Category: birdsinflight

Time Away To Reflect

hi folks its been a while since i wrote a blog, i had no plan to stop writing but felt it time to return and try and get back to my writing again. I have lots of news but will start with the camera news. My mate and Workhorse Sony A7R4 Died on me about 5 weeks ago with no warning at all. It was out of warranty and after the insurance company messed me about i had no choice but to get a second hand Sony A9.

Loosing half my resolution going from 61mp to 24 is a loss but the speed of the A9 has opened a new world for me, people that follow me know that i love flight shots or any action shots, so the A9 has given me a better hit rate.

The time on site has been very busy and instead of going down to the Hide i have been concentrating on the river for the Kingfisher and up on the moors looking for the Short Eared Owl.

Sitting waiting for hours pays off as other wildlife comes to you without any effort, this will become a big part of the gallery and add some lovely species of bird to my already huge gallery.

Aims this year have been the Kingfisher, Brown Hare and Red Fox and i am glad to say i have met all my challenges spending hours waiting for the image. Together with Bullfinch and Dipper, baby Curlew and many more its been a great season up to now.

Please enjoy the gallery and feel free to ask any questions.

Last Aim of the year is to film the Short Eared Owl and that will make the season complete.

The Silent Hunter

Yes to see the Barn Owl from the front with the big eyes and beautiful face is such a joy. As a photographer I feel its so important to see the bird from all angles, as many people are not that lucky to see one flying never mind film one so close hunting.

I would say yesterday was the closest the pair came to me. It’s very tempting to walk after them as they hunt in fields around me. But I have learned what you miss and maybe it will come up with a vole would be great to capture, staying in the same place has its rewards. The feeling that they are used to me is stronger and as I pose no threat and wear the same cloths everytime I do think they can see me but are at ease with me filming them.

Looking at the Female from the back really shoes off the amazing feater structure, colours and detail. Tail feathers Primary Flight feathers and Secondary feathers can be seen in this image.

I really hope by passing my knowledge on in a simply put way gives the individual a insight into the life of the Barn Owl.

The Hunt.
Hunting in Style

Wood Pidgeon and Egret

A few more images from Sunday when I went out to the coast to see what birds were about. Lovely to capture the beautiful Egret hunting for small creatures in the small pools that are left by the sea when it goes out.

Very rare I got to follow it up and down a large area for around 30 minutes. The look of a Jpeg when processed by the camera is to me lovely way it captures the image and does all the editing for you except cropping.

Little Egret

Then the coloured WoodPidgeon flew past and I got about 7 images that were OK.

Wood Pidgeon
Little Egret

Birds in flight 2020

Looking through my library from 2020 and can’t remember doing a blog on the different species I captured with restricted movement but still managed to get out and about with the Sony. The weather was really good in spring and with the small lake close by I ventured out a few times and found the Heron and Geese flying most days over the lake.

The Geese are great to photograph with lovely soft colours and very easy to read whet they will do next, giving me a great opportunity to capture some great images.

Greylag Goose?

The flight is beautiful to watch and with the wind direction always blowing across the lake they take off head on over my head.

Canada Goose

Then when the Geese calm down the mallard will start chasing each other across the lake with the right sunlight the colours on the Male are amazing.

Male Mallard

I started to get up early as the Grey Heron starts some strange routines ones I have never witnessed before. One would sit at the top of the tree then dive head first into the lake. Then it would beat its wings and start elevating its huge body out of the water

Selection of different species in flight Sony A7r4 200-600

Small but Elegant

The little Turnstone is such a joy to photograph wit its friendly nature you can get close to see its lovely plumage and with the right technique get some lovely images of it in flight. I don’t really need the 1.4 extender on the A7r4 200-600 but weather permitting I will see if I can get some sharper images.

They come in so fast turning in all directions so your reactions have to be lighting quick to follow them and as they fly together a lot of the time they make a wonderful art form of image sometimes 30 to 50+ in the frame. Not all are in focus but that sometimes makes it look better as a picture.

Turnstone in action Sony A7r4 200-600 1.4 Ext

Sony A7r4 200-600 Ultimate All Rounder

All images in post were done in 2 hours of photography today. Another 300 to look through.

When I came from Canon 18 months ago I was very worried that I had made the wrong decision but I am happy to say that this camera will stay with me even if they bring out more expensive ones.

From static birds to birds in flight, from Portrait photography with the Sony 85mm 1.8 and Tamron 28-75mm. Water droplets with the Sony 90mm 2.8 and insects in flight. Street photography Seascapes and landscapes.

Pets in action, jet- ski the Moon I have filmed them all with various lenses. It never let’s me down and my keeper rate is as good as it gets. Resolution and IQ are just mind blowing and cropping is so much joy to use.

If my blog covering all the subjects I have mentioned doesn’t prove how good it is then nothing will. Don’t waste your money on more cameras that they say have this better and that. It’s down to the user not how much the camera costs.

Enough said look at the wonderful detail this camera can get even with a 1.4 Ext fitted to the 200-600 f.9 ISO800

Canada Goose

Flight Shots So Much Fun

Getting an image either large or small, slow or fast it’s a amazing combination to do photography with.

Redshank and Turnstone

Using Zone Focus area and multi Metering and leaving Steadyshot on all the time I find Mode 3 to be best for static and moving subjects.

Egret
Turnstone Female Mallard.

Not a lot you more I can say about the Sony A7r4 200-600

The Perfect Day

arriving at my peacful location at 10.30 this morning i was greeted by Bella hunting in the field where i was going to set up. Knowing she needs to make a kill i left her to hunt and went back to my car. I spotted the Kestrel flying above my makeshift hide on the banking and it made me very excited that it still hunts over the Hide i built.

The hours past buy and i messed around with my settings as you do and took some Snaps of the post i wanted Bella to sit on. It didnt happen today, and that’s what i love about wildlife photography you never can be certain when and if yo will get that Snap.

So i had lunch and it approached 1400hrs when i looked up and the Kestrel was hunting just off to my left but to far to capture it in flight. I have only a few snaps of the Kestrel as its pot luck where you are when the decide to hover above you. 1500HRS came and thats when a couple turned up on th road ooposite me.

I had seen them before and it just reminded me of when i was starting out looking for the Barn Owl and how excited it is when one appears. They moved up the road and it was then Bella came out to Hunt. The light was fantastic and she came close on a few occasions but i didnt want to frighten her with the sound of my shutter noise on the camera so i let her hunt back and forth.

It is very hard to keep calm when a bird as beautiful as the Barn Owl comes into range of your camera but like i stress to anyone i meet, this is her Patch and you are the visitor and should respect the fact that you go home to your lovely warm house while Bella and Bertie hunt all through the night to survive.

I decided today to try f9 on my camera as this is the lowest aperture you can get when you attach a 1.4 Extender giving you more reach. When Bella approched this time she made a sudden  decent to her right opening her wings wide and moving through a sequence of flight movements. I was locked on to her but i never know if as they say i have Nailed it.

Edited in Lightroom Mobile i was pleased to say that even when she was far away i got some decent snaps of her.

Bella

After I had nailed a few snaps I felt it time to go and stopped to talk to the couple who stopped to watch the Barn Owl. The smile the lady had on her face when i parked up was pricless. This is what i mean when i say the sheer beauty the sight of a Barn Owl fling brings is one that cant be matched. They were a lovely couple and i apologised for shouting at them on one occasion.

Ther names were Sarah and Tom and they were so nice to talk to and just love wildlife. I hope they read this and i really hope they get some great snaps of Bella or Bertie but keep it secret for thier enjoyment and mine. I let them know that i am writing a blog on the Barn Owls and will continue to protect them from people that put getting a image rather than the Barn Owl interest firt.

How my day turned out

Arriving with a plan to set up a hide using natural material from the land. The field i am using is about the size of 3 football fields with dead braken a weed that groes high and takes over. Its easy to break of at the base and this is my chosen foliage to cam up my make shift hide. Its knowing how to build one and sighting it in the correct location is key

So i used the banking that runs paralel with the field and set my first braken half way up t give me some elevation. As i built it i decided to use my spade and dig out a seating area. So i set to it and after 4 minutes i had built it and surounded my set with brown braken.

Sitting back i set my camera and made holes in the cam to see the posts i had placed for the Owl to sit on. Ruth had made me sandwitches for lunch and as i opened them i heard a Tractor like noise getting closer. The owner was driving it and he just kept coming across the field. He stopped opposite me and informed me he needed to get past where i was sat and collect a metal tank and drag it out to take back to his house.

I stood up and moved from my cosy little hide and watched as he Started work, he is a lovely man like his wife Christine who let me use thier land.

Phase 2 i moved quickly up the banking and started setting up another hide and within 20 mins i had myself another hide.

The plan was to film the female Barn Owl coming into land on the post. Sometimes we over compliate what we are trying to achieve and i placed 2 posts up and sat back, but soon as i got comfy i realised i had created a problem for my self. Having one post means you focus on one position and your ready, but putting up a second means she will have a choice and you dont know which one she will go for.

Anyway after 2 hours sitting watching cyclists go past talking about rubbish i spotted Bella coming out of her building and move away into the fields across the way. Knowing she was out and knowing she always comes into the field to hunt makes me very excited. Unless you have been close to this amzing bird you will not be in my Zone of thinking.

15 Years of day to day photography looking for certain species is a challenge to any photographer so when an opportunity comes your way to film a special bird you put th extra effort and hours in to film.

So when Bella moves into the field and Quaters looking for prey it sends me into a trance, and with age and experience i dont take images of her to far away, i even let her get used to the posts without taking a image. It puts her at ease and thats the importance of respecting her habitat at all times.

Bella came straight towards me and these are the Snaps i got. A bit of editing but the eyes are crystal clear and sharp.

Enjoy like i do.

When the sun shines

So the sun comes out and the camera is ready for action. Off to where the Grey Heron nests evey February. The area is not that good for the field of view as the trees are not managed and branches obstruct your coverage. So you have to watch fir a while what the Heron does from bringing its twigs for the nest.

With that said I arrived and found the area closed off but as there was no body about I jumped over the fence and took some images of the Heron flying in with twigs it had broken off the trees nearby. When I spotted a Swan coming towards me so I got down as close to the water as possible.

Adult Swan

So with light nice inside my go to flight settings for Large Birds in flight. F 7.1 Shutter 1/1600 ISO 800 Zones Focus Mode Multi Metering. High Speed + Frame rate.

What is beautiful about the Sony A7r4 200-600 is the image quality and only having to Crop in Post Process. Then you get results like this. Stunning if I say so myself.

Grey Heron In Flight
Bringing the nest material in.

Grey Heron in Action

These are some of my first images with the Sony A7r4 when I first tried action shots,or birds in action. I could not believe the sharpness of the Sony 200-600 lens. Since then its the lens of choice for any action shots I try to capture.

Here are a few more examples of the combination.

Sony A7r4 Sony 200-600

Light Fading

5 hours of waiting not much happened until late afternoon. The sun went in and I was about to pack up. Then 2 Barn Owls came out hunting together, in the same field.

This one is the female as she has brown speckles on her breast. She also has no ring.

Lovely to see male and female hunting. This could mean there mating and hopefully have young. My story will continue.

Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started