Hawaiian 'I'iwi

[jadewolf]

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Today's my first day out on the Big Island, shooting Hawaiian honeycreepers and other native birds. The ʻiʻiwi was at the top of my list to find and managed to locate some on my first hike. I'm not 100% happy with this shot, though. I feel like it's a bit cluttered. I also had to crop it in a lot, because these birds are very shy and keep their distance. And it's not quite as sharp as I'd like. These birds are proving incredibly challenging to shoot. They're small and very fast. The green/yellow species blend in perfectly to the ʻōhiʻa trees. And the red ones, like this one, are nearly as hard. ʻŌhiʻa trees have bright red feathery blossoms, so you're constantly playing a guessing game of 'is that a flower or a bird?'

Shooting with a 500PF, which was definitely the right choice given my available options. Lugging the 200-500mm would have been exhausting. And I don't really miss that extra stop that the 600mm f/4 might have offered had I rented one. These forests are surprisingly open and airy, even on an overcast day there was still decent light to work with. Only real drawback is the shorter reach. Teleconverter helps, but man, I think this trip would have been a perfect fit for the 800mm S. I think that lens just got added to my wishlist for next year (which probably means I should put a reservation in for one now, heh).

Got the whole next six days ahead, though. And after observing their behavior today, I think I've revised my strategy for tomorrow.

But, honestly, I'm also just glad I got the chance to see them at all. They've been pretty much driven out of the lowlands by invasives and introduced diseases, so you really have to go searching for them in the isolated mountain forests where they still hang on. And so few of the endemic species are still here, so many have gone extinct in just the past few hundred years. I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to see any of them at all. In addition to the ʻiʻiwi, I also spotted several ʻApapane and ʻAmakihi, but haven't been able to get a clear shot of them yet. Fingers crossed for the rest of the week!

 

[Rassie]

Great shot of a unique bird. I've never seen an image of one of these posted before. Well done, I'm looking forward to seeing more from you in that location.

 

[Patrick M]

wow! Great shot, what a colour!

 

[Butlerkid]

What a treat to see and photograph! Looking forward to more images! Enjoy the trip!

 

[gpsman]

View attachment 48442

Today's my first day out on the Big Island, shooting Hawaiian honeycreepers and other native birds. The ʻiʻiwi was at the top of my list to find and managed to locate some on my first hike. I'm not 100% happy with this shot, though. I feel like it's a bit cluttered. I also had to crop it in a lot, because these birds are very shy and keep their distance. And it's not quite as sharp as I'd like. These birds are proving incredibly challenging to shoot. They're small and very fast. The green/yellow species blend in perfectly to the ʻōhiʻa trees. And the red ones, like this one, are nearly as hard. ʻŌhiʻa trees have bright red feathery blossoms, so you're constantly playing a guessing game of 'is that a flower or a bird?'

Shooting with a 500PF, which was definitely the right choice given my available options. Lugging the 200-500mm would have been exhausting. And I don't really miss that extra stop that the 600mm f/4 might have offered had I rented one. These forests are surprisingly open and airy, even on an overcast day there was still decent light to work with. Only real drawback is the shorter reach. Teleconverter helps, but man, I think this trip would have been a perfect fit for the 800mm S. I think that lens just got added to my wishlist for next year (which probably means I should put a reservation in for one now, heh).

Got the whole next six days ahead, though. And after observing their behavior today, I think I've revised my strategy for tomorrow.

But, honestly, I'm also just glad I got the chance to see them at all. They've been pretty much driven out of the lowlands by invasives and introduced diseases, so you really have to go searching for them in the isolated mountain forests where they still hang on. And so few of the endemic species are still here, so many have gone extinct in just the past few hundred years. I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to see any of them at all. In addition to the ʻiʻiwi, I also spotted several ʻApapane and ʻAmakihi, but haven't been able to get a clear shot of them yet. Fingers crossed for the rest of the week!

Great shot. I’m sure you have more. Post them if you can. I love Hawaii. Wish I was into bird photography when I was there.

 

[BAL Land]

Everything technically looks perfect, the composition is nice as well. I really wish the wasn’t wasn’t as cluttered, but in this cases you couldn’t do much to change that except hope it went onto a better branch, or set up some perches.

 

[jadewolf]

Thanks, y'all!! Still striving to get some better shots, but wow these birds are SO incredibly hard to catch. Today I had more sun to work with, less overcast clouds, but the birds seemed a lot more shy and were keeping deeper in the foliage and farther away.

I did manage to get a shot of an ʻapapane today though. Also not 100% thrilled with this shot, it was pretty far distant so I had to do significant cropping. And needed a high iso that ended up a little grainy, especially at that distance. But just going to keep trying until I get one I'd comfortably call a wallhanger.

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I'm really looking forward to the guided tour in the refuge later in the trip. I think having an extra set of (experienced!) eyes help spot the birds will make a world of difference.

But regardless, it's been wonderful to hike in these isolated patches of forest and just experience it. Both times out, I've only encountered perhaps one other person the whole time. Usually a local birder or hiker. It's well off the beaten track, far away from the tourists, and is incredibly peaceful. It's been a fantastic way to spend my time here.