I did not follow my own advice a month ago and went to the zoo in the late afternoon to avoid the morning cold. Many animals were taking their afternoon rest. However, it was getting time to feed the eagles which means the Turkey vultures were paying a visit to the zoo to get a share of it. I had my camera for over a year but had never really tried using what Olympus calls the Continuous Auto-focusing + Tracking mode on large soaring birds. So while they are not the charismatic soaring raptors, Turkey vultures are terrific at soaring with the wingspan of a Bald eagle and 25-30 percent of the weight they can soar for hours. It's scientific name is Cathartes aura and is in the same family as the California condor. Excellent time to try the Tracking mode and start practicing before seeking out raptors. This is the first attempt and I've identified some changes for next time which was my goal, but still rather satisfied with the result.
Were these taken at the Detroit Zoo?
Thanks
Brian
We can look north 1/2 mile down our street and see the zoo wall, great place.
Yes, great place for photography too. Thanks for commenting and maybe we can meet up there sometime.
Very nicely captured John - well done!
These look more like Black Vultures, rather than Turkey Vultures, but I could be wrong.
MadMikeOne
Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City
MadMikeOne
Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City
John from gpwmi wrote:
I did not follow my own advice a month ago and went to the zoo in the late afternoon to avoid the morning cold. Many animals were taking their afternoon rest. However, it was getting time to feed the eagles which means the Turkey vultures were paying a visit to the zoo to get a share of it. I had my camera for over a year but had never really tried using what Olympus calls the Continuous Auto-focusing + Tracking mode on large soaring birds. So while they are not the charismatic soaring raptors, Turkey vultures are terrific at soaring with the wingspan of a Bald eagle and 25-30 percent of the weight they can soar for hours. It's scientific name is Cathartes aura and is in the same family as the California condor. Excellent time to try the Tracking mode and start practicing before seeking out raptors. This is the first attempt and I've identified some changes for next time which was my goal, but still rather satisfied with the result.
I did not follow my own advice a month ago and wen... (
show quote)
Nice series. Good birds to practice on with your "new" camera.
You had a successful trial run, John.
JohnnyDW
Loc: Richmond and Sunshine Valley British Columbia
Beautiful shots John! Your autofocus/tracking seems to be working well as it stays locked on the birds while
branches appear in the foreground. I practiced my BIF chops on seagulls because they are always around here.
yssirk123 wrote:
Very nicely captured John - well done!
Thank you, Bill. It's a start.
Bison Bud wrote:
These look more like Black Vultures, rather than Turkey Vultures, but I could be wrong.
Thank you for viewing and commenting, Bud. They are Turkey vulture identified by red head and brown wing feathers. Black vultures have both black faces and feathers.
Agree. Thanks for commenting.
MadMikeOne wrote:
Nice series. Good birds to practice on with your "new" camera.
Thank you very much, Mike. Haven't had a chance to get back. but will soon.
kpmac wrote:
You had a successful trial run, John.
Thank you very much, Ken. Well everything seems to work. Need to change some setting and practice.
Thank you very much, Johnny
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