Galana's fourth effort. "Never mind the quality feel the width".

[Galana]

1 hour ago, xelas said:

@Galana, this is our best try 

 

10 minutes ago, michael-ibk said:

Time to subtract your "Ayre´s", Fred.

Why is there no "not like " button??

It will be done at the end. From 400 to 399??

[Galana]

1 hour ago, Dave Williams said:

The Crane shots are fabulous, I do wonder if you expect too much of the camera's zoom capabilities sometimes!! The Nikon P100 or is it 1000 is supposedly superb for a bridge camera. Your cancelled trip to the Hebrides should cover it!

Thanks. P900 like @pedro maia.

You are right. It like a car. Push it to the limit!!

If the Insurance don't cover it I am out £500.

Coincidence or what?

So my maths problem now looks like this:-

I do some simple logic.....

1. New Camera - £500?

or

2. Rtn fare to Africa - £500.

or

3. Cancel Hebrides.  - £500.

Choose only one!

 

Hacksaw blade 50p.  New filter and ring £24. Bit of spit on Handkerchief - no charge!

B*gger!  No contest!  Send the Filter back.

 

[Dave Williams]

The filter might be part of the problem, just another piece of glass to degrade the image. Use the lens cap to protect the glass.

 

[Galana]

9 minutes ago, Dave Williams said:

The filter might be part of the problem, just another piece of glass to degrade the image.

True. but I did not have the filter in Uganda in 2018 and 2020.

[Galana]

Having exhausted my stock in Bwindi (there are a couple in my later trawl I will use at the end) we can move along and head to Lake Mulehe via a couple of swamps I like.

One in particular has the usual swamp suspects plus a very interesting Weaver that nobody seems sure of the ID. Even the  experts at African Bird Club are baffled.

But it was not to be. Recent rain had flooded the track so we were limited to the fringes only which is where we drew a virtual blank so moved on.

Our next swamp was a long drive on a muddy track and with the rain now falling we reluctantly called it off.

Scratching two ideal sites hurt. So that was a day of low production apart from the friendly Grey Crowned Crane on the way in. #270 .

So we drive on through the turmoil of Kisoro with even my looked forward to view of the Virunga peaks covered in cloud.

We arrived at the lovely Lake Mulehe Gorilla Lodge, we are close to Rushaga groups, and checked in. Quite birdy grounds with the obligatory 'virtual' Red-chested Cuckoo calling manically.

Next morning dawned bright so we set off for another swamp. Lovely places you get to with me. We spent some time trying to lure the resident White-winged Warbler to a massed array of Cameras but despite some fleeting glimpses no photos were obtained.

But all was not lost as we did our own thing. A swamp is a swamp after all.

 

281. Arrow-marked Babbler.

 

282. Fawn-breasted Waxbill.

 

283. Cape Wagtail.

We then headed for Lake Mutanda Resort, it has had several names (and owners) over the years I  have known it. Jo had expressed an urge to take a canoe on the lake and Alex accompanied her leaving Zvezda and I to do our own thing.  NO alcohol was consumed. Just coffee and biscuits.

We managed a couple of new ticks and clicks.

284. Red-knobbed Coot.

 

285. Northern Brown-throated Weaver.

 

Then back home to Lake Mulehe and a very late lunch.

 

286. Black and White Mannikin.

 

287. White-naped Raven. The only one we could get close too and then it was almost too close.

 

I am getting ahead of the others now so a pause is called for. I will make it up to the round 10s again tomorrow when it looks like I will pass the #300 milestone.

 

So here are the views we had.

The Virungas frm Kanaba Pass. L-R Mahavura, Mgahinga, Sabinyo and Karisoke/Kasimbe. Gorillas in the mist indeed.

 

Lake Mulehe from our Lodge with Mahavura (the signpost) and Mgahinga in the back ground.

 

And.

Lake Mutanda where Jo and Alex went canoing. And the Virungas once more dominate the horizon.

Readers of "King Solomon's Mines" may associate those mountains as the landmark "Breasts of Sheba" in the book. They certainly look the part on a clearer day.

 

 

[Soukous]

20 hours ago, Dave Williams said:

The filter might be part of the problem, just another piece of glass to degrade the image. Use the lens cap to protect the glass.

 

 

Lens caps are all well & good @Dave Williamsbut you have to remove them to take photos.  and that is when most of the dust & muck attacks your lens. Good filters do not degrade the image much, if at all. 

Broken ones are a different story completely. 

[xelas]

57 minutes ago, Soukous said:

Good filters do not degrade the image much, if at all. 

 In digital era, for protection a Sky or Neutral filter is good enough. UV filters are from the film bygone era. Others, like CP-L or ND are for creativity purposes, not for protection.

There was a test showing that broken filter/glass can damage the lens surface much more than direct impact. The front glass of any lens is much stronger then any filter glass.

However, it is true that cleaning a filter is easier, and once it becomes scratched, it is way cheaper to replace it ... or just to throw it away. Just my 2 cents, others will have different opinions.

[Galana]

3 hours ago, Soukous said:

Good filters do not degrade the image much, if at all. 

Who can tell? Most of my images are  degrading anyway!

 

Hello Janet!

Edited March 30, 2020 by Galana
Additional text.

[janzin]

1 hour ago, Galana said:

 

 

Hello Janet!

I'm hiding

 

[Galana]

On 3/30/2020 at 10:54 AM, Galana said:

I am getting ahead of the others now so a pause is called for. I will make it up to the round 10s again tomorrow when it looks like I will pass the #300 milestone.

Well. What can I say? Tomorrow was a long time coming! Still no sign of the others report so as I see the Tortoise has been joined by a tiger on my tail, with another in hiding , I better move on.

 

So having left the 'Little Switzerland' of Uganda and bade farewell to those mountains I am heading for our last major stop. We take time at the top of Kanaba Pass for one last look back and a chat with a family of Batwa over some toast Corn which I will leave to @xelas to cover eventually, or not as the case may be!

In all our drive east from the pass was about 8 hours with a few stops for supplies before we turned off the good tar road at Sanga for the dirt 'road' to Lake Mburo NP.

And we hit 'new' birds from the get go.

Just inside the Park Gate:-

288. Woolly-necked Stork.

 

289. Green Wood-hoopoe. At first distant but on another occasion much closer.

 

290. Ring-necked Dove. Probably seen plenty earlier but this was when I remembered to capture one.

 

291. Emerald-spotted Wood-Dove.

 

Of course Emmy can never  ever drive straight to any lodgings so we embarked upon a game/bird drive first.

With a pleasant result as we dived down a side track to another swamp.

 

292. Rufous-bellied Heron.  I like Swamps.

Question. Can somebody drive 3000km and not photograph one of the many Jacanas encountered? Yes when you are in BY and overlook them. You will see the result later.

But I did not make the same mistake with everyone's favourite Safari bird.

 

293. LBR. Lilac-breasted Roller as the sun goes down on our first drive in Lake Mburo. Maybe NOW we can go and check in please?

 

Next day started well when I finally got a reasonable photo of

294. Giant Kingfisher.

 

And...

295. Levaillant's Cuckoo. Juv. from a moving boat.

 

296. Red-headed Weaver. Sightings of this are almost guaranteed here. Both by the lake and at the Park Gate.

 

297. Fork-tailed Drongo. Another bird often overlooked.

 

298. Plain-backed Pipit. Quite a poser.

 

299. Bare-faced Go-away Bird.

 

Well I have exceeded my daily 10 so Go away I will for now.

 

 

 

[PeterHG]

Thanks for posting your daily set. Some very nice species again, I don't think I' ever seen either a Rufous-bellied Heron or a Bare-face Go-away bird. Looking forward to the next batch!

[xelas]

2 hours ago, Galana said:

I will leave to @xelas to cover eventually, or not as the case may be!

 Of course I will, also showing your extended family .

[Galana]

2 hours ago, PeterHG said:

I don't think I' ever seen either a Rufous-bellied Heron or a Bare-face Go-away bird

Worry not. I am sure you have seen lots of birds that have eluded me over the years.

Uganda awaits you.

[Galana]

1 hour ago, xelas said:

 Of course I will, also showing your extended family .

Photos are fine as long as you don't give them my address!

[Dave Williams]

Some suspiciously good photographs in that batch...are you sure they are yours?  Looking forward to seeing what you held back for 300!!

[Galana]

7 minutes ago, Dave Williams said:

Some suspiciously good photographs in that batch...are you sure they are yours? 

Oh SIR! What are you suggesting? As I have said before, I do let my concentration lapse from time to time.

 

This is a major conflict with the P900. Close to it can produce some decent stuff even at full zoom but over a distance it lets the side down. As you will have seen and will see again shortly.

[Dave Williams]

It's not the camera Fred, it's often the atmospheric conditions. I have disappointing results when the subject is very close, say 30 feet away, so 100m away is a no hoper and those super zooms can't deliver what they are supposed to do. Try using it to zoom in on a n insect 12 feet away and you might get decent results. The other thing too of course is that with that level of zoom the outfit has to be rock steady too.

[Galana]

2 hours ago, Dave Williams said:

Try using it to zoom in on a n insect 12 feet away and you might get decent results.

Don't get me on to Insects. I am too old and can't afford the books anyway.

[Dave Williams]

That's excellent.Not this year's obviously! the other thing you shouldn't do with those super zooms is use the digital option to zoom. You can do that on the computer just as easily when you crop the image.

[Galana]

3 hours ago, Dave Williams said:

That's excellent.Not this year's obviously!

9th Feb 2020 12.30 local. Entebbe Botanical Gardens. Uganda is a veritable treasure trove.

20 minutes later and a family of these came by.

And then this popped up in a bush later.

Something for every one.

 

But this is a Bird Forum so next will be #300.

[Galana]

So to the Triple Century.

Lake Mburo is a good site .Take a boat. White-backed Night Herons and Papyrus Gonaleks are there but we dipped.

But we did succeed in our prime target.

All males. I thought the last one was coming to be hand fed.

 

Female is shyer. Coy!

300. African Finfoot.

Edited April 3, 2020 by Galana
correction.

[Dave Williams]

Cracking one for the 300 Fred. Saw a juvenile one where it shouldn't have been in The Gambia but would love to see an adult, especially the male!

 

[michael-ibk]

Congratulations Fred, a very worthy bird for your #300 milestone!

[xelas]

Well deserved, arriving at #300 first! And there are more, as I remember !

[PeterHG]

Congratulations on reaching #300 and with such a worthwhile bird!