Australian (nankeen) Kestrel

[Ralph]

Went for a drive out bush dodging water across the road and blocked roads but found a few bird.
Here in the Mildura are a I think we are going to have a bumper crop of young ones this year, as today I stopped getting out the car to get photo's of them
There were just way too many of them out and about.
The 1st shot is crap as I changed setting listening to stupid people on youtube and once I seen the results I swapped back to my normal ones.

1 = This was the 1st shot under the crap settings.

2 = Male Aussie Kestrel.

3 = Yet another one out and about.

[wigz]

Good pose, feather detail and colour Ralph, at least on the last two. They are beautiful birds. What were the crap settings and what do you normally use.

[Ralph]

It really was the Focus Area which on my camera it has got a few options and I use Center and have done for a while. But they said it was badly limited and if I used the Lock On AF: Expandable Flexible Spot it would be far better. This is wrong well it is on my camera and maybe the way I have got my other settings. But I have got all my setting's written down in a little book and I went to that and moved it back to Center and it was all good once again.

[wigz]

I use single point for stationary or slow moving birds, and dynamic 9 point (which sounds a bit like your expandable spot) for birds in flight as it will use the focus points around your selected one if the birds moves off it. For birds on water or among foliage, it can focus on something other than your subject.

[Isac]

Lovely shots Ralph. I like the 2nd best.