I think I'm right but what if Tamron?

As in previous years I purposely did not bring my 500 lens on our trip to the US - for the simple reason that it is huge and heavy. Another thing is that birds are generally tamer in America than in the Philippines. Having a long lens is not really an advantage if the subjects could be photographed from just a few feet away. However this time, I wanted to try a long lens but lighter in weight. Our friends in the Philippines had been giving good reviews of the Tamron 150-600 zoom lens. After consulting with my wife/CFO, I was given the go signal to purchase one. I promptly ordered from B&H Photo in New York to be delivered to my daughter's house in Arcadia, California. On the day of our arrival, we met up with Michelle and finally got my hands on my brand new lens.

Early the following day, I gave the Tamron a field test. The place was Eaton Canyon in Pasadena - one of my favorite birding haunts. As in any new equipment, it took some getting used to before I was able to truly appreciate the 150-600 lens.

Here are a few sample photos:

Northern Mockingbird - one of the early shots, still in learning mode

Western Scrub Jay - getting better

Golden-crowned Sparrow - should've gotten more depth of field

American Bushtit - was able to nail this hyperactive tiny skulker

Swainson's Hawk - also tried some BIF but the subject was just too high up

Aside from birds, I also photographed a ground squirrel

maybe I should shift to mammal photography

and a California Poppy

a Poppy is also a flower (to borrow from a film title)

All in all I give a 4 stars out of 5 rating. The lens sometimes was quite slow in focusing, particularly on fast moving birds. Also, in my observation, a higher shutter speed was necessary to obtain sharper images which means setting higher ISOs. I am happy with the Tamron and I was right in getting one.