Violaceous Turaco - The Zoo Part II

Unfortunately, this is more about the story and my frustrations than it is about the bird. This is such a beautiful bird and I simply was not able to capture it. Talk about a missed opportunity. In the aviary I waited patiently for a bird to apear. I finally saw this Turaco hopping around through the thick trees and it finally landed in a position where I could at least get a photo of it among the leaves. It saw me moving slowly trying not to frighten it away and was looking back at me.


Everything was coming out blurred no matter what I tried. Okay, 20 shots and I'm getting frustrated. I didn't want to use the flash and frighten it but I'm running out of options. I use the flash and it worked.


Just as I expected the flash caused the bird to take flight but it didn't do what I expected. Instead of flying away, it came right to me! It landed on the sign two feet from where I was standing. It was curious!


With it being so close (I could have reached out to touch it), I didn't want to use the flash repetitively and blind it but shot, after shot, after shot I was not having any luck. Everything was blurred and out of focus even when I tried macro because I was so close. I'm so excited about being this close and getting increasingly frustrated because this once in a lifetime opportunity is slipping away. By now I should have had 40 magnificent close-up shots. I can take a perfect shot of a flower this close but not a bird!?


As you can see, I did get some good shots but compared to the number of shots I took I'm disappointed. It finally got bored and flew away. I know it's me but sometimes I swear this camera gets a mind of it's own and is determined to mess up on me when I need it most. I'm still on a learning curve and will be so glad when this is second nature to me and I don't think, I just do.

What is most beautiful about this bird is, if you notice the red on it's wing, when it's wings are spread, the underside of its wings are all red. It spread its wings at one point and I got the picture... it didn't come out. Urrrggghhh!!! Maybe the next time something this wonderful happens the camera and I will be more in tune with each other. Still, I'm glad I got the shots I did.

As it flew off I said "thank you!" and looked up and saw someone smiling down at me.

The Aviary -#2

This was from my second trip to the aviary at the Los Angeles Zoo. It didn't smell this time and I was SO happy about that. I got frustrated with my camera though. I still haven't mastered my camera and I missed soooo many shots. I couldn't get the focus right and of course, this happened when the birds were just sitting there to get their picture taken.

Green Turaco


White Crowned Robin Chat - At one point this bird came and landed on a branch right over my shoulder. I had it in sight, aimed, shot and the focus went ca-ca. It flew away. I HATE those missed shots.


Violaceous Turaco - I wish I'd been able to capture this bird in flight. If you'll notice, there is red at the bottom of it's wings. This red is all under the wings so that when they are spread in flight all you see is red. Wow! It was beautiful.


Inca Tern - I mis-identified a bird from my first aviary post. This is the Inca Tern. If you look closely at the first shot it has a handlebar moustache!