Red-browed Finches, once called Red-browed Firetails, are tiny birds that forage on the ground for insects and seeds. They are 11cm long and 11g in weight and can be difficult to see amongst blades of grass.
Red-browed Finch (Neochmia temporalis)
Canon 7D, 100-400mm L IS USM, 1/500, f/11, ISO 800, focal length 350mm
Red-browed Finch (Neochmia temporalis)
Canon 7D, 100-400mm L IS USM, 1/640, f/8, ISO 160, focal length 400mm
The two images above show typical ‘heads down, tails up’ Red-browed Finch feeding behaviour. It’s easy to be a just few metres away without realising they are so close until they dart for nearby cover. I have many images of foraging Red-browed Finches and haven’t yet taken one that delights me but I do like the frozen moments that show their activity, including hopping to the next seed head.
There is a large group of finches that often work their way towards me, sometimes flying onto low perches to eye me curiously. When they are so close that I am looking at them without the lens I am always amazed by their tinyness.
Red-browed Finch (Neochmia temporalis)
Canon 7D, 100-400mm L IS USM, 1/1000, f/5.6, ISO 400, focal length 370mm
It can be difficult to show scale when photographing birds, particularly for images that meet the stringent requirements for official Nature shots which must not show evidence of the ‘hand of man’. The image above, and two that follow, are taken of finches perched on 5cm (2″) weld mesh so unless you’re using your phone it’s likely that you’re viewing the images larger than life-size. With the three weld mesh images I’m not sure which crop is most effective, though I’m leaning towards the third one. If you have a preference I’d appreciate hearing your thoughts.
Red-browed Finch (Neochmia temporalis)
Canon 7D, 100-400mm L IS USM, 1/1250, f/5.6, ISO 400, focal length 370mm
Red-browed Finch (Neochmia temporalis)
Canon 7D, 100-400mm L IS USM, 1/1600, f/5.6, ISO 400, focal length 370mm
Swamp Wallaby (Wallabia bicolor)
Canon 7D, 100-400mm L IS USM, 1/30, f/5.6, ISO 1600, focal length 340mm
Early one evening I was walking back from a bird hide when this sweet wallaby was watching me from the edge of the track. The light had faded and I wondered if it was worth trying to get a shot but it looked too cute holding the bouquet of leaves: a nibbled leaf can just be seen behind the brown leaf. The light was poor and even with the aperture wide open at f5.6 and the ISO cranked up to the maximum I use on the 7D, I could only get a shutter speed of 1/30 second. Luckily I had my monopod handy, there was no wind and for this image the wallaby kept still and didn’t blink!
Birdlife Australia has launched a petition to help give threatened bird species a voice. If you’d like to sign the petition you can do so here – thousands of volunteers, beautiful birds and our planet will thank you, and so will I.
Happy birding, Kim
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Hey Kim,
Great shots and commentary. I prefer the first crop of your series on the fence. Can’t say why but it’s the one my eye prefers to rest upon. I have linked your website to the Phillip Island Camera Club’s ( http://www.phillipislandcameraclub.com.au/ ) site.
regards
dale
Hi Dale, thanks for your comments and the PICC link, much appreciated!
Hey Kim
My wife and I had a colour banding project on Red-browed Finches which which we ran from our kitchen window at Rye. Indications were they don’t live in one site for long and mature very early. Great little survivors. Their weight can also vary significantly.
Love your photographs.
Malbrown2
That sounds brilliant Malcolm! Do you have a report of your findings that you could email to me? I’d love to know what you and your wife discovered about them. I started writing some of my questions here but it was turning into a post.
ohh, they are so funny like that, it s a nice scene you have got :)))
and thanks for wallaby too, well done too
take care kim, and happy birding for sure ^^
I guess they do look comical, ha, never really thought about that before 🙂
Beautiful images, Kim, finches are my favourites!
Hi Julienne, I’m glad finches were featured this week and glad you liked the images of them. Thank you for commenting 🙂
I also like the third image with the bird off-centered and looking towards the “wider” side of the image.
Thanks for you thoughts on that Barry, much appreciated!
Oh wow, these are beautiful birds. Lovely photos, Kim. Have a happy weekend!
Thank you Eileen, I’m glad you like them. Have a wonderful weekend.
Hello Kim, oh They are so cute !!!!
I love !
This is a discovery for me, thank you very much.
They eat on the ground, such as Brambling.
Nice day Kim
Kiss
I’m glad you like the finches, now I’m off to research Bramblings!
I love all of the finches – miniature marvels, but that wallaby oozed cuteness.
I am sorry to say that the link to the Birdlife petition didn’t work for me. I found it here.
Thanks for letting me know about the link EC, I’ve fixed it now. The finches are miniature marvels, lovely description!
Beautiful photos, Kim, especially like the cute swamp wallaby, so sharp.
Carole.
Hi Carole, thanks for your comments about the swampie. It was quite a young one and I couldn’t resist it even though it doesn’t have feathers 🙂
Hello Kim
Am writing from wet Tassie although glorious sunshine yesterday and we had lots of mainlanders visiting the Tamar Island Wetlands. From my window at home I can see Dusky Robins and Superb Fairy Wrens foraging in the rain, they don’t seem too concerned.
My vote on your pics of Red Browed finches is the third one as the perspective of bird and fence is right and the insect and finch are beautifully in focus.
Thanks for brightening a rainy Friday.
Alison.
Hi Alison, I enjoyed researching the Tamar Island Wetlands, they look fantastic, I’d love to visit one day and I’d love to see a Dusky Robin through my window. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the crops, and thanks for brightening my rainy Friday with your comments!