Birds Rare birds ( but not great photos) at extreme distances.... Only of interest to birders !

[dragonsdreams]

My bird watching friends got very excited when we found these two birds in the Netherlands recently.
The landscape shot shows the distance of the flock of birds, there is only one Red Breasted Goose in this flock shown cropped.

The second is a Spectacled Eider the rarest ever recorded vagrant bird taken at around 150m bobbing in the ocean amongst common riders.

• ILCE-1
• FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS + 1.4X Teleconverter
• 840.0 mm
• ƒ/9
• 1/1000 sec
• ISO 5000

• ILCE-1
• FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS + 1.4X Teleconverter
• 774.0 mm
• ƒ/9
• 1/2000 sec
• ISO 800

 

[Unframed Dave]

Wow, that eider is something to behold!

 

[iamdlewis]

Nice spot with the Spectacled Eider that is a lifer many won't get.

 

[dragonsdreams]

Wow, that eider is something to behold!

He was pretty cool. Not quite as pretty as the king eider but nice to see.
Shame he was so far away ( naturally!)

 

[dragonsdreams]

Nice spot with the Spectacled Eider that is a lifer many won't get.

We had our expert guide Matt Collis ( Devin Wildlife Tours) to thank for that. He was brilliant.

 

[Tim Mayo]

Great catch Mark!

 

[dragonsdreams]

Great catch Mark!

Thanks Tim. As I say, my birder companions were very excited. There was a twitcher from South Africa and Thailand, just for that spectacled eider!
Never mind, the beer was good.

 

[iamdlewis]

There was a twitcher from South Africa and Thailand, just for that spectacled eider!

Eiders in general prefer open waters and you usually are seeing them with scopes. Spectacled Eiders like Artic waters. So I wouldn't be shocked if the days after you photographed it a lot more birders in the area showed up. You guys went nuts for an Indigo Bunting last year.

 

[dragonsdreams]

Eiders in general prefer open waters and you usually are seeing them with scopes. Spectacled Eiders like Artic waters. So I wouldn't be shocked if the days after you photographed it a lot more birders in the area showed up. You guys went nuts for an Indigo Bunting last year.

Yes, views weren't great through binoculars. The bird had been there for three weeks already I think. I really don't know much about birds, I prefer bigger wildlife that's easier to photograph!