Rainbow Bee-eaters Pushing 210mm to it's limits

Couldn't help myself in trying the 40-150 pro + TC on some Rainbow Bee-Eaters. They don't like me getting too close and I knew it was going to be a challenge trying to get close enough for some decent shots.
The photo's came out well with a fair bit of cropping thanks to the optical quality of the 40-150 pro and I was thinking to myself geez wouldn't a 300mm f4 be handy with or without the TC.
By the time the 300 f4 comes out these guyz will be headed north but i'll try a few more times to get closer as they are my favourite birds.

Enjoy!

She decided not to grab the insect in the end but was keeping a close watch

male

female and male (L to R)

male

Showing it's colours

Male Keeping an eye on the nest

male

female in flight

female

male with some shine

Thanks mate, god was kind to all the bee-eaters
Unfortunately only this species exists in Australia  lol but i'll take what I'm given
I got a few with dragonflies been caught, eaten or given to the females by the males but unfortunately they were in the shade.
Guess i'll have to try again

Skeeterbytes wrote:

Wow, it's like a kid ordered a bird out of a bird-designing kit--"I want more colors and I'm gluing long feathers to its tail, and oh yeah, a big curved beak and...."

Great series! The first could well be my dog eyeing a squirrel thinking, "This time, I'm getting it for real!"

Cheers,

Rick

missed one

I particularly like the bird on the ground, nice set

Good job, Vass. Look forward to seeing your f4 300mm endeavors! LOL.

....would be most welcome over at Richard Pavek's 'Sunday Bird' on the Olympus DSLR forum.

Yes I've tried getting closer to these guys too with limited success (and I do own the 300/2.8 and T.C.).

Great shots!

Thank you all for the kind comments

lovely bird and fantastic series of photos

i take my hat off to you !

What beautiful birds!  Great photos too.

Wonderful shots, wonderful colors on Bee Eaters. I especially like two with the BIF.

Wow, those are some great photos of a spectacular bird!

Might be pushing it, but still sharp results Vas and showing good details at the larger views. Excellent BIF's, just plain downright excellent !! Gorgeous birds they are and what great colours. Doesn't mean a lot if you don't know what you are doing though, you do mate, great to see.

All the best next door Vas, wonderful shots and work.

Danny.

Thanks Danny
More bee-eaters to come later on, hopefully after so many rainy and cloudy days here the last week it will hopefully clear for a while again and if I get an arvo or two off i'll definetly have a go at them again.

nzmacro wrote:

Might be pushing it, but still sharp results Vas and showing good details at the larger views. Excellent BIF's, just plain downright excellent !! Gorgeous birds they are and what great colours. Doesn't mean a lot if you don't know what you are doing though, you do mate, great to see.

All the best next door Vas, wonderful shots and work.

Danny.

Thanks to all others who commented and liked

Beautiful birds! Nice capture!

Are you reasonably happy with EM-1 and this pro zoom for BIF? What kind of keep rate?

Thanks

Thanks Lawrence.
I'm happy with it and the pro zoom when the birds are in reach. A 300mm or longer lens would make BIF easier for me as usually reach is what stops me getting some nice photo's.

To be honest I have no idea about what my BIF keeper rate is like because it depends what BIF I'm doing and the conditions I'm doing them in. Sometimes I can get a whole sequence of 10 shots or maybe 6-9 at most other times. Sometimes i struggle to get 3 out of 10 due to bird size, poor light or busy terrain. I don't usually shoot slower bigger birds too, the challenge of manoeuvrable small ones is my thing atm so I don't really have anything solid to compare too. To me the flight shot has to be pretty sharp with the figures I talked about above so it may vary from what others consider keepers.

Lawrence W wrote:

Beautiful birds! Nice capture!

Are you reasonably happy with EM-1 and this pro zoom for BIF? What kind of keep rate?

Thanks

Superb images! Bee-eaters are like rockets with wings. Great job nailing these in flight. I've found the Olympus 40-150mm to be a stellar performer as well. Can't wait for the recently announced Leica/Lumix 100-400mm zoom. With the Leica glass, the 400mm (800mm equivalent reach) and Lumix's DFD for predictive AF we will have another amazing birding lens.

By the way where did you shoot these beautiful birds. I just returned from a month in South Africa and saw a few but no great photo opportunities.

Thats for sharing these gorgeous images.

Cheers mate

They are quick indeed and their colours really show when flying

I shot them near Sydney in Aus

danieljcox wrote:

Superb images! Bee-eaters are like rockets with wings. Great job nailing these in flight. I've found the Olympus 40-150mm to be a stellar performer as well. Can't wait for the recently announced Leica/Lumix 100-400mm zoom. With the Leica glass, the 400mm (800mm equivalent reach) and Lumix's DFD for predictive AF we will have another amazing birding lens.

By the way where did you shoot these beautiful birds. I just returned from a month in South Africa and saw a few but no great photo opportunities.

Thats for sharing these gorgeous images.