Sharon's second time around

[Dave Williams]

Lovely birds, I would have been really delighted with the Pitta too.

You have passed my target for 2021 anyway.Nice one!

[Kitsafari]

What a lovely fruit dove!

 

and one of my want-so-much-to-see-bird Rainbow Pitta! gorgeous. 

 

 

[elefromoz]

Rose crowned Fruit Dove is a beauty. Just looking at some of yours and not surprisingly many I saw in Broome a few years back. We are just about to cancel our NT trip, scheduled for Oct, again (second time). Just can't risk being locked out of our own home state. Might have to do a quick trip to Broome instead, if there's a bed in town. 

[shazdwn]

@elefromozshame about having to cancel your NT trip but understandable. 
 

I think half of Perth is in Broome right now. I was told there were 3x the usual tourist numbers. If you do get up there make sure you check out the Broome Bird Observatory tours

[michael-ibk]

You have been busy. Some great birds and photos, especially love the Fruit Dove and the Pitta. 

[shazdwn]

So we made it to Broome. Ended up having to spend one day in quarantine but it was worth it, what a stunning landscape. 
 

Many of the birds were the same species we get in Darwin but I did pick up a few new ones. It will take a while for me to get through all of my photos but here is a taster taken while on a sailfish charter. 
 

153/NT119 - Wilson’s Storm Petrel, Broome, Western Australia - 30/8/21

 

[michael-ibk]

Well done, not easy taking a photo like that from a boat.

[PeterHG]

A great shot of the Petrel! I agree with Michael: not easy at all!

[Peter Connan]

Stunning shot!

[shazdwn]

Thanks @michael-ibk, @PeterHGand @Peter Connan.  No it wasn't easy, especially at 800mm and with the boat still motoring (trolling) - I'm pretty sure the boat crew thought I was nuts photographing birds when I could have been fishing 

[Kitsafari]

A petrel out at sea and a fab shot too. 

[elefromoz]

On 9/7/2021 at 5:52 PM, shazdwn said:

I think half of Perth is in Broome right now. I was told there were 3x the usual tourist numbers. If you do get up there make sure you check out the Broome Bird Observatory tours

I did one of the 'Birds of Broome" 5 day residential courses at BBO about 3 yrs ago, fantastic experience. Looking forward to what you 'got" up there.

[Dave Williams]

How did you find the R5 AF capabilities Sharon? Certainly nailed that one pretty well.

 

[shazdwn]

On 9/13/2021 at 6:16 PM, Dave Williams said:

How did you find the R5 AF capabilities Sharon? Certainly nailed that one pretty well.

 

Sorry for the late reply. To be honest I have mixed views. When it’s great, it’s great. BUT I have missed shots because I just can’t get the camera to focus on the right spot, even when using the smallest focus point. For example sometimes if I try and focus on a small bird in the bush and accidentally focus on the twig in front (as you do) it won’t then change the focus when I try again, it just sticks to the first focus plane. There are times I have had to turn to focus on something else and then turn back and try again, by which time the bird is usually gone. I was talking to a friend yesterday and he had experienced the same (which was a bit of a relief as I was wondering if it was just me) and said his 1DX was faster. 
 

What has your experience been? 

Edited September 19, 2021 by shazdwn

[shazdwn]

Broome has a very similar climate to Darwin, and thus many similar bird species.  As such the new species count is not high, but there are a few to share.  I am behind in editing so it might be a bit of a drip feed over the next few days however.  

 

154/NT119 - Yellow-tinted honeyeater, Cape Leveque, Western Australia - 26 Aug 2021

 

[Soukous]

12 hours ago, shazdwn said:

Sorry for the late reply. To be honest I have mixed views. When it’s great, it’s great. BUT I have missed shots because I just can’t get the camera to focus on the right spot, even when using the smallest focus point. For example sometimes if I try and focus on a small bird in the bush and accidentally focus on the twig in front (as you do) it won’t then change the focus when I try again, it just sticks to the first focus plane. There are times I have had to turn to focus on something else and then turn back and try again, by which time the bird is usually gone. I was talking to a friend yesterday and he had experienced the same (which was a bit of a relief as I was wondering if it was just me) and said his 1DX was faster. 
 

What has your experience been? 

 

From what I've read, this applies to Nikon's Z series mirrorless cameras as well. 

[Soukous]

11 hours ago, shazdwn said:

Broome has a very similar climate to Darwin, and thus many similar bird species. 

 

That's interesting. I've been to Broome a few times but never to Darwin. I always assumed Darwin would be much more humid

[shazdwn]

15 minutes ago, Soukous said:

 

That's interesting. I've been to Broome a few times but never to Darwin. I always assumed Darwin would be much more humid

 

Broome was cooler at night when we were there so that could be true, but its still wet/dry tropics

[shazdwn]

17 minutes ago, Soukous said:

 

From what I've read, this applies to Nikon's Z series mirrorless cameras as well. 

Interesting.  I was reading a book on BIF photography the other day and it also mentioned this as an issue with mirrorless cameras

[shazdwn]

155/NT119 - Rufous Whistler, Cape Leveque, Western Australia - 26 Aug 2021

[shazdwn]

156/NT119 - Masked Finch, Cape Leveque, Western Australia - 26 Aug 2021

Edit - I just realised I have this all wrong.  It's actually a long-tailed finch but the beak colour fooled me.  In the NT long-tailed finches have red beaks (which easily distinguishes them from masked finches), but I only just realised that the subspecies around Broome have yellow/orange beaks.  I will fix the rest of my numbering to exclude this.  

 

Edited September 20, 2021 by shazdwn

[shazdwn]

156/NT119 - Northern Fantail, Cape Leveque, Western Australia - 26 Aug 2021

Edited September 20, 2021 by shazdwn

[shazdwn]

Some bonus Peaceful Doves especially for @Kalaharikind

[shazdwn]

This little bird is one of the key target species of the Broome region.  It is found in selective areas of northern and central Australia, but is elusive and hard to spot if you don't know where to look.  It lives in the samphire (that's the plant it is sitting on) and survives by eating spiders that also live on the plant.  We went on a tour with the Broome Bird Observatory especially to find this species.  At the start our guide told me not to expect a photos, as the birds are usually seen from about 100m or more away and never stay still.  I guess this one didn't get the memo as it landed about 10m from our car and stayed for about 2 minutes.  To take the shot I did need to contort myself to shoot from the front passenger seat out the back seat window on the driver's side, with a 400mm prime and 2x converter on, but the result was worth it.  

 

157/NT119 - Yellow Chat, Broome, Western Australia - 27 Aug 2021

 

 

Edited September 20, 2021 by shazdwn

[Soukous]

2 minutes ago, shazdwn said:

To take the shot I did need to contort myself to shoot from the front passenger seat out the back seat window on the driver's side, with a 400mm prime and 2x converter on, but the result was worth it.  

 

Absolutely