Be good to each other (Hamerkops preening)

To me, the " Christmas controversy" seems analogous to arguing over the identity of the singing bird, with the beauty of the song drowned out by the strident voices. But rather than merely tolerating others' beliefs, how about trying to understand them. The difference is substantial.

Merry Christmas/Yule/Holidays/Whatever-you-like-to-call-it. Thank you for visiting, and a special thanks to those of you who comment regularly and so generously. See you in the New Year
:^)


[25 May 2007, Canon 20D, 300 mm f4 L IS, ISO 200, 1/400 at f6.3]

All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Boatman, Shire river, Malawi

The crew of our boat on the Shire comprised just the skipper and this man, whose role seemed little more than to moor the boat and keep watch.


[1 June 2007, Canon 20D, 24–105 mm f4 L at 105 mm, ISO 200, 1/80s at f6.3]


All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Shire River, Malawi

Hippos yawned and snorted near the banks, jacanas stepped precisely over water hyacinth, an open-billed stork flew past carrying something unidentifiable. Well within the park boundary, we passed a man in ragged clothing; he stood baiting a line and looking nervous in a canoe that was little more than a crudely shaped and hollowed log. The skipper called out to him as we passed; he looked back at us but didn't reply. He wasn't the only one fishing.

[1 June 2007, Canon 20D, 24–105 mm f4 L at 58 mm, ISO 200, 1/40s at f11] 

 
All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Red stag in velvet

Summer moves on. The stags' antlers continue to grow; both stags and hinds wallowed while water remained in the hole (that's dried mud on his antlers); the first fawn arrived on 7 December, the day I photographed this stag. Three more fawns followed soon after.

[7 December 2010, Canon 20D, 300 mm f4 L IS, ISO 400, 1/320 at f8]

All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

The Nyika Plateau at dawn

At dawn, mist pooled in the shallow gullies, a group of eland grazed on a far hillside, bushbuck fed near the campsite. A white-necked raven explored nearby, no doubt hoping for scraps. Of all the places I'd travelled in Africa, this felt the most remote, the quietest, the most peaceful. Perhaps it was an illusion.

[21 May 2007, Canon 20D, 24–105 mm f4 L at 105 mm, ISO 200, 1/13s at f8] 


All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Kotare (kingfisher) chicks

As I picked my way down the sheep track onto the remains of the old road cutting, I heard faint cheeping. I looked around, noticed a hole in the bank. The cheeping seemed to be coming from within the burrow. Serendipitously, I'd been prowling for photos of invertebrates, so I had the camera fitted with the 100mm macro and the flash (strobe), diffused and on an extension cord. I could see nothing inside the burrow and was conscious I was probably alarming some anxious parent nearby, so I quickly set the lens to autofocus, aimed it directly towards the hole, tried to angle the flash as best I could to get light down the burrow, and hoped the autofocus would do the job. I then immediately moved well away, and shortly after saw the adult kotare (Todiramphus sanctus; New Zealand sacred kingfisher) return to the nest.

All I could see on the antiquated little LCD panel was a dark blob in the centre of the frame. But when I downloaded the photo into Lightroom and played around a little with exposure, vignetting and fill light, this is what I saw.

Cute, eh?

[12 December 2010, Canon 20D, 100 mm f2.8, ISO 200, 1/500s at f16, flash (strobe)] 

 All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Agama lizard on the coast of Ghana

On the coast of Ghana, males fought, presumably over females and territory. Fortunately, they were agama lizards.

Perhaps the most notable aspect of these fights was the way the combatants would change colour. In particular, as battle approached, the head took on this striking orange-red colour.

The other fights I saw (three in the three-and-a-half weeks I was there) appeared to be over traffic incidents. Fortunately, I wasn't involved.



[13 April 2007, Canon 20D, 300 mm f4 L IS, ISO 200, 1/500 at f4]


All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Male slave dungeon, Elmina Castle

Ghosts haunt Elmina castle, on the coast of Ghana. Toni, Ana and I sat on steps in the shade after the guided tour and wondered how the castle would affect us if we were able to return after closing time, when the tourists had gone; when the boundary between the past and present blurred; when the only other inhabitants were birds, echoes and memories; the spirits of those who died here and those who left in chains and never returned.

The horror, the horror.

[22 April 2007, Canon 20D, 24–105 mm f4 L at 58 mm, ISO 100, 1/80s at f11] 

All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Toad, Kakum National Park

On the way out of Kakum NP after dawn on the ropeway, I glanced down. At my feet, I saw something slightly out of place; not just another leaf. I looked closer. This is what I saw.

[22 April 2007, Canon 20D, 24–105 mm f4 L at 105 mm, ISO 400, 1/20s at f5.6] 

All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Honeybee and harakeke (NZ flax)

Honeybees foraged in the morning sun, paying plenty of attention to the harakeke flowers. Clearly, pollen was one of the attractions, with a bonus being whatever nectar they could extract from the long, tubular flowers.

[4 December 2010, Canon 20D, 300 mm f4 L IS, ISO 400, 1/1250 at f4.5]

All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Harakeke (NZ flax) flowers

The harakeke (New Zealand flax; Phormium tenax) has begun to flower here, bringing a feast for bees, both native bees and the introduced honeybees, and birds, particularly tui and korimako. However, the long, tubular flowers mean the nectar's not easy to extract unless one has the right kind of beak and tongue (like tui) or are small enough to crawl down the tube (like the native bee seen here). Otherwise, it's a case of trying to mop up what might have dribbled within reach, or forcing oneself as far down the tube as possible (the honeybee approach).

[2 December 2010, Canon 20D, 300 mm f4 L IS, ISO 200, 1/125 at f8] 

All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

The novelty of binoculars at Mt Abu

At Trevor's Tank, the reservoir in the wildlife reserve at Mt Abu in western Rajasthan, I offered the warden the chance to look around through my little binoculars. I prefocused them and showed him how to adjust them to fit his eyes. "Ohhh...!" he said, softly, as he gazed at the big muggers (crocodiles) hauled out on the rocks at the water's edge. It might have been one of the few occasions he'd looked through reasonably good binoculars.

[28 January 2007; Canon 20D, 24–105mm f4 L at 105 mm, ISO 200, 1/60 at f5.6]

All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Pepper tree and Clematis

Near the top of the No. 1 Line track, not far from where I live, the native Clematis is nearing the end of its flowering. One might be forgiven for thinking this was the flower of the pepper tree (Pseudowintera colorata) in which the Clematis vine is entwined, but they're completely separate plants (other than the support provided by the pepper tree, of course).

Those two tiny specks just above the centre of the flower are small flies (on the full size photo they're clearly discernible), perhaps feeding on the pollen.

[24 November 2010, Canon 20D, 300 mm f4 L IS, ISO 400, 1/800 at f5.6]


All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Muscid fly, Ruahine Range

Update:  Well, this is embarrassing! As Stephen points out (see comments), this belongs to the family Muscidae, not Tachinidae.

Flies in the Family Tachinidae ("TackIN-id-ay") parasitise other insects (and, rarely, other invertebrates). Their larvae grow inside the host until they finally kill it (the Alien had a similar lifestyle); consequently, some tachinid flies have important roles as biological controls for pests of agricultural and horticultural crops. New Zealand has a comparatively large tachinid fauna; this, which I photographed a couple of days ago at the top of the No. 1 Line track, is an individual of just one of the hundreds of species.

[24 November 2010, Canon 20D, 100 mm f2.8, ISO 800, 1/500s at f11, flash (strobe)] 

All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Langur at Ranthambore

In the evening along the entrance road to the park, a troop of langurs hung out among the sere, sparse forest beneath the cliffs where friends had seen leopards, twice. I wasn't so lucky, but the langurs enjoyed an evening in peace.

[2 March 2007, Canon 20D, 300 mm f4 L IS, ISO 400, 1/640 at f4]

All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Honey badger (ratel) at South Luangwa

In Africa I was mostly happy to enjoy whatever wildlife I was lucky enough to see. Still, I did have a few animals I would have particularly loved to encounter (lions were NOT on that list), and at South Luangwa the subject came up in conversation. Jack and Annie, the Glaswegians I was fortunate enough to share my trip with, asked whether there was anything special I'd love to see. A honey badger, I said, and explained how they'd become part of my family's folklore — our byword for ferocity, irascibility and tenacity (some of those undoubtedly unfair on honey badgers). I didn't expect to see one, of course.

But only a few minutes after beginning our night drive, this is what the spotlight picked out. He (yes, it was obvious) trotted through the low scrub, paused on the edge of the track to look towards us, then crossed over and disappeared into the night. Achim had been guiding at South Luangwa for fourteen years. This, he told us, was only the second honey badger he'd seen in that time.

[13 May 2007, Canon 20D, 300 mm f4 L IS, ISO 1600, 1/100 at f4]

All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

The beauty of blowflies

Blowflies — who among us thinks twice about them, other than as revolting, disease-carrying, sheep-molesting pests? Blowflies do have ways of life that appear disgusting to us, and they do annoy us ( fortunately not in the same way they annoy sheep). But do think again; think about what the world would be like without blowflies. Probably a festering mess of slowly rotting carrion, among other things. Think of all the things that eat adult and larval blowflies: spiders, birds, rove beetles, mantids, and so on: what would happen to them if blowflies suddenly vanished? Then think of some of the things blowflies evoke, mostly without our being conscious of the association — drowsy summer days, for example.

Finally, look closely at this photo. This is Calliphora stygia, the brown blowfly (our Australian neighbours, clearly more sensitive to the glory of living things, call it the eastern golden-haired blowfly). Tell me it's not beautiful.

 [19 November 2010, Canon 20D, 100 mm f2.8, ISO 200, 1/500s at f11, flash (strobe)]

All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Hamerkop, Lake Malawi

On the shore of Lake Malawi, a pair of hamerkops (Scopus umbretta) preened each other, rested, or padded about at the lapping water's edge. Strange birds, with a wealth of folklore and unresolved scientific questions.

[25 May 2007, Canon 20D, 300 mm f4 L IS, ISO 200, 1/200 at f6.3]

All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Patricia Nkhoma memorial, Nkhotakota Game Reserve

From my journal, Sunday 27 May 2007:
"I drive to Nkhotakota and through the Game Reserve, stopping at the Patricia Nkhoma memorial. The only sound is the wind the long grass. Somewhere between the reserve and Lilongwe, a white rabbit scampers at the side of the road. Where am I, and when? Who, or what, is writing the strange story?"

[27 May 2007; Canon 20D, 24–105mm f4 L at 24 mm, ISO 200, 1/200 at f11]

All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Is this a dragonfly?

At the Cove of Giants, late in the evening on the last day, the headless remains of a large dragonfly (Uropetala carovei) perched on the beached tree. How had it arrived there; how had it remained there? A slight breeze would have plucked it into the evening air. Is this still a dragonfly? When did it stop being a dragonfly?

I photographed it, and stood listening to the sea for a long time while the light faded.


[12 February 2010; Canon 20D, 24–105mm f4 L at 105 mm, ISO 200, 1/125 at f11]

All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Evening on Te Awaoteatua

In its lower reaches shortly before joining the Pohangina river, Te Awaoteatua stream flows among poplars ("cottonwoods" in the US). On a walk one evening a few days ago, I stopped at a bend in the road and looked towards the stream, the poplars, the road leading up to where I live. Day had begun to change to night; the last of winter was leaving, replaced by spring.

[5 November 2010; Canon 20D, 10–22 mm f4 at 19 mm, ISO 200, 1/4 at f8]


All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Survivor [Old apple]

Another old apple tree survives as little more than a cankered stump. Half dead, riddled by beetles, bark flaking, it nevertheless hangs on, and still puts out a few flowers on a handful of thin, wiry branches. One winter it'll probably be turned into firewood, and another inspiration will pass into memory.

As I walked past, it held out this bouquet like an offering. "Here,"it said, "remember me."

 
[4 November 2010; Canon 20D, 300 mm f4 L IS, ISO 200, 1/1600 at f4]

All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

A photo about a poem about a painting

This is a photo in response to a poem by Dave Bonta in response to a painting by Clive Hicks-Jenkins.

I had the big lens on the camera as I walked along the edge of the bank. A sudden burst of wings and furious language. I looked down, and saw this. The thrush continued to abuse my past as I quickly photographed its future. After five photos I moved on, apologetic about the brief disturbance. (I don't attempt to photograph or even search for nests; the consequences of discovery for the birds can be disastrous. This was opportunistic.)

[4 November 2010, Canon 20D, 300 mm f4 L IS, ISO 400, 1/40 at f6.3]

All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Tokeawa Stream, running low

After a spell of dry weather, Tokeawa Stream is running low. Apparently October was unusually dry, but the endless rain still seems strong in my memory.

[1 November 2010; Canon 20D, 10–22 mm f4 at 18 mm, ISO 100, 1/10 at f5.6]

All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Golden-breasted bunting, Pilanesberg

Golden-breasted buntings (Emberiza flaviventris) belong to the same genus as yellowhammers. However, the other animals with which they share their environments could hardly differ more: rhinos, giraffes, cheetahs and so on for this bunting (in Pilanesberg Game Reserve, South Africa); sheep, possums, rats, an occasional rabbit, etc. for the yellowhammers living here in the Pohangina Valley.

[2 May 2007, Canon 20D, 300 mm f4 L IS, ISO 200, 1/500 at f5.6]

All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Yellowhammer

Yellowhammers (Emberiza citrinella) are common here in the valley. Understandably, some people think they're yellowheads (mohua; Mohoua ochrocephala), but the two differ hugely: mohoua are endemic, rare (endangered, in fact) and only found in the South Island; yellowhammers were introduced from Britain, are common and are widespread throughout the country. Being small (sparrow-sized) and not particularly confiding, photographing them can be difficult. This was one of a pair near my back door one drizzly day a month ago.

[30 September 2010, Canon 20D, 300 mm f4 L IS, Canon EF1.4x teleconverter, ISO 400, 1/400 at f5.6]

All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Evening — the back door; North

The last of the four main directions: more or less North. Those antlers were cast on 16 September; already the new antlers, covered in their fuzzy velvet are growing day by day.

[20 October 2010, Canon 20D, 24–105 mm f4 L at 28 mm, ISO 400, 1/25 at f8]


All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Evening from the verandah

You've seen the view East and West; now, here it is looking roughly South from the end of the verandah, on the same evening.

[20 October 2010, Canon 20D, 24–105 mm f4 L at 105 mm, ISO 400, 1/50 at f11]

All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Evening — the back door

Same evening as the previous photo; slightly later, looking west. That blurry smudge just below the window on the right is a welcome swallow (Hirundo neoxena). Yesterday evening I looked out the window on the left and saw two young rabbits scampering about, more or less where I'd stood for this photograph, and I've been watching another living in the paddock in front of the house for a couple of months now. A cock pheasant ambled past the front of the house one damp morning a few weeks ago, and just this afternoon I saw a pair of pheasants feeding by the side of the road near Tokeawa Stream. Little encounters like these make living here a delight.

[20 October 2010, Canon 20D, 24–105 mm f4 L at 24 mm, ISO 400, 1/50 at f8]

All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Evening from the back door

Yesterday evening the light faded through infinitely more hues than I could name. I wandered around, just outside the back door, wondering whether I could photograph the evening in a way that might evoke how it felt to be there, photographing, wondering.

[20 October 2010, Canon 20D, 24–105 mm f4 L at 24 mm, ISO 400, 1/4 at f11]


All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Crows flying at dusk, Indian Himalaya

Sometimes the representation of an aspect of crow-ness requires the exclusion of everything else.

At Kausani, in the Kumaon foothills of the Indian Himalaya, in the last light. Bob McKerrow's heading to the region soon — I admit a twinge of envy. The background colour is from the evening sky over the Himalaya.

[27 November 2006, Canon 20D, 300 mm f4 L IS, ISO 200, 1/60 at f6.3]

All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Weevil

This weevil turned up on the outside of a window last week. I caught it, photographed it a few days later, then liberated it. Thank you, little weevil; please forgive the inconvenience.

It was roughly a quarter the size of my little fingernail and those spines on the rear of the elytra (wing cases) should make it easy to identify at least to genus level. However, I no longer have easy access to the necessary reference material, so for the time being this will have to remain anonymous. However, the rostrum (snout) and the "elbows" in the antennae leave no doubt it's a weevil, so in Aotearoa that narrows the possible identification down to one of about 1500 currently named species.

I'll update this later with the i.d.

Update: Andrew (AJB) contacted weevil expert Chris Lyall at the British Museum of Natural History; Chris confirmed the identification as a male Psepholax coronatus, one of the so-called pit weevils.

[10 October 2010, Canon 20D, 100 mm f2.8, EF1.4x II teleconverter + 13 mm extension tube, ISO 400, 1s at f16]


All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Egret, South Luangwa NP, Zambia

In Aotearoa, the only white egret likely to be seen (and even then, rarely) is the great egret (Ardea alba), known here as kotuku or (rather unimaginatively and confusingly) the white heron. Overseas, the possibilities are more extensive. I don't know which species this bird is (perhaps the intermediate egret, Ardea intermedia?)but I certainly enjoyed the sight, despite having seen white-coloured egrets almost everywhere I travelled.

[11 May 2007, Canon 20D, 300 mm f4 L IS, ISO 400, 1/1250 at f8]


All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

So much depends on... [wheelbarrows]

At Elmina Castle in April 2007, where renovation still continued, these two wheelbarrows stood parked in the blinding sunlight. I couldn't help but remember William Carlos Williams' famous poem, and wondered what  these, in light of the castle's terrible history, would have prompted him to write. But perhaps no words can adequately express that horror.


[22 April 2007, Canon 20D, 24–105 mm f4 L at 99 mm, ISO 200, 1/250 at f13]

All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Dawn in the jungle, Ghana

Toni, Ana and I negotiated an early start on the treetops walk in Kakum National Park, Ghana. We watched monkeys bounding through the canopy below us, saw hornbills flying like things weird and prehistoric, and felt the sun rise over the steaming forest. I braced myself apprehensively against the trunk of the tree and hoped the two second exposure would be short enough to avoid being attacked by ants.

[22 April 2007, Canon 20D, 24–105 mm f4 L at 24 mm, ISO 400, 2s at f13] 



All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

The river of god [3]

July rain flooded Te Awaoteatua stream. Strange things left their lairs and crawled in the water; myths skimmed low over the turbid pools, hissing; dreams flitted in and out of the rapids, murmuring.

[18 July 2010, Canon 20D, 300 mm f4 L IS, ISO 400, 1/30 at f8] 



All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

The river of god [2]

Another from Te Awaoteatua stream.
 
[3 October 2010, Canon 20D, 300 mm f4 L IS, Canon EF1.4x teleconverter, ISO 100, 1/13 at f11]
All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

The river of god

I don't know the accepted meaning of Teawaoteatua, but I assume it's a running-together of Te Awa o te Atua, which could take the literal translation "The river of [the] god". When it looks like this, as it did this afternoon, "The river of god" seems fitting.

[3 October 2010, Canon 20D, 300 mm f4 L IS, Canon EF1.4x teleconverter, ISO 100, 1/25 at f8]



All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Bealey valley, Arthurs Pass

The day after New Year's Day, my brother and I climbed the track from Arthurs Pass village to Avalanche Peak. A great day in the Southern Alps — but any day with a view like this is a great day. Looking down the Bealey valley to its confluence with the Waimakariri.

[2 January 2005, Canon 20D, 28–135 mm at 28 mm, ISO 200, 1/250 at f11]




All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Sidestream, Siberia valley

In January last year we walked part of the track along the Siberia Valley. This small stream crossing the track in the beech forest called out to be photographed, but it and the enormous number of similar scenes throughout the mountains of Aotearoa have been photographed so many times it's hard to know whether adding to the complement can reasonably be justified. Consequently, I played around with the photo to make it (very) slightly resemble an illustration rather than a straightforward photo; in doing so, I trust it'll encourage at least some of you to imagine what might have happened, or might happen, somewhere around that bend where the stream issues from the unseen.

[13 January 2010, Canon 20D, 10–22 mm f4 at 10 mm, ISO 400, 1/20 at f11]

All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Te Awaoteatua Stream

The stream that flows near my place. It rises in the southern Ruahine, passes through farmland (where it collects a load of bull shit and other "nutrients") and meets the main Pohangina a couple of hundred metres beyond the road bridge. When I photographed this from the bridge, the stream was still turbid after rain. You can see a couple of other recent photos on the latest Pohanginapete post.

[25 September 2010, Canon 20D, 300 mm f4 L IS, Canon EF1.4x teleconverter, ISO 100, 1/10 at f16]

All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Reedbuck, South Luangwa NP

We saw many southern reedbuck (Redunca arundinum) at South Luangwa, their slightly redder and distinctly shaggier pelage making them easy to distinguish from the ubiquitous impala.

As I said in a comment to Barbara on the previous photo, South Luangwa's a wonderful place and I wouldn't hesitate to go back there if circumstances allowed. 

[11 May 2007, Canon 20D, 300 mm f4 L IS, ISO 400, 1/200 at f4]


All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Sunset, South Luangwa

Evening by the Luangwa River appeared idyllic, but not all was as it seemed. The river's home to crocodiles — some enormous — and hippos. We were instructed not to walk around unaccompanied after dark, as hippos grazed the grounds, and on both nights I woke and enjoyed the sight of a hippo cropping the grass outside my tent. A trip to the toilet would have required me to call out to the night watchman, who would have come and chased away the hippo with his catapult. Yes — really. No 375 H&H magnum: instead, a forked stick with a piece of inner tube and whatever stones happened to be lying around.

But the real danger was much less obvious: an estimated three quarters of the mosquitoes in the region carry malaria.

[11 May 2007; Canon 20D, 24–105 mm f4 L at 35 mm, ISO 400, 1/6 at f7.1]



All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Pirogue on the coast of Ghana

At the small village at the mouth of the river, pirogues lay hauled out on the banks. They didn't look too stable, but I trusted the skills of our guides.

[8 April 2007; Canon 20D, 24–105 mm f4 L at 32 mm, ISO 400, 1/50 at f8] 



All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Dawn on the coast of Ghana

Thunderstorms every day; heat; humidity; the sound of surf. The beach pocked with burrows — the homes of hand-sized crabs — and rumpled by the feet of still-sleeping humans.


[8 April 2007; Canon 20D, 10–22 mm f4 at 10 mm, ISO 400, 1/100 at f8]



All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Mountain weather: at the foot of the Otira Face of Rolleston

The day before Jono and I climbed the Otira Face of Mt Rolleston we'd walked to its foot, hoping the weather might clear and allow an ascent. It didn't, but the following day proved perfect and we climbed the face in perfect conditions.

[5 February 2006; Canon 20D, 10–22 mm f4 at 10 mm, ISO 400, 1/250 at f8] 


All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Bushbuck, Nyika Plateau, Malawi

Bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus) were common around Chelinda Camp. At dawn they grazed near my tent and seemed relatively accepting of my quiet movements. This one, however, I photographed from the open window of the ute.

[23 May 2007, Canon 20D, 300 mm f4 L IS, ISO 400, 1/100 at f4]


All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Boehm's bee eater, Liwonde NP, Malawi

At Chinguni Hills In Liwonde National Park, Jo, Parry and I took a walk on foot with a guide early one morning. These brilliantly coloured little birds (Merops boehmi) were one of the highlights for me.


[31 May 2007, Canon 20D, 300 mm f4 L IS, ISO 200, 1/400 at f5.6]



All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Tailorbird, Kileshwar

These little birds seem continuously on the move. Add to that their fondness for the shade beneath the foliage, and they weren't easy to photograph. While this is less than technically excellent (this is better), I like the way it conveys something of the bird's character.

[18 February 2007, Canon 20D, 300 mm f4 L IS, ISO 400, 1/250 at f4. Built-in flash at -1 EV]

All content © 2010 Pete McGregor

Khijadiya bird sanctuary at dawn

We left the car and started walking as dawn broke. A nilgai bull waded through shallow water to one of the small islands; a francolin ran ahead along the dusty path; cranes called as they flew overhead.


[14 February 2007; Canon 20D, 24–105 mm f4 L at 40 mm, ISO 400, 1/15 at f5.6]



All content © 2010 Pete McGregor