I was so happy this morning when for the first time ever for me in the wild, I discovered these two gorgeous creatures perched on a high branch in the thick of the trees where my morning walk passes through. I was actually looking for the pale headed rosellas for Holly but they were absent. This was good enough compensation for me though. Considering it was the first walk for the year for me , I was really lucky to see something interesting.
Hi Birdie,
good spotting, it feels great to see new birds, congrats. Tawnies are my favorite, our resident pair have moved further up the mountain and I can still hear them calling but I really miss seeing them every day.
Sharon
Hi Sharon
i saw them again today in the same tree. I tried really hard to get a better quality photo but I just can't seem to do it. I think it is the ens I am using. I just loooked back to one that ed posted last year when he got his 100 - 400L and there is just no comparison with the 100 -300 . I played around with the exposure compensation but the clarity is just not there. i have never ha good luck using long focal lengths, and am really disappointed . Here is one that I took today anyway
Does everyone go through this with bird photography?
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Hi Birdie
You asked: "Does everyone go through this with bird photography?"
Yes.
Plants are generally easier - you can get closer to them, - at least the little ones, like Orchids.
Thing is, practice does make you more successful. And Luck. Every now and then one gets lucky with bird photographs. But patience helps create luck.
Best wishes.
Denis
Denis Wilson
www.peonyden.blogspot.com
Hi Birdie, yeah it's not easy, I had to stand on the roof of my car (don't let my hubby know this!!) to get a decent picture of the Tawny's here.
I am currently saving up for a longer lens, I was useing a 100-300 and found I always needed that 'bit' extra. Denis is right, practice and patience are the keys. I am always in awe of some of the photographers here. Oh well back to some more bird stalking.
Sharon
Hi Denis and Sharon
Thanks for your supportive comments. Denis you are quite right, flowers are a lot easier! I have never had a problem with composition etc but I guess it is the longer distances that pose the problems. I am terrible at hand holding the longer lenses and I just can't carry a tripod when I'm walking in the mornings.
As for the morons that commented on the story about the lawn grubs, I was speechless! We live in a bird filled area and I am sure that they are the minority, but it is beyond belief to me that anyone can feel so twisted. I am so privileged to have a butcher bird as an alarm clock!
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Hi Birdie,
Love your pics…you did really well to spot the Tawnys in the first place …I can’t think of any other bird that can camouflage it’s self as well as this bird can ? Their plumage blends in so perfectly to the bark on some trees. I was on holidays up the coast a few years back staying in an apartment block on the second floor. There was a tree growing very close to the balcony and within arms reach were two Tawny’s cleverly perched and motionless in a fork of the tree branches. They were almost invisible and I must have been staring at them for five minutes or so until I realized that they were birds. Probably only because they moved. Very clever…the birds of cause.
Hi Sharon,
You standing on the car roof made me laugh.
Pamela
Central Coast NSW
Hi birdie
Nothing wrong with those shots, up into the shadows with strong back light. You have done better than most. My local frogmouths seem not to have a head for heights. :-) They are rarely above a couple of metres up, unless disturbed. I had the luck to find a nest with adult and chicks the other day, again only about 2m up, a couple of quick shots and a slow back away left them happy. Take a look at the comments by Graeme Chapman on his site about the perfect shot...he has all the gear and many years of experience yet he says of the stand out shots 'they just happen, and in my case only two or three times a year'. His 'stand out shots are great as are many of his shots. Take a look at his work, well worth it http://www.graemechapman.com.au/cgi-bin/leprints.php
Ed Townsville NQ
Thanks Ed for the encouragement. it has been a while since i engaged in serious photography, and as I said long lenses have never been my forte. This isi my first experience with a digital SLR and I have a lot to learn still. I did read Graham Chapmans pages, so I don't feel too bad. I think I am too critical but seeing the encouragement I will post a few photos taken on the same day that I previously didn't think were good enough.I'll post them under best pics
Sunshine Coast Queensland
G'day birdie, congrats on seeing the Tawnies! I still get excited everytime I see a new bird for the first time. I even still get excited about seeing old birds! :^)
.
Don't be too critical of yourself when taking photo's. I got my first DSLR only a couple of days before Christmas, before then I was using a Panasonic DMC-FZ7. When I got the DLSR I thought the ratio of keepers to trash photo's would get better, but it never did. I still throw away a lot of photo's I take, actually nearly all of them.I've read that even the professional photographers only keep about 5% of the photo's they take.
.
The main thing you can do is practice. I spend plenty of time at the local dam, and zoo's practicing taking photo's in all sorts of whether so I can learn how to take better photo's.
The main thing is don't let the desire for a fantastic shot overtake the joy you get from just enjoying birds.
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And if you want some advice on how to improve a particular shot, just post the settings you used on your camera when you took the shot, ask for input and we'll all be more than happy to pass on what we know.
Hi Gelmir and thanks for that. You made my day!!
I know how easy it is to "miss the moment " and see everything through your camera. It used to be especially bad in the days before digital.
I just had a lovely experience here at work with a juvenile butcherbird and it's parent. The young one came up to the door (glass) of my office and was talking to me. The Parent was sheltering from the rain under eaves, not far away. All the time the older bird was watching and coming out with the lower notes that come with the pied butcherbirds song. I have always wondered what the various notes mean so it was interesting to observe this. I raced to get my phone and take a photo but when I saw the pics I decided it was better to commit it to memory! I wake in the morning to their call and am surrounded by them day and evening, they are by far my favourite because of their song. I wish I could speak Butcher!!
Sunshine Coast Queensland
That's awesome! You gotta love the trustfulness adn inquisitiveness of young birds. And Butcherbirds do have a very nice song.
Glad I could be of some help.
yes birdie, its a nice pic.. i m seeing it for the first time ... lovely creature.
jehosa
Hi Birdie, I know what you mean about being so excited to spot Tawny Frogmouths in the wild. I was taking my dogs for a walk and spotted 5 of them on a recently fallen tree, 2 adults one of which was sat a little way away from the other 4 but on the same tree trunk. I was so excited I dragged my poor dogs back to the house to get my camera and left them shut indoors (with looks to kill... asking "are you serious?!")
The shots are poor as they were taken before I upgraded cameras and it was at dusk. But you can imagine the feeling I had when watching them.
I have spotted one since in the park but not had my camera, and often hear them at night near the house. They are the most gorgeous birds aren't they? and it feels such a privelage to see them as they are so good at branch imitation!
Having trouble uploading photos so will post meassage and then try to upload photos.
Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best
Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best
What a gorgeous photo opportunity. I can understand you wanting to capture it. The problem with Tawnies is that they are only available where the light is poor and they camouflage so well!
I have been back to the same place looking for them but all I get is a stiff neck!
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Birdie, just looked at your shots again, they are great, what time of day was it? did they fly away after you had got the shots? where do tawnys go during the day? or are they in the same place but just keeping really still?
Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best