Hi all,

As the dodgy weather's starting to settle in a bit now, I've mostly hung the camera up for the moment, and have been going through some of the years' photos - just thought I'd share a few of my favourites ...

Male Mandarin Duck:

Bahama Pintail Ducks:

Meerkats:

and a Donkey:

Obviously, most of these were captive animals at the local zoo.

More here if anyone's interested.

Love the first one!

"A great big bushy beard!"

Very nice indeed? What camera are you using?

Thanks, Andrew & Rob

Love the first one! "A great big bushy beard!"

Hehe ... yeah, the mandarins are very photogenic birds, and the males look a little "impossible" with their colouration and ornate feathers (I've yet to get a decent picture of a female mandarin, but they're dull mottled brown & white with a yellow strip of eyeliner).

What camera are you using?

#1-3 were with a Nikon D300 & 300mm f/4 with a 1.4x converter

#4 was with a D300 & 70-200mm f/2.8 with a 1.4x converter

#5 was with a D300 & 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6

#6 was with a D200 & 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6

Excellent Photo's, I was comparing the Meerkats but I prefer the Donkey..

Thanks

I was comparing the Meerkats

Edited 18 November, 200916 yr by martinch

Very nice and looking to have been taken in sunny weather :sun: - I remember it well

Thanks. Looks can be deceiving - the first four were taken on rather overcast days (1/125s @ f/10, 1/500s @ f/10, 1/640s @ f/10, 1/160s @ f/8, respectively, all 400 ISO). But yeah, I wish it were a bit sunnier and warmer...