Rich Steel
01-21-2008, 02:27 PM
Hi
These birds are affectionately known as 'Groppers' here in the UK and are relatively scarce and unfortunately declining fast. I found some locally last spring. Two interesting features of them is that it is very difficult to get a photograph of them on a clean background (although I have got a couple) as I cannot think of bird thats like to stay deep in vegetation more than this species. Secondly their long sustained grasshopper type song actually cannot be heard by older people due to loss of high frequency hearing with age. I found this out when two 50 year old plus bird watchers were trying to locate the while I was out photographing them. 'Can't you hear them?' I asked... but they couldn't and so were unable to locate them. Fortunately I can still hear the 'groppers' so was able to take them to see a bird, with which they were overjoyed. When they do come out to sing, the song is very long and sometimes goes on for 5 minutes or more of continuous grasshopper churring before the dive back deeper into the vegetation.
This photo is one showing a bird in typical habitat in this case a large clump of brambles.
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k217/squidfish_2006/grop1-1.jpg
Photograph taken handheld with 1Dmk2N and 500mm lens at ISO 160 F5.6 0.33 EV at 1/250s
Cheers
Rich
These birds are affectionately known as 'Groppers' here in the UK and are relatively scarce and unfortunately declining fast. I found some locally last spring. Two interesting features of them is that it is very difficult to get a photograph of them on a clean background (although I have got a couple) as I cannot think of bird thats like to stay deep in vegetation more than this species. Secondly their long sustained grasshopper type song actually cannot be heard by older people due to loss of high frequency hearing with age. I found this out when two 50 year old plus bird watchers were trying to locate the while I was out photographing them. 'Can't you hear them?' I asked... but they couldn't and so were unable to locate them. Fortunately I can still hear the 'groppers' so was able to take them to see a bird, with which they were overjoyed. When they do come out to sing, the song is very long and sometimes goes on for 5 minutes or more of continuous grasshopper churring before the dive back deeper into the vegetation.
This photo is one showing a bird in typical habitat in this case a large clump of brambles.
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k217/squidfish_2006/grop1-1.jpg
Photograph taken handheld with 1Dmk2N and 500mm lens at ISO 160 F5.6 0.33 EV at 1/250s
Cheers
Rich