Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo)

Alcochete, Portugal

Nikon D300 + Nikon 17-35mm f2.8 (at 22mm) + 3 x Nikon SB-26 + IR cell beam

iso 400, 1/250, f11

I chose this willows copse top photograph the Common Genet and the Stone Marten, two nocturnal carnivores occuring in Portugal. During the day, the sensor detected some passerines and this Commom Buzzard that randomly chose this place to rest...

Iberian Imperial Eagle (Aquila adalberti)

Tejo Internacional NP, Portugal

Nikon D300, Nikon 500mm f4 + Nikon TC-14EII (=700mm)

ISO200, 1/800, f7.1

Atop a holm oak, this Iberian Imperial Eagle watches over its territory. Once extinct in Portugal as a nesting bird, this eagle appears tobe coming back. Basically, recuperating this bird of prey depends on what will happen to the greatly decimated population of the European Rabbit.

Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)

Portugal

Nikon D300 + Nikon 17-35mm f2.8 (at 29mm) + 3x Nikon SB-26
iso 400, 1/250, f/7.1

When someone asks why I place a camera trap set in a certain location, I often reply that it is meant for whatever goes by there. Obviously I have my expectation as to what that might be, but the fact is that much of the creatures that end up activating the camera are not exactly the ones I am trying to photograph. In this instance, a Grey Heron was detected by the cell beam, causing the camera shoot, whereas the image I was really trying to capture was that of an European Otter.

White Stork (Ciconia ciconia)

Baixo Mondego, Portugal

Nikon D300 + Nikon 80-200mm f2.8 (at 170mm)

iso 200, 1/200, f/8

The purpose of this photo was to ilustrate the problem of electrocution and collision of white storks with structures of electric networks. A sunset with black clouds hiding the sky enabled this image.

Photo taken for the book "O Regresso da Cegonha-branca", published in 2010 in co-autorship with my good friend and photographer Luis Quinta.

Pin-tailed Sandgrouse (Pterocles alchata)

Tejo Internacional, Portugal

Nikon D3s + Nikon 500mm f4 VR

iso 500, 1/1250, f/5

Camouflage... the weapons Nature invents are manifold...

Griffon vultures

Tejo Internacional, Portugal

Nikon D300 + Nikon 14-24mm f2.8 + Jama Bir2 (IR cell beam)

iso 200, 1/125, f/14

After each session, I assess what went wrong. In this instance, two points needed correction: use greater speed (in this image the problem is not as obvious as in others, where there were rapid movements of the griffon vultures’ heads) and try a better composition, filling up the empty space, especially on the lower right corner, which partly resulted from the position of the goat’s body. When photographing wildlife, luck plays a lesser role than is sometimes thought…

photographing vultures with wide angle lens and infrared beam cells

Tejo Internacional, Portugal

The Griffon Vulture and the Eurasian Black Vulture are the two species I plan to dedicate more time to, in the near future. This is one of the approaches I am currently working on: using a wide angle lens and infrared beam cells to photograph these necrophages feeding. This system is easy to assemble, but some aspects have to be considered to preserve the equipment, since an attack by 50 to 100 birds, some weighing over 10 kg, can seriously jeopardize cameras.

Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)
Alentejo, Portugal

A rainy day at the dam. A Common Kingfisher has to bear with the rain when it alights on a Willow, after having dived to capture a small fish.

Nikon D300 + Nikon 500mm f4 VR

iso 100, 1/125, f/4.5

Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius dubius)

Tejo Internacional, Portugal

At the beginning of the mating season, a Little Ringed Plover seems to use its tail to offer its pair a small shadow. A few days later, they will place their eggs in a next dug on the shores of this little dam.

Nikon D300 + Nikon 500mm f4 VR

iso 200, 1/500, f/4.5

Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago)
Tejo Internacional

A pair of Common Snipes, resting by a dam. Although common, this wader is not always easy to spot.

Nikon D300 + Nikon 500 mm f4 VR + hidrohide
iso 200, 1/320, f11

Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)
Pegões, Portugal

This heron appears to have stopped to ponder on something, after a long walk along a dam, when she found a small rock to use as a perch. In such occasions I frequently witness countless poses, scratching and pecking, quite appropriate for a few photos...

Nikon D3s + Nikon 500mm f4 VR, hidrohide

iso 200, 1/3200, f4

Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)
Pegões, Portugal

The white plumage of a Cattle Egret stands out among the green vegetation bordering a sall da. The morning light provides enough contrast to highlight the subject from its sorroundings. When using such strong contrasts, I often feel that colour is really no more than a mere accessory.

Nikon D3s + Nikon 500mm f4 VR + hidrohide
iso 200, 1/1250, f5

White Stork (Ciconia ciconia)
Aljezur, Portugal

This is not snow but water, waves when reaching a vast covespread in an immense sea of foa. Atop a cliff, a Stork stands guard over its babies, still in their nest. As for the light, it was in late evening, just a few minutes before sunset.

Nikon D300 + Nikon 500mm f4 VR
iso 800, 1/250, f5

Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis)
Tejo Internacional, Portugal

There is a huge advantage in photographing common species that allow us to come close easily: much of my attention can be focused on important aspects such as composition or illumination.

Nikon D3s + Nikon 500mm f4 VR + hidrohide
iso 100, 1/4000, f5, -0.7Ev

Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus)
Tejo Internacional, Portugal

A new aproach, much less common than use telephoto lenses: photographing vultures with a wide angle lens. According to the specific circunstances in each case, i use infra-red beam cekks - like in the present example - or a remote control device. It is a simple technique, and yet there a number of particularities that make it hard to use, such as: the inpredictability about the day and hour of the incoming of the birds - hence the difficulty in predicting the angle of incidence of the sun rays -, the brutality of the attack and the risks it represents for the equipment, and the relatively complex logistics involved.

Nikon D300 + Sigma 12-24mm f4.5-5.6 (15 mm) + Jama BIR2
iso 320, 1/250, f13

Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis)
Tejo Internacional, Portugal

Fifth afternoon with this family of Grebes. Of the five hatchlings, only two remain, the others must have been caught by some bird of prey or by a bass (damn exotics!). One of the chicks appears to be playing with the water while waiting for a new meal provided by its parents.

Nikon D300 + Nikon 500mm f4 VR + hidrohide
iso 800, 1/1000, f7.1

 
Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis)
Tejo Internacional, Portugal

After much diving to capture small preys with which to nourish its brood, a Little Grebe shakes off the water that accumulated on its plumage.

Nikon D300 + Nikon 500mm f4 VR + hidrohide
iso 500, 1/500, f7.1

Black Stork (Ciconia nigra)
Tejo Internacional, Portugal

I take advantage of grey springdays like this one, in the morning, to photograph subjects that would become especially complicated under bright sunlight. The Black Stork, with its strongly contrasting black and white plumage, is particularly hard to illustrate. In the sun, the contrast raises to a point that shadows can be easily underexposed or highlights overexposed. But this cloudy day reveals green or violet tones, depending from the light’s angle of incidence, and that was I tried to show here.

Nikon D3s + Nikon 300mm f4
iso 320, 1/640, f7.1

Nikon D3s + Nikon 500mm f4 VR (700mm) + Nikon TC-14E 1.4x
iso 320, 1/400, f5.6

Booted Eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus)
Tejo Internacional, Portugal

With the spring, many birds of passage, like this Booted Eagle, arrive. Among the blossoming Rosemary, it has just caught a rabbit, which it will carry to a safe place. Its mate awaits on a nearby Cork Oak, where they have built their nest.

Nikon D300 + Nikon 500mm f4 VR + Nikon TC-14E 1.4x
iso 320, 1/640, f7.1

Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)
Tejo Internacional, Portugal

A Common Krestel rests on a slab of shale amidst a lea. The soft, delicate spring light, a season that is usually short around here – the rainy winter days quickly change into the scorching summer days –, enhances the colours and patterns of this male. Soon it will wander its whereabouts with its offspring, so far taken care of in the nest by the female.

Nikon D3s + Nikon 500mm (700mm)  f4 VR + Nikon TC-14E 1.4x
iso 500, 1/250, f8