Rainbow Bee-Eater Hunting

[WJT]

I was fortunate to have an hour watching this bee-eater last week which allowed me to get close enough to use the 200 mm. All shots are 100 ISO, F:2.8 and about 2500/1 using the AV setting. This is an extremely fast bird and its rare to get shots of it in flight, however it is a predictable hunter and returns to the same branch making it possible. C&C welcome.
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[Bobobird]

Lucky you..

Nice catch there of a lovely bird. Somewhat soft for 1/2500, are these heavy crops?

[Geoff F]

Actually catching it with a bee (or something similar) in it's beak is a very good shot.

[WJT]

Lucky you..

Nice catch there of a lovely bird. Somewhat soft for 1/2500, are these heavy crops?

Thanks Bobo, They are heavily cropped. Two of them are a little out of focus as its impossible to use auto focus when they are on flight. I focussed on the still bird and then set to manual, then just hitting the button as it flew to and from the branch. It is extremely rare to see pictures of this bird in flight as it is so quick (related to the King Fisher), but I figured they were worth showing anyway as the colours are superb.

[WJT]

Actually catching it with a bee (or something similar) in it's beak is a very good shot.

Thanks Geoff, It made my day to have this little beauty performing for me. I have tried for years to get a good shot but it is an ongoing challenge. :-)

[botspur]

Hi Wayne, the struggle continues. I've never captured an image of a Bee-eater in flight so I'm envious, I once sat on a river bank by a colony of Carmine Bee-eaters and got zip, so congatulations.

[WJT]

Thanks Clive. Its a satisfying day out when you try for so long, so keep at it.

[jeeperman]

Man, what a beautiful bird. I so wish we had these here!

[WJT]

Man, what a beautiful bird. I so wish we had these here!

Yes they are Paul, and we have so many facinating birds in the Northern Territory, but its hard to beat this one. I have never seen their full patterns before in photograph as they move so quickly its impossible to view them in all their splendor. That is why I posted a few which wernt fully focused as it is great to see their colours and patterns.