#1371
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Good shot! Those are hard to get!
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#1372
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Magnificent eagle!
Don |
#1373
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That's an amazing shot, sir. The only eagle I have been able to photograph, was one eating road kill. After taking the photo, I deleted it, since that isn't how I choose to remember them.
I'd say your lens works
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A fine is a tax when you do wrong. A tax is a fine when you do well. |
#1374
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Doug - great pics pf the hawk.
And a good one too Ray at that distance and also given the movement!
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The SD40 is 55 now! |
#1375
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Here one I took on our recent bush trip.
Not a spectacular picture but one that is very special to me as it is a Barn Swallow. The reason it is special is that they live generally in cliffs or under the bridges over the rivers, and you only ever see them zooming around in the air. Never ever stationary. This one came roaring in, slammed on brakes and dropped on the road in front of me, where it briefly eyed me, looking at me directly. It then launched after a few seconds and was off like a rocket. A migratory bird, they spend the non-breeding season in South America, Africa and Asia. Then they go back to Europe where they breed.
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The SD40 is 55 now! |
#1376
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A Glossy Starling next. Common little birds in the bushveld.
An African bird, non-migratory and often imitates sounds it hears, so the call is NOT a good recognition feature! Actually difficult to photograph because it is very active and of extreme contrasts due to its (almost) black colouring.
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The SD40 is 55 now! |
#1377
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Nice Kevin you managed to get good iridescence showing on both of them, the European swallow is very much like our Barn swallow, I'm hoping for arriving swallows in the next few days here...average 3/15 every year so will be looking.
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regards Glen |
#1378
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Great shots, Kevin.
I love barn swallows. When I did staff rides, the USAWC did the Antietam Staff Ride in June so it was always late May when I did my rehearsals on the battlefield. I could count on seeing lots of barns swallows in company with bluebirds, with their similar colors. There were usually a lot of both birds along the banks of the sunken road - peaceful pretty birds at a site of much suffering and tragedy. Once, when we got to Cape May in late April or early May many years ago there was another tragedy. A storm had waterlogged multitudes of barn swallows and blown them out of the trees. Hundreds of the pretty creatures were huddled on and at the edges of the roads. I hope that most of them dried out and flew away, but a number of them must have perished. Finally, when we lived at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, 1978-81, a family of barn swallows made their home in the eaves of our house. It was nice to have them around. If a neighborhood cat came too close, the barn swallows would strafe them. Incidentally, the grackles and red-winged blackbirds have returned in force, and I saw the first robin of the year yesterday. The goldfinches are beginning to transition from eclipse to breeding plumage, and soon the forsythia, the daffodils, and the goldfinches will all be bright yellow. Don Don |
#1379
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Quote:
I recall his pleasure in watching them there. A very early memory of a bird was rescuing a Barn swallow, I was walking to his farm and a swallow was caught by a toe in the barb wire fencing. I was able although about 5 years old to free it and I can still recall the day -weird how the memory works.
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regards Glen |
#1380
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Birder, Don - thanks for all the comments.
Don - I enjoyed your stories about the swallows. It's strange how often a very common bird can take your fancy and then become a firm favourite! --------------------------- On to the next offering - a European Bee Eater. They feed mainly on insects in flight and are largely monogamous. Pairs generally mate for life. They are migratory and come from the breeding areas in Eurasia, Russia and Siberia down to Southern Africa. If only we could see what they have seen!
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The SD40 is 55 now! |
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