# Some bird photos with my new Sigma lens (150-600 Sports)



## emydura (Mar 22, 2016)

While I have always enjoyed bird watching and photography, up till now I haven't combined both together. Good quality zoom lens were too expensive for amateur photographers like me while cheaper lens weren't of great quality. The new Sigma and Tamron 150-600 mm zooms are more affordable but still produce great images. The photos below are taken with my new Sigma 150-600 mm Sports lens. In most of the photos I have also used a Sigma TC-1401 1.4 x teleconvertor. So at full reach that makes it 840 mm. I am using the Nikon D800 camera which at 36 MP enables you to crop a bit.

All photos are of birds from the wild.



Red-Browed Firetail - I believe the grass stem is used for courtship display. They eat much smaller seeds. 






The first bird you hear in the morning is the Yellow Robin. They also like to perch on tree trunks like this.






Tawny Crowned Honeyeater - honeyeaters eat more than just nectar. Here is a couple eating a praying mantis and a dragonfly.











Noisy Miner - a very common active and aggressive bird.






Eastern Rosella - just one of many beautiful parrots you can find where I live.






Cormorant






A male and female Blue Wren








A couple of native pigeons.

Wonga Pigeon






Common Bronzewing - this photo shows how it got its common name


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## Fabrice (Mar 22, 2016)

Oh My GOD!

I'm a lover of birds. And you have extraordinary specie in Australia.


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## gonewild (Mar 22, 2016)

Very nice images!
Are you using fill flash or only natural light?


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## Wendy (Mar 22, 2016)

Amazing photos! Thank you!


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## Happypaphy7 (Mar 22, 2016)

One has a praying mantis in its beak! How cool! 

All beautiful and cute! 

The blue head, rainbow colored parrot and silky shiny green feathers on the last pigeon are especially impressive! 

Refreshing to look at this after reading about the horrible news from Belgium.


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## monocotman (Mar 22, 2016)

stunning photos!
David


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## emydura (Mar 22, 2016)

gonewild said:


> Very nice images!
> Are you using fill flash or only natural light?



Just natural light Lance.

I should have noted the weight of this lens. It is almost 3 kgs. When combined with my heavy D800 camera it is too much for me to handhold for any period of time. So I tend to exclusively use it with a tripod.


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## NYEric (Mar 22, 2016)

Very different and interesting photos. Thanks for sharing.


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## 17andgrowing (Mar 22, 2016)

Those are some great shots. Thanks for sharing.


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## Migrant13 (Mar 22, 2016)

These are awesome photos!! Much appreciated and looking forward to more. You do have some colorful birds down under.


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## My Green Pets (Mar 22, 2016)

Love the male blue wren, wow.

We don't have any striking birds like that here in the Ohio valley.

Just boring old robins and cardinals.


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## SlipperFan (Mar 22, 2016)

Beautiful photography, David! Amazing birds.


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## abax (Mar 22, 2016)

I love the detail in the shots...the distinct feather shapes
and colors. The texture of a photo of any animal is what
attracts the eye. Wonderful pictures.


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## Marco (Mar 23, 2016)

Fantastic photos. I particularly like the fire tail.

Thanks!


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## emydura (Mar 23, 2016)

Marco said:


> Fantastic photos. I particularly like the fire tail.
> 
> Thanks!



Thanks. I love the fire tails as well. That is one of my favourite photos. It is the most common finch in eastern Australia. I would see them every day when I walk the dog. There are two other species of native finch in the region which are even more beautiful but are not commonly seen. 

When I was a kid I use to keep Red-Browed Firetails in an aviary. They survived fine but I could never breed them like a lot of the other Australian finches.



CambriaWhat said:


> Love the male blue wren, wow.
> 
> We don't have any striking birds like that here in the Ohio valley.
> 
> Just boring old robins and cardinals.



Familiarity breeds contempt. I'm sure if I saw the robins or cardinals I would be excited. 

The Superb Blue Fairy-Wren certainly is beautiful and much loved. This species is very common in eastern Australia. They are very active and gregarious, darting in and out of shrubs. They never sit still. They are difficult to photograph. There are 12 species of Fairy-Wrens across Australia. They are all the same design except for differences in colour. 

Here is another photo of a male Superb Blue Fairy-Wren.


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## Hamlet (Mar 23, 2016)

Wonderful shots. In particular the first one belongs in a magazine or book!

It must take a lot of patience to get shots like that. Getting fast enough shutter speeds at such long focal lengths and natural light is probably not easy, either. Not only that, but your equipment is absolutely massive and heavy, that makes the results even more impressive!

Do you also see Galahs in the wild? They’re one of my favourite birds.


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## emydura (Mar 23, 2016)

Hamlet said:


> Wonderful shots. In particular the first one belongs in a magazine or book!
> 
> It must take a lot of patience to get shots like that. Getting fast enough shutter speeds at such long focal lengths and natural light is probably not easy, either. Not only that, but your equipment is absolutely massive and heavy, that makes the results even more impressive!
> 
> Do you also see Galahs in the wild? They’re one of my favourite birds.



Thanks

Yes, I do find it frustrating at times. It can be hard work lumbering around with all that heavy gear. And your subject matter never sits still. If I get one or two good photos I'm happy. A couple of weeks back I walked a couple of km's through this low coastal heath hoping to get some photos of some honeyeaters. I barely saw a bird and those that I did see I couldn't get close too. Frustrated I was just about to leave the area when at the last moment that flock of Tawny-Crowned Honeyeaters flew in and started catching insects right in front of me. That made all the hard work worth while.

Using a tripod means you can shoot at a slower shutter speed then you would if you were handholding. But you still need a fast shutter speed and bright light is helpful. The ability of modern cameras to produce high quality images at high ISO sure helps. The second photo of the Yellow Robin was shot in the poorest light imaginable. Cloudy, late in the day and under a heavy canopy. I could hardly see the bird. Even at an ISO of 5000 it still produced a nice image. 

I would see Galahs most days. They are very widespread and common across most of Australia. They would possibly be the most common parrot/cockatoo in the region. Only the White Cockatoo would rival it in numbers. The Galah can form enormous flocks. The poor old Galah is much maligned in Australia. If someone calls you a galah they are basically saying you are a fool or an idiot. It is a beautiful bird but I guess its commonness means people take it a bit for granted. 

Here is a pretty boring photo of a Galah I took. I'm working on getting a better one.


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## troy (Mar 23, 2016)

Very good pictures!!! They are as I'm looking at them, You have a knack for it!! Thanks for posting!! although quite a few times I've wanted to throw a grenade at cormorants for ruining my fishing experience, dive bombing the school!! Aaarrrgghhh I guess they look cool though


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## Clark (Mar 23, 2016)

The birds of Australia just lost their privacy.
David, you get right in their kitchen with 600mm plus converter.
All top notch.


ummmm, we frown on cormorants here too.


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## rdlsreno (Mar 23, 2016)

Great shots!!!!!

Ramon


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## JeanLux (Mar 24, 2016)

Class pictures David :clap: !!!! Bravo !!!! Jean


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## Hamlet (Mar 24, 2016)

emydura said:


> Thanks
> 
> Yes, I do find it frustrating at times. It can be hard work lumbering around with all that heavy gear. And your subject matter never sits still. If I get one or two good photos I'm happy. A couple of weeks back I walked a couple of km's through this low coastal heath hoping to get some photos of some honeyeaters. I barely saw a bird and those that I did see I couldn't get close too. Frustrated I was just about to leave the area when at the last moment that flock of Tawny-Crowned Honeyeaters flew in and started catching insects right in front of me. That made all the hard work worth while.
> 
> ...



It's always rewarding when patience and hard work pay off!

Yes, digital camera technology has come a long way. Today's cameras have astonishing low light capabilities.

That is a nice photo of a beautiful bird! On this side of the planet there are people who pay thousands to own and keep Galahs as pets. I guess most Australians would call them crazy. It's similar with ringneck parakeets here. Years ago, people turned their heads at these exotic looking birds flying around in Europe. But they've become so common that people take them for granted as well. It still amazes me that we have wild parrots here with our cold winters. There are several cities here that now have large populations of this species.


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## Ozpaph (Mar 24, 2016)

David, superb photos. Id love to see more.
Is the fairy blue wren the bird my Grandfather refers to as a "willy-wag tail"?


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## KyushuCalanthe (Mar 24, 2016)

Nice. I really like the noisy miner photo (the name is funny too). I love shots that show a bird dangling off a branch like that - it makes you realize how flexible and strong these creatures are. Keep them coming!


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## Ozpaph (Mar 24, 2016)

does the auto focus still work with the tele converter?


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## emydura (Mar 24, 2016)

troy said:


> Very good pictures!!! I've wanted to throw a grenade at cormorants for ruining my fishing experience, dive bombing the school!! Aaarrrgghhh I guess they look cool though



I can't say I've ever seen the cormorants do that here.



Hamlet said:


> It
> That is a nice photo of a beautiful bird! On this side of the planet there are people who pay thousands to own and keep Galahs as pets. I guess most Australians would call them crazy. It's similar with ringneck parakeets here. Years ago, people turned their heads at these exotic looking birds flying around in Europe. But they've become so common that people take them for granted as well. It still amazes me that we have wild parrots here with our cold winters. There are several cities here that now have large populations of this species.



That is interesting. I hadn't realised the Ringneck parakeet had become so widely introduced outside of India. I have seen this species in its native habitat. It is amazing that this tropical bird could be doing so well in such a cold climate. I could think of a lot worse introduced species.



Ozpaph said:


> David, superb photos. Id love to see more.
> Is the fairy blue wren the bird my Grandfather refers to as a "willy-wag tail"?



This is what I call a Willie Wagtail. A very common and much loved bird right across Australia. 

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=...hUKEwjGg6Xko9rLAhWImZQKHY2pCzEQ_AUIBigB&dpr=1



Ozpaph said:


> does the auto focus still work with the tele converter?



Yes. I bought the TC-1401 1.4*TC which was designed especially for this and a couple of other Sigma lens. It doesn't quite focus as well as without the TC but for the most part it is fine. I had an old Sigma TC which was completely hopeless with this lens, but this new one is really good, both in terms of sharpness and focus. I find for smaller birds, you need way more than 600 mm, so a TC is essential.




KyushuCalanthe said:


> Nice. I really like the noisy miner photo (the name is funny too). I love shots that show a bird dangling off a branch like that - it makes you realize how flexible and strong these creatures are. Keep them coming!



They are not the most popular bird. They are noisy as the name suggests and a bit aggressive. They are always chasing other birds away. I showed a friend the photo and he responded by saying that the photo even made the Noisy Miner look nice. They are active though and acrobatic so they are a good subject for photos.


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## gego (Mar 24, 2016)

Very impressive shots, beautiful birds, congrats!!!!!

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk


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## cnycharles (Mar 25, 2016)

Very nice ty. 600mm?! Baseball bat


Elmer Nj


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