Some fellow writers and a Scarlet Robin
Scarlet Robin (male) Hale Conservation Park
Today I attended the meeting of a writers’ group to which I belong. It was held in the home of a fellow writer who lives in Gawler, about an hour north of Adelaide and just over an hour’s drive from my home. It was an inspiring time hearing about the projects of my colleagues and the discussion lasted several hours – until the lunch food beckoned. The talk still continued over the meal.
On my way home I decided to do an hour of birding in Hale Conservation Park, just a few kilometres from Williamstown in the Adelaide Hills. It had been a few years since I’d walked through parts of the park. Despite the welcome sunshine, birdlife was a little slow. A few birds were calling but I didn’t see much. Eventually, just as I was about to turn back towards the car park, I saw a group of honeyeaters feeding in several trees near the path. They were Eastern Spinebills, New Holland Honeyeaters and Yellow-faced Honeyeaters. Most didn’t sit still long enough to focus my camera on them, though I did manage a few shots of the Yellow-faced.
As I was following them around, a male Scarlet Robin came and perched on a branch less than two metres from me. I had about three seconds to zoom, focus and press the shutter. The bird was gone just as quickly as it had come; I didn’t see it again. I’m so thankful that I managed to get it more or less in focus.
Sometimes you just get lucky!
Good birding.
Further Reading:
New Holland Honeyeaters
New Holland Honeyeater
Sometimes everything just works really well when taking photos of birds.
Here is a case in point.
I looked out of the window from my office and saw this New Holland Honeyeater perched on one of the branches of a bush in the garden. I grabbed my camera and clicked; I was quite pleased with the result.
Sometimes you do win them.
New Holland Honeyeater
Dusky Turtle Dove sunning itself, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Dusky Turtle Dove, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
I delight in getting good photos of birds when I go out birding. Sometimes a great shot presents itself with little planning on my part. On this occasion this Dusky Turtle Dove in Addis Ababa last December was not aware of my presence high up on the other side of a small stream. My camera was at full zoom so I was pleased with the result, a nice clear photo.
You can read more about my encounters with this species here, including the frustration of getting good photos of it in poor lighting conditions.
Surprised by a Kite
1 Comment »20th February, 2012; Category: Bird Behaviour, Eagles Hawks and Kites, Non-Australian birds, Photos
Yellow-billed Kite, Ethiopia
Sometimes – no, make that often – nature photography can have its frustrating moments. Take the two photos on today’s post. We were having a picnic lunch at Portuguese Bridge, just over 100km north of Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. Around us and other visitors to the area we saw a dozen or so Yellow-billed Kites soaring around and swooping low over where people were eating. They were actually causing some distress to others but I thought it a good opportunity to get some practice at shooting birds in flight.
The above photo was one attempt, but I only managed to get part of the bird in the frame. At least it is more or less in focus! The photo below fills the frame, but is out of focus. The problem here was the slight delay between getting it in the viewfinder and the camera actually responding to the focussing mechanism. It’s challenging trying to do this and I have had varied success. When it comes off it’s great. Many other times it is frustrating.
On a more interesting note, one of the birds caught me by surprise, much to the delight and amusement of our picnic group. One of our party J and I were sitting near the edge of the cliff having lunch. The view over the Blue Nile Gorge was impressive, plummeting some 1000 metres to the river below. The kites kept circling menacingly. I said to J, “If I hold this piece of my bread roll up…” Before I’d finished the sentence, one of the kites swooped down and snatched the food out of my outstretched hand!
The offending kite left a scratch mark on my finger but I’m not sure if it was a talon or its beak. After that we retreated under the cover of the nearby veranda to finish our meal without harassment, only to have a local cat smooching up for a handout. Despite all this “drama” the meal was great and the view inspiring. Kind of made up for my photographic blunders.
Yellow-billed Kite, Ethiopia
Blue Nile Gorge from near Portuguese Bridge, Ethiopia
Yellow-billed Kites in flight, Addis Ababa
Yellow-billed Kite, Addis Ababa
With so many Yellow-billed Kites soaring around the school grounds at Bingham Academy in Addis Ababa, I was able to get some good photos over the fortnight we stayed there with our daughter. I always take opportunities to hone my photographic skills but realise that shooting birds in flight is one area I’ve not fully mastered yet. On this post I show three shots of the kites in flight, and while they are not brilliant, I am quite pleased with them, acknowledging that I still have a long way to go in developing this skill.
Yellow-billed Kite, Addis Ababa
Yellow-billed Kite, Addis Ababa