birdsinflight – Page 2 – Rons life through the lens

Lovely People

When you love the work you do but need people to help achieve it i cant think of anything better than when you meet people that are so helpful and have the same love for wildlife and the beauty it brings us on daily basis for no cost at all. Helping preserve and inform people of the birds and animals that live in our county is so important to me. This drives me on to film and write about the wonderful sightings i see their stories and the struggles they encounter.

With a great area to film i have encountered many species of bird but most of all the Barn Owl which i first sighted over 10 years ago. They still occupy the same building but there different ones and still ringed locally. The past week has seen bad weather but when the air clears and the wind drops the Male Barn Owl is out hunting.

So after 2 weeks in one location i decided to change location with the permission of the land owner. I set up by 10.30 this morning and sat in my hide waiting for something to happen. I didn’t have to wait long when the Barn Owl flew through the small grassed area in front of me and made its way into a tree. It was very exciting having only being set up for less than 30 mins.

I then heard a call of a bird i have not heard since 2014, a call you can’t mistake. I zipped down my hide so i could see out of my left hand window just enough to see what was making the sound. I could not believe what i saw another Owl sat up on the edge of the building in the morning sun. One was just amazing but then another flew in. I was in dreamland having 2 species of Owls at the same time feet away.

Yes you could say i was dreaming but i was soon woke up from my dream when a Common Buzzard landed in the tree at the end of the field. No way would it fly towards me, and top off my day.

All this was possible as 2 lovely ladies that own the property have let me film in this wonderful location, and i hope to film more and video more lovely footage and images with stories to explain the moment.

As i left to get in my car i look over only to see the Barn Owl hunting, i raised my camera and took some images of it as it flew past me.

Sony 100-400mm Using Aps.c A7r4

I sat in my hide today waiting for the Barn Owl to land on the post i placed out side the hide. It didn’t take the bait and kept quartering around the field. I had chosen the Sony 100-400 today to do the video on the post so as you can imagine the owl looked so far away dropping down from the 200-600 but still with the APS.C mode on the A7r4 i switched to see what i could get. The light was poor and i decided to use ISO 500 but after looking at them i was under exposed so a tweak in that direction would have given me better image quality.

But my learning was harsh but i know if the Barn Owl comes close i will get some great images with some nice light to help me as well.

Feb Day 10 Photo Challenge

Day 10 challenge was to capture a duck species in flight so i went early to the coast as the High Tide was at 10.15. This is good time to get the ducks in flight as look for food on the banks as the sea washes all the bits in. The Widgeon are beautiful and make a lovely image in flight or on the water.

Key information

The wigeon is a medium-sized duck with a round head and small bill. The head and neck of the male are chestnut, with a yellow forehead, pink breast and grey body. In flight birds show white bellies and males have a large white wing patch.

Wigeons breed in central and northern Scotland and also in northern England. Many birds visit the UK in winter from Iceland, Scandinavia and Russia. With large numbers of wintering birds at a few UK sites, it is an Amber List species.

What they eat:

Aquatic plants, grasses, roots.

Measurements:

Length:45-51cmWingspan:75-86cmWeight:500-900g

Population:

UK breeding:400 pairsUK wintering:440,000 birds

Identifying features:

This bird species has different identifying features depending on sex/age/season.

The Sweet Spot

So the story goes i went for a walk round the park with the r74 and 200-600. I set my camera to:

RAW
f7.1
Shutter 1/1600
ISO Auto 100-1600
Zone Focus
Multi Metering
Tracking 5 Responsive
Steady shot left on
Lens mode 2 Horizontal Panning

The camera performed faultless with one image out of 150 slightly out other than that it nailed focus on every image in flight.

Feb Day 1 Photo Challenge

Well it had to be my fav bird of all time, she came out early and took 3 Voles in 20 mins hunting. She is a fantastic bird to film but i have to be aware that if she sees me i will spoil the fun as i don’t want her getting bothered by my being there. Her eyes are so sharp and her hearing is the best in the world, able to hear a vole heart beat. I set my camera to silent and today i really hid well but just before i left i am sure she looked in my direction for a split second. I will leave it for a few days as i want her to have as much freedom as she deserves and is used to.

Just look at the images i took today, not my best as the background messed about with my focus area, but still the different positions she gets into is just amazing.

Sony A7r4 200-600

The amazing combination of this setup has opened a new world for me. Birds in flight is the hardest form of photography to master and I have lost many amazing images because they were just out out of focus

The smaller the bird the faster the bird means you have to have good knowledge of the bird and reactions to it appearing in your field of view.

Over time I have learned many things about cameras and settings you need, but without the skill from the user it is near impossible to get a Razor sharp image of a fast moving bird in flight

So after Canon, Nikon, and Olympus I found Sony. The area i filmed in with all 3 was the same but the difference between the 4 was my keeper rate, the number of images that I had to choose from when editing increased beyond anything I had expected when I switched over to Sony.

So after so many years and Thousands of £s I found my combinati. The feeling when you leave the house to capture a bird you may only get one chance at filming, and the peace of mind you will will return home with great in focus images is the best feeling a photographer can have.

There are days we all have as photographer’s where nothing seems to work and I have experienced that many times, and learned that its me not my expensive equipment thats at fault. Simple Answer pack up and put the gear away.

Another thing I think the person looking at the image needs to know is that to get that one image may have taken 100 or 200 shots to get it just right, it can be in focus colour just right but the background could be all wrong, colour or objects.

I love the challenges I set myself and the harder the better, but my Sont gear gives me so much confidence and we are a great team together.

People that know me will understand when I say that I am happy with my equipment and why should I look at another camera when this combination gives me amazing images. There is a simple explanation, I have to have the best I can afford to achieve my aims in life.

How Beautiful is this

Angel Delight

How can you not admire this Owl in flight hunting in Total Slence, reason being is the wings.

Some Owls have a comb like leading edge, this enables the to fly silent. Other birds don’t have this feather formation and thats why they make a whooshing noise.

Yesterday I witnessed the Barn Owl beating its wings to pin point its pray. But I was amazed how still and how many different wing formations she did. Looking through my images the Sony A7r4 200-600 focused on the Owl and never lost focus.

They talk about the Sony A911 being the best in the business for tracking. But when your tracking is like this what more do you want. And a facility to crop from 61mp.

Here are some more images of many I got of her on 2 occasions when she came in to hunt.

There not all the same.

What makes a Photographer

Wildlife photography is sort by millions and in todays digital world, is there a true understanding of what it takes to be a true wildlife photographer.

The gear is just a small part of what it takes to get the image you are so proud of.

As I explained before the Barn Owl is my favourite bird and with an unique opportunity to use land from a lovely lady, I cannot turn down a great sunny day with blue skies. Sounds daft but to have the good light for 6 hours is a rare opportunity here in the UK.

With the ground frozen and it only 1 degree i was in position for 9am. After 3 hours I had to move for body circulation reasons.

With 3 locations to choose from I moved and sat for another 2 hours with no sign of the Barn Owl. The Buzzard flew over, a Kestrel and a Sparrowhawk made an appearance.

After 5 and a half hours I decided to call it a day when I looked up and Barny was there in front of me. She left the barn and flew away into the distance. It was then when I went back to my first location. Sitting ready she came back and put on a display for me

The images of her looking down into the grass in a majestic way gets my heart racing.

The Sony A7r4 Locked on to all 50 images of her without one being out of focus, together with the Sony 200-600.

Understanding flight

Ever since I was a boy I wanted to fly, looking at the Kestrel hunt and the Seagul gliding through the sky. The Blue Tit in my garden.

My dad letting me hold a baby budgie, then watching it fly was the start of my journey and love for birds and birds in flight.

Knowing how many different species take to the air using there Chest muscles to transfer power to the wings.

Let’s look at a at wing in more detail.

So how does a bird fly, the explanation is from the web.

The feathers that make up the birds wing are very interesting and important.

Its was a question I was asked many times when I bought my African Grey Parrot. Will you have her Clipped. My answer was easy, birds were meant to fly, they were given wings for a reason.

Also clipping if done wrong can end up in the bird having accidents that could kill them

Birds have 3 typres of feather Primary, Secondary and Tertiary.

Most birds have 10 Primary feathers on each wing, and without these they can’t fly.

Bella our African Grey has Black primary Feathers

What I love to see is the difference in reaction times between different species. Take the Swan and Goose the use the feet to run fast while beating their wings to take of.

Small birds with long legs just jump in to midair to take a fraction of a second.

The Kestrel that is suspended in midair just a few beats from its wings to keep airborne.

The White Tailed Eagle coming in so fast but looking graceful with its huge wingspan stretched out.

Flight is such a wonderful thing and the closet i got to it was when I used to jump out of the C140 Hercules Plan at 140 knots.

Not Just A Duck

We have a certain perception of the Mallard that comes to us fir food, entertaining us with their laughter. They are such a beautiful bird with stunning colours, but overlooked as just a Duck.

The time I have spent filming them has taught me a lot about the life the lead. The life starting out being hunted by other birds, pike, cats and anything else that will take the little chick.

That is why I feel I am a hypocrite at times. You should not love something take pictures of, write about then Eat them.

I gave up eating Duck many years ago and I feel a need to stop eating meat all together.

So the little Duckling has given me lots of please over the years and a few lovely videos I have captured just show how hard life is for them, going from a small baby bird to adulthood.