Caught a pair of these as I was looking for the Osprey next to swampland around the Mooloolah river .... just couldn't get the camera to work fast enough so this was all I could get. Have no idea what they were ...big dark BOP LOL
Any suggestions??
Thanks
Birdie
Maybe.... I was thinking along those lines. The strange thing is I was tracking an Osprey (definitely sure of that) as it headed over some wasteland and over this beautiful patch of rainforest/ swamp then I lost it for a few seconds and out came these two from the other side. At first I thought I was tracking the same bird, but then I realised the Osprey had probably continued on to its nest behind the bush.
Sunshine Coast Queensland
I would second the brown goshawk identification.
To me it looks very falcon like. The bombing position is a characteristic of falcon as shown in the second photo.
Sorry Berldo and Perthwings but i strongly disagree with the goshawk identification.
I'll have to say it is a Black/Brown Falcon.
I stand corrected. Upon further reading I agree with your Brown Falcon Identification QLDbird. The falcons wings come to more of a point when hovering whereas the hawk seems to be more fanned out. Also if you look carefully at pic one you can see a bit of eye detail which leans more towards a Falcon rather than a Hawk.
Well no it was definitely not hovering. They came flying straight from the bush and out and above the surrounding swamp and bushland.... here is how it went down pretty much:
After connecting with the block wall I grabbed camera and bolted out of the car....
to get this blurry shot (one of several)
definitely an Osprey
which then disappeared beyond the line of sight over a stand of dense bush...... so I rushed to the other side and caught this... one became two and changed from Osprey to something else altogether !
And they were flying over and around this....
Hope this helps .... and thanks for trying everyone :)
Sunshine Coast Queensland
First of all Perthwings my name is not oldy but QLDBird as I am far from old (12). To me the eye detail looks nothing like a hawk or any other type of BOP besides a falcon.
Love the photos Birdie!
First of all Perthwings my name is not oldy but QLDBird as I am far from old (12). To me the eye detail looks nothing like a hawk or any other type of BOP besides a falcon.
Love the photos Birdie!
Sorry my computer had a caniption.
Definately a falcon. And looking more and more like a brown falcon to be exact.
Perthwings.... I think you need an eyetest or something.... it is QldBird...as in Queensland bird, not old bird LOL
Still haven't got a clue. As I am starting work soon I guess I'll have to grab the opportunity to get back there and try again! the blue skies are back now I hope. :)
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Thanks Birdie
Just a stab in the dark, is it a Black Kite? I think you'll need someone who's more of an expert identify it. I find BOP hard to identify.
Definitely a Brown Falcon.
1 - First image at top, very broad wings.
2 - Third image in second series, very clear dark tear mark around the eye.
3 - Again, third image in second series the light areas on the underside of the wing and the rounded, fanned tail.
Clear as glass to me it's nothing other than a Falco berigora err, Brown Falcon...
cheers
Hey Thanks so much Akos
I was waiting for someone like you to turn up that really knows their BOPs. In that case it would be my first sighting of a falcon ( that I know of anyway). I may go back this weekend and have another go as i think they all live around that piece of bush. I certainly will not be relying on the AF system in my lens to keep up with it. It'll be manual or bust next time. I was so frustrated with the Osprey that it was flying so close over my head and I ended up with nothing :)
Cheers
Birdie
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Hi Birdie
Do you have a DSLR? If so, then set it to continuous focus (Nikon) or AI-Servo focus (Canon) and use the single center AF point only to track. Usually works well for me. :)
I have only one image of a Brown Falcon (in flight) that is using manual focus. It's still very difficult despite it being a rather slow-flying species.
Good luck.
Thanks Akos
Yes I have been playing with AF modes on my Canon. Your comments prompted me to go back to the original images and view them on Canon Digital Professional, where I can see every setting that was used. It appears that in these shots I was in Manual mode as I had failed beforehand to even get a shot off. This has also taught me that if I ever wish to look back and learn from my poor quality shots ( or good ones for that matter) I should keep the original rather than saving over it as then you have lost your ability to see what happened in the original shot.
I think I took it off servo as I do a lot of prefocus and tricking the light meter stuff when the bush appears too dark or in backlight. you know...you get a lock for the exposure and then you move the camera to recompose. I was finding that the servo refocussing was spoiling my shots.
SO I suppose the answer to that is to get to know my camera more closely so I can adjust for the shot with exp comp or partial metering when necessary. Would you agree with that?
I am enjoying re learning all over the techniques that I once used to teach salespeople to explain. :')
It is way different when you are totally in love with a bird and want to catch it in all its glory in a split second!!!
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Agree with Windhover for the reasons he's mentioned. Not much else you could mistake this for.
Thanks Gelmir.... another bird for my list. Not that I would recognise it again.... I find it so hard to determine which BOP I am seeing when they are backlit in the sky.
Nice to see you again by the way
Cheers
Birdie
Sunshine Coast Queensland