A few bird pictures.

In article .com,
says...

Tony Gartshore wrote:
I'm not sure whether I'm inspired or intimidated by the wildlife
photographs that some of you have on display. But having decided to
give bird photography a go here are a few I've taken in the last few
days..


Hi Bret.

First lesson:

Buzzard:
http://www.pbase.com/bret/image/47808461
http://www.pbase.com/bret/image/28019171

Nope, It's a RightPondian Buzzard..

Buteo Buteo or Common Buzzard.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/birds/guide/b/buzzard/index.asp


Hawks are cool.
Buzzards are ugly.


A hawk or an eagle will usually soar with little effort in a circular
pattern.


Yep, that's a good description of the flight of a Common Buzzard..


Second Lesson:
Clean the dust off of your sensor.


It's not so much dust as a large speck of crap.. Clearly visible with
the shutter locked open. I'm taking it into the local dealer on
Saturday to get a decent blower and advice.. (Actually, I'm hoping
they'll do it for me !)


Third Lesson:
Get a long lens.
You can never have enough telephoto.
I'm currently stuck at 400mm f/5.6, but I could do some real damage
with the 600 f/4.


They were taken with a Canon 100-400 L. My problem is that I need to
learn how to get closer without scaring them away.

How close do you get to Spike when you visit him ?


Fourth Lesson:
Keep looking and keep shooting.
(This may be the most valuable lesson of all.)

Indeed.. And thank you..

T.
--
Do Binary Tripods have 11 legs ?

In article , egruf_usenet2
@cox.net says...
On Tue, 16 Jan 2007 09:39:56 -0500, in rec.photo.digital M-M
wrote:

Can you point out the dust artifacts on the images?

You're kidding, right?
http://www.evil-photographer.com/Birds/Buzzard/
so bad they are readily apparent in the thumbnails for pics 1 and 6. Look
for the large dark unfocused spots.

'Spot' on.. A large speck of crap right in the middle of the sensor.

Hopefully to be sorted at the weekend..

T.
--
Do Binary Tripods have 11 legs ?

In article , says...
Tony Gartshore wrote:


By the way, those "Buzzards" are Red Kites, and they are a compelling target
for photographers due to their fickle nature, i.e. they just never stay
still long enough ;-)


Nope, definitely Buzzards.. Look at the tail, the Kite has a deep V, not
the rounded brush.. Kite's head is a whiteish colour and the wings have
different white patterns underneath..

I see you're at Rutherford so you obviously know they're a regular sight
around here.. Easy to confuse them..

I've uploaded a couple of very dodgy shots that show the differences..

You're right about them being a devil to photograph though. They cover
the ground deceptively quickly with that circular flight pattern of
theirs.

Love the Sparrow shots mind you, they are very nice indeed.

Thank you..

Did you know Dave Pike BTW ?

D


T.
--
Do Binary Tripods have 11 legs ?

Annika1980 wrote:
Tony Gartshore wrote:
I'm not sure whether I'm inspired or intimidated by the wildlife
photographs that some of you have on display. But having decided to
give bird photography a go here are a few I've taken in the last few
days..

First lesson:

Buzzard:
http://www.pbase.com/bret/image/47808461
http://www.pbase.com/bret/image/28019171

Hawk:
http://www.pbase.com/bret/image/24561758
http://www.pbase.com/bret/image/61239224

Hawks are cool.
Buzzards are ugly.

Some of their endangered relatives are cool in their own way:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/barrywallis/144383699/

--
- Barry

Tony Gartshore wrote:
Nope, It's a RightPondian Buzzard..

Buteo Buteo or Common Buzzard.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/birds/guide/b/buzzard/index.asp

Interesting. Over here they're called hawks.
We usually use the term "buzzard" to refer to turkey vultures like the
ones I pictured.
Out West, they're condors.

BTW, do you guys have hawks over there?

In article .com,
says...

Tony Gartshore wrote:
Nope, It's a RightPondian Buzzard..

Buteo Buteo or Common Buzzard.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/birds/guide/b/buzzard/index.asp

Interesting. Over here they're called hawks.
We usually use the term "buzzard" to refer to turkey vultures like the
ones I pictured.
Out West, they're condors.

BTW, do you guys have hawks over there?


Sparrowhawk and Goshawk by name..

Most raptors are referred to generically as hawks, Hobbys, Merlins,
Kestrels etc. Probably Peregrine falcons too.

I've never heard of Eagles or Red Kites being called hawks though.
(Golden Eagles are still native and White tailed ones are being
reintroduced. Red Kites are a sucessful reintroduction.)

No vultures though! (With the possible exception of the odd zoo
escapee..)

How true it is that we're two countries seperated by a common language !

T.
--
Do Binary Tripods have 11 legs ?

Nice starling picture.
Over here in Sweden, hawks are synonymus with the genus Accipiter.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accipiter
/Lars

"Tony Gartshore" skrev i meddelandet
...
In article .com,
says...

Tony Gartshore wrote:
Nope, It's a RightPondian Buzzard..

Buteo Buteo or Common Buzzard.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/birds/guide/b/buzzard/index.asp

Interesting. Over here they're called hawks.
We usually use the term "buzzard" to refer to turkey vultures like the
ones I pictured.
Out West, they're condors.

BTW, do you guys have hawks over there?


Sparrowhawk and Goshawk by name..

Most raptors are referred to generically as hawks, Hobbys, Merlins,
Kestrels etc. Probably Peregrine falcons too.

I've never heard of Eagles or Red Kites being called hawks though.
(Golden Eagles are still native and White tailed ones are being
reintroduced. Red Kites are a sucessful reintroduction.)

No vultures though! (With the possible exception of the odd zoo
escapee..)

How true it is that we're two countries seperated by a common language !

T.
--
Do Binary Tripods have 11 legs ?

Tony Gartshore wrote:

In article , says...
Tony Gartshore wrote:


By the way, those "Buzzards" are Red Kites, and they are a compelling
target for photographers due to their fickle nature, i.e. they just never
stay still long enough ;-)


Nope, definitely Buzzards.. Look at the tail, the Kite has a deep V, not
the rounded brush.. Kite's head is a whiteish colour and the wings have
different white patterns underneath..

I see you're at Rutherford so you obviously know they're a regular sight
around here.. Easy to confuse them..

I've uploaded a couple of very dodgy shots that show the differences..

You're right about them being a devil to photograph though. They cover
the ground deceptively quickly with that circular flight pattern of
theirs.

Love the Sparrow shots mind you, they are very nice indeed.

Thank you..

Did you know Dave Pike BTW ?

D


T.

Yep totally agree with you there, Buzzards seem a much rarer sight round
here than Red Kites, I jumped to conclusions. The tail is certainly all
wrong. To see a group of Buzzards also seems more unusual, at least in my
experience. They tend to be much more solitary and usually only ever jump
out of hedgerows a few feet in front of you when out for a walk, most
amusing trying to get a photo when cowering in fear

Should sort out some of my Red kite pics sometime. Got some nice shots of
sparrows as well, bathing and mid-launch.

As for Dave Pike, I don't think so, name doesn't ring a bell.

D

In article , says...

Yep totally agree with you there, Buzzards seem a much rarer sight round
here than Red Kites, I jumped to conclusions. The tail is certainly all
wrong. To see a group of Buzzards also seems more unusual, at least in my
experience.

Are you North of Didcot or South ? I know of two nesting areas on the
Downland area south of Didcot. If you know it, try Lardon Chase at the
top of Streatley Hill. They're often to be seen there of an afternoon..
Regular haunt for Milvus Milvus too.

(Except of course when you make a special trip to see them!)

They tend to be much more solitary and usually only ever jump
out of hedgerows a few feet in front of you when out for a walk, most
amusing trying to get a photo when cowering in fear


Never had that happen but I have driven aound a corner to find one
ripping a Rabbit apart in the middle of the road. Impressive sight,
watching it negotiate its way between the hedges on a narrow country
lane.. Make a change from sucidal Pheasants and Muntjacs.

Should sort out some of my Red kite pics sometime. Got some nice shots of
sparrows as well, bathing and mid-launch.


Please do.. I'd be happy to host them for you if you don't have the
space.

As for Dave Pike, I don't think so, name doesn't ring a bell.

Used to work on SOHO (AFAIK). Retired a couple of years back..


D


T.
--
Do Binary Tripods have 11 legs ?

Tony Gartshore wrote:

In article , says...

Yep totally agree with you there, Buzzards seem a much rarer sight round
here than Red Kites, I jumped to conclusions. The tail is certainly all
wrong. To see a group of Buzzards also seems more unusual, at least in
my experience.

Are you North of Didcot or South ? I know of two nesting areas on the
Downland area south of Didcot. If you know it, try Lardon Chase at the
top of Streatley Hill. They're often to be seen there of an afternoon..
Regular haunt for Milvus Milvus too.

Just south, and yea I know Lardon Chase quite well, never seen buzzards
there, unless i've always just written them off as kites. Normally a
little more attentive than that.


(Except of course when you make a special trip to see them!)

They tend to be much more solitary and usually only ever jump
out of hedgerows a few feet in front of you when out for a walk, most
amusing trying to get a photo when cowering in fear


Never had that happen but I have driven aound a corner to find one
ripping a Rabbit apart in the middle of the road. Impressive sight,
watching it negotiate its way between the hedges on a narrow country
lane.. Make a change from sucidal Pheasants and Muntjacs.


Yea, i've seen a Red Kite do similar, out toward Burford, car in front did
emergency stop, I slammed on breaks, ready to have a rant, then the car in
front pulled into the other lane and there right in front of me was a Red
Kite picking up and flying off with a slightly squashed rabbit, incredibly
impressive sight.

Should sort out some of my Red kite pics sometime. Got some nice shots of
sparrows as well, bathing and mid-launch.


Please do.. I'd be happy to host them for you if you don't have the
space.

As for Dave Pike, I don't think so, name doesn't ring a bell.

Used to work on SOHO (AFAIK). Retired a couple of years back..


Ah I know SOHO, used to work in SSTD, though the name still doesn't ring any
bells. Too many people here I guess.

D

p.s. Uploaded a few piccies to

http://www.flickr.com/photos/89263871@N00/

A couple of sparrows and Red Kites.


D


T.