Spotted Dove - Flared for Landing

Spotted Dove (Streptopelia chinensis)

Spotted Dove (Streptopelia chinensis)
Location: Kohala Coast, Big Island, Hawaii

The Spotted Dove (Streptopelia chinensis) is one of two dove species that visit our garden daily.   This one is coming in for a landing on our hedge.

I've been trying to capture images of birds in flight for ages, but until I got my Nikon 55-200mm lens with "VR" (Vibration Reduction), I never managed to capture anything except blurs!  I used the shutter priority mode for this shot, but I really think that the VR feature of the lens helped a lot.  This image is not perfect, but it is an improvement over my earlier efforts.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Wow, this is a great capture! I too have been trying to get some pictures of birds in action, I have a 28-300 lens, no VR as it is Fujifilm, but I haven't got much yet. At one stage I sat on top of a tank stand for over an hour trying to get some Rainbow Lorikeets, which I finally did, but not in flight. This is a great capture, the uniqueness of the bird's pose adds to the value of the shot.

Keep up the good work with your photography, I hope to see you again soon.

Cheers,

David Webb: Pictures of Nature

BNS said...

Hi David -

Thanks for visiting and for your kind words about this image. All I can say about the bird shots is keep shooting. Sooner or later you're bound to capture the image you're hoping for.

Bobbie

crpitt said...

That is a great capture and another reason to upgrade my camera.

kml said...

They are so hard to capture in flight - and you did a fine job. The need for a high shutter speed means the need for a lot of light - two things that are not easy to attain.

BNS said...

Hi Claire and Kathy

Thank you both for your praise. I'm still not 100% satisfied with this shot, but it is one of the better ones I've been able to get of a bird in motion.

Kathy, I know what you mean about needing a lot of light for the fast shutter speeds. Fortunately ample natural light usually is not too much of a problem most days here in Hawaii.

Bobbie

2sweetnsaxy said...

Wow! Great shot!

BNS said...

Thank you, 2Sweet. Speaking of birds, I love your shots of the baby birds in the nest that was built on the top of windchime at your place.

Bobbie