Bird photography
Given that Google + has changed its format and now offers, indeed seems to encourage, the opportunity to use a larger image on a profile page, I looked through my files for what I thought might be a suitable image. I decided that a relatively simple image which allowed me to include some (self [...]
Midway Atoll and a beautiful white tern takes off from an exposed branch on a small tree. With the 500mm telephoto focused on the bird as it perched on the branch and a bit of space around the subject in the frame, I was able to get the tern entirely within frame even as it [...]
Midway Atoll and a laysan albatross has the “landing gear” down, preparing to land near the beach. I quite liked the colour version of this image but then thought, “let’s just see what it looks like in monochrome”. Into Lightroom’s black and white conversion and then the split toning module. I’ve experimented with a number [...]
Gray-backed Tern (Sterna lunata), Midway Atoll. A fairly difficult species to get a decent picture of, I found. It seems that some bird species are not too bothered by the photographer who approaches in a quiet, slow, non threatening manner, but this species tended to be rather skittish and wouldn’t tolerate a close approach. Shot at a focal [...]
Same image, two versions. A red footed booby sits on a nest of twigs, Eastern Island, Midway Atoll. In the colour version, I enhanced the blues and yellows very slightly, and warmed the image slightly as well. As for the monochrome version, I gave it a slight toning in Lightrooms’ split toning module. Hue [...]
A male Great Frigate-bird with its distinctive red throat pouch sits on its nest on Eastern island in the Midway Atoll. The bird was reacting to the presence of other birds flying overhead, it wasn’t until after taking the shot that I noticed the egg in the nest. Canon 5D Mark 2 with 500mm lens [...]
A Great Frigate-bird (Fregata minor) stretches its wings whilst perched atop a bush on Eastern Island in the Midway Atoll group. The rust coloured head and chest feathers indicate that it’s a juvenile. Frigate-birds have the highest ratio of wing area to body mass, and the lowest wing loading of any bird, in other words they [...]
The White Tern is, I believe, among the most beautiful of the seabirds nesting and breeding on Midway Atoll. The species is regarded as having 3 or 4 subspecies, Gygis alba rothschildi being on Midway. Fortunately the terns are widespread around the world and are not considered to be a threatened species. As I mentioned [...]
“End of life” might seem like a rather melodramatic title for a post, but I was in a bit of a quandary as to how to present this post and image. In recent weeks I’ve posted numerous images from my time on Midway Atoll earlier this year, with beautiful albatross flying, nesting, tending to chicks [...]
Perhaps among the most beautiful of the seabirds found on the Midway Atoll, and indeed they’re found on many other Pacific islands, are the white terns. I remember many years ago visiting Lord Howe Island off the coast of New South Wales and seeing the same species. I recall such a tern sitting on an [...]
Continuing with the Midway Atoll shots and a Laysan Albatross sweeps low over the water making for an interesting pan and blur image. There are a couple of locations on the main island of the Midway group, Sand Island, which have intriguing names dating back to the time when the US Navy was in occupation. Names like [...]
A Laysan Albatross returns from feeding at sea to its hungry chick. Laysans bond for life and both parents will participate in feeding their chick on regurgitated fish, fish eggs and squid, indeed anything they can catch on the surface of the water. Unfortunately this includes floating marine debris such as plastic with several tons [...]
In recent blog posts I’ve displayed images of Laysan Albatrosses which I observed and photographed on the island of Kaua’i and also Midway. The Laysans were the only albatross species I sighted on Kaua’i and were the most numerous species on Midway. However there were other species on Midway, including the Black Footed Albatross. These [...]
With the recent changes I’ve made to the website and blog, this might be a good point at which to take a look at the updated Midway Atoll photo gallery. The primary purpose of the Midway trip was to observe and photograph its prolific bird-life and so that is the theme of the slide-show presentation. The [...]
As regular readers will be aware, I travelled to the Hawaiian Islands earlier this year (March-April) and have been slowly (too slowly!) picking my way through the photos since. Part of my travels, indeed the main reason why I did the trip, included a visit to Midway Atoll and to view and photograph the birdlife [...]
Part of my travels through the Hawaiian Islands earlier this year included a visit to Midway Island as part of a bird watching/bird photography group. “Midway Island” is a bit of a misnomer really as there are actually three islands in the group although human activity is mostly limited to just the largest of the three. [...]
Concluding (I think) my bird photos from Kaua’i with a slideshow. Those who’ve been following along on Google + may recognise several of the shots, but there are a couple more not previously published as well. As the post title suggests, the focus here is on the seabirds of Kilauea Point in Kaua’i. enjoy ~KD Red [...]
From the Kaua’i files once again and on this occasion I was able to get a pleasing shot of a red footed booby in flight at Kilauea Point. There was a steady stream of seabirds, boobies and laysan albatross, riding the air currents as they swirled up the sides of the sea cliffs. These birds [...]
Continuing on with the bird photos from the Hanapepe Salt Ponds of Kaua’i. Whilst as seen in my previous post there were numerous shots to be had of Hawaiian Stilts, there were other species present as well. I don’t claim to be an ornithologist so, in the event that I mis-identify any species, please feel [...]
The Hanapepe Salt Ponds on the south west coast of Kaua’i attract several species of water birds including the gregarious Hawaiian Stilt. Nearby to the ponds there is a popular beach area but with the telephoto lens and the tripod at the ready I spent my time at the ponds themselves watching and photographing the [...]
The Hawaiian Stilt, also known as the Ae`o, is regarded as an endangered species with an estimated 1500 of them still found in the wild. Once hunted as a game bird but now fully protected, it still faces dangers from habitat loss, pollution, and predation by feral pest species such as cats, rats and [...]
Cattle egrets are widely distributed throughout the world and are, as their name suggests, often found near large grazing animals such as cattle and buffalo. Frequently they’re at the feet of grazers hoping their footsteps will stir up insects that they can feed on. In this instance in Assam, India, the buffalo proved to be [...]
Trying to finish up some of my India photos from 2010 with some of the assorted birdlife of Assam and Aranachal Pradesh. The first two shots were both taken handheld from a canoe, no easy task with the long telephoto lens in use. Notice the shallow depth of field when using such long focal lengths, [...]
A brief apology for the lack of updated content on the blog just at present, but trying to get a few things sorted out. Those who found me via Windows Live Spaces will be aware that I’ve been blogging there for quite some time and that WLS is now in the process of closing down. [...]