Soggy Coucal

by | Feb 6, 2021 | Birds, Phuket, Southeast Asia, Wildlife

This Greater coucal was not learning to fly, rather it had been soaked during a particularly heavy tropical rainstorm in Phuket – the shot was taken in July 2020. The second shot shows this strange and ungainly bird once it had regained its equilibrium and was about to fly down to the ground to feast on a lunch of snails.

Canon 90D with Sigma 150-600 f5-6.3 DG OS HSM C lens at 600mm. ISO2000 1/400 at f8

Preening session

by | Jul 28, 2020 | Birds, Phuket, Southeast Asia, Wildlife

After very heavy rain which clearly mussed the feathers, this Greater Coucal was caught mid-preen, the wing feathers fanned out to dry while much attention was given to the rest. It looks a little miffed at my intrusion, even though I was about 30 metres away and hiding behind the lens.

Canon 90D with Sigma 150-600 f5-6.3 zoom at 600mm. ISO 2000 1/400 at f8, handheld, processed and cropped in LR.

Another lunch!

by | Jul 27, 2020 | Birds, Phuket, Places, Southeast Asia, Wildlife

One of several local yellow-vented bulbuls that love exploring the edges of the rainforest for tasty morsels. This one was lunch and looked as if it needed to be eaten with some care!

Canon 90D with Sigma 150-600mm f5-6.3 DG OS HSM C at 600mm. ISO 640 1/1000 at f8. Handheld at ~30m distance.

Turtle

by | Jul 26, 2020 | Phuket, Wildlife

Around high tide most days in the monsoon season, turtles will saunter in to feed in the rock pools on the headland south of Kamala beach in Phuket. They can be difficult to spot and once they’ve had their fill, they are straight off out to sea. I spotted this one as it came up for air, a manoeuvre that takes a couple of seconds, so you have to be quick on the focus and shutter release.

Canon 90D with Sigma 150-600mm f5-6.3 DG OS HSM C zoom at 215mm ISO400, 1/1000 at f8