Today was a stunning day on the coast and I had a job interview up at Noosa so I packed the camera etc and thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful blue sky conditions by the river and sea.
Unfortunately my lens and it's AF system meant I missed out on some superb shots of Osprey and Brahminy kite fishing. Windhover, if you are reading this, consider it unwise to use the EF75-300 on Servo with anything smaller than a road train for it to focus on ! :')
I was so frustrated by the experience that I didn't even realise till I viewed the pics at home that it was a Brahminy I was chasing!
Mind you it was confusing as they were taking turns with the Osprey to cover the territory and fight off a few pesky crows . However, I moved positions and found some very beautiful terns ( I think Crested or Lesser crested not sure) fishing at the rivermouth.
Manual focus again proved to be the way to go for me.
Unfortunately his was best I could get with the lens on AF of this stunning looking brahminy
After dipping out on the osprey I revisited the Tower where the Osprey nest in Coolum and found this bird tearing a freshly caught fish to pieces while his/her hungry mate waited on the nest on the next tower!
Keeping a healthy distance form the nagging family LOL
I always get some mixed up ... and doubled up in a big post
Here are the other two....
What about me???
Any help on the tern ID if I am wrong would be appreciated.
Cheers
Birdie
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Crested terns, I think. Lessers have a much more orange coloured bill.
Ed Townsville NQ
Thanks Ed... those BIF shots were a great trial run for today's experience .
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Love the first shot. Such a typical wing pattern for a tern turning?!?! But you usually don't notice it until it is frozen in time. Well done.
Thanks Lefti .... they were great fun to watch... their item of interest was a fisherman's bucket that was covered with a cloth (for obvious reasons). I was watching them again today at Mooloolaba...they have a very big wingspan .
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Wow you have some great shots and great birds. A blue sky too - I thought you just got rain up there! I love the shots of the terns over the water - it looks as if you were above them when you took the photos
Hi Birdgirl, thanks, they were swooping along the beach in some of the shots and I was up on the grass so it made for a good angle.
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Nice series of shots. Bob Inglis has a great photo tutorial on differentiating b/n Crested and Lesser Crested here :
.
http://ptiloris.smugmug.com/ID-Guides/Crested-Tern-v-Lesser/13567908_Rfz26#1020130992_RcW54
.
The north shore of Noosa is always good for raptors. A couple of years ago, we saw Brahminy, Osprey, Whistling Kite and WB Sea Eagles patrolling the shore. A stunning sight !
.
Thanks for sharing.
Cheers,
George
Melbourne, VIC
Thanks George... yes it appeared the Brahminy and Osprey were operating out of the north shore that day and from the heads I could see them circling . Would have killed for a little boat that day! Was so interested in the terns that I missed the Osprey diving in the surf .
Sunshine Coast Queensland