Communal Bird Photography Thread

[David M]

Thanks Ron, with hundreds of shots of Snow Geese in a wide variety of situations and lighting it was hard deciding which to copy when I started copying slides last winter.

[David M]

I was sure I'd posted Sandhill Cranes early in this thread but I can't find them. So here's a back-lit pair from Ontario.



A family party from Saskatchewan in the 90's.



A formation at sunset in Saskatchewan.



And a flock flying to roost at sunset in Saskatchewan.

[Tordan58]

Some waders from past weekend. Photos taken at Falsterbo shortly after sunrise. TS102 scope, me lying on the sand. I got wet in the action.

Black-tailed Godwit:


Sanderling


Common Redshank:


Common Greenshank:

[Olybirder]

I admire your dedication Tord. Excellent shots in beautiful early light. There are no captions for the birds but I am guessing: Black-tailed Godwit, Sanderling, Redshank and Greenshank. How did I do?

Ron

[Olybirder]

Great shots of the Cranes David. Number 4 for me - very atmospheric.

Ron

[Tordan58]

Originally Posted by Olybirder

I admire your dedication Tord. Excellent shots in beautiful early light. There are no captions for the birds but I am guessing: Black-tailed Godwit, Sanderling, Redshank and Greenshank. How did I do?

Ron

Thanks Ron. Yes you are right about the species. The Sanderling is an uncommon visitor at this place, they are seen some years when on autumn passage and refueling.

[Olybirder]

Originally Posted by Tordan58

Thanks Ron. Yes you are right about the species. The Sanderling is an uncommon visitor at this place, they are seen some years when on autumn passage and refueling.

We have Sanderlings sprinting along the water's edge on my local beach in the winter, like clockwork mice. Extremely entertaining little birds. I must go and look for them this year.

Ron

[David M]

The light on the Redshank makes it the stand out for me.

I was going to post some Sanderlings from Ontario but may not now as I couldn't get down to eye level. Most of the lake shorelines around here are to rocky. I do miss being able to lie in wet sand and bird poop at times.

[Olybirder]

I have finally managed to catch up with some of the Whinchats which are passing through the area at the moment. These were taken on North Denes, Lowestoft but unfortunately there is no cover there above knee height, so it is impossible to get close to the birds. These two shots demonstrate the difference between 'acceptably close' and 'too close'. In the next frame it had departed.

E-M1, 50-200 SWD and EC-14.

Ron

[Tordan58]

I returned to the same location a few days ago, this time with the proper tools. Both Kingfishers showed up at about same time as my previous visit, after a good hour waiting I was alerted by the sound and had plenty of time to photograph and study them.

TS102 scope + MC14 (~1000mm) as the perches they seem to prefer are around 20m from closest point offering a narrow sector with free line of sight. EM1 with electronic shutter to mitigate shutter shock as the light conditions forced me to shoot at 1/30s.

Not sure how long they will stay around, as late fall and winter eventually will hit us they will almost certainly move to a location offering ice free conditions. I plan to return and try to get some fishing action shots before they leave the location.

[David M]

Interesting that you've got male and female, I wonder if they're a pair?

[Tordan58]

Originally Posted by Olybirder

I have finally managed to catch up with some of the Whinchats which are passing through the area at the moment. These were taken on North Denes, Lowestoft but unfortunately there is no cover there above knee height, so it is impossible to get close to the birds. These two shots demonstrate the difference between 'acceptably close' and 'too close'. In the next frame it had departed.

E-M1, 50-200 SWD and EC-14.


Ron

Yes I know that feeling... It is hard to get close enough for detailed shots with 300mm in such open terrain without them taking off and landing in a bush or thistle 50 meters away, even when approaching carefully. A 600mm scope comes in handy as they are usually cooperative and easy to spot.

[Tordan58]

Something different...

Common Sandpipers in flight


Hi key Black-tailed Godwit


White Wagtail on shore


All with the TS102 scope, me lying on the beach. That scope is pretty heavy so buried the tripod centre pillar into the sand. It was a... different experience.

[David M]

The high-key Black-tailed Godwit is a bit special.

Non of my tripods have center columns so go to a few inches off the ground with the legs fully splayed.

[David M]

Some shots of juvenile Red Knots from the Lake Huron shoreline. I went down at dawn for the sunrise which wasn't anything special but I found these so spent some time with them. After a while they got comfortable enough with me to preen and rest. They were finally disturbed by some equipment geek who wanted to look at the big white lens. I resisted the temptation to throw him in the lake.

One of the early shots, one watches me while the other feeds.



Having a good scratch.



I'm still watching you.