Birding

[freeztar]

I cut the grebe out of the full picture and loaded that to hypo.

 

Ok, I get it now. :eek_big:

 

But you can buy me one of these if you want. I bet they would work better.

Nikon 400mm F/2.8G ED VR AF-S Lens - 2171 - RitzCamera.com

Maybe for Christmas. :confused:

I know... dont hold my breath....

 

No, don't hold your breath. I need to get myself one of those cams first. :shrug:

[Cedars]

Yes those image stabilized lenses are worth the price. I have a Canon with 70-300 IS zoom. It's really great for capturing pictures hand-held. I bought the body and two IS zooms and a macro (love that lens but it's non-IS).

 

Around x-mas I was visiting a camera shop and had them load one with a bug lense (so I can take pics of really tiny things). I figured out real fast I need to either quit drinking coffee, wait for the auto focus version, or make due with what I have. So Make due won.

[Cedars]

For the comments and links.

[Racoon]

Rac's Project: Bird Feeder Refurbishment :shrug:

 

Springs rolling along, and Summer is around the corner. Time to attract some birds with a nice feeder.

 

Buying a nice bird feeder costs like $30+... so this year I am going to refurbish a nice one I already have.. Eco-thrifting :shrug:

 

To Do:

Clean

Sand

Fill in the wood cracks

Seal

Paint - decorate

 

Heres the before pics

The black gunk is old crust birdseed, dirt, and moss. There was even a little yellowjacket honey-comb inside.. Yuck!

I'll post the after pics when its done.

 

 

[Cedars]

These guys have been trickling in the last week. Today I grabbed the camera and caught some shots. The bird was hunting in the top half of the oak trees and was between 50-60 feet away during these shots. The third one was the surprise one. When I snapped it, I wasnt sure if I caught him parked on the branch or in flight. Then the trees went silent as a hawk glided by.

[tangledup75]

These guys have been trickling in the last week. Today I grabbed the camera and caught some shots. The bird was hunting in the top half of the oak trees and was between 50-60 feet away during these shots. The third one was the surprise one. When I snapped it, I wasnt sure if I caught him parked on the branch or in flight. Then the trees went silent as a hawk glided by.

 

Good job with that fancy camera! Great pics. I had fun today birding!

[Cedars]

Trekked up to Crex Meadows yesterday. Many changes over the last week as birds have left for other nesting grounds and others have paired up for nesting. Still others have not returned yet or are few in number as they begin to trickle in. The large numbers of young Bald eagles have disappeared and Wild Turkeys were in plain sight in many spots. Thrushes are moving in now.

 

The numbers of Hooded Mergansers has fallen, but this pair was not as shy as their companions last week. I hope to catch some displaying at some time, but not this day.

 

I think as the meadows green up a bit, I may get some better pics as there will be more background color contrast. I believe I need to invest in some filters. I am thinking I need green and blue, but what do you all suggest for the bright sun and plenty of reflecting on the water?

[freeztar]

what do you all suggest for the bright sun and plenty of reflecting on the water?

 

A polarized lens. :confused:

[Cedars]

A polarized lens. ;)

 

Well.... I have discovered I have alot to learn. So I start reading about polarized stuff. Which leads me to other stuff. Pretty soon (no hours later) I am messing with menus and found a whole bunch of stuff I didnt know about.

 

Its gonna take me the whole summer to learn how to use this camera. I didnt realize how lucky I was to get the shots that I did.

 

Yep, its a pretty darn good beginners camera :hihi:

[Cedars]

Its cloudy here today and I had not planned on taking pictures. The arrival of an Indigo Bunting changed all that. What happened next changed the whole day, and I needed to share this one.

 

Of course the Indigo flew away as soon as my feet hit the sidewalk. But I wanted to test out some settings I discovered so I began to snap pictures while sitting on the ground. White-throated sparrows have been increasing in numbers, now to the point of having 20-25 on the ground feeding at once. It was within this group a Unique coloring showed up.

 

The first picture is a normal White-throated sparrow taken yesterday in the sunshine. The following two are the of the variation color taken today under cloudy conditions. Searching around a bit on the net, there is some talk of hybrid's between White-crowned sparrows and Yellow-crowned sparrows, but I dont know if this has been verified. The range of the White-throated and the White-crowned overlap. My white-crowned have not arrived yet this spring. This is the second time I have seen a coloration like this at my house, but the time gap is a minimum of 5 years, more likely around 10 years.

 

There was also a birding forum post from Cincinnati, feb 2007 describing a similar coloration. This poster also reported a past Northern Cardinal female with an all white head. The Cardinal report is surprising and in my mind falls along a mutation, cause unknown. For this sparrow, I have no idea if its hybrid or mutation.

 

BTW, the Indigo Bunting returned and I did get some pictures of that too.

[freeztar]

The random mottling is interesting. That's not something you see in a lot of birds and suggests to me that it is a hybrid. (just a gut feeling though, no proof for it)

 

By all means, keep those pics and stories coming. ;)

[Cedars]

I wish it had been lighter out today. I think that would have helped clear the photo some. Still, its the best shot of this one I have ever achieved. I dont know that I will get another shot until fall (maybe at Crex). During migration, these guys usually dont hang around my place for more than 2-3 days and we have rain all day tomorrow.

 

They have a rather odd shaped bill with the lower part bigger than the top part.

 

Another bird which showed up today was a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak. With all this cold and snow we have been having, its really messed up the migration in my yard. Some bird numbers seem to have fallen. Spring storms can take out large numbers of migrants.

[tangledup75]

I wish it had been lighter out today. I think that would have helped clear the photo some. Still, its the best shot of this one I have ever achieved. I dont know that I will get another shot until fall (maybe at Crex). During migration, these guys usually dont hang around my place for more than 2-3 days and we have rain all day tomorrow.

 

They have a rather odd shaped bill with the lower part bigger than the top part.

 

Another bird which showed up today was a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak. With all this cold and snow we have been having, its really messed up the migration in my yard. Some bird numbers seem to have fallen. Spring storms can take out large numbers of migrants.

 

Awesome Cedars! What a fantastic picture! I haven't seen any at my place yet.;)

[tangledup75]

When our family, was out for our walk yesterday, the wind was blustery, yet it was a great morning for birding! We saw a pair of Baltimore Orioles, a group of small birds I couldn't ID, they were quick and out of sight fast! But maybe sparrows ~30 or so, a Thrush, and a pair of Blue birds. The blue birds flew ahead of us a few feet until we almost caught up to them then they would take off again. I love watching them. I look forward to getting a new camera this year. There have been orioles at the feeders also, I put out my feeders last week; and the day before yesterday they came. No hummers yet.

http://http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Wood_Thrush.html[/url]

[Cedars]

These pictures were taken in the last few days. I am getting better at the inflight shots, partially because the birds are getting used to me standing around with that thing (camera).

 

Eastern Towhees have arrived, as have the Lincoln Sparrows. Chipping and Song sparrows have paired up and seem to be staying for the summer. There have been a very large number of Yellow-rumped Warblers, and I think theres at least two pairs planning on sticking around.

 

The flight shots are of female Downy woodpeckers taken over the last few days.

[tangledup75]

These pictures were taken in the last few days. I am getting better at the inflight shots, partially because the birds are getting used to me standing around with that thing (camera).

 

Eastern Towhees have arrived, as have the Lincoln Sparrows. Chipping and Song sparrows have paired up and seem to be staying for the summer. There have been a very large number of Yellow-rumped Warblers, and I think theres at least two pairs planning on sticking around.

 

The flight shots are of female Downy woodpeckers taken over the last few days.

 

Yes, you are taking very nice flight pictures! Great job!

[tangledup75]

This morning as we headed out for our walk, I noticed a clump of feathers. Sorry to say that the feathers were orange and black. I wasn't a very happy camper! My dog sniffed around the area and was very interested in them. That coopers hawk has been around; I am very suspicious of that bird! Earlier I did see the male Oriole on our feeder. I also saw my first Gold Finch. Nice day for birding.