Messages

16

Animal Kingdom / Re: Show your Bird Portraits

« on: May 01, 2013, 11:05:16 AM »

Secretary Bird. Looking slightly ruffled.
Cheers Brian

Wow! "No peectures darling!" 

Can't see EXIF on the iPad. What did you use to shoot it?

I feel I need a sharper lens than the 100-400L for birds. Hopefully the new 100-400 will not be beyond $2500! Otherwise I don't see much else I can get except for the 70-300L or the 300L 

5D3 EF100 f/2.8L Macro IS USM,  ISO 160 1/500sec F/2.8
Its the only lense I have that would pass through the mesh at the Zoo. Certainly not photographer-friendly there.
I find myself usually having my 100-400 on the Camera, when at home and I guess I'm quite happy with the results. I'm interested to see if Canon does bring out a newer version soon, I guess the price will determine if I buy it or not.
Cheers Brian

17

Animal Kingdom / Re: Show your Bird Portraits

« on: May 01, 2013, 07:41:36 AM »

Some kind of firewood collecting bird. (Cinereous Vulture).
Cheers Brian

18

Animal Kingdom / Re: Show your Bird Portraits

« on: May 01, 2013, 07:34:37 AM »

2nd Shot: Eagle with 1D Mk IV paired with 70-200 2.8 II L IS

Wow!

19

Animal Kingdom / Re: Show your Bird Portraits

« on: May 01, 2013, 07:33:01 AM »

Secretary Bird. Looking slightly ruffled.
Cheers Brian

20

Animal Kingdom / Re: Show your Bird Portraits

« on: May 01, 2013, 07:31:22 AM »

This is a shot of a hawk in my garden. shot with the 5D3, 100-400L+1.4x @400 so effective 560mm. Yes, I upgraded last night! Yay! I have not AFMAed it yet so this was shot with live view. The settings were f8, 1/800, ISO 1600. You will notice that he has had a drink of water in the garden as well.

So I assume you superglued him to a branch? I've had quite a few hawks in our garden (lots of small Birds in our garden so its inevitable that the hawks hunt there), no matter how slowly and quietly I try to get in position, they are off. I guess my only chance would be if I was sitting there when one landed.
Its certainly a great shot.
Cheers Brian

21

Animal Kingdom / Re: Show your Bird Portraits

« on: April 29, 2013, 11:30:44 AM »

Bloody Mynah Fight PART 4:
Last Thursday afternoon (beside my office window), 2 pairs of Mynah birds (total 4 ... might be husband wife team) were having a brutal fight ... one Mynah bird had the wing of another one in its claw and twisting it, as if to tear it off ... just would not let go, it was as if I was watching UFC ... it looked quite brutal, but luckily they all flew off in the end. Anyway, here are some pics of that fight. Images made with Nikon D7000 + 18-300 VR at 300mm, 1/500 sec, f/8, ISO 1600

Great shots. Great captures.
I've seen a few fights between male sparrows here where they have ended up fighting on the road totally oblivious to what's going on around them. Never had the Camera close by though. Never seen blood either from such a fight.
Cheers Brian

22

Animal Kingdom / Re: Avian Pox and other Illnesses

« on: April 29, 2013, 11:27:22 AM »

Thanks for your answer Brain. I watch them carefully at my feeder here (Eastern Canada), and they seem healthy so far. I wish you all the best with your birds, hoping things are going to get better in your region.
Cheers

Hi,
I guess many people do keep a good eye on whats going on, but how many sit there with a a Canon 100-400 zoom, which gives you the chance to see things later that you may well have missed live? My wife says she would not have noticed most of our problem birds if I hadn't shown her the shots on the PC.
But it does pose the question of what is going on?

Concerning the Finches:
http://www.rspb.org.uk/advice/helpingbirds/health/sickbirds/greenfinches.aspx

Concerning the Pox, the Great tit with the big growth on its breast has not been seen over the weekend,
makes you wonder what will happen if a Hawk ate it? OTOH probably nothing as it does seem as if the pox doesn't affect all species.
Cheers Brian

23

Animal Kingdom / Re: Avian Pox and other Illnesses

« on: April 28, 2013, 12:58:32 PM »

Hi Brian,

Where are you located to get so many sick birds?

North west Germany. I wonder if it is that many or whether I spend too much time watching them? Maybe they built a nuclear power plant just down the road......
We are doing a lot of disinfecting of the feeders, and not feeding the finches till the sick one pops off.
Cheers

24

Animal Kingdom / Re: Avian Pox and other Illnesses

« on: April 28, 2013, 10:06:06 AM »

He certainly doesn't look well!
Cheers Brian

25

Animal Kingdom / Re: Avian Pox and other Illnesses

« on: April 28, 2013, 09:39:15 AM »

And another Great tit with Avian Pox. Apparently 90% of all Avian Pox affected birds in Germany are great tits.
Cheers Brian

26

Animal Kingdom / Re: Your best animal shots!

« on: April 27, 2013, 05:04:58 AM »

--8<--Snipp!--8<--

Great shot of a red squirrel,
Nice to see some shots of squirrels where they are not being torn apart by some bird.
It was a bad month for squirrels on CR in March 

So whats with the ear tufts? Ours have them too now. Mating plumage?
Cheers Brian

Thanks Sporgon! I tend to shoot live birds and animals. Prefer to have them alive before, during and after my photo sessions.
Yeah Brian, I noticed those tufts too, and can't remember seeing such big ones before on any Red squirrel. I'm just guessing, but it could perhaps be a leftover from the rather long and cold, icy, winter we've had here.

Apparently its the Winter fell/coat. They'll be gone after the next moult.
Cheers Brian

27

Animal Kingdom / Re: Avian Pox and other Illnesses

« on: April 27, 2013, 03:16:27 AM »

Here's a greenfinch thats not doing too well, probably got Trichomonosis

Cheers Brian

28

Animal Kingdom / Re: Your best animal shots!

« on: April 26, 2013, 03:42:51 PM »

One of my best shots. At least for yesterday.. 
I managed to annoy a Red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) by not moving out of its way and insisting to stick around and photograph him/her.

Great shot of a red squirrel,

Nice to see some shots of squirrels where they are not being torn apart by some bird.

It was a bad month for squirrels on CR in March 

So whats with the ear tufts? Ours have them too now. Mating plumage?
Cheers Brian

29

Animal Kingdom / Re: Show your Bird Portraits

« on: April 26, 2013, 03:40:41 PM »

I call this bub "Fat Boy".

Hopefully he will not explode

Hmmm, so what would be the correct shutter timing required to capture that?
Questions, questions, questions.......

30

Animal Kingdom / Re: Show your Bird Portraits

« on: April 26, 2013, 07:21:57 AM »

Yellow Rumped Warbler~

Fabulous shots Ken, all of them.
Where were they taken? There's certainly a great diversity there, must be a lot of food available.
Cheers Brian