Blue-headed Parrots

Gallery: AvianPosted October 14, 20162,173 views11 comments

Canon 1D-X, 500mm x 1.4TC, tripod
f8, 1/800, ISO500

A clay lick in an oxbow of the Madre de Dios River in the Peruvian Amazon. Pre-dawn light. At first slight, the Parrots were gone and the Red and Green Macaws started to arrive.

Cropped to vertical. Adjustments to Levels and brightened about 20 points. Slight sharpening. I have other shots at higher ISO and shutter speed to better freeze the wing motion, but there's more noise and the photo has a lot less energy. The JPEG compression to meet the 1 MB max is pretty fierce; about 74% quality.

C & C, please. Thanks for looking.

Comments

11 comments

Comment posted by Jake Alletson on October 15, 2016 at 12:44 AM

Well done on capturing this scene in what must have been difficult light. The birds look frenetic with all the activity that is going on. I look forward to perhaps seeing some shots of the later arrivals.

Registered on May 3, 2016, 12 Posts, 163 Comments

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on October 15, 2016 at 1:05 AM

I should have mentioned there are some Orange-fronted Parrots hiding back in there, too.

Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Gavin on October 15, 2016 at 2:47 AM

Well done to get this quality from low light; bright dirt (dried mud?) and the vibrant colors of the birds.

Registered on August 14, 2008, 293 Posts, 1250 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on October 15, 2016 at 1:34 PM

I do like the energy in this one, Jim and the little bit of motion blur in the wings adds rather than detracts from the image. The other species adds a nice touch of variation to the flock.

devil

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by S Govindarajan on October 15, 2016 at 9:21 PM

Fantastic capture of the group, Jim. I enjoy seeing the different poses and bright colors against the earthy background. Your choice of dof is also ideal. The two orange fronted parrots in the middle are a nice bonus.

Registered on April 19, 2008, 115 Posts, 1921 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Watkins on October 16, 2016 at 5:50 AM

Jim,
The sort of shot I would certainly like to get, great capture devil

Registered on December 15, 2010, 1537 Posts, 4877 Comments

Comment posted by Hans Overduin on October 16, 2016 at 3:36 PM

Amazing birds, wonderful setting ! Cheers, Hans

Registered on August 31, 2011, 491 Posts, 3807 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Thompson on October 19, 2016 at 2:28 PM

This is an amazing capture Jim. I would love to experience this someday. devil

Registered on August 7, 2014, 125 Posts, 2319 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on October 22, 2016 at 8:11 AM

Cool image! We saw a cliff like this with parrots in Ecuador, but not close enough.
These are clear, well-positioned, and great colours.
A well-deserved WP- congrats!
Sandy