I have been working like crazy with hardly much time to take photographs, but we went on a vacation to Hawaii (big island) last week and was able to do some birding. First time I've had the camera out since last September! This is with the Sigma 300mm F2.8 and the Pentax-DA AF HD 1.4x teleconverter as well.


















Let me know what you think.

[Rimfiredude]

Love the strange bokeh in this shot.

[slowpez]

The combo seems to be working for you. What is the bird with the red head that is seen by itself and also with the cardinals?

[8540tomg]

Nice.

Shooting Cardinals in Hawaii makes a lot more sense that shooting them here in the Canadian winter.

I did not know Cardinals were found in that part of the world. Are the indigenous or introduced?

Tom G

[pete-tarmigan]

Nice.

Shooting Cardinals in Hawaii makes a lot more sense that shooting them here in the Canadian winter.

I did not know Cardinals were found in that part of the world. Are the indigenous or introduced?

Tom G

Northern Cardinal was introduced from North America.
The next species depicted in the photos, Yellow-billed Cardinal (Paroaria capitata), was introduced from South America.
The next species, House Finch (Caropdacus mexicanus) was introduced from North America.
The next species, a partridge called Grey Francolin (Francolinus pondicerianus), was introduced from Southwest- or South-Asia.
The next species, Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), nests in the Arctic, then migrates non-stop to Hawai'i to spend the winter.
The last species, Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis), was introduced from South- or Southeast-Asia.

In fact, the majority of land-bird species in Hawai'i are introduced. The few native species that have survived colonization by Polynesians and Europeans and the species they introduced, i.e., pigs, rats, mice, goats, avian malaria, cats, dogs, and brown tree snake, live above 3800 feet elevation. Some of those species are still in peril due to malaria and habitat loss. Based on the subfossil species that have been unearthed, the colonization of the Pacific islands by Polynesian peoples was followed by the extinction of 25% of the world's bird species. Colonization of those islands by Europeans resulted in additional extinctions.