Selection of birds

uncle aj · Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 6:26 am Post subject: Selection of birds

My passport is full and I've had to apply for a new one. It will take up to 4 weeks to arrive so no more trips to Bahrain for a while. These are some of the shots I took last Wednesday to Friday.

Red-backed shrike

Isabelline shrike

Indian silverbill

Yellow wagtail

Grey francolin

Barn swallow

Rufous tailed bush robin. This bird had a nest nearby so I made a quiet retreat so as not to disturb it.
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I'd feel lost without my GPS

steve · Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 4:29 pm Post subject:

great shots!, how do you structure your shoots? are you an opportunist or do you go out on a mission. i think i'm going to have to get myself set up somewhere sandwiches/beer hopefully some nice weather and just wait

for that moment! and hope i'm not caught napping

uncle aj · Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 4:41 pm Post subject:

The first one was difficult as red-backed shrikes are notoriously wary. I got as close as I could and tried to get the bird in a decent position. I always go for some highlight in the eyes and focus on the eyes. If the eyes are in focus the rest doesn't matter that much.

It was much the same with the rest apart from the barn swallow. This was done with the help of a friend. He stood under the overhead cable the birds were perching on. His presence spooked a few birds to take off and land back on the wire. This shot was one of them.

The last two were opportunist shots. I'd seen a white-throated robin in the area and had set myself up in a throw-over hide. My invisibility cloak. While I was hoping the robin would turn up, I spotted the bush robin with food in it's bill. It was too far away to get a close-up so I tried to capture it in it's environment. Unfortunately in the better picture it's tail is down. They have a habit of holding it upright, which would have made a great picture. As there was obviously a nest in the vicinity, I tried not to disturb the birds and crept away under the cover of my cloak. Harry Potter would have been proud of me.

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I'd feel lost without my GPS