A flurry of feathers and squawks – Bird Photography – Rainbow Lorikeets

Bird Photography is not my speciality by any means, but I do have a passion for birds that I’ve carried from my childhood.

As I was unpacking the car from our most recent family camping trip I heard the chatter of some local birds as they were feeding in my front garden.

Funnily enough I had just picked the trusty Lowepo Computrekker AW out of the boot as that familiar noise hit my ears.  I put the bag down, unzipped and luckily my 70-200 f/2.8 IS was mounted to one of my bodies (Why it was on the 5D Mark III and not the 1D Mark IV I’ll never know but I didn’t have time to change it).

I picked it up.

Flipped the switch to on.

Its a clean card and I’ve got battery.

As I started to stalk slowly and silently as possible through my bush garden I changed the drive mode to Silent High Speed.

I set Focus Mode to AI Servo.

I slowed and start to inch my way towards to the sounds of feeding birds I took off my lens cap…. and subsequently dropped it on a rock.  I froze.  I waited.  I wasn’t greeted by the sound of birds taking flight.

I starting inching forward again.

As I peaked around one Grevillea bush to the back corner of my front yard I was greeted with the sight of two Rainbow Lorikeets feeding on the nectar from the flowers on another Grevillea bush just a mere six feet away.

I must admit, I stood and stared.  The Rainbow Lorikeets are so vibrant in colouration and like most parrots quite vocal. A true pleasure to observe.

A moment later I lifted my camera, starting shooting.  A bunch of frames later, the Lorikeets had noted my presence with a quick glance and took flight in a flurry of feathers and squawks.

As I sit and contemplate starting to get organised for my investigative expedition to XinJiang, China with Joshua, I do wonder sometimes how that we travel all over the world yet sometimes overlook the beauty that can be found right on our front doorsteps. Luckily for me, my landscaping in my front garden and my proximity to bushland area means that I have the pleasure of Bird Photography without travel.