Show your Bird Portraits

jrista said:
Greater Yellowlegs

Haven't seen these guys in a year. Beautiful little birds, with a cute look. I was out scouting for dark sky sites for my astrophotography a couple weeks ago, and came across a small marsh and agricultural pond. At the time, the pond was PACKED with phalaropes, and I regretted not having my lens with me. I went back to the same spot the first chance I got, hoping the phalaropes would still be there. Alas, no, it looked completely deserted. However after hanging out for a minute, I noticed a few other species of shorebird, along with a lone heron that showed up a few minutes later.

In all, I picked out Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, a few Snipes, a Lesser Sandpiper, and the Heron in addition to the Yellowlegs in the end. No good photos of the snipes...they had already noticed me by the time I noticed them, and they skittered off into the corn fields before I could get any good shots. The Lesser Sandpiper seemed fearless for a while, I kept getting closer and closer...then the incessant warning call of a Killdeer kicked in, and the whole lot of them flew to the other end of the pond. Darn killdeer... >:(

Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Canon EF 600mm f/4 L II
Canon EF 2x TC III
Gitzo GT3532LS + Jobu Pro 2 Gimbal

Nice shot

I know the feeling, we have Willets here who will follow you all over, buzzing you and wailing. Every living thing within a 1/4 mile knows exactly where you are. I am fan of birds, but sometimes I wish I had a taser in my photo bag.
The good news is they left for the season !! I was able to shoot some yellowlegs up close and personal via kayak. Will post them here soon.
 
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Greater Yellowlegs - Martha's Vineyard

A local saltwater pond and marsh was the temporary home for about 45 Yellowlegs. Visited the pond in late afternoon.
Had fun navigating low tide obstacles while fighting currents and wind to take some closeups in my kayak. Half the fun was the challenge. My trusty old 60D and 100-400mm recorded some nice images for my collection.
 

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IslanderMV said:
Greater Yellowlegs - Martha's Vineyard

A local saltwater pond and marsh was the temporary home for about 45 Yellowlegs. Visited the pond in late afternoon.
Had fun navigating low tide obstacles while fighting currents and wind to take some closeups in my kayak. Half the fun was the challenge. My trusty old 60D and 100-400mm recorded some nice images for my collection.


Jeff, as usual: wonderful!
 
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Hi
I'm now using 5DIII and a 300/2.8L IS +1.4xIII mostly for birds

Rough-legged Buzzard Norway
20140508-SNI_9124-X2.jpg


Merlin Norway
Dvergfalk20140506SNI_8239-X2.jpg


Northern Goshawk on Mew Gull (submerged in the sea), Norway
20140830-SNI_4510-X2.jpg

See more photos at http://tromsofoto.smugmug.com
 
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Spent a day at the Western Treatment Plant (near Melbourne, Australia). It's essentially a place where sewage from Melbourne is treated before being discharged into the bay. But the good quality of water, after treatment, and winding it's way through a series of ponds and lakes means the bird life is abundant. Plus, it's Spring down here, so, everything from raptors to waders to small birds.

Golden headed Cisticola. A tricky one to photograph as they liked the tall reeds and grasses around the lakes. That meant my camera had a great time focusing on grasses, rather than the bird :)
378A9775_Golden_headed_Cisticola.jpg


Superb Fairy Wren, male. Dragonflies seemed to be the flavor of the day.
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This White fronted Chat had 3 dragonflies in its beak.
378A0164_White_fronted_Chat.jpg
 
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Barred buttonquail (Turnix suscitator) by alabang, on Flickr

A typical Barred buttonquail or common bustard-quail (Turnix suscitator), rufous-brown above, rusty and buff below. Chin, throat and breast closely barred with black. Female larger and more richly coloured, with throat and middle of breast black. The blue-grey bill and legs, and yellowish white eyes are diagnostic, as are also the pale buff shoulder-patches on the wings when in flight. Absence of hind toe distinguishes Bustard and Button quails from true quails. Pairs, in scrub and grassland.

Unlike other buttonquail, are not as difficult to see, since it tends to cross, or run along, savannah tracks, and is readily viewed from a vehicle.
Feeds on insects and seeds, and is reluctant to fly.

The calls are a motorcycle-like drr-r-r-r-r-r and a loud hoon- hoon-hoon.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barred_buttonquail

Location: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Rice_Research_Institute
 
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Striated Thornbill and nest. A little tricky to photograph, due to bright sunlight (from the right) and the fast movement of the parents. In the end, used an off camera flash (fitted with a snoot) and held out to the left. There are at least 2 chicks in the nest, the mouth of one you can see. The nest is mainly made up of bark (from nearby Red Stringy Gums) and spider webs. Not bad for an animal without hands :)

5D3, 300mm f4 + 580EX II

378A0548_Striated_Thornbill_nest.jpg
 
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