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Peter's third attempt

PeterHG

By PeterHG
in Big Year 2018

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PeterHG

PeterHG

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395 (G70) Blue-spotted Wood-Dove. Brufut, Gambia, November.

 

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155 / Nam 137. Pel's Fishing Owl. Feb. Drotsky's Cabins, Botswana. If I had to name one highlight of our trip (there were many..) it would be finding the Pel's Fishing Owl. It took some effort, severa

PeterHG
PeterHG

108 / Nam 90. Gabar Goshawk. Feb. Etosha  

PeterHG
PeterHG

07. Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus). Eemnes, January 2018. They usually fly off the moment you stop the car, but sometimes you get lucky.  

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PeterHG

PeterHG

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396 (G71) Black-billed Wood-Dove. Brufut, Gambia, November. Both Wood-Doves were new to me.

 

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PeterHG

PeterHG

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397 (G72) Yellow-Crowned Gonolek. Kotu, Gambia, November. One of the most beautiful birds in the Gambia but, in spite of the striking colours, not easy to photograph as it stays hidden most of the time. This one was out in the open, but some distance away.

 

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PeterHG

PeterHG

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Well this concludes the Gambia additions. I may come across some others, but for the moment this is it. I also browsed through my Spain photos and realized I had left out this one, hoping I would get a better shot. I don't think I will, so I'd better add it now. 400 is close and tempting......

 

398. Little Ringed Plover. Monegros, Spain, June

 

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PeterHG

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Last week I went to see if I could spot Goldeneyes or Scaups in one of the peripheral lakes nearby. No luck there, but I did see a pair of Red-crested Pochards.

 

399. Red-crested Pochard. Zeewolde, November

 

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PeterHG

PeterHG

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Okay, I got there and in a way I could not have imagined. Only a few days ago, in @michael-ibk's thread, I was admiring his photos of a European bird I had never seen before. Yesterday I found out that this same bird had been spotted some 30 kilometres from where I live. So off I went today. As it is a rarity here, I certainly wasn't the only one present ;). The bird was not shy at all and was even willing to pose on a mossy branch, put there by one of the other birders. Perhaps that was taking it a little too far, but I wasn't complaining....

 

400. Eurasian Nutcracker. Wageningen, November.

 

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Dave Williams

Dave Williams

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400 in BIG style.

There are some birds that for no particular reason seem to appeal more than others and as such go to the top of your must see list. Nutcracker was always one of mine and to date I have only ever seen one once so I can imagine how delighted you were to get this shot. An absolute peach!

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Galana

Galana

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A well deserved 400. congratulations on that. And to do it with a 'rare' bird for your area must put a cherry on the cake too.

 

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PeterHG

PeterHG

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Thank you all for getting to #400 with me! 

15 hours ago, Dave Williams said:

There are some birds that for no particular reason seem to appeal more than others and as such go to the top of your must see list.

Very true, Dave and this one was definitely on top of the must-see list for me. I am not much of a twitcher, but I really did not want to miss this opportunity. This photo shows how unafraid the bird was of the surrounding photographers....;)

 

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michael-ibk

michael-ibk

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Congratulations Peter, a wonderful score achieved with magnificent photos throughout. Love the Gonolek and the Violet Turaco from your Gambian birds. Interesting Nutcracker, while they are not especially shy I've never encountered such a confiding individual.

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Galana

Galana

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6 hours ago, michael-ibk said:

I've never encountered such a confiding individual.

Me neither as both you and @xelas can testify.

As it is a bird of the mountains perhaps it was down with altitude sickness in Netherlands?

 

@PeterHGLovely candid shot of its obliging nature and the excitement it obviously generated.

Worth another tick really!

 

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Peter Connan

Peter Connan

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What a lovely bird to reach such a milestone on!

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  • 2 weeks later...
Dave Williams

Dave Williams

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Must have been hard getting that shot Peter!!!!!!

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PeterHG

PeterHG

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Ah I had not seen this one. Yes it only goes to show how carefully I had to approach the bird......:)

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PeterHG

PeterHG

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I might as well drag the number past the 400 mark... 

401. Common Goldeneye. Arkemheen, December. One single male was present. Usually the male has a green head, but apparently it can also be brown, though this was the first time I saw one like that.

 

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PeterHG

PeterHG

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 A happy Christmas and a wonderful new year to all my ST friends! I hope this website and the BY thread will continue to thrive and that also in 2019 we'll be able to take part in good-natured challenges, interesting discussions and fascinating trip reports.

 

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Our small suburban garden is not visited by many species, but we do get this lovely Robin. I used the little bird as a test model for a new lens I acquired: the Olympus 300mm F4, coupled to the Olympus OMD EM1 mkII. This equals 600mm on a full frame sensor. I am contemplating this combination as my trusted Canon 7DII and 100-400II are becoming a little too much for my shoulders on longer walks. I can send the lens back within30 days  if I am not satisfied and I still have the Canon, though I am going to sell it if I feel this is a good replacement. This was shot with a shutter speed of 1/125 and at iso 6400. The weather here has been dark and grey for the past week, so I'm waiting for some sunny spells to really test the Olympus. Even so this is not bad at all for the smaller micro four-thirds sensor. I'll be sorry to see the Canon go as it has enabled me to get many good shots, especially birds in flight. But then, a camera is just a tool and if I can get the results I want with this combo, that's fine. I'll have to wait and see. It might be a good start for the new BY thread...;)

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michael-ibk

michael-ibk

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New camera looks good Peter, have fun with it. Happy Christmas to you too, see you on these pages next year!

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xelas

xelas

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@PeterHG your way is what many out here, including me, are thinking about, to lesser the weight and overall bulk of the photo equipment. Thus I will be specially interested in your results, mainly in the AF acquisition (BIF photos). If possible, could you do a series of similar photos with either of the two combo you have?!

 

We wish you two all the best in 2019, hopefully we will meet you again!

 

 

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Peter Connan

Peter Connan

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Merry Christmas. Lovely red-breast shot!

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PeterHG

PeterHG

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Ok, let's wrap up 2018. I've got a few more, which will not change much to the overall score, but I was very happy with that anyway.

 

402. Northern Pintail, Flevoland, December

 

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