Some more information
Since we moved to Australia in January 2003, we have developed an interest in the birds around us. Here we collect records of sightings and photos of birds. Obviously, this collection cannot be complete in any way. There are two ways of accessing the information on birds:
Nomenclature
We use the term "sighting", rather than "habitat", because we do not systematically study where certain bird species live. Rather, we only report where we have seen them, which must of course lead to an incomplete account. Similarly, the use of the non-scientific term "habit" indicates that we report our own experiences, which might not always be a true representation of a bird's patterns of behaviour (as determined when studying it more thoroughly or over longer periods of time).
Accuracy
Not being ornithologists and without prior experience with Australian wildlife we may make the occasional mistake in identifying species. These are ours, not the Field Guide's, and tips from more experienced Australian bird watchers are very welcome.
Photographic equipment
Camera and Lenses
The equipment used by us is entirely non-professional. From 2003 to 2005 we used almost exclusively an old-fashioned, all-manual 36x24 mm Nikon FM2 camera. The only electronic equipment it has is a built-in light meter, which is independent of the (mechanical) shutter and blend selection.
Bird photos were usually made with a 70-210 mm tele-zoom lens with a starting blend of 4.0. Only very few photos were obtained with a 28-70 mm zoom lens with a macro setting. Both zoom lenses have 55 mm objective lenses (standard, non-professional equipment).
On 19 December 2005 we made the switch to digital photography. Since then we are using a Sony DSC-H1, with a 32-400 mm equivalent zoom (up to 12x magnification) and 2500x2000 image pixels.
In December 2007 the DSC-H1 was replaced by a DSC-H9, now with a 32-500 mm zoom (up to 15x magnification) and about 3250x2450 pixels.
Film
Basically all photos prior to 19/12/2005 have been made with Fuji Color or, more recently, Fuji Sensia (I or II) 100 ASA slide film.
Together with the light-consuming, low-power zoom lenses, such a slow film is not optimal for bird photography, but one can see that they did their job.
It is equally clear that the use of a digital camera with a powerful tele-zoom and a light-sensitive CCD makes life a lot easier.
Digitisation
All old photos shown on these pages are low-resolution digital scans of slides. All photos for which no credits are given were taken by Michael.
Photographic techniques
All photos are obtained in the birds' natural habitat, without any interference, not even climbing trees (although we will not shy away from taking a photo through a window of our house, if a bird happens to sit just outside).
Setup
No setups are used of any kind. Except for a few shots of birds taken in captivity (which are labeled as such), all photos were taken without artificial helps or constraints. No motion detectors, no camera motor or winder, no filters other than a colour-neutral UV rejection filter were or are used. Birds are not unduly disturbed by us (which might, for example, lead to them abandoning their nests).
Camouflage
No camouflage clothing, tents, hideouts or other disguises are used either. If the birds won't accept us as part of their environment, they will not be sighted or photographed by us.
Capture
Birds are neither trapped nor captured to obtain good photos (as is the case in some professional animal photography or films).