I have always been enthusiastic about capturing pictures of birds. Not having a camera lens with sufficient zoom power, I researched for the best quality lens that one can buy at an affordable price. The lens had to be as light as possible without being too large and cumbersome to carry in the field.  A fellow National Geographic Your Shot member had these beautiful bird pictures in his gallery, and I asked him which lens he used. It turned out to be the popular and much sought after Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5.0 – 6.3 Di VC USD. This lens weighs 1,951 gms with the tripod mount.

The Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD with Lens coat cover (to protect the lens from scretches and damage during use),  mounted on the SONY A7R camera.

After a short waiting period I finally obtained this Tamron lens for Sony cameras on 10th June 2016. Together with the Sony LA EA3 adapter, I now have the tools for capturing pictures of birds from a respectable distance.

I took these three pictures of the female Olive-Backed Sunbird (Nectarina jugularis) in my garden from the verandah of my house. The first and second pictures showing her stretching her left and then her right wing respectively, and the third picture, as she took off from another branch of the Caesalpinia pulcherrima shrub,  a species of flowering plant in the pea family. Some common names for this plant species include Poinciana, Peacock Flower, Red Bird of Paradise.