The Sunday BIRD Volume 8, Issue 32 January 27, 2013

Good Morning All,

Hope you’re having a great weekend! .

If you are new here, all cameras and lenses are welcome!

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Mine follow

Cheers and Chirps,

Richard Pavek

SHENmaker@MSN.com

My photo/essay blog is at: www.RichardsBirdBlog.com

Gallery at www.pbase.com/shenmaker

Ring-billed Gull

Ring-billed Gull

White-tailed Kite

Rough-legged Hawk, Dark morph

Rough-legged Hawk

Thanks for looking, comments welcome,

Richard

The lowly House Finch has got to be the mainstay of yard birds, at least they are for me. So when the sun finally came out last week I thought I'd spend some time with our finches..



They're almost always available and usually amenable for photographing. Usually they let me get within 20 feet and closer to them, at least some will.



They’re very sociable and don't mind playing out their squabbles in front of the camera..







I have many more pictures and may continue this next week...

Very nice set of images Richard.Like the first and the nest landing shot the most.Thanks for sharing.

--
Makarand Saraf.

love the last three action shots the most.Thanks for sharing.

--
Makarand Saraf.

Here are a few shots of the Australian Supurb Fairy Wren taken last week in the Georges River NP in SE Australia

I could hear a small group of wrens  twittering in dense vegetation on the shore of a fresh water lagoon.

I did my best to get close, having to walk out on a thick mat of water plants until I started to sink. I found an unsteady perch on a fallen tree and waited, and waited. It was hot and the mosquitos were doing their best to get through my chemical screen. The ZD300 was feeling extra heavy in my sweaty hands, and holdng the camera I had no hand-hold to keep myself steady

This little male Fairy Wren made a brief appearance. He didn't get into a nice position in the light and didn't keep still at all.  I was too uncomfortable to wait for a 'perfect' shot, so I took what I could get.

All shots E-5,  ZD300mm, EC-14, hand held, IS1, PP in LR4 and cropped.

Peter



Bald Eagle, Northern Flicker, House Finch and Pinyon Jays.









I wish to thank those of you who offered their good wishes for my recovery. I spent about a month and 4 days in the hospital and then was in a skilled nursing rehab facility for a little over 3 months. I contracted Legionaires Disease and pneumonia. When I left the hospital for the rehab facility I was unable to walk or swallow. I was fed through a tube. I was on a respirator for 6 days and was not expected to make it. But I did. The medical people called it a miracle of sorts. Well, after all this tine, I'm walking, eating and getting my strength back. I'm still not allowed to drive - not till March at the earliest. Haven't had a camera in my hand, but will get there soon. I worked out in rehab like like I haven't in years. I may post some images from my archives.

Once again, many, many thanks.

--

Milt
Author of 'Brain Surgery, Self Taught'
http://picasaweb.google.com/okreb1
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UTvFYFpAwAQ/Tp49Cr0qa7I/AAAAAAAB6cw/n8nhFIXpKsU/s144/PA091331-1.JPG

Those are a beautiful set of shots from a beautiful place.  All are done quite nicely indeed.  Thank you for sharing them all.

I cannot ever remember seeing quite that shade of blue on a bird, or any other creature.  A darling of a bird that was nicely captured and framed.

Richard, very nice captures, especially #1. Well done.

--
Milt
Author of 'Brain Surgery, Self Taught'
http://picasaweb.google.com/okreb1

Absolutely wonderful to hear from you and to know that you are recovering Milt !

Peter

She sure looks like a fairy Peter.Thanks for sharing these lovely images with us.

--
Makarand Saraf.



All with Oly EM5 + Leitz 400/6.8 MF lens.  Lummi, WA.

--
Steve Barnett

Well, my 7D arrived on Friday, along with the 100-400L, battery grip and kenko 1.4x tc.

I managed to grab these yesterday whilst attempting to learn where all the buttons were!

Didn't quite zoom enough for this one, so this is virtually a 100% crop!

I knew there must have been something amiss with you when I didn't receive a reply to an email sent a few months back enquiring as to where you were and what you were doing, now I know you have been ill and understand fully why you couldn't answer. It's a tyranny of distance thing but I was missing your bird shots and thought you may have "hung up the cameras" a far better alternative to "hanging up the boots" I'm sure you'd agree.

Good luck with the recovery Milt, it shouldn't be too much longer before you are firing again on all cylinders.

Best regards,

John Byrne.

Gidday Milt

What a terrible ordeal!

Glad to hear that you are on the mend, mate.

--
Kindest regards, john from Melbourne, Australia.
(see profile for current gear)
Please do not embed images from my web site without prior permission
I consider this to be a breach of my copyright.
-- -- --
.
The Camera doth not make the Man (nor Woman) ...
Perhaps being kind to cats, dogs & children does ...
.
I am a Photography Aficionado ... and ...
"I don't have any problems with John. He is a crotchety old Aussie. He will smack you if you behave like a {deleted}. Goes with the territory." boggis the cat
.
Gallery: http://canopuscomputing.com.au/gallery2/v/main-page/

Bird Control Officers on active service.

Wow Milt, I had no idea. Glad you made it through those tough times. Take care.

--
Aloha,
jan/aja
***FCAS Member #128, Oly Division***
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1007&message=14354990
http://aja2.deviantart.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmitchell_photography/

That last shot is gorgeous. I love shots of birds of prey on the hunt, they always look so focused

Beautiful, especially #1