There was a lot of noise in the garden this afternoon. I took the big lens out to see what was going on. I have not used this kit in ages. At first I could not see what the problem was. Then I spotted him. And he spotted that I had spotted him. There he was, gone. I managed just this shot through the leaves.
Lanius schach
I am sure regular readers will recognise the Long-tailed Shrike.
One reason for the birds annoyance at its presence was the large number of juvvies in the garden. Here for example a young Magpie Robin pesters its parent. I’m HUNGRY!!!!
Juvenile and adult Magpie Robin
Yesterday you saw (perhaps) a young Light-vented Bulbul going 15 rounds with a hawkmoth. This is a juvenile in the garden today, possibly the same bird but probably not. There are so many. A slightly scruffy looking Herbert.
Juvenile Light-vented Bulbul
Here’s a reminder of an adult.
The Red-whiskered Bulbul juveniles are also around. Taken today:
Juvenile Red-whiskered Bulbul
And another blast from the past for the adult:
Note that juvvie does not have the red whiskers. They will appear soon.
And that’s it for today.
You do quite well right there in your own yard, Andrew. The garden attracts a nice variety of subjects. That adult Light-vented Bulbul and the Red-whiskered adult are superb shots.
Ah! Those are the old ones, Steve 🙂
Wonderful photographs of juves! A delight to see. Thank you.
Thanks Dawn. Im pleased you enjoyed them.
Lovely shots.. I would love to get more bird photos. What size lens are you using for these shots? I’ve recently set up some feeder stations around my property in hopes of luring the birds to me and close enough for me to get decent shots. Great work!
I’m afraid these are heavy duty shots – 800mm + 1.4x teleconverter. I basically sit on our balcony / terrace and wait for the birds to land 🙂 The best light is always late afternoon.I don’t have any feeders but I do have a birdbath. I describe this as garden but its more of a communal area in front of the houses that face the sea. Kids play, dogs run, birds drop in. Feeders would definitely bring them closer but not necessarily more variety.
I would love to play with a setup like that some day but for now I’ll have to just live with what I got and try to lure them as close to me as I can. 🙂 Keep up the great work.
Great shots! !
I’m not fast enough for birds yet. My flower subjects don’t move unless it’s windy.. heehee!
I have been seeing this poor purple finch dad that had 3 youngins’ screaming and flopping wings around at him to FEED ME at my window lately. Cracks me up. He even has some ruffled feathers, probably from stress!
I suspect the parent birds get very stressed if they have a large brood. If food is abundant its not so bad but when times are scarce only a small number of babies survive. I hope your dad’s Purple Finch brood makes it.
Papa finch is in good hands, fresh seed from me daily =-)
Unlikely I’ll ever get to see these birds and certainly not as clear and close as this. Happy to let your lens be my eyes. Fabulous.
Thanks Simon.
Your pictures are amazing – as is your knowledge of birds 🙂
Thanks Joanne. I’m still a beginner really 😦
I love them ALL !! Thank-you for such lovely images, Andrew. 🙂
My pleasure, M.R.
Magnificent BAD x 4! 🙂 All extraordinary images.
Thanks Caroline 🙂
How pretty the last picture is, the Bulbul with a red fruit…amazing catch…all are good but this one is my fav 🙂
Thanks Anna. Much appreciated.
I like the last one with the red gob-stopper 🙂
Sometimes I wish Lulu liked gobstoppers, Lottie. She has no ‘off’ switch for her barking recently.
Sorry to hear Lulu is being boisterous…. whisky in her Winalot, perhaps ?
I’m thinking of trying Winalot myself.
Lovely series, we are much enjoying all the juveniles here (mostly robins, tits and blackbirds). Yesterday a confused chaffinch hit the window beside my desk (between two feeders) twice. He sat blinking on the path unable to work out what he had got wrong. The tits and robins are colouring up nicely now and one clever robin has taken ownership of the new log stack (stashed with robin grub) beside the house.
We get the occasional window strike but generally they are just dazed. Sometimes they fly in through the open doors and Shirley spent ages trying to persuade a swallow to leave. I miss the robins.