Birds 2012

[mvanrheenen]

Thanks both!

(Welcome back, Greg )

[Greg Beetham]

Aw shucks...thanks Yildiz and Mark.
Greg

[Juanito200]

Continued avian awesomeness! My entry from today is but a humble pair of dove on my fence. I'm jealous that Mark is always to capture the birds singing. Mine just seem to hang around watching me photograph them!

[mvanrheenen]

John, you have no idea how much effort it takes and how lucky I am catching those singing birds I tend to go out walking for up to about 6 hours a week, mostly over 2 days and have 3 images on average to show for it. No good return on investment

Great image of those doves! I looks like they're walking after each other on the small edge of the fence, a bit like a train I tried identifying them and I think these are Mourning Doves (Zenaida macroura). Bit of a sad name for these birds.

Mark

[Greg Beetham]

I like doves, poor little blighters, they are so inoffensive they wouldn’t hurt a fly, but they tend to be the mullet of the sky, the favourite meal of many a raptor, it’s no wonder that they tend to be a little on the suspicious side in general demeanour.
Actually not a bad shot John, I don’t think we have that particular one here.
Greg
Ps Yes that sounds about right Mark lots of effort and a few keepers now and then, what we need is a freezing ray to lock em down for a minute or two ha ha.

[Birma]

Really like the hiding Pheasant and the singing Black Cap Mark

Nice pair of Doves John

[mvanrheenen]

Thanks Andy.

[Argonaut]

Tanzania marches on: the starlings in Africa are stunning, especially if all you have in the States is the Common Starling. The Superb Starling is quite common where we were, and often was the picnic pest bird - can't beat that. a580, Sigma 400, 1/400, f8, ISO 800.

Verreaux's Eagle Owls were also seen several times, but this time we got a pair, and with a certain amount of coaxing from Lightroom, they became visible. This is a close relative of and similar in size to our Great Horned Owl. a580, Sigma 400, 1/1600, f5.6, ISO 800.

Tawny Eagles are, again, fairly common. Good flight shots aren't - one of these guys (?) was perched on a dead stick and I was tracking another coming in. The second one (on the right) displaced the first on the stick. Because it was a BIF shot I had the shutter speed turned way up and the motor drive on. And then it all came together. It was just one of those days. a580, Sigma 400, 1/4000, f8, ISO 800.

045_Superb Starling (Lamprotornis superbus)_February 24, 2012_DSC01175_a580.jpg

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046_Verreaux's Eagle-Owl (Bubo lacteus)_120225_DSC01190_a580.jpg

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047_Tawny Eagle (Aquila rapax)_120225_DSC01210_a580.jpg

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[mvanrheenen]

I can see why the species is called Superb Starlings!

I never captured owls before. That's a shame because it seems to be a very rewarding experience! Great eagles you captured, what a crystal clear, sharp image!

Mark

[Birma]

More great Tanzanians Argonaut That Starling has a very severe stare, and the eagle shot is stunning - great detail of the wing feathers.

[Dr. Harout]

Too much great shots, as I notice, after a 10 day holiday.

[Argonaut]

Thanks for the comments! If I have learned one thing, it is (and I saw this in another article the other day) that shutter speed is more important than anything else in getting a sharp photo, hand-held. The article advised using a rule of 3x focal length (e.g. 1/1200 for a 400mm) instead of the traditional 1x focal length. For me the quality of the lens is lost if the shutter speed is too low. It's more important than the DOF you get from stopping down. Even with steady-shot!! And now that we have these great sensors, we can shoot at ISO 800 or 1600 and use those high shutter speeds. I used to shoot Ektachrome 200 - can't imagine going back to ISO 200 for wildlife.

[sury]

Great pictures Argonaut. Thank you for the pointers as well. I am inspired to give it a try with 3x the focal length using my Tamron 200-500
this weekend. These days I am venturing into using even iso 1600 with decent images. Once again thank you for sharing that insight.

With best regards,
Sury

[Juanito200]

Mark- Not much return on investment, but definitely a beautiful return.. I lack the patience for that, as I am a casual birder... I'm heading to Big Bend National Park at the end of the month, and I am putting bird photography on my to do list... We'll see what happens!
Argonaut- that is a stunning series!

[Greg Beetham]

Wow that's some Starling variety Argonaut and it sure has an intense stare like Birma said. Great Owls and Eagles too, I agree we suffered extreme hardships back in the film days trying to get good photos while being limited with ISO and shutter speeds, but it was still fun trying and those rare times when one achieved a decent photo was appreciated all the more I think.
Greg