Had some fun with my catbirds this afternoon. Thought I'd try Windhover's suggestion that they might like some fruit. So I donated a few cherry tomatoes to the cause and these were the results.....
and then...
after that...
and finally....
the thief escapes!!
The moral of this story is... don't try to take a picture in low light by relying on self timer delay as even 2 seconds is TOO SLOW!!
I had set up the tripod etc and couldn't work out how to get my new remote control to fire the camera so had to resort to a delay to prevent camera shake.
I did however get a few shots when I was talking to him earlier in the afternoon
( I even got an answer!!
Not the sharpest of shots but I was happy that they let me get really close to them without flying away. that is progress :')
oh and By the way....if anyone does read this... a good tip is to remember to take the camera settings back to neutral when you have been doing something like this... went to my daughter's school prize giving last night..and ....guess what... missed the shot by the 2 second delay :(
Sunshine Coast Queensland
good shots they also like stawberry jam they may stick around a little longer to collect that , they are greedy little devils and you are so lucky to have them in your garden
Thanks Joanneh... do they like scones with that or just in a blob on the branch?? :')
I am lucky to have them and I get very concerned when anyone starts ripping undergrowth and trees/bushes out in that area. We have a nearby neighbour who is paranoid about snakes and he has just cleared every scrap of vegetation off his block which borders the entrance to the stream area where they live. I have seen plenty of little scrub wrens over the fence and if every one did that they would all disappear. I would rather have snakes and small birds than a snake free desert zone!
Luckily the new neighbours behind us whose garden opens onto the catbird nest area are real wildlife lovers so I have told them all about what is around and I know they will protect them.
Sunshine Coast Queensland
I love remotes try looking into a bank of 6 metz strobes because someone thought it would be funny to set a 8 second delay ,i couldn't see properly for the rest of the day but my ex wife thought it was hysterical.
You could try something hard to grab and run like mushy banana or mango
I agree Birdie our garden is bird friendly but now living in town not so many still we do encourage them and yes they are partial to scone with a dollop of cream :) mind you jam would be harder to get i have a photo of one eating jam havre to find it up
ok found it check out a mouth full of jam
sorry pic too large but you can see the jam
Yep, I think the hard to grab stuff has some merits thanks guys!!!! Joanneh that is a great shot, love the strawberry jam oozing from its bill :')
SO that would be a Spotted catbird up your way then? You should post more often, as you get to the interesting places like Ed ! BTW on Mozilla it is just a right click to see the full image so no worries.
Sparrow..... I would have been hysterical too I think!
In this case I can't blame the remote though as I still can't get it to work, so it was a simple self timer delay. I'll have to drop by the shop and see my mate to get him to explain it to me seeing as he sold me up from the simple canon release to this Giga T pro thing!!
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Interesting bird and funny stories about the tomatoes and jam! #5 is my favourite pic
Jeanne
Brisbane QLD
What a lovely looking bird. It must be fun setting up the treats for it. Rainbow lorkieets also like jam - once we were at the cafe at the lighthouse at Nelson Bay having scones and the lorikeets landed on the table and ate all our jam!
That reminds me of the bush turkey up at Maleny at the Rainforest reserve that had the sugar habit!!!!
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Beautiful bird, and great photos of it birdie.
Thanks Ringneck..... they are my locals and I love them to bits!
Sunshine Coast Queensland
The second last shot in the first series would be absolutely awesome if you had used a little fill flash. that would have made the colors pop wonderfully, but still looks special as is. Something to think of next time. :) Congrats!
Nice shots. Never seen one beofore and I imagine they blend in very well.
Cheers, Owen.
I guess Holly must have got rid of the spammer.... I tried earlier but couldn't get on with my stupid laptop .
Thanks Owen they do blend in especially when they are in shadow, and fortunately for me I hear them rather than see them , either when the cheep to each other in their strange high pitched way or by the flopping from branch to branch.
By the way Owen, since Akos's comment I used the fill flash a lot more with birds than I used to do and it is a big help even if it is just the small on board flash it works well with the higher ISO ratings.
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Yep beat you too it birdie :)
Thanks Holly :)
Sunshine Coast Queensland
The only good thing about these spammers is that they have brought up some older threads that have some wonderful information and photos in them. I never thought I'd ever thank a spam-artist but I have enjoyed a lot of the threads they have chosen including this one.
Alison
~~~~~~
"the earth is not only for humans, but for all animals and living things."
LOL yeah I have to agree with you there. Just by the way it is worth checking using the search button some times if you are interested in a particular species of bird to have a look at earlier postings. Particularly in the Best Photos area where there are just so many shots posted and it is easy to lose track of the ones you may want to see.
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Love the catbird, have never seen one. Love the tomato and jam treats too, Bob says that's cheating but I think he's just jealous. We are in Milawa at the moment and leaving for Wollongong tomorrow, the rye grass around here is getting a bit much for my hayfever. Should know better than to come here in Spring. Kepp posting the beaut photos. Haven't been able to read all the posts,this little computer is a pain and won't always access the net - then I end up with a hundred or more posts!. Cheers to everyone.
Meave
Birdie I've tried using the onboard flash because the bigger one I have doesn't work but when I use the little one which is part of the camera the photos always seem too dark. Maybe the camera doesn't realise there is a larger lens on there?
Cheers, Owen.