Friday, May 18, 2012

Superb Fairy-Wren - Sandy Hollow, Australia

A photograph of a male Superb Fairy-Wren taken in Sandy Hollow, Australia
Superb Fairy-Wren (Malurus cyaneus) - Sandy Hollow, Australia

I have uploaded a couple of photographs of the Superb Fairy-Wren previously but thought I'd share a few more recent shots of the male of this species on this post. Again, the photographs were taken over a weekend spent on a friends farm in Sandy Hollow in the northern reaches of the Hunter Valley in New South Wales.

More photographs inside.

A photograph of a male Superb Fairy-Wren taken in Sandy Hollow, Australia
Superb Fairy-Wren (Malurus cyaneus) - Sandy Hollow, Australia

As with most Wrens, the Super Fairy Wren doesn't sit still for long. They spend their time hopping from branch to branch foraging in the undergrowth. Photographing these birds takes a fair bit of patience as you need to wait for them to appear in the open. Then you have to try and focus on the bird before it disappears again.

A photograph of a male Superb Fairy-Wren taken in Sandy Hollow, Australia
Superb Fairy-Wren (Malurus cyaneus) - Sandy Hollow, Australia

I used AI Focus to track the birds while they moved about feeding. As soon as they stepped out into the open I hit the shutter release to take the photograph. It does sounds a lot easier than it actually was! The main issue I experienced while photographing these birds was focusing. As the camera would sometimes focus on the leaf litter or on a stray leaf. I couldn't pre-focus as the birds were unpredictable.

A photograph of a male Superb Fairy-Wren taken in Sandy Hollow, Australia
Superb Fairy-Wren (Malurus cyaneus) - Sandy Hollow, Australia

All the photographs on this post were taken with a Canon 7D and the 100-400mm lens. A tripod wasn't use as the light was strong enough to use a quick shutter release.



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