I was so excited to get this shot as I was disappointed at having missed the BOP's earlier on in the day ( my first ever sighting of a Brahminy Kite that was sooo cool). I was dragging my heels back down the beach after walking for ages and this bird had the sun behind him so I wasn't sure what it was. I am glad something made me go closer and investigate as there were a pair of them and this one sat very still long enough for me to take heaps of shots.
I had previously been driving around looking for likely spots to find a BOP and I came across a footy oval next to the creek at Coolum. The first thing I saw was this...
And I think this is the same bird hunting down by the beach later in the day, please correct me if I am wrong there.
It nearly did my eyes in completely trying to track them as they soar so high that when they angle the wings they completely disappear for a time up in the blue sky!
I think I deserve my glass of white now, I didn't want to risk it before doing this LOL
Hope you enjoy seeing these as much as I did taking them.
Cheers
Birdie
Wow birdie they are great - what a way to start taking birds of prey. The shot under the platform shows off the wing and tail feathers beautifully. The rainbow bee-eater is gorgeous too - I've only seen one ever
BTW after I posted the photo of the galah nesting box I realised how dismal the garden looked - we have been waiting for the bottlebrushes to grow and make a hedge for about 4 years. Yesterday we took them all out and mulched them and I am going to look for something better (that the birds like)
How could your garden ever look dismal when you have nesting Rosellas!!! I know they are old standards, but the birds here just flock to the gardens with Grevilleas in, they seem to especially like the yellow ones.
I was absolutely ecstatic over the bee eater shot. I never would have thought of finding one in the sandhills at the beach. The only time I have seen them before was up in the hinterland, and my shots were really bad.
Cheers
Birdie
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Great shots Birdie, love the in flight shots, and that Bee eater is very nice, first time we have seen one.
Agree with you on the Grevilleas we have heaps of them in different colours and the honeyeaters love them.
Thanks Cath n Shane, The Bee eater is a spectacular little bird that rarely keeps still like that so I was very lucky to catch it. I saw it with the sun behind it and I wasn't even sure what it was, so I kept walking towards it and kept shooting as I got close in case it flew away! It was very obliging in any case.
Cheers
Birdie
Sunshine Coast Queensland
I thought I would add these but they are not good shots, just fantastic sightings I'm afraid.
Apologies for the poor image quality but it was a very high nest.
Cheers
Birdie
Sunshine Coast Queensland
The Bee-eater is a real stunner birdie.
Super flight capture of the Osprey.
You had a very good BOP day seeing the
Whistling & Brahminy Kite as well
The Sunshine Coast is not only a great place to live
but also a great place to go birding ;-)
Cheers,
al
Cheers,
al
Central Victoria
https://sites.google.com/site/blackhillreservekyneton/home
I wish I had taken the bee eater shot... It has illustration written all over it!!! :)
Al, thanks, I was hoping you would see them, that is why I added the Brahminys. I am totally rapt that I got to see some. Add to that the fact that I must have seen 5-6 black Shouldered Kites on the power lines near the cane fields at Bli Bli and I know where to head out to next weekend !
Berldo, if you are into using someone else's shots I would be proud to have you illustrate from mine. I can let you have the full sixed image , just contact me on Flickr if you want to.
Cheers
Birdie
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Hey Al, just re read your post..... when did I see a whistling kite? Is that the in flight shot? the one I was assuming was the Osprey ?
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Love the photos and the nest. Looks like an awesome beach! Also love the RBE, favourite bird here! Looks like you really do have a lot of BoP in the area Birdie, keep them coming :)
You know, it's funny Amateur. it's like when you see a new car for the first time. Before, you would swear that there were none on the road, but once you are aware of it you start to see them everywhere.
I find the same principle with birds. When I am interested in a new species, I realise that if I was looking before at all.... I was just not seeing.
I think that is what I am finding the most interesting thing about bird watching.... the list seems endless :)
So many people rush by totally unaware of the beautiful things around them.
Thought for the day ...
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Hi birdie this time you took the words from my mouth i have always been a photographer but always inside of static items known light conditions . since taking up birding i see them everywhere, they were there before i just didn't see them,cameras are fun again.
Exactly Sparrow, I had turned into a happy snapper Mum after being into photography for 20 years. Found birds, got a new camera and it was all on again!
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Same for me - I had never noticed any birds of prey in my area until about a year ago. Now I see them all the time. Same with splendid fairy wrens - I see them at just about every site I go to
Almost forgot - the brahminy kite is gorgeous. You are so lucky to see one. I went looking for one a few months ago along the road I went on today after a tip off from a forum member, but did not see it
Yes birdie, photo 7 is definitely a Whistling Kite.
Cheers,
al
Central Victoria
https://sites.google.com/site/blackhillreservekyneton/home
Wow AL, thanks for that. That is so cool! I just assumed it was an Osprey because it was within line of site from their tower, about 700m away I would say, though I didn't actually see them come and go from there.
I compared the two birds but couldn't be sure if they were different or not .
Just before I took that Kite shot, I had been trying to track two BOP that were flying so high I kept losing them. You know how they just angle their wings slightly and next thing it's like magic... you're looking at empty blue sky!
By the way , did you find many when you were up here recently?
Cheers
Birdie
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Al I just went back and looked through my pics again of both birds. It looks as though the Osprey has less wing fingers, and a darker bill, and also a more fanned tail than the kite. Does that sound right to you? I am just checking so I can be sure of my IDs next time I am there. (you can be sure there will be a next time)
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Well done Birdie....thats what I call a very good day.
The Bee Eater shot is superb they are hard to get.
Thanks Tassie
By the way..........about time you changed your avatar isn't it? :')
There must be something better than that truck in your collection LOL
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Hey birdie. I have left a message with my email address under the bee eater image on flickr. Hope to hear from you soon.
Amazing shots Birdie!!! I love the Rainbow Bee Eater, how brilliant are it's colours! You are a fantastic photographer... :)
Tweety, Queensland! :)
Thanks Tweety.... at the rate you are going you will be too.... even better when you get your own camera! LOL
Sunshine Coast Queensland
That pic of the bee-eater is really sharp!! What camera do you use?
don't forget to have a hoot!
I use an EOS 1000D plus 75 - 300m lens. This is the bottom end of the canon Eos range of digital SLRs. the lens is eqivalent on this camera to 480m on a 35mm camera.
It is possible to achieve beautiful sharp shots Owlbaby, if the conditions are optimum . In this case, a stationary subject, bright sunlight and me probably shaking the lens a little less than I normally do! As you are interested in photography I will give you the details....
Shutter speed: 1/640th sec
Aperture: F14
ISO 800. I always try to keep my ISO rating as high as I can without wrecking the shots so that it allows me to shoot at higher speeds (to compensate for not having image stabilisation) and to freeze any movement from the birds.
What camera do you use?
Sunshine Coast Queensland