I see them all the time, but rarely photograph them. Chaffinches are very common, but the males bring a true splash of colour with their red plumage and metal-blue beak. They are currently in courtship mode, and pairs are flitting around and through trees at breakneck speed. Maybe I'll manage a shot of that, but so far I've not succeeded. I did get some nice shots of the male, including a couple of in-flight frames. Both are slightly marred.
There were other birds about (of course), including several mistle thrush…
… an elegant pair of greylags
…and a sure sign that it is not yet summer. A lone swallow.
Camera note: all shots taken with the Canon 7D and EF 400mm f/5.6L USM lens.
derWandersmann
17 Apr 2012Another superb group, Words! I especially like the first two chaffinches and the mistle thrush.
serola
17 Apr 2012Wonderful shots once again :happy:
gdare
17 Apr 2012First one is great, I like to see how perfect they (birds) look in flight :up:
SittingFox
19 Apr 2012Pretty chaffinches. Most of Sask's songbirds are yet to arrive, and we don't even have a lone swallow here :right:
Words
20 Apr 2012Sami, thanks!
Words
20 Apr 2012Adele, spring is in full flow now. Skylarks are singing, and all the smaller birds are busy brightening up the place. And being spring, we've had everything from sunshine to hail today.
Words
20 Apr 2012dW, thanks. The chaffinch chose a particularly pretty tree for the photos!
Words
20 Apr 2012Darko, I was annoyed about the leading branch in the first shot, but decided it was better to leave it there than attempt to clone it out.