Some birdie photos

[The Bigfella]

Here's a couple of birdie pics taken about 10 minutes ago in my back yard. A Crimson Rosella... sorry about the crappy angle of the shot, I was leaning out the toilet window because these guys haven't been around much lately and are a bit flighty if I open the glass door ....

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff112/igatenby/r1.jpg

Its baby, which is starting to lose its immature plumage... I can normally get the door open and throw out some seed when its around by itself

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff112/igatenby/r2.jpg

and Lord of all he surveys.... a Sulphur Crested Cockatoo. We get a lot of these around - had 30+ at once recently, normally about 10-12, although I've got about 3 that are very tame (hand feedable) 2 of which will sit on my leg for feeding.

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff112/igatenby/r3.jpg

There was a King Parrot up near the Cockie too - but I forgot to shoot him.

[Yeadon]

First off, it is impossible that you took these photos ten minutes ago. It's dark right now outside.

Secondly, I never realized these types of birds were indigenous to your neck of the world.

[The Bigfella]

First off, it is impossible that you took these photos ten minutes ago. It's dark right now outside.

Secondly, I never realized these types of birds were indigenous to your neck of the world.

Shhh - don't tell anyone, but we borrow the sun when its dark there...

[Captain Blight]

Son of a.....

Can we please start using our sun a little more? It's cold and dark and the only birds around here are crows. Brooding, mysterious, scavenging, savage crows.

Crows like your Slavic, angry, mute Uncle Monday.

More sun please. Please.

[pipefitter]

Here's one I caught but they never sit still and are skittish. Kind of rare in the city and you don't see many in the woods either but every once in awhile. Still, even though it doesn't have super coloration, one of my favorite birds.

Pileated Wood Pecker.

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l309/tigmaster/WWP6.jpg

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l309/tigmaster/WWP5.jpg


This thing was allover the tree and it was difficult to get a picture of it without hiding. Never offered a frontal view. Not to mention that photography isn't one of my strengths.

[Larks]

Ian, you may have answered this to somene else in another bird thread, but what camera are you using?

[The Bigfella]

Ian, you may have answered this to somene else in another bird thread, but what camera are you using?

Its a D100 Nikon. These shots were with a VR 80-400 F4.5-5.6D lens - all at 400mm (equivalent to using a 600mm lens on a film camera). First 2 shots were 1/125 at F5.6 and pretty much at mimimum focus length - about 10 - 12' away from the birds. Cockatoo was 1 /80 at F 5.6 and about 25 feet away, up in a Turpentine tree. Quite overcast at the time.

Just happy snaps - no manipulation or cropping. I'd have preferred to have a full frame on the first shot, but, .... such is life.
I'll get them another day.

btw - the screen in the camera is filthy. I must get it cleaned. Nikon learnt a lesson after that camera and have self-cleaning screens now.

[shamus]

Nice.

[The Bigfella]

Pipey

Nice pecker mate. Perhaps I should rephrase that?

Damn birds can be so hard to get. I chased a Satin Bowerbird down the back the other day. Not a chance of a photo. Other days, other places the damn thing would come up to you and pose.

[Tinman]

Here's one I caught but they never sit still and are skittish. Kind of rare in the city and you don't see many in the woods either but every once in awhile. Still, even though it doesn't have super coloration, one of my favorite birds.

Pileated Wood Pecker.

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l309/tigmaster/WWP6.jpg

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l309/tigmaster/WWP5.jpg


This thing was allover the tree and it was difficult to get a picture of it without hiding. Never offered a frontal view. Not to mention that photography isn't one of my strengths.

We have more than one or two fo those things around here. One even had the audacity to try to make a meal out of my log home. The bird that I love to hate though, is the Blue Jay. Loud, nasty and just plain mean. Kinda like the baseball team with a better batting average.

[BrianW]

All very nice looking birds! They can be hard to photograph.

Ian, I've still had to clean the sensor on my Canon Xti, even with the self-cleaning feature. It's pretty easy to do, just get the right swabs and solution, lock the mirror up, and swab away.

[TimH]

Cockatoos sure are majestic birds.

[The Bigfella]

We have more than one or two fo those things around here. One even had the audacity to try to make a meal out of my log home. The bird that I love to hate though, is the Blue Jay. Loud, nasty and just plain mean. Kinda like the baseball team with a better batting average.

I've got a Blue Jay in my living room - he's a bit stuffed though and he's 100 years old or so. I must get around to photographing the stuffed birds (done by my GGGrandfather - or was it my GGGGrandfather?)


All very nice looking birds! They can be hard to photograph.

Ian, I've still had to clean the sensor on my Canon Xti, even with the self-cleaning feature. It's pretty easy to do, just get the right swabs and solution, lock the mirror up, and swab away.

If only Nikon had allowed that with the D100... they were a bit worried at the time - IIRC its about 5 years old - and it has to be done by an authorised service centre. Something they plug in allows the mirror to be raised with the lens off...

[jevvv]

These are the main birds around our yard

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3450/3272367747_6b7f91d648.jpg

Silkie cross bantam hen and chicks.

The tuis are just TOO FAST to get a photo

[The Bigfella]

Ahhh Tuis - I remember them well from the couple of years we spent in NZ. Lovely birds. Need a long lens for them....

Nice chooks - the only chook we have left is a crippled one that my wife looks after and protects from the villain that wants to top it....

[jevvv]

Well done your wife!

Currently we have about 13 adults- including 3 roosters, and about 13 chicks, although chick numbers seem to decrease every few days.

Our chooks are free range but shut in at night- so they don't annoy the neighbours with crowing in the morning ;)

No they aren't useful, although the pest insect population is lower than before, and they occasionally give us a few eggs... they're mainly ornamental (emphasis on the mental probably)

[jevvv]

The tui who seems to live outside our kitchen is an early riser- and a great singer ;)

[The Bigfella]

Another batch - from 10 minutes ago, again. This time, a pair of Galahs

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff112/igatenby/s1-2.jpg

This one isn't much of a shot, but the difference shows how to tell the sex of a Galah. Anyone pick it?

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff112/igatenby/s4-1.jpg


http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff112/igatenby/s3-2.jpg

This squabble erupted when the Galah noticed the ever-present Crested Pigeon. Crappy shot, but I'll show a better one of the pigeon next - this one is only here to demonstrate that it isn't always peaceful

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff112/igatenby/s2-1.jpg

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff112/igatenby/s5-1.jpg

Looking all out of sorts after that squabble and puffed up because its cool and rainy - and hiding his lovely wing colours (visible in the fight shot and one of the Galah pics, in the background)

... and watching over all this is one of my favourite Sulphur Crested Cockatoos, sitting on a 3' step ladder.... I'd just fed him/her - right between my feed while I sat out the back watching the world go by... This one just tolerates a touch to the head whilst it is feeding.

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff112/igatenby/s6-1.jpg

Then of course, the Rainbow Lorikeets arrived and took over. I've posted plenty of them in the past...

[PatrickXavier]

A tui.

http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll182/Rogue1892/P3230001.jpg

Fabulously noisy (listen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLAvMR1aTB8

And God knows quite what, parked outside my office window, 37 floors up.

http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll182/Rogue1892/P3310009.jpg

[Captain Blight]

He looks embarassed to be there.

[Lew Barrett]

This one isn't much of a shot, but the difference shows how to tell the sex of a Galah. Anyone pick it?

One of them is crested. I assume the male.

[pipefitter]

Great photos and you folks sure have some pretty birds there. There is a mockingbird, that nests in the Jasmine in front of my house every year. Another built another nest under it and then disappeared. The one mockingbird ended up tending to both nests and successfully raised the chicks. Better yet, it would let me come and go and let me look right in the nest, yet viciously attack everyone else that came up to the door, which was really kind of amusing when the Jehovah's Witness used to be on the prowl.

[RFNK]

We do have some nice birds here but why are we looking at them on a wooden boat forum? But then again, why not? I don't think cockatoos are regal - they're more the lairs of the bush! I think these guys are regal:

http://i470.photobucket.com/albums/rr69/rfnk/Pelican2.jpg

http://i470.photobucket.com/albums/rr69/rfnk/Pelican.jpg

Rick

[RFNK]

Patrick, that's a quarrion - what's he doing over there in Godzone? Tell him to get back here where he belongs! Rick

[The Bigfella]

This one isn't much of a shot, but the difference shows how to tell the sex of a Galah. Anyone pick it?

One of them is crested. I assume the male.

Both crested. just that one has its partly raised. Its the eye colour. I can't remember which is which, but one has red eyes, the other black


Patrick, that's a quarrion - what's he doing over there in Godzone? Tell him to get back here where he belongs! Rick

I haven't heard "quarion" for years. We used to call them that 45 years ago when we lived were they roam. Cockatiel is much more commonly used these days. We have 3 or 4 here, pets, not wild.

[RFNK]

That's easy. The male's eyes are red from drinking (being a galah). The female's eyes are black as he's been drinking and made them both look like galahs.

A quarrion will always be a quarrion to me! We used to see these flying free around Tamworth and Coonabarabran when I was a kid. I'll bet cockatiel was invented as a marketing term when they started exporting them in large numbers to USA and Europe.

[jevvv]

Cockatiel's seem to be a common "parrot family" pet here in EnZed, so he may be an escapee. We have the rainbow lorikeets in the wild now (at least I think it's them) and DOC wants to get rid of them- apparently they are feed competitors.

[jevvv]

To tie all this back to Wooden Boat Forum how about this pic?

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3328/3251075657_33ced17501.jpg?v=0


BTW- here in EnZed, these blokes are called seagulls ;)

[RFNK]

Thanks Jevvv but which ones are male and which ones are female?

[jevvv]

Take your pick!

;)

They're mainly teenagers, so it probably doesn't matter yet

[RFNK]

Are you kidding? That's when it matters most isn't it?

They look like ours too! How come you lot have all our wildlife over there?

[floatingkiwi]

There are several species of multi-coloured, out of place looking, parakeets, native to NZ. I reckon,( in agreement to one theory), originating from Australia,they were forced aloft by fire and prevailing westerlies to be where and what they are now.

[PatrickXavier]

I reckon,( in agreement to one theory), they were forced aloft and by fire and prevailing westerlys to become what they are.
Or, you know, just good taste and discernment.

[Ian Marchuk]

Wonderful pictures gents..... Thank you.

[RFNK]

Or, you know, just good taste and discernment.


If this was actually the motivation for the above quarrion's displacement :eek: it would explain his apparent embarrassment. Rick

[PatrickXavier]

Hah! (Touché.)

[floatingkiwi]

http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/5206510.jpg
Aboard the "Earnslaw", a large paddle steamer, on Lake Wakatipu,my home, near Queenstown.

[Taylor Tarvin]

Ian, how is it you guys have the best looking birds, does it make up for having the deadliest snakes?:D Great pictures all.

[The Bigfella]

We've got the best looking women too - thats why we call our women "birds", but, like our snakes, some of them have a bite too.