Some more birds from my New Zealand trip. Some taken with the 70-200 f2.8E FL VR and some with the 500 f5.6 PF. 6, 7, 12 & 13 are caged birds the rest are free and wild except 10 which is also free but in a huge enclosure uncaged. 12 & 13 shot through cage wire.
1) New Zealand Robin in full voice
Z7 + 500 f5.6 PF, 1/160s f/6.3 at 500.0mm iso8000
2) New Zealand Tui
Z7 + 500 f5.6 PF, 1/160s f/5.6 at 500.0mm iso4000
3) Royal Albatross, one of the two largest Albatross including the Wandering Albatross. This was shot through an observation window that was well tinted and fogged up. The window caused all sorts of AF issues and missed focus for all the cameras that people had, including top spec DSLR's, except my Z7 seemed to work well. However, it took a lot of work to make it look this good. They told us that they needed tinted windows to avoid scaring the birds, yet the birds let humans walk right up to them. My belief is they didn't want great photos and want you to buy them at their shop. These are free birds and they first touch land after 5 years and come to New Zealand to breed. They are endangered.
Z7 + 500 f5.6 PF, 1/125s f/5.6 at 500.0mm iso2500
4) New Zeland Robin.
Z7 + 500 f5.6 PF, 1/100s f/5.6 at 500.0mm iso1250
5) The New Zealand Kea - These things destroy cars and if you hire a car in NZ, they may not cover you for insurance for them! They will happily sit on your car roof and "carefully" remove the rubber that surrounds your windscreen or any part of your car that they can get their beak around, which is pretty much anything. This one is digging a tree out of the ground and doing a good job of it! They are one of the few in the parrot family that may prey on other birds. The other is the Antipodes Parakeet further down in next post.
7) New Zealand Kiwi. Taken in basically pitch darkness. It was difficult to even be able to see let alone get a photo and when I mean difficult to see, I mean there was literally about a 1 candle power light that "lit" (I use that term generously) the area.
Z7 + 70-200 f2.8E FL VR, 1/6s f/2.8 at 200.0mm iso16000 and was underexposed by about a stop.
10) South Island Takahe - One of the rarest birds in the world, only about 300 left and most are in captivity in breeding programs to try to up the numbers which seems to be working as the population is increasing by about 10% per year.
12) Antipodes Parakeet - population between 2,000 and 3,000 and is considered vulnerable. One of only 5 species of ground-dwelling parrots in the world.
That Paradise Shellduck is probably one of the most beautiful bird that I've seen in a while. Though I'm surprised is that female is prettier than male which is very rare in birds.
10) South Island Takahe - One of the rarest birds in the world, only about 300 left and most are in captivity in breeding programs to try to up the numbers which seems to be working as the population is increasing by about 10% per year.
12) Antipodes Parakeet - population between 2,000 and 3,000 and is considered vulnerable. One of only 5 species of ground-dwelling parrots in the world.
That Paradise Shellduck is probably one of the most beautiful bird that I've seen in a while. Though I'm surprised is that female is prettier than male which is very rare in birds.
Thank you very much for your kind comment, ajamils. Much appreciated.
Yes, it is unusual for the female to look so nice compared to the male, but I am assured that this is the correct sexing.
As a side, I see you have the Australian General Motors Holden logo as your profile photo, yet you live in Houston. What is the connection, if there is any?
Lance B wrote:
As a side, I see you have the Australian General Motors Holden logo as your profile photo, yet you live in Houston. What is the connection, if there is any?
Yes, I live in Houston but drive a Chevy SS aka Holden Commodore SSV, which is imported from the land Down under
Those NZ parrots are beautiful, in fact all your bird shots are a pleasure. Thank you for sharing them, they truly are an inspiration for me to get out & improve.
Beautiful shots as always Lance. Interesting info on the albatross. I see that one is banded.
As seen in the recent Blue Planet specials on the BBC, plastics are having a devastating effect on the albatross populations. So many young die from ingesting plastic debris from their parents. It's really sad.
Max Power wrote:
Beautiful shots as always Lance. Interesting info on the albatross. I see that one is banded.
As seen in the recent Blue Planet specials on the BBC, plastics are having a devastating effect on the albatross populations. So many young die from ingesting plastic debris from their parents. It's really sad.
Thank you very much, Robert. Much appreciated!
Yes, all the ones that land on the island to breed have been tagged. The rangers walk right up to them and just grab them and tag them, they don't even try to fly off as they just do not know predators. They showed us photos of a bird that had died and when they opened it up, the stomach was full of plastic debris. Very sad as you say. I am not one of these mad over the top environMENTALISTS, but I am beginning to get vocal for the crack down on people discarding plastic other than into correct disposal. In fact, I think we should rethink the way we get rid of it so as to make sure none gets into the ocean. Maybe all plastic needs to be recycled or burnt in high temp incinerators.
However, it took a lot of work to make it look this good. They told us that they needed tinted windows to avoid scaring the birds, yet the birds let humans walk right up to them. My belief is they didn't want great photos and want you to buy them at their shop. These are free birds and they first touch land after 5 years and come to New Zealand to breed. They are endangered. 
