Hoopoe

[Ivan Ellison]

Not been doing much recently due to work and weather. Have just got back from a week in Portugal. Had a good do at the Hoopoes, have never seen as many, they must have had a good breeding season last year. One opportunity I would love to have captured was an adult feeding a fledgling on a golf course. Trying to position myself but too many early morning golfers sacred them off. Had to make do with some adults shot from the car. They are wary birds but seemed to tolerate a very slow moving car as long as you let them settle.
Cropped approx 70% of original and bird positioned to the right. Little else done apart from a little shadow and highlights and some sharpening , with a little extra to the web version.
Canon 1D mkIV
Canon 500 f4 is + 1.4 conv
1/1600
f8
iso 500.
Car as hide.

[Alan Murphy]

A great low angle image of this species. The morsel adds a lot. A slight head turn would put this over the top.

[Frank Schauf]

Beautiful portrait, great details and sharpness.

[Ashley Cohen]

Fantastic image, great pose and sharpness. The Grub in the Beak really adds something to the shot.

[adrian dancy]

I agree with Alan, superb image ...better than we had when we visited Portugal in 2010...lucky you!

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Very nice composition and details. Loved the view of the crest. Good call on the shooting angle. If mine, I'd crop a tad from the bottom. Love these birds.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Super details and low angle, and the prey item is nice to have. Reading your description this gives me the impression this was near a sand trap! I agree a better head angle towards us would have been better.

[Robert Kimbrell]

Nice sharp image. A good view of his crest and grub.

[Ivan Ellison]

Thanks for all your comments. -Daniel, this was taken on one of the dirt roads around Salgados marsh, an area of great habitat for wildlife with stone curlews and flamingos - at certain times of year- there is a proposal to drain the area and build another golf course and hotel complex, there is already one on the other side of the main lagoon. Hope it never happens but the greed of these large companies knows no limits. I have signed an on line petition in an attempt to halt the proposed work- 21,000 signatures have for the time being halted the work whilst the Portuguese govn have a full environmental report done. I will keep checking and if another petition is needed will post a link on the forum.

[Robert Holguin]

Wonderful shot.
Terrific comp and low angle.
Nice details and light.
Well done.

[Satish Ranadive]

Magnificent portrait.Beautiful colors,nice details and composition.

Regards,
Satish.

[Richard Unsworth]

Nice shot Ivan, food item adds a lot. Good POV
Although pretty common they are sooo hard to get like this so you did really well.
Your composition is super.

[Richard Unsworth]

Nice shot Ivan, food item adds a lot. Good POV
Although pretty common they are sooo hard to get like this so you did really well.
Your composition is super.