photo Archives - Page 5 of 6 - Craig Rogers Photography

Morning Dog Walk: A Small Flock Of Waxbills

4th May 20196th May 2019Craig Rogers

I take a camera along on my Dog Walks to bring you some of the sightings that I see on my morning walks, these photos are rarely going to be great quality as its hard enough keeping an energetic Dog entertained and get close enough to anything. They also help me identify where species are so that I can plan to return.

The Common Waxbill (Portuguese: Bico-de-lacre, Latin: Estrilda astrild) thrives in the Algarve region and actually originates from being “introduced” in the late 1960s, I have read references citing escaped caged birds but also scientific studies carried out, so unsure if “introduced” relates to accidental or release. These are usually very shy of humans (in my experience) but this morning a small flock of around 5 (I have seen them 50 strong!) were happy to continue rummaging through the long wild flowers. These ground nesting birds are usually spotted around a water source. I think they look like a vibrant Zorro! This year I have not seen the numbers I usually witness, hopefully that’s just bad luck on my account.

As you can see below, the look amazing in amongst the vibrant wild flowers.

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Abandoned Palm Tree At Sunrise

21st April 201921st April 2019Craig Rogers

This morning was a great morning for a walk and was perfectly chosen by Anthony and his family who joined me for a Private Nature Walks. We saw and heard plenty of things as we walked my now famous Eagle Ridge route and yes we even spotted a Short Toed Eagle albeit very briefly. Of course, the Bee-Eaters were everywhere and to my amazement, I even spotted some new tunnel holes on my land, more about this soon!

However, whilst most were sleeping, I actually was up before sunrise this morning and decided to head out to a nearby Palm Tree that is next to a ruin that has been left to nature to capture the sun as it appeared above the ridge.

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Honey Bee & French Lavender Backlit By The Morning Sun

18th April 201919th April 2019Craig Rogers

I’ve been so carried away with all the activities of Springtime that I have not taken any “Artmospheric” shots lately. Yes, that’s a word I made up! So this morning I waited patiently at this French Lavender Flower that was nicely backlit by the sun with a great dark canvas provided by a distant Eucalyptus Tree that was in the shade.

I didn’t have to wait too long (thankfully for Wally’s sake who was getting bored!) until a Honey Bee turned up and managed to shoot this photo. This has kicked started me to take more “Artmospheric” shots and hope to bring you more soon!

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The Nesting Site Of The Local European Bee-Eaters

16th April 201916th April 2019Craig Rogers

This morning I awoke to thick hill mist but knew as soon as the sun peaked above the ridges it would burn off quickly. I didn’t really have a plan with so much going on around the Quinta. I knew the Bee-Eaters wouldn’t be around until the mist completely cleared so headed briefly down to the Kingfisher perch. I stayed for an hour but none appeared and soon enough I heard the Bee-Eaters waking up.

I headed to the location where they have started to build their nest tunnels and set myself up inside a large bush camouflaged out of sight. These long tunnels keep the eggs (can be up to 8!) safe from predators. It’ll take them a while to dig the tunnel in preparation for laying at the beginning of June.
I tried something new this morning as not to scare them away. I used the Nikon D850 in live view mode with silent shooting. The D850 actually is totally silent in this mode. I’m not a big fan of the D850’s live view autofocus and rarely trust it, but it seemed to do the job OK, albeit not as pin sharp as it should be.

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The European Bee-Eaters Have Started To Dig Their Tunnels

13th April 201913th April 2019Craig Rogers

I was out just after sunrise this morning and hidden near the “meeting tree” that the Bee-Eaters have been gathering in. However, today, they chose another tree about 50 meters away. I waited for a while and eventually one pair turned up and got the shot below.

Afterwards I was able to walk away and get a good look at them, they have started to build their tunnels in preparation for breeding. In case you don’t know Bee-Eaters dig tunnels in near-vertical banks that they nest in and build new tunnels every year (see video below).

Luckily, the land on overlooking this area I where they are building we own and although extremely difficult to get to I will be looking in a way to get closer. Here is a shot that I did manage to get.

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Proof that European Bee-eaters Grow On Trees! :)

11th April 201911th April 2019Craig Rogers

The numbers of European Bee-eaters locally is huge this year and the numbers seem to keep growing. They MUST be growing on trees! This one colony is in excess of 30 birds.

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