I have been shooting a pair of Osprey for about a month now. I am trying to record the cycle all the way through the young leaving the nest.

This is a shot of the male bringing food to the young. He has a fish in his talon. The female is on the left and if you look real close you can see the heads of the babies just above the nest.

Hopefully I will be able to get some better shots of the babies soon, as they are growing quite fast.

Nikon N80
Nikkor 80-400 VR
Kenko Pro 2X T/C
Tripod

Tom

RETIRED AND LOVING IT!!!!

Nikonians team

Attachment #1, (jpg file)

Thats exciting ... your making that 80 - 400 work for you with that 2x

http://salfic.squarespace.com/

Thats a nice shot, I have a question since I also just took some osprey shots, how do you know which is the Female and Male? My bird book says same for both and they both look the same to me, is there an obvious difference between them?

TomP

TomP My Gallery

Hi Tom

The male catches the fish to feed them and the female stays close to guard the nest. Unlike most other birds, it is hard to tell them apart by looking at them. You have to spend a little time watching their habits.

I am planning to go back on Friday, hope to get some more action shots.

Thanks for the comments.

Tom

RETIRED AND LOVING IT!!!!

Nikonians team

Hi tom
This question has been asked many times but would like to confirm again.Does the auto focus and the VR function work with the kenko TC?
I hv a Vr lens and am thinking of getting a TC.Can I hand hold it with a TC.Appreciate if you can share your experience.
Regards
sriram

Hi

The VR function does work. The auto focus will work if you have lots of light, but it tends to hunt a lot with the 2X converter. I have used the 80-400 VR and 2X converter handheld with mixed results. Because of the distance involved and the lens being extended all the way out I used a tripod for this shot with VR and auto focus turned off.

You didn't mention which VR lens you had or which T/C you were thinking about getting. The Kenko Pro 300 1.4X will maintain VR and auto focus with no problem. I use this combination handheld with good results.

Tom

RETIRED AND LOVING IT!!!!

Nikonians team

>I have been shooting a pair of Osprey for about a month now.

If I see one osprey a year, I find myself extremely happy. You can not imagine how lucky you are not living in Belgium Tom. OK, I hear you say we have better beer, but I don't drink beer, so ...

This is a very good action photo Tom. Was this one made at the long side of the lens (800 mm), or were you able to take closer pictures?

Regards,
Philip

My website
My galleries

Hi Tom & Tom,

it is indeed the male who's responsible for feeding the family. And that's the easiest way for telling them apart.

But there is another way for telling apart a male from a female or young bird. Both females and young birds have a conspicuous black band over the breast. Males don't have it, or it is very pale, and not visible from a longer distance. This caracteristic can be very useful when you only see one single bird.

Regards,
Philip

My website
My galleries

Thanks for the hint on telling them apart. I will keep this in mind.

The shot was made at 800mm. I am a little amazed at the performance at this length.

Tom

RETIRED AND LOVING IT!!!!

Nikonians team

Thanks tom for the info.I have the 80-400VR.I was planning to get the 1.4x converter where both the Vr and AF works.I wanted to know about the 2x converter.
Regards
Sriram
from INDIA