Your day's wildlife

[kynikos]

600mm and you want bigger ....you cannot be serious !!!

I'm not likely to be getting anything longer in view of the cost - ~£1,500 for 800 mm and £2,200 for 1200 mm new, a bit less for 'pre-owned' but 600 mm is not overly big for bird photography.

Anyway I was out this morning but the camera stayed in the bag as the light was poor, the mist was down and it was raining. There was a lot of activity however, more than I've seen for a long time.

Saw: Dunnock, Mallard, Cormorant, Reed Bunting, Carrion Crow, Oystercatcher, Moorhen, Goosander, Wigeon, Robin, Blackbird, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Grey Heron, Black Headed Gull, Herring Gull, Coot, Woodpigeon, Canada Goose, Greylag Goose, Chaffinch, Thrush, Reed Bunting, Magpie, Moorhen, Tufted Duck, Thrush, Lapwing, Shoveler, Cetti's Warbler.

Heard: Bittern.

Unusually, didn't see: Any raptors, GWE, Little Owl.

Disappointed not to see: Kingfisher (been a few weeks now).

Quite a few GW and Little Egrets around before Xmas but numbers have gradually reduced to the one GWE which appears to also have moved on.

White Tailed Eagle was spotted a couple of weeks ago but not by me (or many others!)

 

[Dave7]

I'm not likely to be getting anything longer in view of the cost - ~£1,500 for 800 mm and £2,200 for 1200 mm new, a bit less for 'pre-owned' but 600 mm is not overly big for bird photography.

Anyway I was out this morning but the camera stayed in the bag as the light was poor, the mist was down and it was raining. There was a lot of activity however, more than I've seen for a long time.

Saw: Dunnock, Mallard, Cormorant, Reed Bunting, Carrion Crow, Oystercatcher, Moorhen, Goosander, Wigeon, Robin, Blackbird, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Grey Heron, Black Headed Gull, Herring Gull, Coot, Woodpigeon, Canada Goose, Greylag Goose, Chaffinch, Thrush, Reed Bunting, Magpie, Moorhen, Tufted Duck, Thrush, Lapwing, Shoveler, Cetti's Warbler.

Heard: Bittern.

Unusually, didn't see: Any raptors, GWE, Little Owl.

Disappointed not to see: Kingfisher (been a few weeks now).

Quite a few GW and Little Egrets around before Xmas but numbers have gradually reduced to the one GWE which appears to also have moved on.

White Tailed Eagle was spotted a couple of weeks ago but not by me (or many others!)

That is an excellent tally for one outing. May I ask where you are ,
I used to have a 500 f4 which I sold and moved onto a 300mm 2.8 which was great with a 2x convertor.

 

[kynikos]

I "work" one day a week as a Volunteer Ranger at RSPB St Aidan's. Love it!

 

[Poacher]

600mm and you want bigger ....you cannot be serious !!!

I'm not likely to be getting anything longer in view of the cost - ~£1,500 for 800 mm and £2,200 for 1200 mm new, a bit less for 'pre-owned' but 600 mm is not overly big for bird photography.

I sacrificed quality for convenience when I bought my Panasonic Lumix TZ93 (travel kit exclusive to John Lewis) nearly 8 years ago, for under £390. Similar to the current TZ99 in capability, 30x zoom, equivalent to 720mm maximum, amazing for such a compact camera priced at £491.61. Image stabilisation gives decent results with hand-held shots.
If replacing it now (hope not, as the TZ93 is still going strong, touch wood), I'd also consider the equally compact Canon SX740, at £500, with a 40x zoom, equivalent to 960mm.
For real mind-boggling telephoto capability, John Lewis also offer the Nikon Coolpix P1100, which is an ungainly brick of a beast, but boasts a 125x zoom, equivalent to 3000mm. A bit cheaper than upgrading your lens, at £824.19. Heck, I've almost talked myself into taking a punt!