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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dave Williams" data-source="post: 1246810" data-attributes="member: 53820">I think you have hit the nail on the head.... I have been surprised how migrant birds we see here are totally different in their behaviour when in their wintering grounds in West Africa. Similarly, birds in India seem so much more confiding. Maybe it's the hotter weather that makes them less willing to spend too much energy flying away unnecessarily. Whatever the reason, that combined with brighter conditions make lens choice a different kettle of fish in hotter, sunnier climates. My best photo's with the 80-400 were taken in the Gambia. It was when I returned home to a U.K. winter that I realised the lens didn't perform to my expectations anymore. The (much more expensive) 300f2.8 is chalk and cheese when it comes to AF speed even with a 1.7 TC. For so many birding situations it speed to focus that is all important as the opportunity soon disappears. Given the right conditions the 80-400 is an excellent lens and that's why I can't bring myself to sell it... but you do need the right conditions</blockquote>