In the days when I did a lot of bird photography, my 100-400 lens with 1.5 extender was my essential piece of equipment.
After all, wild birds are elusive, hard to spot and even harder to photograph…….
………..except when they are too young to have learned any fear of humans or predators and are also extremely curious.
The first time I took my shiny new telephoto lens down to our local canal, over 10 years ago, I hoped to spot hard-to-find warblers in the reeds or perhaps a bird of prey hunting over the fields on the other side of the water.
All of a sudden this little blue-tit popped up and started singing loudly right into my ear.
If I’d stepped back to get the whole of him in the frame I’d have fallen into the canal!
Later that year at a nature reserve called Wicken Fen in East Anglia, I was on a boardwalk crossing the marshes when this baby swallow was so interested in my camera that he had a close-up portrait taken:
You never know what surprises are in store when you go out birdwatching, though in the case of these two little ones it was more a case of birds watching me.
To see more Macro/Close-ups from bird-lovers around the world, visit Lisa’s Weekly Bird Challenge.
8 Comments
Manja Mexi Mexcessive · 19 October 2020 at 18:16
Ahh, how special! <3 How excellent for you that they were not afraid and for them that they only faced you who were kind and harmless. 🙂
Helen Bushe · 19 October 2020 at 18:32
I was also far away with a long lens
lisaonthebeach · 3 October 2020 at 05:12
So cute!!
Helen Bushe · 6 October 2020 at 07:50
Thank you Lisa.
Irene · 2 October 2020 at 22:10
Oh, my goodness! These are both great and neither looks very pleased.
Helen Bushe · 6 October 2020 at 07:51
The original Angry Birds!
dennyho · 2 October 2020 at 21:30
So pretty!
Lisa Coleman · 2 October 2020 at 21:00
Helen these are fantastic! What a thrill to get that blue-tit like that in your ear. I have never ever gotten close to a swallow. Yours looks like it belongs on an adventure of “Angry Birds”.