June 9th todays birds.

Some of the birds I had to photograph today
The hooded crow  perched on the wires

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This Laughing dove was perched on the same wire

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Kestrel perched on a low wall waiting for a catch. 

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Kestrel perched on the pylon

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A group of fan tailed warblers there was 6 /7 in this group  

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Ring-necked plover in flight

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Great white Egret  fledgling 

 

Swallows in the shade

These swallows had found themselves some reeds over the canal in a shaded area under a date palm tree. At  16.00 the heat was in the 50c  and these swallows where panting  the first shot is of one just landed  and it was panting for breath.  I only had my normal lens with me today as I was going to photograph the sun setting behind the temple of Medinet habu and the Valley of the Queens. the swallows  just happened to be near the Road I was traveling on to get to the temple. photos of the temple at sunset will be on

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Striated heron, Butorides striatus

I only managed to get 3 shots of the same bird last year. Today I saw several along one of the canals this is one of the smallest of the herons. according to my bird book  it does not often come to this area.

  I managed to get a shot of  2. with the new 100x400 ef lens. from the first shot you can almost see how small it is  as its next to a discarded child's shoe


 


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This is an uncut shot  to show one next to a liter water bottle , and how much rubbish is in the canals,
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Looks like its day dreaming of a nice clean canal loaded with fish. 
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Young Striated heron
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I sat for 2 hours on the waters edge of the Nile photographing the Pied Kingfishers  when this Striated heron flew in and landed about 20ft away, it  did not show any fear of me while it came to do what it came for  as soon as it caught its fish it flew off to a safe distance. then came back and landed on a branch with two young kingfishers.

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