Eeyore - my hero!

[jennyb]

A week or so ago, Pete sent me a copy of his information sheet about photographing birds in flight. I have been dying to get a chance to try out his tips and today we got a visit from 4 red kites!

I rushed outside with my camera and Pete's fact sheet. Here are the results....





I know that these photos are nowhere near as good as you WAB experts would take, but I am thrilled. These are the best I have ever managed. The main thing I am having problems with is keeping the camera steady, since they are obviously handheld, but I guess I just need some practise.

A very big thank you, Pete, for setting me on the right track. There may be hope for me yet!

Jenny

PS. The photos look better if you view them full size.

[eeyore]

nice work jenny - you are correct that hand holding steadily and tracking flight shots is one of the hardest elements - I have never got on with doing it on a tripod tho some experts swear by that approach. Short of using an IS lens the only other answer is plenty of practice

if you get a chance a trip up to aston rowant in the chilterns (nr J6 of the M40) is well worth it as here (from the top of the hill) the kites frequently fly below you making for some interesting photographic angles. One other piece of advice if you do try this is not to park your car at the hill road lewknor car park as this is locally known as "car theif central"

[jennyb]

Originally Posted by eeyore

if you get a chance a trip up to aston rowant in the chilterns (nr J6 of the M40) is well worth it as here (from the top of the hill) the kites frequently fly below you making for some interesting photographic angles. One other piece of advice if you do try this is not to park your car at the hill road lewknor car park as this is locally known as "car theif central"

I don't often go in that direction, but I will bear that in mind, if we are ever in the area.

Jenny

[eeyore]

i dont know where in berkshire youare but the other location i have seen lots of kites is on the downs just over the oxforshire border near letcombe regis - i think there must be a farmer in this locale who feeds them because in one day i saw 10 kites together , another flock of 5 , and 3 buzzards all in the same area

[Ollie]

Great photos Jenny. Well done I am pleased for you.
Roger

[Paul mabbott]

B*** the photos (which are not too bad, anyway) but it must be a great thrill just to see the birds? I know that's how I felt when I saw some of the Northamptonshire red kites a few weeks back. So impressive that I didn't even think to take a photo - I think that photographers sometimes forget to be naturalists (and some of us, okay, me, forget to be photographers)!
Well done!

Originally Posted by jennyb

A week or so ago, Pete sent me a copy of his information sheet about photographing birds in flight. I have been dying to get a chance to try out his tips and today we got a visit from 4 red kites!

I rushed outside with my camera and Pete's fact sheet. Here are the results....

I know that these photos are nowhere near as good as you WAB experts would take, but I am thrilled. These are the best I have ever managed. The main thing I am having problems with is keeping the camera steady, since they are obviously handheld, but I guess I just need some practise.

A very big thank you, Pete, for setting me on the right track. There may be hope for me yet!

Jenny

PS. The photos look better if you view them full size.

[goosey]

No wonder you are proud Jenny, some great shots there

I had a practice on Monday with the help of Eeyores sheets. I was only out in the garden and my targets were Herring Gulls, not very exciting you may think, but I actually managed a few images with the gulls in the picture and not just bare sky! I'm improving!

[John]

Hi Jenny

Considering this is your first flight photos you should be rightfully proud of them. Congrats on getting them.

BTW, do you realise that on your 2nd photo that the bird on the right isn't a Red Kite, it's a Buzzard. So you have your first Buzzard flight photo as well.

John

[matt_xyz]

well done Jenny, a nicely caught Kite and Buzzard. I agree it must have been a thrill to see them, I've never seen a Kite myself.

I didn't realise Pete's sheet gave tips on how to get impressive birds of prey to visit you

Matt

[smartie]

Well done Jenny. With kites, buzzards and bluebell woods you can expect us to arrive on your doorstep any day soon

[jennyb]

Originally Posted by John

Hi Jenny

Considering this is your first flight photos you should be rightfully proud of them. Congrats on getting them.

BTW, do you realise that on your 2nd photo that the bird on the right isn't a Red Kite, it's a Buzzard. So you have your first Buzzard flight photo as well.

John

Wow - I can't believe I got that so wrong and I can't believe that I got a buzzard and a kite in the same picture! I knew it looked wrong but thought I had caught it at a funny angle.

I didn't get a picture of all 4 birds together so I don't know whether it was 2 and 2 or 3 and 1. Maybe the buzzard didn't like the kites on his patch (the buzzard lives in the woods a couple of hundred yards from here).

Paul is completely right in that trying to take photos we sometimes forget to take a good look at what we are photographing!

Can anyone tell me - what is the pecking order between these 2 magnificent birds? It always gives me a thrill to see either of them.

Jenny

[John]

Originally Posted by jennyb

Can anyone tell me - what is the pecking order between these 2 magnificent birds? It always gives me a thrill to see either of them.

Jenny

There really shouldn't be a pecking order as Kites are carrion birds whereas Buzzards go after live prey.

John

[Mark Tulley]

Brilliant first flight shots, Jenny.
I have often scrambled for my digital camera when an interesting bird flies across the sky, only to find that it won't focus on 'clouds or nothing' and cannot hold the bird in the viewfinder long enough to focus. And that doesn't even start on exposure settings. Then there is the final killer of shutter delay.

Any chance of a copy of Eeyore Pete's guide to dealing with these problems ? JennyB has obviously benefitted.

Mark

[eeyore]

no problem mark - pm me your email address

[jennyb]

Now I am completely confused

There were 4 birds. Here are 2 of them which were definitely red kites.



Yes, I agree that the right-hand one on the second picture above is a buzzard. I must have got so carried away in the heat of the moment, that I assumed they were all the same species.

Question 1 - what is the left-hand one on the second picture?

Question 2 - what were these guys doing all flying around together?

Jenny

[GuyF]

The left hand bird is either a Rook or a Carrion Crow, but I can't make my mind up which one! They are probably all together because they're all after the same thing, perhaps ones better at finding food and the others are going to try and steal the food. The Rook/Crow is probably mobbing the Buzzard because it feels that it's a threat. Great photos by the way and you're so lucky having kites over your house, I've never even seen one in Britain!
Guy

[Gill Catton]

Originally Posted by jennyb

Now I am completely confused

There were 4 birds. Here are 2 of them which were definitely red kites.



Yes, I agree that the right-hand one on the second picture above is a buzzard. I must have got so carried away in the heat of the moment, that I assumed they were all the same species.

Question 1 - what is the left-hand one on the second picture?

Question 2 - what were these guys doing all flying around together?

Jenny

The left hand 1 looks like a crow thinking about mobbing the Buzzard

In answer to your second question well it's a nice sunny day so the air may have been warm enough to provide a bit of a thermal, buzzards and kites (and other birds - gulls, sparrowhawks, hobby etc) like to glide up in thermals. The crow was there probably to try to encourage the 'bigger boys' (or girls) to move on.....

[jennyb]

I think the moral to this story is ..... don't be in too much of a hurry to snap the photographs. Take a closer look at what you are photographing first!

Thanks, everyone for you input.

Jenny