Great Thermals

[British Red]

Cal in when you are passing Nicola! We have five or six circling the cottage at a time - lots of owls, sparrowhawks, the occasional perregrine and rarely a kite or two as well (wish we had more of them - but sadly not so often).

If BB has been doing the laundry and its a nice day you might even see the thermals too

Red

 

[JonnyP]

Aaah - the secret there is have them fly 30' above your back garden

Actually a manual (twisty ring) zoom really helps - one hand on the zoom, one on the shutter release. I set to 135mm, find the bird, zoom to 400mm and track with the left hand (you can zoom right in in a split second) then part depress the shutter release to find focus. I set the focus to continually re-focus and whack on the "motor drive" and blaze off about 50 shots whilst tracking the bird. If I lose it, quick twist out to 135 and start again.

Not sure that makes sense but you get the idea - the continual re-focus function is dead handy when they are circling

Red

Well we do have buzzards around the farm here, I disturbed one today on my way in from work. I am not able to all that with my camera, but that makes a lot of sence..

 

[Gailainne]

Hi Red

As usual some lovely compositions, I work at a refinery, and we are lucky to not only have kestrels nesting in the tank farm (large 35m+ dia x 10m high storage tanks) we also have a local population of buzzards and a pair of perregrines, there are also reputed to be at least 1 sparrowhawk, but I've never seen one. Its amazing to come round a corner and spot a perregrine sitting on a sign, or watch the buzzards soar in the thermals above the tanks.

Thanks for sharing

Stephen

 

[dommyracer]

Nice pics BR.

What lens are you using?

 

[British Red]

Those were done using a Sigma 135-400mm (1:4.5-5.6 APO DG). Its a long old beast but it gets you real close - a pig to hand hold though!

Red

 

[RobertRogers]

Great pics!

 

[Kepis]

Yep, those digi SLR's, big lenses and the ability to reel off 300 frames for one good shot certainly help,

Different crop of the same original image

and a Kestrel, all pics taken from the back garden

 

[British Red]

Corking shots maver - I envy you the kestrel shot - she's gorgeous!

 

[demographic]

Last year whilst putting a traditional roof on a house and walking across the six inch wide girder about 20 feet up my mate who was working on the same site pointed out that there were ten buzzards circling above me.

He suggested that they were waiting for me to fall but in fact it was just a place that had really good thermals.

It was fairly usual to see six or so but I have never seen ten before or after.

Good pictures.

 

[abushcrafter]

Last year whilst putting a traditional roof on a house and walking across the six inch wide girder about 20 feet up my mate who was working on the same site pointed out that there were ten buzzards circling above me.

He suggested that they were waiting for me to fall but in fact it was just a place that had really good thermals.

It was fairly usual to see six or so but I have never seen ten before or after.

Good pictures.

 

[Lasse]

Great pictures British Red, wish I could see beautiful birds like that in my backyard!..

 

[spamel]

Jon, try for kestrels, they make life easier by hanging still in the air for a while!

 

[British Red]

Great pictures British Red, wish I could see beautiful birds like that in my backyard!..

Its dead easy Lasse, you just need the right back yard. This is ours.

Red

 

[JonnyP]

Jon, try for kestrels, they make life easier by hanging still in the air for a while!

Tis true, but most of the times I see kestrels, it is me that is moving and not the bird, with me doing 70 down the motorway and the kestrel hovering above the verge..

 

[JonnyP]

Liking that foggy shot Red...

 

[British Red]

Thats BB coming out of the mist Jon

She sends hugs btw (think she needs up - bleeding boilers gone west again - still fire is roaring)

Red