Birds 2012

[DennisG]

Extremely nice bird shoots from all of you, i came across this pheasant yesterday i know i posted one the other day but i think this pictures is so much better so i have to do a repost of the same species hope you don't mind

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[Greg Beetham]

Very pretty bird Dennis and well taken, those Pheasants sure look a bit startled in every photo I see of them, I guess they think someone is intending to put them in the pot perhaps.
Greg

[Juanito200]

Argonaut- I love that shot of the bird in the Zebra's mane. Well spotted!
Sury You are definitely getting the hang of BIF photos! I love the first one, it has great timing..
Doc- Great zoo shots, I can't wait to get back to the Dallas Zoo again.
Dennis-That pheasant is beautiful!
John (hoping to get to the park today)

[Birma]

Love that second pheasant shot Dennis

[Dr. Harout]

+1

[aster]

Hi Sury, : )

I like what Mark did with your seagull shot. I suppose I was thinking along the lines of such a closeup. It's a good bird-in-flight shot.

Sometimes it may pay to do some editting in a suitable editting software. : )




Hi Dennis, : )

I absolutely love your Pheasant shots; full profile and eye-to-eye shot that gives a full sprad of the bird's magnificent colouring and plumage. What an extraordinarily coloured bird it is! Blues and reds at the top and a sweeping patterned brownness that would look good in a ball room. : )

You did the bird's justice with these shots.


Thank you for sharing,

Yildiz

[mvanrheenen]

Those are very good indeed Dennis. Wonderful colors and great posture in the first shot. I like shots were the bird looks at you, although one do misses the details of the head this way. I tend to avoid those situations, but with everything, that's personal.

Great job once again!

Mark

[Argonaut]

If anyone is feeling "proud" of his/her photos, then do NOT go to the following URL, the winners page of the World Bird Photo Contest. You will be humbled more than if you had spent a week in the Total Perspective Vortex.

http://www.hbwcontest.com/awardees.php

[sury]

Thank you Argonaut. Fantastic site. I am giving up taking a shot at even a stuffed bird, if ever I see one.
Wonderful site, never the less.

Sury

[Argonaut]

Undaunted, I return to Tanzania. The Straw-tailed Whydah is a sparrow-sized bird with a really long tail. We were extremely lucky to see it this close - we were watching it across a highway foraging in the weeds and for some reason it decided to fly across and perch next to our Land Cruiser. Better still, it posed in good light. Even so, you can barely see the black eye(s) hidden in the black feathers below that yellow crown. a580, Sigma 400, 1/800, f8, ISO 800.

The Red-billed Firefinches are not really in a striking picture, and it took a lot of shadow manipulation to get it acceptable. The reason I like it is because it's a family story - if it were a Rockwell illustration it would be titled, "Mom always liked you best!". On the right is the adult female feeding a chick (you can tell the chicks by the white marks on the bill); On the left is father firefinch and another chick looking/squawking at the favored chick. Father is looking left, away from the fray, perhaps musing on his bachelor days. a580, Sigma 400, 1/320, f8, ISO 1600.

The Red-chested Cuckoo - what can I say. I was at a park exit and had managed to remain quiet, leaning against a tree, until the birds got used to me. That was quick, because there were a lot of people around getting their paperwork in order, and the birds weren't flighty. This cuckoo was just walking around and didn't mind me sneaking up. It's giving me "The Eye", but didn't fly away. a580, Sigma 400, 1/800, f8, ISO 1600.

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[sury]

Excellent set. I loved the second one. Talk about "love birds".

Sury

[Dr. Harout]

I can find no words. Splendid.

[Greg Beetham]

Lovely windows into the daily life events of birds Argonaut, I like the male Fire Finch looking a bit bored with the incessant cries of the brood too be fed deal.
I think one of our Cuckoos is sort of fairly similar to that one, (there is quite an assortment of Cuckoos here), it’s funny how some birds are really similar and some are completely different and some have no counterpart at all.
Greg

[david antony]

Some terrific photos by all.

Not seen one of these Black Oystercatchers in a while.
Taken yesterday at Tsatsu Shores.

[Greg Beetham]

That was a great find and photo as well DA.
Greg
Ps is the exposure just a tad ‘hot’ on the log and the birds legs? or is my screen a bit bright? (I guess Elmer hasn’t spotted those ones yet?)