This past trip, I added the little bee-eater to my list of birds, and saw the white fronted and european bee-eater again. I’ve only ever seen the european bee-eater from far distances, so I am hoping some day I will have some nice close up shots to work with.
A pair of white fronted bee-eaters perched on a thorn tree branch. 1/250 sec, f5.6, ISO 1000While the female look away, the male sneaks off. 1/400 sec, f5.6, ISO 1000Contemplating following her partner… this female white fronted bee-eater stuck around for another minute before heading off after her mate. 1/400 sec, f5.6, ISO 1000A lone little bee-eater perched on a low branch. It’s mate was just out of the shot, about a meter away. 1/1000 sec, f5.6, ISO 720A pair of little bee-eaters perched on a broken branch. 1/320 sec, f7.1, ISO 400A pair of little bee-eaters pose for some photos. 1/320 sec, f8.0, ISO 400A European bee-eater perched in a far off tree. 1/250 sec, f5.6 ISO 800
A pin-tailed whydah stops in for a drink at a puddle that was definitely more mud than water. A blue waxbill was also there looking for a drink. 1/500 sec, f7.1 ISO 100
More pictures from my session at the Mkombe hide at Zimanga. The mousebirds were a favourite of the photo coordinator, and the bird she most hoped seeing when we started our hide session. The red faced mousebird only made brief appearance, but a good number of speckled mousebirds spent a great deal of time at the water.
Looking at the photos now, I find a resemblance between the mousebird and a cardinal (head and beak shape) though I must be honest I have not seen a cardinal other than in photos for over 30 years, so I could be completely wrong about that.
Wikipedia provides some information on the behaviour and habitat of the mousebird:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mousebird
Have a great day!
A red faced mousebird leans in for a drink. This mousebird showed up to our afternoon session at the Bhejane hide, before anyone even had their camera attached to a tripod, and never came back again. 1/400 sec, f5.6, ISO 1600A long mousebird perched above the watering hole. 1/400 sec, f5.6, ISO 1000Feathers ruffled.Five mousebirds around the watering hole on a sunny spring morning. 1/2500 sec, f9.0, ISO 1600Wings back and claws extended as the mousebird comes into land at the watering hole. 1/2500 sec, f9.0 ISO 1600Two drinking, one eyeing up the situation from the perch, and one on the way out (bet you didn’t notice that one at first!) 1/2500 sec, f9.0, ISO 2000A mousebird lands at the water hole as an emerald spotted wood dove takes off. 1/2500 sec, f9.0, ISO 2000The long tail feathers of the mousebird are well displayed during take off. 1/2500 sec, f9.0 ISO 2000The last of the mousebirds takes off for the trees. 1/2500 sec, f9.0, ISO 2000
Here in southern BC, we have spent the last few days with lovely warm weather for February, but have been absolutely hammered with rain as well. This morning, I woke up to a reprieve from the rain and even a few hints of blue sky. As such, I finally got out on a morning walk with my camera. I can’t believe it is February and these are the first 2015 photos I am able to post. They aren’t the best eagle or osprey photos I have taken and the birds weren’t doing anything weird or wonderful. I am just so thrilled that I was able to have a dry walk and see some birds that I decided to share.
Based on the quality and direction of the light, and how desaturated the photos were, I decided to convert everything to black and white.
Happy Sunday everyone!
An osprey peers down at me from a tree along the banks of the Pitt River.Tired of being photographed, the osprey flees the paparazzi.This osprey didn’t seem to appreciate the camera being pointed at it, and flew away to a new perch after only a couple photos. We played this game a few times before it headed off out of reach of my camera.The trunks of two trees nicely frame a beautiful bald eagle. It kept a very watchful eye on Spencer and I.The eagle’s penetrating gaze trained in the direction of the osprey. Even though it was a fair distance away, I have no doubt they were aware of each other.
A friend of mine recently showed me some lovely photos she took of a Baltimore oriole, which inspired me to get to work on the photos I have of beautiful yellow birds – the southern masked weaver and spectacled weaver.
I was lucky enough to be able to watch the southern masked weavers crafting their nests in a tree in the back garden of the Wildlife ACT volunteer house at Zimanga, plus have them visit the water hole while we had time at the hides.
Enjoy!
A female southern masked weaver perched high in the branches in the back garden. Not a great shot; I included it to show the difference between the male and female. 1/320 sec, f5.6, ISO 450A southern masked weaver works on his nest upside down. 1/320 sec, f5.6, ISO 280The weaver makes a retreat after having a quick splash in the water. 1/1600 sec, f9.0, ISO 1250A southern masked weaver flanked by a pair of cape glossy starlings. I love the contrast between the colouring of the weaver and the starlings. 1/1600 sec, f9.0, ISO 1250The early stages of the nest process. The grasses are woven together with a great deal of intricacy. 1/500 sec, f5.6, ISO 100Several southern masked weavers work on building the perfect nest. 1/500 sec, f5.6, ISO 140A spectacled weaver eyes up the water hole before heading down for a drink. 1/2500 sec, f7.1, ISO 5000A southern masked weaver perched above the watering hole. 1/1600 sec, f9.0, ISO 1250
Unlike the pygmy kingfisher, I didn’t have any success capturing the brown hooded kingfisher in the water. Next time! He did however provide me with lots of lovely photo opportunities. My favourite will probably be a surprise to most, but there is just something about it that makes me smile.
Enjoy!
A beautiful pose to show off his lovely turquoise feathers. The male brown hooded kingfisher has black shoulder feathers, while the female has brown (Thanks to my handy Roberts Bird guide app for that information). 1/2500 sec, f7.1, ISO 4000A bit of post splash bath preening. 1/2500 sec, f9.0, ISO 2000The is how a bird deals with an itch on the top of its head. 1/2500 sec, f9.0, ISO 2000Take off! 1/2500 sec, f9.0, ISO 2000A nice smooth landing. 1/2500 sec, f9.0, ISO 2000Striking a bit of a model pose, glancing over a raised wing, 1/2500 sec, f9.0, ISO 2000Trying out the crested feather look. 1/2500 sec, f9.0, ISO 2000A little shake from behind. 1/2500 sec, f9.0, ISO 2000Believe it or not, my favourite of all my brown hooded kingfisher photos. It just makes me smile 🙂 And it reminds me of the photos of dogs caught mid shake – they just look so goofy. 1/2500 sec, f9.0, ISO 2000
I’ve finally worked my way through all the photos that I took of the pygmy kingfisher at the Mkombe hide at Zimanga. Some of the action shots I’ve included are not as crisp as I would like, but I’ve posted them anyways as they do show a nice representation of what the pygmy kingfisher looks like in flight and when coming out of the water. The sole crisp water shot that I managed to capture was done by pre-focusing on the spot I thought it would fly to (an ounce of technique and a pound of luck).
A pygmy kingfisher perches after a splash bath. 1/640sec, f5.6, ISO6400Once the clouds parted and the sun came out, the pygmy kingfishers colouring looked even more spectacular. 1/2000sec, f8.0, ISO25001/2000sec, f8.0, ISO2500Striking the perfect model pose. 1/2000sec, f8., ISO 2500Peering downwards the water, planning for the next spot to take a bath. 1/200sec, f8.0, ISO2500The kingfisher breaks back through the water while a laughing dove watches in the background. 1/1250sec, f14, ISO 2500Heading for the water. 1/1250sec, f11. ISO 1250A blue waxbill comes into land at the waterhole, as the kingfisher takes her (or his) leave. 1/1250 sec, f11. ISO 5600Getting closer in my attempt to pre-focus, but still not quite there. 1/1250 sec, f11, ISO 1250Success!!! 1/1250 sec, f11, ISO 1250A pygmy kingfisher flies past while a laughing dove stops by for a drink. 1/1250 sec, f11, ISO 4000
Like the giant kingfisher I posted a couple days ago, this is the token photo that I have of a striped kingfisher. And actually, I didn’t even realize I had it until I started going through all my kingfisher photos and rating them; going back and forth between a couple photos, I finally spotted the difference between this and the brown hooded kingfisher (photos to follow on the weekend). I don’t mind admitting a bit of a “duh” moment, and that it took me ages to spot the different species amongst my photos. Honestly, I am just grateful I came home with so many photos, as at the start of my trip, it seemed the only kingfisher sightings I was going to have was as they flew away from me down a drainage line or up into the trees beyond the reach of my camera.
A striped kingfisher pauses long enough on a bare branch for me to snap a photo. 1/400sec, f5.6, ISO160
I spent some time going through my kingfisher photos today, and am very happy that I will have lots of shots of both the brown hooded kingfisher and the pygmy kingfisher to come in the following days and weeks. Unfortunately, I only managed a single photo of the giant kingfisher, and while it isn’t a fantastic shot, I thought I would post it anyways, as I think the variety in size and colouration of the kingfishers is phenomenal, and it seemed wrong to leave this one out.
We spotted this kingfisher when we were crossing from the north to the south side of the river. We briefly parked on the bridge to take some photos, but the kingfisher was at a fair distance to begin with, and after I managed only two photos, flew away.
A giant kingfisher perches in a tree above the Mkhuze River. 1/250sec, f5.6, ISO 1800
