| Photograph Information |
Photographer's Comments |
Challenge: Birds III (Advanced Editing VII)
Camera: Nikon D90
Lens: Sigma 100-300mm F/4.0 EX IF HSM for Nikon
Location: Rietvlei Nature Reserve, Gauteng, South Africa
Date: Jun 17, 2012
Aperture: f/4
ISO: 400
Shutter: 1/2000
Galleries: Water, Birds
Date Uploaded: Jun 21, 2012
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It's winter here, normally bright sunny blue sky days, and the only chance I get to go out and shoot for the challenge, it's overcast. Typical! This is one of a few of our endemic species that is still colourful at this time of year. Incredibly shy and tiny bird. Image shot in overcast conditions hand held after a day birding in the bush. Up at 4 am and home at 7pm. Background is water coloured grey from the difficult photographic conditions. Every time he caught a fish he would land in dense foliage out of reach of my crispest and fastest birding lens; the Sigma 100-300mm f/4 EX IF HSM.
This sub-adult Malachite Kingfisher (Alcedo cristata) is a mostly river (and dam) kingfisher which is widely distributed in Africa south of the Sahara. It is largely resident except for seasonal climate related movements.
They are 13 cm (5") in length and about 13 grams. The general colour of the upper parts of the adult bird is bright metallic blue. The head has a short crest of black and blue feathers, which gives rise to the scientific name.
Day 1: Votes: 8 Avg Vote: 7.2500 !!!
Day 1: Votes: 13 Avg Vote: 7.9231 !!!
Then plummeted 0.8675 on the weekend :(
Day 3: Votes: 72 Avg Vote: 7.0556
by Monday morning...
Day 5 Votes: 77 Avg Vote: 7.0000
by Thursday evening it had slipped beyond the 7 and my hopes for a HM or Top Ten were again dashed for a wild bird image...
ETA:
Thank you for all the wonderful comments and votes, inc. Richard Hahn  hahn23 who without knowing the species, did a sterling Inspector Clouseau. It is encouraging to see that many voters understood the effort required to find and snap these little guys and get a decent image...
This image is © copyrighted 2012 by Harvey Grohmann. Publication is strictly forbidden and protected by law. To obtain pricing and consent contact me via Photocommission.com
Outtake:
Note that DPC does not have a Wildlife Site Gallery section, only Nature & Nature is any animal shot in non-wild (captive) locations including Zoo's, Aviaries, Sanctuaries & your pet Polly at home! Genuine wildlife images should have their own category.
Time to start lobbying  Langdon :P |
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06/29/2012 10:36:27 PM |
| Congrats on a very good finish and have to agree, it should have finished higher for sure. Great shot Harvey |
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06/29/2012 01:12:23 PM |
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06/29/2012 09:45:50 AM |
| Wonderful shot Harvey! Always nice to see other kingfishers. |
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06/29/2012 01:55:11 AM |
| Beautiful bird, lovely photo of it. |
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06/29/2012 12:24:45 AM |
| Beautiful shot Harvey. Wonderful sharpness and clarity. Congrats on the great score. |
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06/29/2012 12:12:17 AM |
| Should have finished higher based on degree of difficulty and shyness of bird. Congrats, anyway, on a beautiful image. |
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Comments Made During the Challenge  |
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06/28/2012 10:45:44 PM |
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06/28/2012 05:16:22 PM |
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06/28/2012 01:09:36 PM |
| Beautiful!! Is that a Cocaburrel (ok sorry I don't know how to spell that) |
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06/27/2012 03:00:14 PM |
| Superb capture - not a European Kingfisher - looking forward to seeing where this was shot. They are some reclusive timid birds - superb! |
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06/24/2012 01:23:28 PM |
| Really lovely kingfisher. Would probably score even better with a less drab background, I think. |
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06/23/2012 07:48:53 AM |
| Wonderful kingfisher, but not a species we would see in North America. Great colors, focus, sharpness, clarity and composition. Bumping the score now, because I have identified this magnificent birds as a Malachite Kingfisher, Alcedo cristata. I expect this to be a ribbon contender. 10 |
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06/22/2012 04:52:41 PM |
| Another beautiful bird, well presented. |
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06/22/2012 08:01:42 AM |
| Stunning image - voted earlier |
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06/22/2012 06:51:20 AM |
| There is nothing I can say about this that you don't already know. Fabulous. Don't like the uneven border, but that's just me. Wow. Wow, wow, wow. |
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06/22/2012 03:11:12 AM |
| Beautiful little Jewel! One of my favourite birds! |
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06/22/2012 12:32:51 AM |
Beautiful! Background is more than a bit dull... but golly! That bird!! Wonderful.
(commenting only) |
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| Photographer found comment helpful. |
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