mlgb

Pps. ...I am now on the middle of 5 days with Marcelo! He really is great both guiding and his English is very good, waaaayyy easier to understand. We are targeting birds I haven't seen or didn't see well, so yesterday went to the Mashpi area which is also a good spot for Chocó. I was jealous of the fruiteater sightings! Probably the best bird although distant was black tipped cotinga but the Glistening-Green Tanager is a stunning bird. We also had the best view he had ever had of Lyre-Tailed Nightjar (daytime by the road).

He quoted me $150 per day including transport and admission fees. I am right at the cusp of busy season (starts next week when schools get out). He is also offering transfers between Quito and Mindo for $100 which includes a few birdwatching stops.

Although he guides mostly around Mindo he is doing longer tours eg Papallacta and into the east slope and Oriente and wants to continue with that.

Axel2DP

Are you able to see the birds clearly mlgb? I took a day tour of the Bellivista Cloud Forest Reserve this past Saturday and only spotted three birds way, way up in the three tops. It was kind of disappointing as I had hoped to see more and to see them more clearly.

artiejay

mlgb - very jealous- wish I was there! Looking forward to your report when you return - how much longer will you be there? Keep those memory cards in a safe place!!!

Axel2DP - sorry about the slow response. Yes mostly at 400mm and wide open - not much light in most places as you are probably finding out - hope the birding improves for you - maybe you can hook up with mlgb and Marcelo - he has eyes like Superman!

Axel2DP

Hi artiejay,

No problem. I'm already back in the U.S. so no more birding for me

I rented the Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.5 for my Galapagos trip and used it at the Bellivista Cloud Forest Reserve. The lighting just wasn't bright enough for this lens without bumping up the ISO significantly at the high end of the zoom. I tried to get a few pics of the hummingbirds feeding at the feeders situated near the restaurant entrance at the reserve, but those suckers were fast, LOL. My pics certainly didn't come close to the gorgeous hummingbird ones that you got.

artiejay

Axel2DP,

I'd be interested to get your opinion (and see some pics.)of the Sigma lens. I've read differing opinions on it but you sure can't beat the price compared to the Canon alternative. Write a trip report and post some of those pictures!!!!.....please!

mlgb

We saw about 25 species in the immediate vicinity of the Bellavista lodge and some of the trails in about 1.5 hrs. We were there when they opened at 8. The trogon, turquoise jay, strongbilled woodcreeper and a chestnut capped brush finch, plus as you said lots of little birds at the tree top. On the trail not far from the lodge guans, toucan barbet. Spent a lot of time chasing a fruiteater with the scope. Then we drove the roads back to Mindo and got 20 more including platebilled Mtn Toucan. But probably the best was the first bird of the day , a crested quetzal that flew across the road on the way in and posed. I have a fuzzy photo out the car window.

Because I am fast with the binoculars we have not been using the scope as often (at least that is what he says) and the birds are fast so fewer photos. I have been able to upload a few although not edited yet.

If you really want to see birds it pays to go with a good guide, and early. Birding in a forest you listen and look for movement and then hope you can get them in sight before they fly.

This morning starting at 6 am I went with Marcelo and just walked a few blocks near BioHostal and saw 25 in a few hours. Hook-billed kite was my favorite.

Tomorrow I will drive back to Quito with him and then I have still another week before Galapagos. Planning on Baños area and Nariz del Diablo.

Btw I decided to splurge out tonight and am in one of the Sachatamia cabins. Very nice and I just saw the owl. However, I am still impressed by the value offered by Biohostal at the edge of town ($18) including breakfast, bath and taxes and the fastest wifi so far. All the rooms are large and have views.

Axel2DP

Seemed like you had a good bird outing, mlgb. It looked like early morning was one of the key ingredients for spotting them and of course a good guide.

I wish the birds at Bellevista were like those in the Galapagos, where they all pretty much were hanging out in the open, ready for their close-ups.


artiejay,

I'll try to post a few pictures within the next week or two. I'm so not a pro of any type so don't expect too much All of my pics are stored as RAW format. I have a lot to go through, so I have to force myself to be in a mood to do it, LOL.

I can't really compare the Sigma 105-600m to any other equivalent zoom, because the only "big" zoom I've ever owned and used is the old non-IS 70-200mm 4L.

The lens is about 2.3 lbs, I think. I felt the weight, but it was still very hand-holdable for brief periods. The issue was when I had to aim the lens at the animals for a period of time, waiting for some interesting action to happen. That was when the weight really became noticeable. I supposed if I had it mounted on a monopod then that might have helped. I was using the lens for about 90% of my shoot, and my left shoulder got quite sore by the third day of my trip.

I did appreciate having the wide range of zoom available on the Sigma for the Galapagos. If you're shooting under bright sunlight, which was a good portion of the time on the Galapagos, then the f5-6.3 aperture isn't much of an issue. When I wasn't then I often did have to bump the ISO quite a bit to make sure to prevent camera shake.

I find that the lens was sometimes slow to lock onto the subject when I was using Al Servo mode to shoot flying birds, but that could be due to the settings I had on my camera body and also my unfamiliarity with the lens.

Sometimes I did wish I had spent a bit more to rent the sport version of the lens for its all weather protection ability. The first day of my trip encountered pouring rain, and my camera pretty much stayed inside my camera backpack that day.

This was my first time renting a lens from an online place, lensrental.com. It worked out great. I'll definitely try this store again if I need to rent other lenses.

mlgb

Axel2D, that will be a nice change of pace. I am looking forard to your pix.

Today not much but did have a good look at Tufted Tit-Tyrant which is a funny little thing. It was up near the Also the Cock of the Rock is nesting at Pahuma, so we stopped to look thru the scope.

artiejay

Axel2DP - Thanks - that was about what I had heard about the lens - great conditions = great shots, so-so conditions maybe not so much. Interested to hear that the rental process was a positive one - I have looked in the past but never pulled the trigger.

mlgb - Man you got me all stirred up - sitting at home doing yard work and cleaning the pool - at least I can live vicariously through your report! If you happen to get any WiFi in the Galapagos fire off a quick update if you can

mlgb

Lyre-tailed Nightjar perched roadside https://www.flickr.com/gp/buddysaunt/J6oCBk
Glad we didn't need to look in Mindo because it rained every night. And no flash needed!

Axel2DP

Thanks for the pics mlgb.


I've put a few of mine up for now. Still a work in progress. All the pics on the page were taken with the Sigma. If the images aren't pin sharp then it's more likely due to me and not the lens itself.

http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-4QQdkf/

artiejay

Axel2DP- Don't see any problems with those! Especially like the owl with prey shot - very nice. Keep 'em coming!

mlgb

Those are fantastic Axel2DP. Yes, more!

artiejay

Axel2DP - I must say that pictures 4 (yellow warbler), 14 (owl), and 19 (sea lion on beach) are nothing short of superb. Were all taken with the Sigma?