garden

A900 & 70-400@400 shot with long release cable

Very nice Caporip, my favourite birds . So you set up the camera focused on the fodder and then set it off remotely?

Sweet image caporip! They are very lovely (and noisy!) birds.

I saw this one flying in front of our house this weekend. It seems to be a juvenile Carrion Crow (Corvus corone) looking at the fluffy breast plumage. I normally don't give much thought about these birds, but this one stood out because of the white feathers. Never seen it before. I looked it up and it could be due to malnutrition.


1/320s f/5.6 at 300.0mm iso400

Shot with a580 and 70-300G.

Mark

Found some more of the crow family in front of the house today.

#1 - Carrion Crow (Corvus corone)



#2 - Western Jackdaw (Corvus monedula)



#3 - Juvenile Jackdaw (Corvus monedula)



All shot with the a580 + 70-300G.

Mark

Nice crows Mark - #1 of carrion crow is a very fine portrait I think - great background and the imperious air to the strutting crow

That remote method worked well caporip.
Have the Crows always been there Mark, or do they come and go? It just seems odd that suddenly there are lots of Crows around, I guess it's similar here, there's none and then there's a few all of a sudden hanging around for a short while. The Carrion Crow is a good pose, and the last one is great for exposure and detail, nice work.
Greg

Thanks guys.

A few Carrion Crows are seasonal residents in the neighborhood. I think they are nesting in the trees in front of my house. The Jackdaws are a permanent resident throughout the year. The live in flocks and are very common to the point it can get annoying

Mark

Great Crow shots Mark. I've noticed our local crows are getting braver in terms of coming into the garden.

Hi Birma

Yes I use the minolta long release having set up the camera in my conservatory, shooting through a partially open door. The 70-400 was at its minimum focusing distance or thereabouts.

Ok, so this is probably the most tenuous 'bird' picture in the thread, but while admiring the wild flowers this morning I was distracted by an amazing aerial display of swallows. I guess natrual meadow is good for insects, and therefore for swallows. They were very low, but far too fast for me to photograph directly. One of them did make a guest appearance in this shot of the meadow though. Only afterwards did I think about perhaps a wide angle video as a way of capturing the display - something for next time .


2012 Eades Meadow - Cottage across the meadow by Birm, on Flickr

Nex 5 with Tamron 60/2 on LA-EA1 adapter.

That's a great shot Birma. It's a bit hard to determine what kind of swallow is flying around in that field. Did they have a forked tail?

I shot these today. Was a bit slow going as the forest was pretty dense this time of year. I heard a lot of birds, but have seen little.

#1 - Common Redshank (Tringa totanus)

A pity that little stem crossed my view. Didn't see it when I was in the field



#2 - Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus)



Both shot with my a580 and 70-400G on a monopod.

Mark

Thanks Mark - pretty sure it was a regulat Swallow (Hirundo Rustica - had to look that up ). Forked tails and a small amount of red on the breast. Amazing flyers.

I like your ground birds - particularly the Lapwing with that great fancy "hair-style" they have.

Those acrobatic swallows that catch tiny insects on the wing are wonderful too watch Birma, if you are close enough you can sometimes hear the click of the beak as they get one. I haven’t seen any traditional Swallows around my neighbourhood like there was when we lived out in the sticks, we do get quite a few white bellied wood swallows around home though and they are incredibly acrobatic as well.

Great work Mark; you are doing very well increasing your interesting and diverse bird portfolio.
Greg

Tanzania - nearing the end. First up, the White-headed Buffalo Weaver, one of the minority of weavers that are not black and yellow. This one also shortcuts the nest building - apparently it doesn't "weave", but manages to put together a bag nest anyway. Sounds more difficult than weaving to me. a580, 400mm Sigma, F8, 1/640, ISO 800.

The African Scops Owl was way the heck up a tree again, and in the dark under a bright blue sky, but at least it was far enough away that the flash is not too obvious. I love the malevolent expression here - that bird means me no good. a580, Sigma 400, f25 (have no idea how that happened - not intentional, I assure you), 1/160, ISO 1600.

Pearl-spotted Owlets are not hard to find during the day, but they are really small (7-8 inches including tail) and good photo ops are rare compared to your sightings. If anyone asks you the secrets of bird photography, they are, in order: (1) perched in the sun; (2) right where you happen to be passing by; and (3) not afraid of a Land Cruiser with 8 excited people crashing around inside. a580, Sigma 400, f10, 1/400, ISO 400.