Paphos Life

As there are so many clicks on a previous post from arriving bee eaters, perhaps not only bird lovers also like to see some of my photos I was lucky to photograph yesterday.

They are all waiting that wasps, which have nests in the fields below the wires, are getting active in the early morning hours.


A good stretch always helps in the morning...


He looks in the right direction


I know that I am pretty..


But only after a proper wash


I am nearly finish and already hungry


clean now


better I stop now before it get's boring


something is itching... I had enough now


Max

Nice shots Max, must admit there seems to be more BE's this year but I have no scientific data to support this view!


Shane

It's the sound they make that gets me.

Agree Dominic, you always hear when they're back before you see them,

Bot do they really eat the bees???.

Dominic wrote: ↑Tue May 15, 2018 8:19 pm It's the sound they make that gets me.

In a good what? I like it, you certainly know it’s them!

Ian

I agree it's great when you hear them & yes they eat bees and lots of other flying creatures as well!


Shane

ApusApus wrote: ↑Tue May 15, 2018 8:13 pm Nice shots Max, must admit there seems to be more BE's this year but I have no scientific data to support this view!


Shane

Thank's Shane, there are not only more BE's this year but also more swallows (at least in my area) First time they are nesting here even with dogs and plenty cats around...
Every year less are Wheat Ear birds. In the past they were breeding twice in my garden, using the nesting boxes I have built for them. This year I see only one single bird hanging around...

Max

PolemIan wrote: ↑Tue May 15, 2018 9:30 pm

Dominic wrote: ↑Tue May 15, 2018 8:19 pm It's the sound they make that gets me.

In a good what? I like it, you certainly know it’s them!

Ian

In an intriguing way, if that makes sense. It sounds life a child blowing a whistle.

Really, really beautiful photos Max, thank you. Think my favourite is the 2nd one, but they're all great. Really nice and sharp too, which can be hard to achieve. You must be very happy with them.

I love the sound they make - especially when you wake up to it. You can hear them from quite far away.

Re swallows, in my area there have been less swallows the last 2 years. For a couple of years I had 3 nests on my patio, my neighbours too. Last year my neighbours had none and I had 1. This year just 1 for me but sadly it was attached soon after they hatched and all 4 babies were killed. So this is the 1st year in 13 years that I have not had baby swallows in my patio - and I miss them

Ams wrote: ↑Wed May 16, 2018 11:13 am Really, really beautiful photos Max, thank you. Think my favourite is the 2nd one, but they're all great. Really nice and sharp too, which can be hard to achieve. You must be very happy with them.

Glad you like my pics. Yes it is quite hard to achieve photos from quick moving birds without being blurred and a 100x zoom. As soon as they recognize you they fly away, so I was in the house photographing through the open sliding window at a distance of ca 20 m. It was also hard for me to choose the best ones from 150 pics I did that day.

Max

One thing you could try, Max, is to sit outside a bit closer to them, cover yourself in a canopy of that green mesh netting to camouflage yourself, and then move very slowly to take each shot, being patient until they return to perch.

The neighbours might think you've gone mad, but we will understand!

AL

Dominic wrote: ↑Wed May 16, 2018 7:06 am

PolemIan wrote: ↑Tue May 15, 2018 9:30 pm

Dominic wrote: ↑Tue May 15, 2018 8:19 pm It's the sound they make that gets me.

In a good what? I like it, you certainly know it’s them!

Ian

In an intriguing way, if that makes sense. It sounds life a child blowing a whistle.

They remind me of the gulls in the Pixar film, Finding Nemo - "Mine, mine, mine..."

PaphosAL wrote: ↑Thu May 17, 2018 1:26 am One thing you could try, Max, is to sit outside a bit closer to them, cover yourself in a canopy of that green mesh netting to camouflage yourself, and then move very slowly to take each shot, being patient until they return to perch.

The neighbours might think you've gone mad, but we will understand!

AL

They are very clever and timid. The slightest move from me and they are gone and NOT coming back to the same perch (wire). Beside that I would not sit in full sunshine for one hour in that heat!

Max

The few photos I took of them, one of which I displayed in another thread, was taken from the back door, which I managed to open silently and get the camera to my eye without being spotted by them. As soon as they spot you, off they fly.

Agree with AMS about the swallows. Nowhere near as many here in Anarita as there used to be.

My recent bee-eater photos were from my garden, sneaking up on them behind the bushes, but you can't get too close and have to be lucky. I still need my zoom. I have managed to get some good ones before from my car - they may fly off as you drive up, but once you've stopped moving they'll fly back and sit on the wires above you.