In the last 18 months, I found myself doing more bird photography than I ever intended, due to injuries which meant I could not undertake my planned travel or usual hiking. I happen to live right beside several renowned birding sites, so I could get my photography fix from that with little physical exertion needed.
But I didn’t buy specialised birding equipment. I used my R3 and initially my EF 100–400mm II + EF 1.4×, later replaced, as always planned, with the RF 100–500 (restoring the reach I’d previously had with a 1.3 crop body). This was equipment already owned or purchased for my normal activities. The only thing I really added for birding was an EF 1.4× teleconverter, which gets me to 700mm, albeit without Capture One lens profile support.
I found this yielded enough nice shots that I was still enjoying the photography. I also found there were situations where I did want a more suitable lens, but not enough to go out and buy the Sony 200–600. The equipment I have is indeed more suitable for most of the things I will be doing than specialised birding gear would be. Canon is catering for the majority, where they see the money. That 100–500 is ideal for safari, polar trips etc., and the R3 no doubt excellent for sports.
