Some Bird Photos I Took While in the Bahamas

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All Birds This Time!

I dug up a few shots that I took while on vacation in the Bahamas a while back. This is really a continuation of an old post I did, titled Animals on a Preserve in The Bahamas.

Of course you can see these here in Los Angeles, but I really loved the vivid colors in the photo so I posted it.

If you haven't already, you should check out that post and read about my escape from a crazy machete man. Thank God that he wasn't Danny Trejo! While I wasn't dodging the local crazies, I got to see a lot of beautiful exotic animals. The birds were some of my favorites.

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An interesting thing that I learned about flamingos in captivity is that they have to be given a special diet in order to maintain their bright colors. They use special feeding pellets that contain a pigment. They also require a decent sized body of water because they eat by pumping it through their bills. All the water around them is completely saturated with that redish-pink color.

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This particular day I was getting a lot of close-ups. I wasn't particularly trying to be all artsy fartsy or anything, there was an actual reason for it. It was starting to get a bit late in the day so the lighting wasn't the best. I had to open up the aperture all the way allowing in as much light as possible. The side affect is, of course, that you get that narrow depth of field which works nicely for more intimate shots.

That sounds weird... Intimate bird photography. Well if you think that was intimate, check out the last one:

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Just look at those gorgeous blue eyes! Okay, this post is going somewhere that I didn't expect when I started out. I shall stop while I'm behind. Thanks for stopping by!

All photos were taken by me, with my older Canon 7D (first generation) and 80mm lens.



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16 comments
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That last one is pretty awesome. That is also really interesting about the flamingos. I never would have guessed that. Great stuff!

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Yeah I like that one too! I think it was an albino peacock. After I posted this, I realized that the birds are all pretty boring and common. lol! Didn't need to go to an island to find them. I was kind of tired when I put this together.. Little one is on a roll

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I can only imagine!

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These are all so beautiful! Especially love that shot of the flamingo, they’re my favorite bird ❤️

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Wow so much beauty! The flamingo is brightly coloured, it's a great view for the eye!

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I especially like the albino peacock. That one was especially cool looking in person.

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Hello Rick - great birdie post!

An interesting thing that I learned about flamingos in captivity is that they have to be given a special diet in order to maintain their bright colors.
Well, feeding them pigment is the "cheap" way to do it. In nature, they eat among other things a lot of shrimp, but that natural food might be too expensive to maintain at a zoo.
For flamingos, the phrase “You are what you eat” holds more truth than it might for humans. The bright pink color of flamingos comes from beta carotene, a red-orange pigment that’s found in high numbers within the algae, larvae, and brine shrimp that flamingos eat in their wetland environment.
Quote source: https://www.britannica.com/story/why-are-flamingos-pink
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Interestingly, humans can turn orange from eating too much beta carotene. It's called carotenemia. Not sure if I spelled that right! I should know, because I've given it to myself several times from eating excessive amounts of turmeric and drinking many liters of carrot juice over an extended period.

I was freaking out for a while (thought I had jaundice) but then I figured out what it was, and cut down on the juice. It went away after 2 weeks. Makes you wonder.. Maybe Trump should eat more beta-carotene so he doesn't need to orange makeup. haha!

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🤣 Trump - you took the words right out of my mouth! That was the first thing I thought of when I read the article. I am almost tempted to experiment with carrot juice. My grandmother always said carrots improve your eyesight.

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First and foremost I would like to commend you on this great photography because I must confess this is absolutely amazing pictures and also I will say they are great animals with different beauty classification. I love those birds I wish I can have some of them hahahaha. Thanks 😊

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