My 36 Favourite Birds Photographs
Slideshow by John Larkin
These photographs are, my opinion, the best of my bird collection photo's, which is my favourite subject to photograph! I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed taking them!
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1 of 36
Stonechat (Saxicola torquata)
A slightly better pose than the one I posted earlier in the week!
Photo by Foto John
2 of 36
A Male Kingfisher 100% Crop
In place of having a Pro Canon 600mm lens, here's a 100% crop of one of a number of shots I took at ISO 800 of this beautiful male kingfisher, back on a rainy day in August. I think to get this size of shot full frame, I'd need a 600mm and at least a 1.4 X converter. Ah well, after a little saving I might be able to afford some new equipment in a year or ten! LOL
Don't get me wrong, folks, I'm more than happy with my 100-400mm, it's just sometimes you want a bit more reach! ;~}
Photo by Foto John
3 of 36
A (Great) Cormorant Drying Off
A typical pose of what Shags and Cormorants do to dry off their wings after taking a swim to find their lunch.
Photo by Foto John
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A Flock Of Starlings Looking To Roost
Nowhere near as spectacular a shot as many photo's I've seen of a flock of Starlings on Flickr, but an exciting experience I shared with Dorset Birder a few weeks ago in Dorset all the less. It was something I'll never forget and something I'll strive to see again. My father who is a natural history photographer (semi-pro, retired) and 66 years old, has never seen this spectical!
Photo by Foto John
5 of 36
Red Kite in Mid Flap
Another one of my photos of the Red Kites I saw on my recent visit to the UK.
Photo by Foto John
6 of 36
Male and Female Bearded Reedlings
I was lucky enough to spot these pair of Bearded Reedlings , also known as Bearded Tits (although, they're not actually a Tit) Panurus biarmicus, whilst on holiday in Dorset, UK, a few weeks ago. This was a first for me and as such, was a very exciting find!
Photo by Foto John
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All Boys Together
Three male (Eurasian) Wigeons being looked over by a (Common) Teal.
Best viewed large.
Photo by Foto John
10 of 36
Red Kite (A4) in Flight
Another one of my Red Kite shots, from my recent trip to the UK. Photographic wise it's a shame about the wing tag, it's a great help for the ornithologists though.
Photo by Foto John
11 of 36
Dunlin (Calidris alpina)
I was lucky enough to spot this Dunlin together with "DorsetBirder", Allan, a week last friday on the bill of Portland. Amazingly, it flew towards where we were standing and actually came closer towards us and did a little posing, maybe curious of the 'strange looking man dressed in camouflage' (myself). So I actually managed to get quite a few photos of it, with this one incidently being definately one of my favourite and possibly best shots of all time, best viewed large!
Many thanks Allan for your local knowledge, bird knowledge, friendliness and time!
Photo by Foto John
13 of 36
Red Kite - Ready For the Kill
I spent an afternoon at Gigrin Farm in Wales and had an absolute ball. These are wild birds, not captive and are still very difficult to photograph. However, being almost guaranteed to see lots of Red Kites in one place makes things easier. If you are in the area, or even if you live far away, I'd reccommend you visit this farm, at least once in your lifetime. They even provide self catering accomodation at a very reasonable rate.
This one is best viewed large.
Photo by Foto John
14 of 36
European Robin (Erithacus rubecula)
This (European) Robin landed so close to me, it was quite a shock! I had to actually back off, as it was too close to get a shot of. Thank goodness for camouflage gear!!!
Anyhow, it's saved me from buying Christmas cards this year!
Photo by Foto John
15 of 36
Spotted Redshanks in Winter Plumage
Happy "feathery friday" everyone! Uitkerkse Polders, Belgium.
Photo by Foto John
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A Warbler on a Branch I
I think this is a juvenile Marsh Warbler, due to the short bill, although juvenile Reed Warblers could have shorter bills I suppose as the legs are more the colour of this one when young!
Photo by Foto John
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A Juvenile (Northern) Lapwing
Getting a bit muddy looking for lunch. A 100% crop!
Photo by Foto John
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Spotted Redshank IV
A series of shots of a Spotted Redshank Tringa erythropus I took last saturday in the Uitkerkse Polders in Belgium. I've got plenty of others on the HD, but I think these four will do for now!
Photo by Foto John
21 of 36
Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)
I think cormorants are beautiful birds, although not having seen one close-up for a while, the beauty of this one amazed me!
They don't usually come to Blankenberge's habour which is just a small fishing boat / Yachting harbour, preffering the many estuaries of Zeebrugge's shipping harbour! Even then it's extreemly difficult to spot them, apart from when they're drying out their wings on top of the street lamps, etc!
Take a look at this beautiful Great Cormorant large
Photo by Foto John
23 of 36
A Female Kestrel Hovering Over Me
I was very lucky to get this shot as this female (Common) Kestrel hadn't obviously seen me crouching down next to some reeds with my camouflaged hat on!
Photo by Foto John
24 of 36
Ready For The Catch
I think this is a Common Tern, although it could be one tern of many and it could possibly be a juvenile, with it's orange and black bill! I took this photo just off of the North Sea coast in Blankenberge, Belgium.
Photo by Foto John
25 of 36
Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus)
This species of tit had long eluded me, photography wise, but today, together with the sun coming out, so did the songbirds! I managed to get quite a few of this one, so I'm very happy!
Photo by Foto John
26 of 36
Oystercatchers In Flight
Today the sun finally came out and I was able to finish work early so I took a walk down to the beach!
Photo by Foto John
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Juvenile Shelduck in Flight
Currently on Flickr, this is the most interesting photo of a Shelduck, with the tag "Bergeend" which is the Dutch name for Shelduck.
Photo by Foto John
28 of 36
Little Egret With Catch
Today was a very good day for birding, the waders are back after 2 - 3 weeks having no birds on the lakes at all! I managed to spot many, many different birds today, most of them being waders, but also Herons, Egrets and a few birds of prey!
The downside was the light, it was overcast all day until around 1900 CET, about the same time I arrived back home!
Photo by Foto John
30 of 36
Little Egret in Flight IV
Canon EOS 30D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM
Photo by Foto John
31 of 36
Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros) II
Spotted in a small park full of different variaties of trees, in the town of Keszthely in Hungary. It was very dark in places, although there were gaps between the trees where it was very light, so I shot at ISO 800 for this shot, going up to ISO 1600 for some shots I'll post at a later date! Best viewed large.
Photo by Foto John
33 of 36
Blue Tit (Parus caeruleus)
Canon EOS 30D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM
Taken near my parents home in Northamptonshire, UK, on the first day with my new camera combination. Best viewed large.
Photo by Foto John
34 of 36
Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs)
Canon EOS 30D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM
One of my very first shots with my new equipment, taken near to my home town of Wellingborough in Northamptonshire, England.
Photo by Foto John
35 of 36
Female Cukoo - Brown Form ( Cuculus canorus )
Canon EOS 30D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM
Not a particuarly brilliant shot, but a record of the day I spotted this beautiful Cuckoo!
Photo by Foto John
36 of 36
Black-tailed Godwit Resting on One Leg
Canon EOS 30D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM
This Black-tailed Godwit was taking it easy, resting with one leg up in it's feathers, squawking a letting me shoot as many photos as I wanted and as close as I wanted (this is full-frame, no cropping done at all). One chilled out 'Grutto' (the Dutch name for this bird)! In having said all of that, it was most probably diverting my attention from it's young in a field on the other side of the road in the Uitkerkse Polders, Belgium and keeping an eye out for them!
Photo by Foto John