A friend of mine was kind enough to lend her 5D Mark II to me for about one week, as it was an exam week, so she became very busy with studying and didn't have time to take photos. Earlier this month, I surprisingly came across a place where many White-bellied Green-Pigeons (Treron sieboldii sieboldii) come to drink sea water. It was a rocky shore just below the Route 10 Highway between Beppu and Oita. I've actually seen them flying across the road around that area once while I was taking a train to Oita. I checked the Oita Birds website and found that there's also another place where they normally come to drink sea water. It is close to the bus stop called Shiraki (白木) before reaching Nishi-Oita city. I had some free time today during the afternoon, so I took a bus to Shiraki and tried to look for the pigeons. At first, I was not sure about where they normally come down to drink, so I spent time walking along the road looking for them. It was EXTREMELY hot today! I was so exhausted, so as I reached a weird blue architecture on the roadside, I immediately dropped down to the ground with my legs and arms spread wide under the shade. I stayed like that for a while, then I got up and looked out into the ocean, then bingo, a large flock of green-pigeons came flying by! There were more than 50 birds, maybe about a hundred, I don't know. It was hard to estimate, as the birds came in many different flocks. Some flocks were large and some were small, and they flew up and down between the sea and the forest, so I really couldn't count them. However, they were so shy! I hid and waited for them under the rock, but they still didn't come close. The photo below is the only good photo that I got when one male bird suddenly dashed down in front of me after the sun has already gone behind the clouds. Raptor was another reason why I couldn't get any decent shot. There was a young Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus japonensis) patrolling around the area. During the time that I was there, from 3:00pm - 5:30pm, it got 2 green-pigeons for the meals! Tomorrow I'm going to try again after finishing my part-time job. This time, I'll bring a hide with me. Hopefully, I'll get some better shots before I have to return this great 5D Mark II...
5 comments:
Great shot, better than any I've managed of this species. The 5D seems like a wonderful camera, it'll be hard to give it back!
No, that's not true Stu. You've got many better shots of this species than mine! But I have to admit that it's really hard to give back the 5D lol
Many people say a full frame camera has better image quality than a 'crop' camera and is much better with higher ISO, I can see why as the background here is wonderful and the image just seems to 'pop'. Of course it still needs a good photographer like yourself to take the picture!
It must be hard without a camera, if you lived in Hokkaido I'd give you my old 400D.
Yeah, I've stood in front of a 5D in a Yodobashi Camera display case a few times and would love to have a go. I think your Green Pigeon photo is beautiful. The only Green Pigeon I have heard of in Niigata were the feather remains below a peregrine nest!
Thanks Stu and Russell!
I visited the place again today with a hide, and got some more better shots! :D
If only the Peregrine would attack the flock less often, and there weren't any scuba diver around, it'd be a perfect last day for the 5D...
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