Shy Albatross

[Grumpy John]

I took these images back in June last year on a whale watch trip. Previously I had identified the bird as a Lesser Albatross as that's what the guide on the boat called him (?). Looking at my bird app it does not mention Lesser Albatross at all, but the bird I captured sure looks like the Shy Albatross shown on the app.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shy_albatross

#1 Not drowning, waving.


#2 Coming in for a landing.

[Isac]

Very hard to spot the difference between a lesser albatross and a shy albatross John, I don't know why your ID app doesn't have it. The lesser is mainly a NZ bird so you may be right with the shy. Both have a really bright white crown on the top of their head. #2 is a ripper, where was the shot taken?

[Grumpy John]

They were both taken with my Siggy 24-105 mounted on the smaller EOS 100D. I did have the 7D MkII with me with the Siggy 150-600, but the Albatross was too close to the boat to use the long lens.

[Isac]

That's where my Tamron 18-400 comes in real handy. Nice small lens to cart around.

[Grumpy John]

That's a decent zoom range Isac. How is the IQ at the extreme wide and zoom ends? If you were pushed what would you say are the "sweet spot" settings?

[Grumpy John]

These are pretty much the only references I could find for "Lesser Albatross" using Duck Duck Go.

https://www.albatrossencounter.co.nz...ser-albatross/

https://www.dilmahconservation.org/b...444a52d91.html

[Isac]

Just a tip for searching, type in "images for lesser albatross" and you'll get heaps of photos which you can click on and link to the site. Some are crappy and others have more photos and lots of info. Also use "lesser albatross photos". Works for most things.

[avkomp]

never seen one, so cant help with the ID. not sure if a tad more exposure brings the 2nd up a bit. looks a decent capture. well done