birds Archives - Page 3 of 15 - Craig Rogers Photography

Bee-eater Alarm Clock

11th April 202011th April 2020Craig Rogers

As I knew it was going to be another terrible morning for light, I had a lazy morning. Around 8:30am I woke to the sound of a pair of European Bee-eaters outside the bedroom window. As the light was so bad (only nighttime could possibly be worse) I took this shot when one of them sat on a cable that didn’t have the dull grey sky in the background, it’s still fairly high ISO for a static shot at 2800.

The pair were both males, I’m unsure if this is the same pair I keep seeing as still there seems to be very few here.

European Bee-Eaters Update…..Are They Back…….?

9th April 20209th April 2020Craig Rogers

…..sort of…..!

None of the local colonies have established yet, but there is the odd occasional Bee-Eater flying around. I suspected this cold and wet spring would delay them slightly. I remember from 2018 when we had a lot of rain in February and April, they were 2 weeks late, they are currently 9 days late.

As for photographing the ones that are here, well the light is also terrible, but here is a quick shot that I grabbed this morning of one flying quite high.

UPDATE : Since this morning the noise of these amazing birds has been increasing so it seems they are returning in numbers now. More tomorrow…..

The “Well” Swallows Are Back!

1st February 20201st February 2020Craig Rogers

This morning as I walked the dogs I recognised a familiar bird call followed by a silhouette against the white canvas of the morning hill mist. A pair of Barn Swallows, these are always the first pair to arrive in this area (even though in the Algarve, Barn Swallows can be seen in December) and they are the “Well” Swallows, named because they have their nest down inside a water well.

I was able to hide inside the Well’s pump house to get some great close up shots. I say this everytime, but please don’t approach live bird nests when the young are there, I’m lucky that I can hide away in the pump house completely hidden.

These are the shots I got last year, but I was struggling with light deep down in the well with overhanging trees.

Common Linnets Feeding In The Garden (including Competition Winner!)

24th January 202024th January 2020Craig Rogers

A few days ago I was photographing the Serins that have flocked around the Quinta and a surprising couple turned up. I say surprising as I’ve never seen them this close to the house before. There are certainly not a rare bird and often see them along the river banks.

The female arrived first and it wasn’t until the male followed soon after that it was obviously a pair of Common Linnets. The male has a pinkish-red breast that really makes him stand out. This will further become saturated as the breeding season starts. They are ground feeders which is why they are currently mixed in with the Serins, this is common behaviour to see mixed Finches in flocks during the winter.

With the scientific name of Linaria cannabina, the Linnet has 6 sub-species, the one found locally in the Iberia, Mediterranean and North West Africa is the Linaria cannabina mediterranea. Like most finches, they are a small bird at around 14cm in length and their diet consists of mainly seeds and buds.

Here is the impressive male….

How I Use The Merlin Bird ID App In The Field (Video)

27th October 201913th February 2022Craig Rogers

I have been wanting to create this video for a while. I often get asked to recommend an ID book for bird life of Portugal and I always ask, “Do you have a smartphone?”. Of course, often the answer is yes and my reply is to download the amazing Merlin Bird ID app by The Cornell Lab.

This app is totally free and very powerful, its Photo ID feature really sets it apart from other Bird ID apps. There are other apps I use, particularly the locally developed FollowBirds App which I will hopefully be reviewing soon.

This video is a bit long but worth the watch if you are interested in identifying bird species using its fantastic Photo ID Feature.

The app is available for both Android and IOS and can be downloaded from the links below;

Android

Apple

In case you are wondering, no, I am not being paid by The Cornell Lab or anyone else for this video, I just wanted to share how great it is.

{Remember to watch in HD if possible}

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Sunset Riders – A Double Lucky Shot

10th October 201910th October 2019Craig Rogers

I was at Salgados this afternoon taking some shots for my next Algarve Resident Article and got talking to two young lads (great to meet you Bruno and Fabio, keep shooting!) and soon enough the sun was approaching the horizon.

As I was only armed with my 500mm prime lens, I look around for some ideas of a sunset shot.

I got lucky, a group of horse riders climbed on the top of the dunes of Praia Grande de Pêra giving me the perfect silhouette shot against the orange sky. I muttered to myself “…shame there are no clouds, there will be a lot of empty sky…”, then out of nowhere a couple of Glossy Ibis (there are a lot at Salgados right now) not only flew into the frame but also at a reasonable distance to be sharp enough as another silhouette.

A lot of photographers can be lucky and get great shots, but to be double lucky in the same shot it was fantastic! This image is already available to purchase in print in the web shop

{Click image to view in the shop}