Ring-Necked Parakeet

[Rich Steel]

Hi

I was down south in London last week and popped in to one of the large parkland areas. These are great havens for wildlife and, unusually in the UK, the amount of people traffic makes many of the birds and animals approachable. One of my favourite birds to photograph in these parks are ring-necked parakeets which have in recent years exploded in numbers. They evoke a mixture of love and hate with the public but whatever the emotion I think they are here to stay. They are noisey, use every available nest hole in sight to the possible determinant of the native species, but can be amusing in there antics, are very colourful and good fun to photograph. Their numbers have swelled in London to an estimated 30,000 and as the sun dips it is becoming quite a spectacle to watch hundreds of birds continuely passing in tight fast moving flocks as they head to their evening roosts. Despite their numbers they are a bit of challenge to photograph as they like to often stay high in the trees but with a bit of patience occasionally one can be found lower down, prehaps on a trunk looking for nest holes or chewing on the bark.

I managed to just find a gap between some branches to get a photograph of this female sitting in some rare UK sun.



Taken with 1D mk3 and 500mm lens at ISO 400 1/800s F7.1 -0.67EV

Cheers

Rich :)

[Robert O'Toole]

Hi Rich,

Normally mixed light is not my thing but although the light is a little harsh I like the image. Sharpness is great and the pose is nice.

Negatives for me are the busy BG Bokeh and the OOF foreground blur.

Interesting BG information also, thanks for sharing.

Robert

[Maxis Gamez]

HI Rich,

I have to agree with Rob. The perch over powers your subject. I also find whatever is in the FG (out of focus) a distraction. The mixed light works for me.

Thanks for sharing!

[Linda Robbins]

I would never have imagined flocks of parakeets living in London parks...you learn something new every day!

I also normally don't like dappled lighting, but it does work in this image. Lovely pose and color. The biggest drawback is the oof area on the lower right.

[Rich Steel]

Thanks for the replies Robert, Max and Linda. I agree the oof area doesn't help the photo at all. It took quite a lot of manvouring to try and get a clear 'tunnel' through the tree branches to get the photo.

If anyone is ever visiting London then drop me a line and I will try and point you towards some interesting places for photography.

cheers

Rich