First I want to say sorry for my shocking pictures! I need a longer lens and/or work on my sneaking up skills lol..
Today I went on another small walk along a bike track filled with little birdies. most of the walk I was realy looking forward to see some fairy-wrens but only saw scarlet honey eaters, red-browed finch etc then right at the end of the track was full of fairy-wrens! here are the best I got which sadly can fall under the worst also 
... Red-backed, variegated and superd.
Lucky you, all i get are the Superbs. I will have to start travelling in spring.
Shorty......Canon gear
Canberra
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rawshorty/
Male Variegateds and Redbacked are such teases. They pop in and out and hide as quick as you look at them. (my experience anyway) Which is such a pity since they're quite lovely. The superbs are much more friendly.
Hi cassie,what's your lens length?
Windshear that is my experience also.
NathanY I was using a 75-200mm but also had to crop the pictures.. I'm thinking purchasing another lense but have no idea what I should be looking into
Hi, Cassie. The 75-300 is a very soft lens at 300mm and you had to deal with a very busy enviroment, makes it hard to get focus right.
What model Canon camera do you have? Have you got a budget in mind for a lens?
Is weight of the lens an issue for you?
Shorty......Canon gear
Canberra
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rawshorty/
oops just realised i put 200 instead of 300mm.. i dont have canon, i have a Sony a200 (an oldy) which i plan on upgrading in the future. weight isnt an issue but budget might be, the man of the house said he will chip in but he doesn't want to have a heart attack over it lol
Apart from the fact that 300mm is long enough to take good birding photos(IMO),learning to sneak up on birds is quite a bit cheaper then buying a new lens
I've used that same lens for all my photos.
Sorry, Cassie my bad. I don't know much about Sony but as Nathan just said he uses that lens and takes very good pics with it.
Perhaps just get a newer camera and get some camo clothing
Shorty......Canon gear
Canberra
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rawshorty/
If you did want to upgrade, you could go to one of the Sigma zooms; my Dad has the 50-500mm, but says he should have bought a 300mm prime instead. I think it looks pretty nifty though, and the extra reach is nice!
I have read that the 50-500mm is sharper than both the 120-400mm and 150-500mm lenses, but is more expensive.
There are also two forms of the 'Bigma'; the newer one has OS, and is apparently better. It also has to be stopped down to f8ish to get the maximum sharpness at the long end, and so is not exceptionally fast. Oh, and it is actually approximately 450mm, not 500mm (or so I have read), and is frequently used at around 350-400mm to get the maximum potential sharpness.
It is a nice lens, but you might be better off getting one of the Sony offerings, although according to the Internet they are more expensive. Sad that Sony doesn't have a 300mm f4 lens, I think that 300mm f4 is a usually a nice compromise of range, speed and cost.
There is also a discontinued Sigma 170-500mm, but once again, apparently the 50-500mm is better. Another option is the Tamron 200-500mm lens, which appears to be much less common. I don't know anything about it, but the internet seems to think that it is slightly sharper than the Bigma, is lighter and cheaper but doesn't have OS/IS. I guess it's your call if you need OS on a Sony, as it has in-body IS(the both can't be used at once, but in lens IS works much better than in body IS at longer focal lengths).
Hope my diatribe helped!
Do I assume you are using a Sony camera? Which one? I used (and still use from time to time) a Sony SLT-A55V in combination with a 75-300mm Sony lens (F4.5-5.6) everybody calls it a stock lens, but it has been one of their best lenses. (I don't have that lens anymore)
As Nathan says, with any lens , even the bigger ones, you still have to get as close to the bird as you can.
I now use a Sony SLT-A77V camera and a 70-400G lens, but like with any lens, you have to get as close as possible to get the best results. I know some people like Sigma and Tamron lenses, my husband uses both on his Pentax and Olympus cameras. But he envies me
I would not use anything but Sony lenses with any Sony cameras, they work best for me, and Nathan (it seems?)
I found an old photo I took with the SLT-A55V, and the 75-300mm (F4.5-5.6) Sony lens. Unfortunately I lost all my photos when my PC crashed that year. Here is one.
I also agree that Nathan get great result with his 70-300mm Sony lens
M-L
Was the first photo deliberately chosen? Three different fairy wrens?
I agree with you Araminta, that 300mm is heaps; anything much more starts to become a pain to use (although, if someone offered me a 400mm lens...). I do think you are being a bit harsh on the third party brands- their offerings are almost as good as those of the camera companies, and often the difference can only be seen when pixel-peeping. Although, I have seen arguments on the internet about how longer lenses allow you to stay further away from the target and thus will disturb birds less...As you have a longer lens than I do, it would be interesting to hear your thoughts, Araminta.
One way in which brand lenses are better is autofocus and aperture- with zoom lenses they have a higher min aperture (ie. Bigma is f4-6.3, while the Sony 70-400 is f4-5.6, and the (old) Canon 100-400 is f4.5-5.6). Oh, and the paint scheme will match better! I have absolutely no problem with 'stock lenses', it is the quality of the output that matters, and they are absolutely capable of performing to an amazing standard.
Back on topic, Cassie did you get any photos of the Scarlet Honeyeaters? I've never seen one before, and they look absolutely stunning. How often do you see the red-backed Fairy Wrens'? You don't get them down here in Sydney (they probably think its too cold; after last night, I'd agree with them!).
Thanks. I guess until I upgrade my camera I could hold off getting a new lens and use the money on some new camo clothing and just practice my stealth moves
Nathan and ML you both take great photo's so I guess with time and patience I will get there. I must admit I'm really happy with some of the photo's I have taken of larger subjects, it's mainly the smaller feathered friends I have trouble with.
Lachlan I have seen red-backed fairy wrens twice at Eagleby wetlands and then on this walk. I tried to get a half decent picture of the scarlets but they were so high in a tree with alot of twigs/leaves around it was to much of a challenge
Cassie, I have mentioned my favourite sentence on here many times, "you zoom in with your feet".
Nothing technical about it, not important what lens either.
I always wanted to find out if there is a rule in photography, how the steps (1m?) you take towards the birds relate to your lens (mm?). In other words, how much closer to you have to be to the birds to get the same result when using a 300mm or a 400mm lens. I'm sure someone has seen a chart somewhere? If you have, give me a link please.
Sorry Lachlan if I soumd harsh on other brand lenses. I guess the reason for that is, that I met a few people with cameras of certain brands
, asking the question: what do you use, can I have a look? Only to go Ahhh, or Phhh, and walk of muttering: ah well, Sony. Whenever someone bothered to look at my photos, some changed their mind.
As we all know, there is a lot of arrogance in photography.
out there, certainly not on this forum
M-L
Might not be exactly what you wanted, I have looked for something similar. This was the best I was able to find, you might find it useful:
http://digitalbirdphotography.com/windows/3.1.html
About 1/2 of the way down he compares how large the bird is in the final photo with the focal length used. I found the whole site to be a very interesting read. I hope I wasn't seeming to be arrogant, there's no way I could do that after looking at the photos you have posted. I wasn't dismissing Sony, I just thought that the third party systems should be mentioned as well.
Zooming with you feet is certainly heaps cheaper... Fantastic focal lengths seem to come with a fantastic price tag!