bird kingdom 3
Not all of the birds at bird kingdom were parrots. The final area is dedicated to birds of blackbird size and up, roughly. It's huge, like a large greenhouse with some artificial water features and kind of a jungle ruin vibe.
The picture at the top is a mandarin duck. I chose it because I feel that it's the most creative shot I took that also turned out well in editing. The water streams of the artificial fall in the picture foreground leave just the right gap so we can see the duck sitting on top a concrete pillar.
Like the picture of the duck this was taken with my "friends lens" (50 mm f / 2.1 full frame equivalent). I named it that because, as opposed to the more typical 85 mm portrait lens, it allows me to stand or sit next to my friends and take some snapshots during an inspiring conversation.
For birds though, it's an unusually short focal length. But I had been frustrated by the high ISOs the low light in this jungle greenhouse pushed my camera to. The normal prime gave me a much brighter aperture. And because the birds were very used to humans I could take this photo from pretty close and also produce one of the most pleasing backgrounds I've ever found in my pictures, melting dark green leaves and pink flowers together.
The parrot shows great feather detail and an intelligent, attentive look at the camera.
This picture is one before the switch, taken with the big zoom (105-450 mm equivalent). It worked so well because the bird sat a bit higher up where it got more light. One of the most colorful birds (and there was stiff competition) in combination with the flowers around make for a picture I printed large and put up in the living room.
Although I have many more unique and beautiful pictures, especially from this last room, I'll close here. If I get the opportunity again, I'll go to bird kingdom with even more time and some better lenses. Some modern zoos have similar areas though and I'll probably look there for the time being.
The next post will probably conclude this Canada visit.