Birders

Last week when I linked my bird post to Stewart Monckton's weekly meme, and read his post for the day, I commented favorably on a photo of him in that post. This was his reply on my post. (Do you know: I used the word "post" no less than four times in two sentences?) 

My wife reckons that the picture of me is one of the most accurate she has ever seen - dressed all in green, not shaved, camera in hand, binoculars on and wearing a less than fashionable hat! Thats me!

I wondered if other birders unwittingly portray an image and  got to thinking about myself when Grant and I are out in the bush . Assuming that I am the first to go, I imagine that our great-grandchildren may ask Grant: "Great-granddad, what was Great-granny Jo like?" And he'd say: "Well, all I can remember of her is the back of her head!When we were out birding , she'd hang out of the window, scanning the bush with camera or binoculars."

LOL!

Moi, spicky hair pushed even further upward by my peak, sunglasses on top of my head, prescription glasses on my face and camera  at the ready

Since we arrived back, two weeks ago, we've been birding as often as we can. We've seen many birds and other wildlife. Last Sunday, while we were watching a Bou-bou hopping in the thick branches of a shrub near the road, Grant looked into the distance. He noticed a blob on top of a dead tree quite way away. 

We quickly drove around onto the slimes dam wall and although the bird was still very, very far away, I gave it my best shot! Using first my Manual function and then trying my Custom feature, I managed several shots of a first sighting (for us) of this eagle here Mwadui. 

Martial Eagle (Juvenile) 

The photos are quite grainy and noisy due to the vast distance between my camera and the subject, but we were thrilled to see this bird. In our experience in this area, once we spot a raptor, we tend to see the same bird almost all season long. (remember the Augur Buzzard in Autumn this year?) So I intend to practice and photograph this bird until I have a clearer image.  I also hope to post about my camera later today or soon, at least. 

I'm linking my post today to Wild Bird Wednesday which you can visit here