Birds Show Birds

Redstarts

Young Black Redstarts and a young male Common Redstart

D810 + Nikon 600mm f4

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Just another bird in flight, a seagull, but the first such decent shot I've gotten with the ZS-100. I haven't spent time pursuing birds, although with a combination of lurking, patience, and quick response, the ZS-100 can do pretty well.

Panasonic ZS-100, f5.9, 1/640 handheld, ISO 125.
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CAPTIVE

(Bubo africanus)

"It is illegal to capture or keep these owls in most southern African countries, but the nestlings are easy to tame and they make affectionate, companionable pets. However, feeding them is demanding, because they do best on balanced diets that include feathers, bones and various tissues, not just meat. Suitably dismembered chicks, rodents, or non-toxic frogs make good food if available. Otherwise the owlets suffer malnutrition of various types, with poor bone formation and eventually they are likely to die and in any case would have no hope of survival in the wild"

D750 + 300PF


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ISO 2000 - different light

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missed the focus

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another Raptor - head shot

I think that it is a Harris Hawk - but happy to be corrected

I just got a little too near with the 300mm + 1,4TC

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ISO 5000 - D750
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He is stunning. I've been trying for raptors around here lately and have generally failed. I havent the patience to sit in the bush for hours waiting and when I do see one, by the time I stop the car, its found its lunch and disappeared.

I love that head shot. Perfect.
 
He is stunning. I've been trying for raptors around here lately and have generally failed. I havent the patience to sit in the bush for hours waiting and when I do see one, by the time I stop the car, its found its lunch and disappeared.

I've found good wetlands shooting sites in several areas of the country where I've lived. I recommend finding the closest one that has a good variety of wildlife, and giving it several hours a week, preferably all on one day. I rarely sit and wait for the animals - mostly I see where they are while walking, and from there it's a matter of patience in getting close enough to shoot.

In Akron Ohio I like going to the Ira Road Towpath and walking left to the wooden walkway. Lots of species from small to medium birds, ducks, geese, beavers, etc. etc.

In Huntington Beach/Bolsa Chica, I've worked the walkway over the canal, which has many birds going overhead and perching here and there. But mostly I'd walk the 1.5 mile path in and out, to see a huge variety of species - birds, snakes, coyotes, ....

In Charleston SC, my favorite is Charles Towne Landing, which has a low per-year fee. It has quite a variety - birds of many kinds, alligators, turtles, snakes, exotic spiders, and so on.
 
Yeah. Can't walk, alas and have not yet graduated to a gofer.

Understood. Unfortunately in most of the better wildlife parks, the walking "paths" don't get a person to the best shooting locations. People would need some kind of small electric "off road" vehicle.
 
Here was a huge challenge. Nobody I know has gotten this image from the pier across the water about 1/2 mile away. The ~1000 mm effective zoom of the SX720 brought this osprey within reach, with a few caveats. The bird is clearly identifiable, but there is very little detail. The first bursts I shot were from a slightly different angle with trees behind the nest, and they didn't resolve at all. When I moved to where this house was the backdrop, this is what I got. My first crop was from 5200 pixels wide to 2600 wide, which (after processing for color/contrast/sharpness etc.) I then resized to less than 1500 pixels wide. As bad as it is for detail, it's something I never would have gotten otherwise, because I won't schlep a tripod and heavy camera around just to get a photo of a bird. In other words, this was a great success!

Canon SX720, f6.9, 1/160 handheld, ISO 80.
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The bird isn't the pretty type, but it helps clean up various droppings (mostly food) from the local park, and it deserves an elegant pose for the interested photographer.

Canon SX720, f6.9, 1/200 handheld, ISO 80.
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