The male was taken from the closest I have been able to get to date (35M) !

Actually I correct that ... the male landed just 5m from me once whilst I was sitting on a rock deciding on the best place to settle .... and the camera was not ready ! All I could do was sit motionless and admire him for the 60 secs he stayed there.

There are numerous stray cats that live in our compound, they must feel safe here - though maybe that's why the birds in our compound are so skittish and frightened of their own shadows !

Thanks FS. I actually found that site a couple of days ago but then lost it again !

There is a little man made stream that runs through our compound, not more than 18 inches (ca. 45cm) deep anywhere except where it empties into a pool containing huge goldfish. However that doesn't deter a pair of Kingfishers from coming here to fish (and I've spotted them for at least the last 3-4 years now).

This is the first time I've been able to shoot them - and even then the closest I could get was 35m before these noisy starling like birds start up their warning calls and panic everything around them !

Anyway, I was so excited to see them that I had to post - regardless that I know they are barely keepers never mind post-able ! These were all taken from around 40m away and are heavily cropped of course.

The Female Fishing :-

1. On Your Marks

[IMG]http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Birds/Kingfisher-Diving-Sequence/1191275113_d6wQ8-L.jpg[/IMG]

2. Get Set

[IMG]http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Birds/Kingfisher-Diving-Sequence/1191275896_ts9vh-L.jpg[/IMG]

3. Go !

[IMG]http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Birds/Kingfisher-Diving-Sequence/1191276946_g7qg9-L.jpg[/IMG]

4. Mach One

[IMG]http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Birds/Kingfisher-Diving-Sequence/1191277593_6bLKw-L.jpg[/IMG]

5. Houston - We Have Entry

[IMG]http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Birds/Kingfisher-Entering-The-Water/1191347489_Sig5r-L.jpg[/IMG]

6. Mission Impossible - But The Boy Is Back In Town (Poor quality but I like the pose) !

[IMG]http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Birds/Kingfisher-Diving-Sequence/1191281851_J4ks8-L.jpg[/IMG]

7. So I'd Better Make Myself Pretty ! (Poor quality but I like the pose) !

[IMG]http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Birds/Kingfisher-Diving-Sequence/1191282019_8mzgS-L.jpg[/IMG]

8. Looking Good Baby ! (Poor quality but I like the pose) !

[IMG]http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Birds/Kingfisher-Diving-Sequence/1191282135_fJC9Q-L.jpg[/IMG]

9. The Male

[IMG]http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Birds/Male-Kingfisher-Shanghai/1191290985_UuyRG-L.jpg[/IMG]


10. A Reason to Leave .... Pronto !

[IMG]http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Birds/Where-Have-All-The-Birds-Gone/1191290296_shoQC-L.jpg[/IMG]

Just starting to get into birding (is it another form of LBA ?) and also wanted to give my Tamron BB 500 mirror a work-out. These are all taken in the housing compound where our home is located in Shanghai.

I know some (most !) of these are not that good but I'd love to know what type of birds they are since they don't seem familiar to me (from Europe) except the (European) Blackbirds & Sparrows !

ALL OF THESE SHOTS BELOW WERE TAKEN WITH THE TAMRON BB 500mm.

1. Start off with this chaffinch sized bird with a breast like a thrush :

[IMG]http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Birds/Unknown-Bird-Shanghai/1191295032_KruSD-L.jpg[/IMG]

2. Then there are these gregarious (and noisy - but can sing a ver sweet song too !) Starling sized birds :

[IMG]http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Birds/Feb-2011/1182505654_2dsqV-L.jpg[/IMG]

3.

[IMG]http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Birds/Feb-2011/1182509029_n5mXd-L.jpg[/IMG]

4.

[IMG]http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Birds/Birding-Close-to-Home/1191271546_2jUxS-L.jpg[/IMG]

5. A 100% crop of #3 above :

[IMG]http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Birds/100-Crop-Tamron-BB-500mm/1191311036_h9VZ5-L.jpg[/IMG]

6. A Great Tit sized bird singing a very sweet song from the very top of a 30m high tree !

[IMG]http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Birds/Feb-2011/1182515018_hK4Sp-L.jpg[/IMG]

7. A wren sized bird :

[IMG]http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Birds/Unknown-Bird-2-Shanghai-1/1191295693_cMmfH-L.jpg[/IMG]

8.

[IMG]http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Birds/Unknown-Bird-2-Shanghai-2/1191296114_miUdC-L.jpg[/IMG]

9.

[IMG]http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Birds/Unknown-Bird-2-Shanghai-3/1191296341_kJM2Y-L.jpg[/IMG]

10. Anyone recognise this gloriously scented flowering tree ( pairs of wrens seem to like this type of tree) ?

[IMG]http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Birds/Unknown-Flowering-Tree/1191302798_bTqNy-L.jpg[/IMG]

11. Some sort of collared pigeon

[IMG]http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Birds/Close-to-Home-Shanghai/1191291888_SZDZB-L.jpg[/IMG]

12. I am very impressed with this cheap mirror - this taken from 200 metres (yards) away !

[IMG]http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Birds/200M-Away-Crop-Tamron-BB-500mm/1191284982_avVst-L.jpg[/IMG]

13. And a 100% crop from #12 above :

[IMG]http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Birds/200M-Away-Crop-Tamron-BB-500mm/1191285039_CtsN8-L.jpg[/IMG]

14. Some sort of Pied Wagtail :

[IMG]http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Birds/Pied-Wagtail-Shanghai/1191272952_DWZiX-L.jpg[/IMG]

15. .... and finally a Blackbird enjoying a bath :

[IMG]http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Birds/Birding-Close-to-Home/1191272125_qfi5R-L.jpg[/IMG]

I have the Chinese single version of this (and it is/was going to be in that package I mentioned a while back) ..... much cheaper and virtually identical. The double version has just arrived in the office too ... I'll pick that up today, both knock-offs of Black Rapids methinks, Whatever make you have they do a brilliant job.

Very nice shots !

I was looking at this and the Tamron 17-50/2.8, I ended up with the Tamron (no regrets) because the Sigma wasn't in stock anywhere I could physically get my hands on it and I couldn't wait !

Could be it ... mines at 80% !

Have you given these some HDR treatment ? They look a little unnatural to me.

Very interesting shots nonetheless !

It could be the Mac ..... their screens are fantastic and really bright. I printed a 16x12 of my wife recently that looks perfect on my screen but came out a shade or two darker than I'd anticipated. Need to buy a calibrator ..... the X-rite Huey is a decent price.

Very cute ! But I do think you should crop that closer - the subject is pretty small in comparison to the real estate.