Post your Bird Portraits

[Graham121]

Common Bronzewing, Vic, Au

 

[dpastern]

Snipe (Gallinago gallinago)
Birds Snipe C01_012_02-09-26 by Lester W, on Flickr

This was before Wesley became a Vampire hunter.

Common Bronzewing, Vic, AuView attachment 204608

Lovely image showing their iridescent wing feathers.

 

[dpastern]

An exceptionally poor image of an Australian Hobby - my only time seeing 1. And I was stuck with the dud RF200-800 on my R3, rather than my trusty EF 500mm prime. To say I was cranky is an understatement.

I was testing the newly purchased RF200-800, which sadly, was BROKEN from day 1. After 8 or 9 months of procrastinating, I eventually sent it back to Canon Australia for warranty repairs, only to get the bad news that it apparently had been either dropped or knocked and the front lens element was out of alignment, as well as water ingress and fungus. Estimated cost of repair, if the lens element had to be replaced was $600 AUD. To say that I was livid was also an understatement, given that I'd never exposed the lens to water, or dropped/knocked it. Treated with kid gloves. I am guessing that the retailer sold this to someone else, who stuffed it up and returned it, and they didn't check their returns properly. When they realised it was stuffed, they deliberately sold it to an unsuspecting customer (me) and then BS'd their way out of it. I wasn't able to test the lens during the initial 7 day purchase period as I had a very hectic work roster. And even then, after initial testing, I thought it was just heat haze.

In the end, Canon Australia came good and was able to clean and re-align the front lens element group successfully. They did have to replace the L/R barrels structure, and that was $100 AUD, but they kindly waived that fee in good faith.

Getting a dud lens could only happen to me

The image wasn't helped by the high key overcast cloudy sky, late dusk, and shooting at ISO25600...

 

[Graham121]

An exceptionally poor image of an Australian Hobby - my only time seeing 1. And I was stuck with the dud RF200-800 on my R3, rather than my trusty EF 500mm prime. To say I was cranky is an understatement.

I was testing the newly purchased RF200-800, which sadly, was BROKEN from day 1. After 8 or 9 months of procrastinating, I eventually sent it back to Canon Australia for warranty repairs, only to get the bad news that it apparently had been either dropped or knocked and the front lens element was out of alignment, as well as water ingress and fungus. Estimated cost of repair, if the lens element had to be replaced was $600 AUD. To say that I was livid was also an understatement, given that I'd never exposed the lens to water, or dropped/knocked it. Treated with kid gloves. I am guessing that the retailer sold this to someone else, who stuffed it up and returned it, and they didn't check their returns properly. When they realised it was stuffed, they deliberately sold it to an unsuspecting customer (me) and then BS'd their way out of it. I wasn't able to test the lens during the initial 7 day purchase period as I had a very hectic work roster. And even then, after initial testing, I thought it was just heat haze.

In the end, Canon Australia came good and was able to clean and re-align the front lens element group successfully. They did have to replace the L/R barrels structure, and that was $100 AUD, but they kindly waived that fee in good faith.

Getting a dud lens could only happen to me

The image wasn't helped by the high key overcast cloudy sky, late dusk, and shooting at ISO25600...

View attachment 204612

That sux big time re the lens, but fortunately Canon came to the party and hopefully you get to enjoy it as much now as I enjoy mine. Though my 500/4 ii is still the favourite it is hard to go past the portability of the 200-800.

And you probably don't want to hear that I have a family of Hobbies just a couple of kms from home (and a breeding pair of Peregrines just a bit further in the other direction), not bad for what is now the outer suburbs.

 

[dpastern]

That sux big time re the lens, but fortunately Canon came to the party and hopefully you get to enjoy it as much now as I enjoy mine. Though my 500/4 ii is still the favourite it is hard to go past the portability of the 200-800.

And you probably don't want to hear that I have a family of Hobbies just a couple of kms from home (and a breeding pair of Peregrines just a bit further in the other direction), not bad for what is now the outer suburbs.

The RF200-800 is pretty good. Not as good optics wise, but close enough I guess. The AF is super fast and quiet, but no more accurate than with my 25 year old EF 500mm prime. In fact, I would say the 500mm is much more accurate (makes sense, given f5.6 for AF vs f9 at 700/800 respectively). I really want a mark 2 big prime, but no $$$. Looking to get a RF600f4 when I retire in 10 years.

I'm just cranky that I got sold a dud. There's no way it'd come off the manufacturing line with those issues imho, and I didn't do it, so that only leaves the retailer. 8 or so months wasted with a 3k lens basically unused, and also mucking with my depression and anxiety too. Then the stress of knowing what the issues were, and having to deal with Canon didn't help me 1 single bit.

I will say Colin at Canon CPS is amazing. I'm not a CPS member, but he has been nothing but amazingly helpful (as well as Mark too). I can only say good things about CPS (Australia).

I am very jealous of the locality of the family of Hobby's and Peregrines. The latter is my favourite bird.

I popped into a local book store (new store) - small shop and had a look around yesterday arvo. Ended up talking to the owner for 30 minutes about birds. She wants me to come in for a night talk, probably in September, to talk about birds and birding. I'm looking forward to talking about the Peregrines.

 

[K9Kirk]

An older shot of a red-bellied woodpecker with my old gear, a Canon EOS 80D and Tamron 150-600.

11142375-studio26 by Kirk Behymer, on Flickr

 

[Kandor]

Barn Swallow

 

[sidknee]

Great kiskadee, Costa Rica

 

[Roy Mathers]

 

[Graham121]

Bell Miner, Vic, Au

 

[K9Kirk]

Sandhill cranes looking for a nesting site.

crane-studio26b by Kirk Behymer, on Flickr

 

[dpastern]

Cattle Egret on the move.

 

[David_MC]

White-throated Sparrows at Abbotts Mill, Delaware.
1)
DSCF1765 by David Covarrubias, on Flickr

2)
DSCF1767 by David Covarrubias, on Flickr

 

[David_MC]

3)
DSCF1780 by David Covarrubias, on Flickr

 

[GeoffSFAs10]

chipping in spring beauty edit by Geoff Anderson, on Flickr

 

[peter2516]

 

[amyandmark3]

Some kind of mixed Goose

 

[Roy Mathers]

 

[Pippan]

Royal Spoonbill, Platalea regia, in breeding colours at Fogg Dam, northern Australia, February 2026.

 

[Capn Jack]

A mallard portrait

JAK_2399 by Jack Silver, on Flickr