Hungry, Hungry and Soaked. (C&C Invited)

[conkerwood]

Pied Butcher Birds regularly visit our garden. The first pic is of one a few weeks old doing the crazy wing flap routine that they have trying to convince a parent that they are starving to death and must be fed immediately. We feed Butcher Birds small pieces of steak but only a small amount so as not to disrupt their normal feeding habits which seem to centre on moths and lizards. You get used to eating breakfast outside and having a Butcher Bird suddenly dive down and grab a terminally wriggling lizard from rocks a couple of metres away. The second pic is of a parent feeding a youngster on one of the pieces of steak we had handed over. The most beautiful thing about Butcher Birds is their song which is at its best, for some reason, when it rains. Whenever there is a real downpour and it often happens in Summer here, the Butcher Birds have taken to sheltering under a covered area at the back of our house and singing and chortling until the rain passes. This one was not quick enough in getting out of the rain and looks decidedly peeved. I know so many people take bird pics but I am very fortunate in having around 35 to 40 species which frequent my garden and allow me the chance for close up and personal glimpses of their behaviour. As always I invite and welcome any and all feedback. My thanks in advance for taking the trouble to view and respond.

Peter

[Letrow]

Nice shots Peter. The last one works best for me because of the crop. The other two are great shots as well, but I would have like more bird probably. Especially on the second one I am not sure about the crop.
Your background in shots 1 and 3 is very nice, great bokeh and colour.

[Nat]

Wow, you got up close and personal on these! Very nice. That last one, ya gotta laugh out loud at that one!

[Bobobird]

Great shots. Love the closeup on #1 and that GREAT expression on #3.

[Geoff F]

Full frontal bird portraits rarely seem to work well. Your third image is an exception to this. And a slow shutter speed as well.

[conkerwood]

Nice shots Peter. The last one works best for me because of the crop. The other two are great shots as well, but I would have like more bird probably. Especially on the second one I am not sure about the crop.
Your background in shots 1 and 3 is very nice, great bokeh and colour.

Yeah the crop was a real problem on #1 and #2 and I am still not sure I made the right decision. I initially tried to include the full wingspan for #1 and both full birds for #2 but I ended up with very wide frames which looked peculiar. So the decision to crop was based on what I felt was most important in the pic ie the facial features but as I said I am not sure whether this was the right decision so any advice is gratefully received.

Peter

[jeeperman]

Nicely done. I like them all and all for different reasons, but they are all nice and sharp. The last one...poor little guy looks cold and wet and wanting you to invite him in for hot coco.

[conkerwood]

Full frontal bird portraits rarely seem to work well. Your third image is an exception to this. And a slow shutter speed as well.

Yeah you are right but quite often in the pics that work the best there is an element of luck. The bird sat stock still with that expression for several seconds so I got away with a mistake on my shutter setting.

Peter

[TylieD]

Hi Peter,if these were my pics I'd be be a very happy person! Beautifully crisp and focussed , and the expression in no 3 is just great

[JPS]

Hi Peter,
A very nice set; but I love No.1
Cheers
John