Sunday, October 17, 2010

Pairs wait to be Photographed

I very seldom find birds resting in a position that is good for photographs! However, these Beach Stone-curlews (Esacus magnirostris) were standing right out at the end of the bush track at Inskip Point overlooking the water. The large trees behind them have been under-cut by high tides last season and it is possible that the trees still standing will go in the next lot of high tides and high winds. When I finished taking photos I backed off slowly and the birds walked towards me until they reached a very thick piece of undegrowth and then they disappeared very quickly.
Out at the water's edge I saw a Whistling Kite (Milvus sphenurus) wheeling overhead. I was following it with the camera when I realized that there were two birds in the frame. Unfortunately I wasn't quite fast enough to change the focus and the bird on the right is slightly out of focus. However, I did get some good photos of one bird right overhead where I could see the beautiful patterns on the under wings.
For more bird photographs visit the Bird Photography Weekly.

Who was it that said "...To err is human..." ? Denis pointed out that I had made a major error in naming a Whistling Kite an Osprey. I have now corrected the blog above to name the bird correctly. Thanks Denis! In future I will double check!

9 comments:

  1. Great photos good things come in two's.

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  2. thanks Neil - right time and place!

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  3. Looks great to me- nice job taking advantage of the opportunity!

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  4. you got some really good photos. The osprey´s are so beautiful. I am happy because they seem to be increasing in numbers up here. But now I think they headed south.

    The Beach Stone-curlews stands perfectly with the tree surrounding them. :)

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  5. "I very seldom find birds resting in a position that is good for photographs!" -- isn't that the truth! Cool shot of the two ospreys in flight...

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  6. It's not always that you see (and are able to photograph) birds in pairs. And you got two of them even!

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  7. Thanks for commenting Mike, NatureFootstep, Kelly and Bob.

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  8. You got some nice photos there Mick and the light (and the warmth) look perfect.

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