LBJ

Bit of a disaster on the photography front today: my 70-300mm lens bit the dust. I know exactly what the problem is, as it's the third of these my camera has destroyed; the torque of the autofocus motor strips the gears. The symptoms are that it gives a hideous grinding noise on startup and shutdown (and sometimes when hunting for focus) and manual focus is virtually locked solid.

I'm hoping I can get this one replaced under warranty when we get home, but as it was still marginally usable today I thought I'd better take at least one or two of the wildlife shots I often use it for here. This bird is what my father-in-law would have described as an LBJ - a "little brown job" - and I have no idea what species he actually is, but he and his mates were perching on the chair backs at lunch, keenly watching for any dropped bread or other tidbits.