14 August 2013

Blue skies and a Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike

do you see what I see?    Yes I know, you've got to know where to look ...

now?

Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, and I'm loving the blue skies too

that's one stray little feather stuck on top







Birds of Australia book notes: familiar characteristics, when perched a distinctive habit of 'shuffling' or refolding of wings.


Sharing with Wild Bird Wednesday


40 comments:

  1. What a pretty bird! The cuckoo is a hard bird for me to sight. I usually hear them before seeing them. Your skies and Cuckoo shots are wonderful.

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  2. What a lovely bird and a blue skies.

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  3. Lovely birds and a great blu sky in Your serie of photos!

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  4. Super views Carole against that beautiful blue sky.

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  5. he is handsome - and he fits in perfectly with stewart's post today. :)

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  6. great looking bird and as you say lovely sky's

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  7. Such a handsome bird, but like an old man hanging on to that last bit of hair! :-)

    Liked your approach to revealing the bird. I looked hard but didn't see until about the 3rd frame.

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  8. What a handsome bird and the blue skies are awesome! He's really up there! Wonderful photos!

    Your new posts aren't showing up in my Blogger feed again, but I'm getting them through Bloglovin'.

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  9. Even with his subdued color he is striking against that lovely blue sky!

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  10. Incredible!!! What a beautiful bird.....and good eye:)

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  11. That was fun, I felt like you had given me binoculars and told me where to point them. And what a beautiful bird you spotted for me! Thanks.

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  12. Great photos - and everything is extra nice against a beautiful blue sky.

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  13. Wonderful photos of the cuckoo-shrike Carole. I thought he looked a bit like he was at Ascot in his black, grey and white and wearing a fascinater (think that's what you call them!) Seriously though, really lovely to see, thank you. Bye for now Jane

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  14. Love his feather "do"!

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  15. Perfect shots Carole...it took me awhile to see him - LOL! You cheated with your lens!!!!
    Hugs,
    Jan

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  16. Lovely bird and nice contrasts on the pictures.

    Greetings and i wish you a nice day, Joop

    No Tulip on my blog Carole.... gives problems with posting.
    maybe late on i will try it again.

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  17. A beautiful bird and amazing blue skies.

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  18. Yes Carole I did spot t but only when you told me a bird was in the shot!!
    Beautiful shots and like the way you bring it closer and closer to us.

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  19. Beautiful photographs Carole! Thank you very much! A kiss :)

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  20. Handsome bird!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  21. Very nice bird in (as far as I cam tell) a typical position! ie a rather long way away! As you may gather I have no decent pictures of them!

    Cheers and thanks for linking to WBW.

    Stewart M - Melbourne

    PS; I rather like the header too!

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  22. That zoom lens is incredible - but you've got to know where to point it, so good spotting! Though it's a common bird, it's always been one of my favourites for its subdued beauty, gentle call, and compulsive wing shuffle. Thanks for show-casing him!

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  23. What an interesting bird Carole ... I don't think we have them in our area.

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  24. Wonderful photos of this bird, so clear on the top of the tree. Great !

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  25. Beautiful bird and so close.

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  26. He's a very striking bird! How big is your zoom lens again?? LOL. Did you zoom him in closer in a photo program? Excellent photos.

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  27. Anonymous11:07 pm

    Beautiful shots of that handsome bird. I love your header shot too!

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  28. glad you each enjoyed the shots, and to Monanagirl: How big the lens? 50xzoom takes it to 1200mm. All photos taken hand-held and that means bracing myself well and truly! None of these needed to be cropped. If I'd cropped they'd have shown up the inperfections/noise more at that distance. Believe me when I say, not every zoom shot at this distance turns out as good as these did; I was happy with them too. I'm still getting used to what settings to mix; I'm trying to get the recipe right still

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  29. Eagle-eye Carole does it again. Well done.

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  30. Stunning! Wonderful job. Nice that you started out wide and then pulled us in closer--for perspective. Cameras are so incredible. I'm old enough to remember when I used to carry field glasses. lol. With the zoom even off the shelf cameras have today, why bother? Excellent pics. Thanks for sharing :-)

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  31. Carole, whatever lens you used for this, it is amazingly accurate, unless of course you climbed the tree!! LOL. Will not see you for a acouple of weeks, but will catch up when I get back. Will also look for your second blog as I did not find it before. Best from Texas

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  32. Jeanne it's the fixed lens in this new bridge camera I'm using. I'll add an appropriate link to a review on it in my sidebar shortly. Enjoy that trip Jeanne

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  33. That bird was a long way off when you spotted it Carole. Glad it hung around on the branch long enough for you to get those pictures - a smart looking bird.

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  34. What a great bird and shots from way up there...

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  35. Anonymous8:15 pm

    beautiful shot! i just watched "the big year" this weekend and your photo reminded me of those quests!

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  36. A wonderful series of photos Carole, and that bright blue sky makes such a pretty backdrop to this lovely bird.

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  37. Soooo ...... really very well seen and beautifully photographed Carole!

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  38. Anonymous5:58 pm

    Hello Carole,
    that's a wonderful series, perfect pictures of a nice bird!
    Wish you a good weekend
    moni

    Thanks if you visit my blog
    http://www.reflexionblog.de

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  39. That's a very handsome bird!
    Nice work on holding steady for that nice, clear shot!
    It doesn't hurt that he's showcased with that gorgeous sky as a backdrop!

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  40. Beautiful series.

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thanks for visiting Snap Happy Birding, and for leaving a comment; I can still see them. Now both my blogs are resting in idle mode. It was time to give other things priority, even though I miss my regular blogging and the feedback that came my way over the years. Take care.