My first bird post

[jonathandael]

i think this will suffice for now till i get a more capable lens.. ;D

this was taken around feb 2007 in Dubai.. can someone ID this cute little birdie? is this some kind of wren?



sorry for being OOF and the cluttered BG


jump shot

[raymondjbarlow]

cool shots bud., no idea on the id though.

[jonathandael]

thanks, raymond..

i'll just post this newbie photo here of this very elusive bird.. taken Dec 12, 2006. (Nikon D80 with kit lens)

Australian Brush-Turkey Size: 60-65cm Habitat: Found in Australia from Cape York Peninsula south to Sydney and west to the Great Dividing Range. It favours dry scrub, rainforest and dense vegetation. Ground feeds on fruits seeds and insects. Notes: Head has featherless red skin with yellow at base of neck. Body black-dark brown, underbody pale grey bars. Breeds spring-summer builds large incubating mound.

[jonathandael]

today i decided to practice familiarizing myself to the world of birding by going out to nearby Narrabeen Lake and shoot birds specifically. in the past, my shots of birds were shot in short range. This time, before I buy a dedicated birding lens and become more serious in this field, i took my cheapy 2nd hand 70-300 f/5.6 (non-vr) and mated it to a my also cheapy-soft Kenko 2X TC and used manual focus as the AF is so slow. This is to let me have a feel of what its like looking at super tele ranges even if i know the results will not be good. so please excuse the softness, blur, and terrible chromatic aberrations.. ;D don't worry, i promise to do justice to these birds in the future.. hehe..

i was actually a bit surprised at the number of species i was able to shoot in just 1 1/2 hrs of just walking around. but i admit, birding sure is hard! what did i get into??!! i like it though.. it's a good way to unwind.. i guess i still have a lot to learn especially in reducing camera shake.

before leaving the house:

Laughing Kookaburra Size: 46cm Habitat: Located on the eastern coast from Cape York to Southern SA, introduced in southern WA and TAS. Inhabiting open forest and urban areas, tall wooded forests. eats snakes, lizards, rodents and insects. Notes: Head white with brown front, dark brown stripe over eyes. Wings brown with blue patches. best known for its distinct sound used in hollywood for forest sounds ("koo-koo-koo-kak-kak-kak-kak!" ;D )

D300 70-300 f/5.6 @ f/8 + Kenko 2X TC (~600mm f/16) 1/100 ISO 800 hand held. cropped lightly.


at Narrabeen Lake
Male and Female Mallard

~170mm f/16 1/80 ISO 1250 hand held




Little pied Cormorant Size: 50-55cm Habitat: Distributed Australia wide, inhabiting most water environments. Dams, creeks, ponds, lakes, rivers and reservoirs. Feeds mainly on crustaceans and aquatic insects. Notes: Yellow bill, black over forehead and down back of neck, white face, neck and body, black wings.

~600mm f/16 1/1600 ISO 1250 tripod legs closed used like monopod. cropped lightly



~600mm f/22 1/250 ISO 800 slight crop


~600mm f/22 1/400 ISO 800 med crop



Great Egret Size: 90-100cm Habitat: Found Australia wide excepting our most arid regions. This Egret is the largest white Egret in Australia. Located near rivers, lakes, swamps, floodwaters and mudflats. Diet consists of small fish, crustaceans and amphibians. Notes: White bird, bill longer than other Egrets, long legs.


~244mm f/16 1/500 ISO 800


~500mm f/16 1/800 ISO 1600


~600mm f/16 1/800 ISO 1600


~600mm f/16 1/400 ISO 1600 med crop

[jonathandael]

Darter Size: 85-95cm Habitat: Found most places in Australia except arid inland regions, the Darter lives around saltwater and freshwater lakes, creeks and estuaries, It's main diet is fish which are hunted underwater and speared with it's long sharp beak. Notes: Black to greyish brown head and body with long snakelike neck, thin pale yellow beak. Pale streaks on wings when outstretched.

Drying out
~600mm f/16 1/250 ISO 800


~600mm f/16 1/125 ISO 800




Superb Fairy-wren Size: 14cm Habitat: Distributed from South East QLD to VIC and parts of SA, this wren inhabits open forest, parkland and dense shrubbery. Feeds of the ground on small insects. Notes: Males : black and blue head brown body with dark tail. Females: brown with slight orange/red patch around eye.


Gee these little cuties sure are hard to track! I was also able to shoot an Eastern Yellow Robin but it was too blurred ;D

Female
~420mm f/16 1/100 ISO 1600 slight crop


Male
~600mm f/16 1/100 ISO 1600 slight med crop



Not sure...
White eyed Duck (Hardhead) Size: 42-58cm Habitat: Distributed through out Australia, the White eyed Duck prefers the deep water of streams, ponds and swamps. Diving deep for vegetation and fish. Notes: Male: Brown bird with white eye and belly, Female has brown eye.

~600mm f/16 1/200 ISO 800

[Neon Rosell II]

Nice catch Jonathan!! Keep em coming!! ;D

[Martin Alvendia]

Interesting species! Thanks for sharing!

[Joel Espineli]

Wow! Nice captures.

[jonathandael]

some recent shots

silver gull

135mm f/5.6 1/3200 ISO 200


little pied cormorant

250mm f/5.6 1/640 ISO 200



250mm f/5.6 1/400 ISO 200