Bird Thread

[rawpaw18]

Got this spot where they like to come real close.
Great chance to test out my new 1.7 Nikon TC on the 70-200vr

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5133/5455125074_96cb2b3111_z.jpg

[kgosden]

Out on the bicycle and saw this hawk about 10 feet off the road. Too bad I only had the little P&S.

[raven15]

Oh good, I was thinking about a new telephoto lens and got scared!:D

[kgosden]

Well, it always makes me think about a new P&S. Maybe the Olympus ZX-1.

[K1W1]

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5057/5539051311_10da4df4e0_b.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5257/5539033451_e3310743ba_b.jpg

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

Two cracker shots K1W1

[Falconest174]

As has been true for the last few years, our spring seems to be heralded by the presence of seagulls that fly up the Susquehanna River from the Chesapeake Bay. They come up to feed on the insects that seem to condense out of the water and occasional snow on the ground. Resident ducks and geese also seem to enjoy that bounty.:D

[dbatapbr]

Taken at Gatorland in Orlando on Mar 12.

[kgosden]

Some nice shots. Gatorland is definitely a unique birding destination. I think as many people go for the birds as for the gators. I know I would return for the birds. The density of nests is amazing. Quite a symbiotic relationship with the gators effectively guarding them.

[dbatapbr]

Yes it is, and I believe you are right about the people. I am heading back again this weekend, really looking forward to it. The gators defending/feasting on the misfortunate.

[Falconest174]

Her is a shot of a female Downy Woodpecker taken yesterday. Got a shot of her hubby also but was able to sneak quite close to her, shooting between the branches of a Lilac bush. They were after the Suet that hung from one of the branches of the Lilac bush.

[kgosden]

Dang, Falconest, that's bigger than life sized. Nice and clean too. Mine always have suet stuck to their faces and beaks.

[danwiz]

That is a REALLY FINE shot Falconest - the resolution is really fantastic too. Congratulations!

[Sole Shooter]

Here are some of the local Parrots that like the trees (and electrical wires) in my back yard.

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w143/Playr_album/DSC_0107.jpg

[Falconest174]

Well, Spring is the time for love and ducks around here seem to be taking advantage of it. Hence these shots. The flight shot was a quick grab shot as he buzzed by.

[tim11]

Testing my brand new Nikkor AF-S 70-300 VR
http://www.dcresource.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=56677&stc=1&d=1302269462

http://www.dcresource.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=56676&stc=1&d=1302269378

[kgosden]

Glad this Stellar's Jay let me get about 8 feet away since all I had was my 12-60 today.

[AdamW]

A red-tailed hawk with it's breakfast: meat & veg!


57075

[Switchblade906]

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h134/switchblade906/Animals/DSC03085.jpg

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h134/switchblade906/Animals/DSC03015.jpg

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h134/switchblade906/Animals/DSC03007.jpg

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h134/switchblade906/Animals/DSC02980.jpg

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h134/switchblade906/Animals/DSC02971.jpg

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h134/switchblade906/Animals/DSC02964.jpg
Babys Eating Their Dinner
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h134/switchblade906/Animals/DSC02958.jpg

[Falconest174]

Switchblade;
Love those portraits.:D
The others don't suck either. I am jealous, we won't see Herons and Egrets around here until July , usually.

[Switchblade906]

Thanks, and if you dont mind me asking where in Upstate NY are you located. My parents have property in Oswego and we go there for 2 weeks every year

[Falconest174]

Binghamton, Home of a couple of Minor league teams, B-Mets-Baseball, and B-Sens-Hockey.
Most of my shots are taken arond the banks of the Chenango River. I live just a couple of hundred yards from the river. about a mile from it's confluence with the Susquehanna. We often see seagulls that have followed that river up from the Chesapeake bay. I also post in the Nikon DSLR Picture of the day thread, and the Insect thread. (When it is warm enuf to have bugs about.;) )

[Switchblade906]

Oh ok, we pass right by you going up through Syracuse.

[Switchblade906]

I love this photo so much i just had to post it again

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h134/switchblade906/Animals/DSC03007.jpg

[Switchblade906]

This is a cool looking Birdie

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5144/5656109432_4be7c6c910_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/62099298@N04/5656109432/)
DSC03032 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/62099298@N04/5656109432/) by Switchblade906 (http://www.flickr.com/people/62099298@N04/), on Flickr

[Falconest174]

Got these shots of a Male Tree Swallow as I was out walking the riverbank today, surveying the mess that high water has left on the banks of the Chenango. I saw this fellow perched atop a bird house near the Riverwalk. These guys almost never perch but are often flying above the water snagging bugs near the surface. Got lucky this time as he let me get to about 15 feet. :cool:

[Falconest174]

Her a few more Swallow pics from yesterday's walk. It was cloudy so the colors are a bit muted but the differences between male and female are easily seen. I don't know what the yawning thing is, mating display, territorial or just a yawn.

[Switchblade906]

Maybe it has to do with mating

[Sir Les]

Came home one evening to find "the boys" had taken up temporary residence in my front garden. As the old song goes: "Kookaburra sitting in the old gum tree......." -- except it's a liquid amber, not a gum. These are the birds whose call is like a very loud cackling laugh. I think they're a type of kingfisher.

[Falconest174]

Sir Les;
That last one is great! They do look a lot like kingfishers, but it really depends on what they eat. Kingfishers are just that.
We do sing that kookaburra song in the States.

[Switchblade906]

I really like the 2nd one sir les, I wish I could come home and find some cool looking birds sitting in my front yard!

[Sir Les]

Thanks, guys. I must admit the kookaburras are somewhat of a rare sight. It's more usual to see magpies or big, black, shiny crows like the one below.

[kgosden]

I have been watching this Red Shouldered Hawk nest a few miles from my office since I noticed it on a bicycle ride a couple of months back. The nest is about 40-50 feet up and at least as far from the road. Today I finally caught the two chicks. They look about ready to fledge any day now. Tough to hand hold and even tougher to focus on the birds and not the nest, but I will take what I can get.

[Sir Les]

Nice shot, Ken -- especially considering it's 600mm equivalent focal length and hand-held! One question: were you dangling 40-50 ft up in the air at the time? :)

[Phill D]

Yes it is a good capture kg just shows what a bit of planning gets. I'll echo Les' question, how did you get that close at that angle if it was 40 feet up?

[kgosden]

The tree base is slightly downhill from the road, but still about 20-25 feet above the road level. It is a bit deceptive as the chicks are on the edge of the nest peering out. The nest is a bit higher on the front than the rear. From the look of the wing feathers in this shot I am betting they will be flying this week.

[Switchblade906]

Very nice. Hopefully they will stay there for a little while longer so you can get some more photos.

[Falconest174]

Nice shots KG. The only raptors nesting in my area are Peregrine Falcons, on top of a multi-story building. There are others in the surrounding areas outside the city but as I don't drive I can't get where they are.:( So, I shoot what I can.

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

Kookaburras eat snakes, lizards, bugs etc. Not aware of eating fish since there's so little groundwater in this country.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kookaburra

Nice shots all.

Falcon, how close are you getting to have such clean backgrounds at f8 (if my exif viewers right). 2ndly do you have an editing program, I tried a little selective brightening of the bird - hope you don't mind57322

[Switchblade906]

A couple birds at the Zoo digging through the dirt trying to find some dinner.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5223/5697944958_894b4fd78f_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/62099298@N04/5697944958/)
Birds diggin' for food (http://www.flickr.com/photos/62099298@N04/5697944958/) by Switchblade906 (http://www.flickr.com/people/62099298@N04/), on Flickr

I like how i caught the dirt being thrown out of the way.

[Falconest174]

DPR;
1. Clean backgrounds, can't get any cleaner than the sky.:) The b'house sets atop a pole some 6' high, taller than me so there is no background to speak of from that angle, but for the sky.
The other photos show a more busy background with trees ect.
2. I use AcDSee 2009 most of the time for quick edits, sharpening resizing, and cropping mostly. I do have Elements 7 but use that for more sophisticated tricks. ACDSee is easier to use for quick fixes.

[kgosden]

This fellow was being quite brave at my suet feeder while i was sitting about 6 feet away. Not sure how I managed the black background; didn't think it was that dark out at the time.

[kgosden]

It turns out there are 3 hawk chicks in the nest. One of them seems to stay down in the middle, probably the runt. Looks like they have lost almost all their head down feathers since Friday. I bet that they fly in 2-3 days.

[Switchblade906]

Very cool, I would like to find a nest with some chicks.

[kgosden]

Yeah, this is a bit of a tall image, but someone wanted to know how high up the hawk's nest is. I did a quick grab shot with the XZ-1 from near my best nest vantage point. One of the parents was on a branh about 10 ft below the nest.

[kgosden]

Testing 1, 2, 3... Getting ready for their Wright Brothers moment.

[kgosden]

Dinner arrives. But it is getting too late for me to review the rest of the shots tonight, so meal time will need to wait until tomorrow. BTW after careful review these appear to be red shouldered hawks.

[kgosden]

Junior gets his morsel.

[Switchblade906]

That's a really cool shot, I wonder what animal that used to be before it was turned into lunch lol

[kgosden]

When a hawk gets goose bumps? Right after this quick shiver there was some intense scratching.

[Switchblade906]

I like this one, he's all puffed up lol. Like a puffer fish.

[kgosden]

I thought that they were going to fly today. The chicks were taking 2-3 steps while really flapping their wings; not just stretching. The parents brought them less food and stayed much more briefly, almost as if taunting them to venture out. But the bigger surprise for me was reviewing a batch of shots from today. There are actually 4 chicks, not 3.

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

Not sure how I managed the black background; didn't think it was that dark out at the time.

The flash you used on the shot may have something to do with it:p

Light intensity from flash falls off significantly with distance ie distance squared or to the 4th from memory. ie - If the background is only a little further back it will be much darker.

[kgosden]

Dread Pirate, that would be true except i did not use a flash. Check the EXIF data.

[kgosden]

Daddy's Home. They are still not flying.

[Switchblade906]

Do you go out there on your lunch break everyday?

[kgosden]

On the way to the office in the morning, my lunch break when I can, and after work for up to 2 hours. I figure I only have a short time window to capture them so I am sacrificing some other activities. In two hours I generally get 4-6 parental landings and take offs. about 75% are on my viewable side of the nest. If I get one decent shot out of those I am pretty happy.

I love the way the one chick is staring at the dad as he leaves in this shot. Like, "I gotta learn how Dad does that."

[Switchblade906]

Yeah thats a cool shot. You much have your finger right there on the shutter release for those lol. The little baby has it's head turned like a confused dog lol!

[kgosden]

Hope to get some time at the nest Friday. I know they will be flying. I bicycled by around 6:15 tonight with my manager and we watched them for 5 minutes or so. One of the chicks was flapping up a storm and lifted off the nest enough that we could see its feet dangling. Then it plopped back down. No camera with me on the bike :( I went back after our ride and got a few more shots, but had to push it to ISO1600 to get any speed at 8PM. No one was interested actual flight.

[kgosden]

I managed to catch the first flight I saw this evening. Still mostly vertical and a bit uncontrolled. After I saw this one there were 2-3 more minor excursions. At least one of them has taken to flying/running up one of the tree trunks about 3-6 feet. Not sure if I will get back to the nest over the weekend as it is a bit out of the way from home (and there is rain forecast tomorrow).

[kgosden]

Another partial family portrait.

[Phill D]

That's a nice shot kg, yes just like a family portrait.

[kgosden]

Lookout I'm coming in hot.

[kgosden]

Back to the hawks. They are flying 10 feet or so to branches near the nest.

[kgosden]

At least two of them have been exploring the area above the nest. They fly/jump 5-6 feet up and over to nearby branches. Then make clumsy pirouettes so they are facing the nest before effecting a controlled crash/dive back down. It is getting hard to spot them as they climb since they blend in with the bark.

[Sir Les]

Another partial family portrait.
http://www.dcresource.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=57418&stc=1&d=1305346735

I'm enjoying the saga but this is the one to print and frame! :)

[kgosden]

The hawks are getting harder to find as they roam throughout the tree. One has even flown to the neighboring tree. They are up to about 20 feet of sustained, horizontal flight. I keep hoping to catch a really clean launch or landing.

[kgosden]

Here is the closest I have to a launch.

[kgosden]

No hawks this weekend. I did have a good visit in the yard from this red headed woodpecker.

[kgosden]

The hawks are looking very adult in size. They now fly off far enough that I lose track of them. Occasionally they still strike silly poses or lose their balance a bit. Since they are molting a lot they are rather itchy.

[Falconest174]

Well, I didn't see a woodpecker this weekend but I did get close to this Tree Swallow perched on a post as he stood guard outside his 'wife's' birdhouse.

[kgosden]

Great tree swallow Falconest. Love the iridescent blue. The swallows around here rarely sit still for me.

[Falconest174]

I have had good luck with these guys. They seem to perch around the birdhouses and on them and usually allow me to get quite close.

[Falconest174]

Was finally able to get some decent shots of a Killdeer. This bird is extraordinarily shy and very spooky, except when defending a nest or young. Thsi particular female has laid her eggs in an area that had been cleared in hopes of commercial development that has yet to be realized. I was able to get a number of pictures of her faking injury to distract me, a presumed threat, from her eggs. These were laid as usual for Killdeer, in a shallow depression on the ground.
5751957520575215752257523

[kgosden]

Falconest,

I see killdeer around here quite a bit. I knew about the faked injury behavior, but have never witnessed it myself. Nice sequence.

[kgosden]

Most of the hawk family gathered on a pine tree near the road this morning. Too bad they could not all face forward. The chicks are nearly as big as the adults now.

[kgosden]

A tasty lizard.

[kgosden]

Nice landing

[kgosden]

A lot of flying at lunch today.

[Sir Les]

You're getting quite good at this, aren't you! :)

[rawpaw18]

I sure have been missing some great bird photos, not been around for awhile.
Did capture this Barn Swallow this morning.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2663/5797117351_04bedf29d7_b.jpg

70-200vr w/ 1.7tc, 1/320, f/7.1, iso 200, spot

[Falconest174]

Well, I haven't been lucky enough to find nesting hawks around here but I did see this Turkey Vulture, along with about a dozen of his closest friends. They were checking out the pickings along the riverbank after some recent violent storms.

[kgosden]

Rich, great swallow shot.

Falconest, I love watching turkey vultures flying, but they are certainly ugly in person.

[Falconest174]

Yep, they have a face that not even a mother could love, and table manners to match.

[rawpaw18]

Found new lucky tree, Osprey with fish one morning, this American Bald the next day on same snag.

I call him the Caped Avenger
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2804/5820539693_540febd867_b.jpg

[kgosden]

Rich,

Interesting pose on the eagle. Just sunning himself or getting ready to fly?

[rawpaw18]

It was sunning itself, from this angle it just looked unusual. I have not seen one sun itself
before, but I never get a whole lot of oppotunity to watch them either. Have another one on my flickr
page, more traditional pose.

[Falconest174]

Shot of a Heron coming in to a landing on the Chenango R. He(?) he was moving from another position on the river. Love the flight posture and reflection.

[kgosden]

Falconest,

Great catch of the heron.

[kgosden]

Lucky manual focus grab as this eagle passed overhead at the Ninilchik Scenic Overlook.

[Kushnirenko]

Pesochin (near Kharkiv), Ukraine. May 2011

http://hai.kushnirenko.com/modules/xcgal/albums/userpics/10001/normal_2011_0520_231644_IMG_0783.jpg (http://hai.kushnirenko.com/modules/xcgal/albums/userpics/10001/2011_0520_231644_IMG_0783.jpg)

[kgosden]

Kushnirenko,

Great job catching an owl. I hear them, but can never seem to locate them in the wild.

[kgosden]

So many animal butt shots, but at least some are still identifiable.

[ohmygoat]

Harris' Hawk
57927

[Geoff Chandler]

I see I started this thread - so I should really post something from time to time -
not taken lots of bird photos of late however.
Here's one I took recently on holiday....

[kgosden]

Nice goose Geoff. Too bad the water is loaded with down , etc.

[kgosden]

Stalked a couple of Sandhill Cranes in Homer, AK. They did not want to take the chicks out of the tall grass. Might have been due to the large bald eagle population in the area.

[kgosden]

While we were in Homer there was a great nest just off the main street. It looked like there were two eaglets. Both parents were taking turns feeding them.

[Falconest174]

kgosden;
Impressive eagle shot.
Homer NY?

[kgosden]

Homer, Alaska. The nest was only about 30-40 feet up and the birds did not mind company.

[Falconest174]

Yep, the Alaskan Eagles ar a bit agressive. I have friends that live in Fairbanks, and when they went on a fishing trip they had an Eagle steal a fish right off the boat!

[tim11]

A proud cockabara.

[ohmygoat]

Blue and Gold Macaw
58057

[ohmygoat]

Harris's Hawk
58058

[tim11]

Love the eyes! Nice ones ohmygoat!

[ohmygoat]

tim11, thanks!

[tim11]

Sulfer-crested cockatoos.
There are thousands of them in my neighbourhood.

[kgosden]

Tim,

I like the top shot. With thousands of them I sure hope you have a garage for the car or a real good deal on weekly car washing :)

[tim11]

No Kgosden. The bird colony live in the bush and only pay us visits. Just as long as we don't feed them then we still have clean cars. :D

[tim11]

More cockatoos - one adult and one juvenile.

[Falconest174]

Her is a rarity this summer, a pic of a Heron with a fish. There haven't been very many visits of these guys this year, and not a single Egret. :(

[tim11]

Portraits of birds.

[ohmygoat]

Eclectus Parrot

58152

[tim11]

Looks like stuffed bird. I love the details on the bird. Look at the beak, even has scratches!

[kgosden]

Caught this Northern Flicker while I was waiting on my hummingbirds to buzz our feeder. You can just barely see the yellow tail feathers glowing on him.

[Kushnirenko]

Kharkiv, Ukraine. Sep. 2011. Canon EOS 50D

Cormorant

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6063/6146269312_b3bed01ede_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kushnirenko/6146269312/in/photostream)


Bar-headed Goose

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6069/6145753161_8e9aaf47d6_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kushnirenko/6145753161/in/photostream)


http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6175/6145758271_1f0e39b299_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kushnirenko/6145758271/in/photostream)

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6175/6145779201_dc0571742f_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kushnirenko/6145779201/in/photostream)

More shots you can see at ZOOs of Ukraine (http://www.flickr.com/groups/zoos-ukraine/)

[kgosden]

Kushnirenko,

That bar headed goose has very unique markings. Would have liked to see a tighter crop on that hawk.

[Kushnirenko]

Kremenchuk, Ukraine. June, 2011. Canon EOS 50D + Canon EF 70-300 f/4-5.6 IS USM

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6168/6213419548_86a99f382d_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kushnirenko/6213419548/in/photostream)

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6049/6212906663_34212ab3d6_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kushnirenko/6212906663/in/photostream)

[GabrielC]

Something far less exotic!

58416

[Kushnirenko]

Something far less exotic!

Nice shot Gabriel!


Kremenchuk, Ukraine. Aug 2011. Canon EOS 50D + Canon EF 70-300 f/4-5.6 IS USM

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6118/6245729544_8e63f9388b_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kushnirenko/6245729544/in/photostream)

[Kushnirenko]

Kremenchuk, Ukraine. Aug 2011. Canon EOS 50D + Canon EF 70-300 f/4-5.6 IS USM

Birds on the spit

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6092/6245731918_5418a8d2fc_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kushnirenko/6245731918/in/photostream)

Bathing

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6114/6245211823_be64d9bbe0_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kushnirenko/6245211823/in/photostream)


Landing on water

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6110/6245212843_862f3e85bc_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kushnirenko/6245212843/in/photostream)


Training flight

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6048/6245732612_d6019c4fa7_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kushnirenko/6245732612/in/photostream)


Black-headed Gull -wrong! - Common Gull

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6096/6245734714_2920c042f9_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kushnirenko/6245734714/in/photostream)


Black-headed Gull (at front) and Herring gull chick (at rear)

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6107/6245213673_3362e0ae9b_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kushnirenko/6245213673/in/photostream)


Herring gull chicks

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6039/6245736088_a86c641b33_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kushnirenko/6245736088/in/photostream)

[kgosden]

Okay, so why are the 'black headed' gulls so light headed?

[ohmygoat]

Kookaburra

58439

[Kushnirenko]

Okay, so why are the 'black headed' gulls so light headed?

I'm mistake :( This Common Gull

[kgosden]

Kushnirenko,

No problem as we are not a 'birding' site.

[Kushnirenko]

Kushnirenko,

No problem as we are not a 'birding' site.

I have looked on the Internet - gulls considerably change at a growing :)

[Geoff Chandler]

Harris Hawk - named 'Jess'
Taken at the Hawking Centre at Doddington Place Gardens
(D90/ Tamron 28-200 @ 135mm ISO400)

[Geoff Chandler]

Jess lands on Rachel - for a piggy back?

[Kushnirenko]

Jess lands on Rachel - for a piggy back?
Great!
At once it is obvious - Jess the excellent hunter!

[Geoff Chandler]

Great!
At once it is obvious - Jess the excellent hunter!
haha - Yes! - actually she did go after a squirrel at one point!

[kgosden]

I spent about 15 minutes trying to catch one of these hummers up by Coit Tower this weekend. I had the 'wrong' lens (my 24-120mm equivalent), but they were not very shy, just hard to catch.

[kgosden]

Showing some nice color.

[kgosden]

They flick their tongues after getting a drink. Gotta love that the bright Arizona sun let's you crank the shutter speed.

[Sir Les]

@ Geoff Chandler -- love the shot of 'Jess' and Rachel!

@ kgosden -- lovely hummingbird shots -- interesting to note that even with a shutter speed of 1/1250th, it wasn't fast enough to 'freeze' the wing movement.

[Erad]

I went out for a shoot today at a local park.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7179/6865715797_106b548399_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/20314420@N05/6865715797/)
Hawk (http://www.flickr.com/photos/20314420@N05/6865715797/) by arociojr (http://www.flickr.com/people/20314420@N05/), on Flickr

100% crop
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7191/6858404833_6209f7c943_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/20314420@N05/6858404833/)
Hawk (http://www.flickr.com/photos/20314420@N05/6858404833/) by arociojr (http://www.flickr.com/people/20314420@N05/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7053/6858404691_8af7993062_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/20314420@N05/6858404691/)
Bird (http://www.flickr.com/photos/20314420@N05/6858404691/) by arociojr (http://www.flickr.com/people/20314420@N05/), on Flickr

[tim11]

Nice shot there Erad. I love the first one, but some empty space should be cropped.

Here is one I followed around the yard for nearly one hour.
58908

[kgosden]

Tim,

What do you guys let the circus paint your birds and trees? Seriously, nice shot and much more colorful than our local flocks here in Atlanta.

Our holly berry crop has been catching the eyes of one of the Wintering flocks of cedar waxwings. A couple of my more year round resident mockingbirds and robins have been chasing them away before they can strip the fruit completely. Too bad as cedar waxwings are one of my favorite birds. Very social as well. I had as many as 8 on my bird bath at once.

[Phill D]

Gosh those colours are pretty bright Tim but I guess that's Oz light for you.

That second waxwing shot is very nice Kg. They look like lovely birds.

I've been looking out some old shots recently so here's a couple of bird portraits I took a few years ago on holiday at a falconry display.

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[tim11]

Phill D,
I love the eagle shots.

The birds aren't all colourful like that. In fact this is the only one I shot that's multi-colours.

[Geoff Chandler]

Phil - those Falcon shots are excellent! really nice captures

[Phill D]

Thanks guys much appreciated.

[Falconest174]

Kgosden;
Great waxwing shots. Whe we had some here in 2010, feeding along the riverbank (vetch seedpods) I was never able to get that close. nice pics I am Green.:p

[kgosden]

Falconest,

Thanks. They are very jumpy birds and there is always a lookout. I am just lucky that our holly is right outside our 4x8 windows. When the light outside is just right they really cannot se me. I keep hoping to catch one in a good line of sight while they are eating, but they grab a berry, swallow and fly off in a few seconds. So far this is my best attempt.

[Falconest174]

Here are a couple, OK 3 pics of Cedar Waxwings from August of '10, the only time I have seen them here.

[kgosden]

Nice shots of those wax wings.

[Erad]

My day at Harveston in Temecula, CA

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7186/6892616977_1d11c886e4_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/20314420@N05/6892616977/)
Feed Me! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/20314420@N05/6892616977/) by arociojr (http://www.flickr.com/people/20314420@N05/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7063/6892616729_77199d97a6_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/20314420@N05/6892616729/)
Glider (http://www.flickr.com/photos/20314420@N05/6892616729/) by arociojr (http://www.flickr.com/people/20314420@N05/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7052/6892615911_11a4a371d9_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/20314420@N05/6892615911/)
The Landing (http://www.flickr.com/photos/20314420@N05/6892615911/) by arociojr (http://www.flickr.com/people/20314420@N05/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7179/6892615371_ffab248192_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/20314420@N05/6892615371/)
Coasting (http://www.flickr.com/photos/20314420@N05/6892615371/) by arociojr (http://www.flickr.com/people/20314420@N05/), on Flickr

[Phill D]

The landing is a stunner. Nicely done.

[kgosden]

Not one of mine, this is actually from my wife. There is a pair of red shouldered hawks in the woods surrounding her office. They nested just outside her building last year. Looks like they might be nesting again:) This is with her Panasonic travel zoom out her office window. I cannot seem to convince her to take the big camera in for a day or two.

[kgosden]

The right vantage point to know why this is called the yellow rumped warbler.

[kgosden]

Determination and success in the bird world.

[Erad]

Just shooting whatever came into my backyard.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7208/6831073022_1f542736b2_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/20314420@N05/6831073022/)
Bird (http://www.flickr.com/photos/20314420@N05/6831073022/) by arociojr (http://www.flickr.com/people/20314420@N05/), on Flickr

[kgosden]

Nice finch shot.

[Geoff Chandler]

Is this some kind of Egret>>>>?
(just added quickly - no editing...)

[kgosden]

Geoff,

Looks like a snowy egret.

[Geoff Chandler]

Geoff,

Looks like a snowy egret.
Thanks - I wondered....
Just spotted it in the water and quickly snapped it...

[Erad]

Bird feeding in the rain.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7055/6990648425_90c4289bf0_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/20314420@N05/6990648425/)
Bird in the Rain (http://www.flickr.com/photos/20314420@N05/6990648425/) by arociojr (http://www.flickr.com/people/20314420@N05/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7067/6990648153_3a1227f7c0_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/20314420@N05/6990648153/)
Bird in the Rain 2 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/20314420@N05/6990648153/) by arociojr (http://www.flickr.com/people/20314420@N05/), on Flickr

[kgosden]

A pair of cardinals are building a nest just outside one of our windows. The glare off the window is not very camera friendly. The male posed for a minute this morning.

[raven15]

Wow, all the current pictures on this page of the thread are pretty good. Kgosden, what did I teach you about shooting through window glass?

[Falconest174]

Shot this sequence of a pair of geese landing in a local river. Heard some raucous noise and grabbed this pair as they flew in and landed.
1. cleared for final---Honk!
2. Gear down.
3. Splash! caught the 3rd wire.:cool:

[kgosden]

So, I decided that the cardinal nest would force me to buy an interval timer trigger since I cannot be home all the time. There are two eggs in the nest since this past weekend. They should hatch in about another 7-10 days. For now I have the trigger attached to my E520 with the kit 40-150. The only real issue is that the E520 cannot run off AC power so the battery is only good for ~300 shots. Might even have to change to my old C5050Z since it is the only AC capable camera I own, but not sure it is compatible with the intervalometer.

For the time being I have the timer set to take a shot every 2 minutes. I will likely compress that once the eggs hatch. Based on today's shots I need to stop down a bit to get a bit more DOF, but I hate to lose shutter speed. Probably switch to the E5 once they hatch to bump the ISO. From my recording today the female leaves a few times for upwards of 30 minutes. I did catch one interesting, but somewhat blurry chance shot of the male stopping in to feed her.

[Phill D]

Cor great potential there kg hope to see some more great shots.

[Geoff Chandler]

Wonderfull to capture those nest images kgosden
love it!

[kgosden]

Well, no new cardinal nest photos to share. I had to go out of town to Grand Rapids, MI the end of the week. I trimmed a few little branches of my rapidly growing holly to keep a decent nest view. I left my wife in charge of batteries and memory cards on the nest camera. Too bad that meant leaving the good lens and camera at home. I did not know that my hotel in Grand Rapids would be right next to an amazing wetland pond teaming with birds and waterfowl. I do mean teaming as one tree had a pair of blue heron nests and at one point there were 7-8 adult birds roosting in the branches (there are at least 5 in the first photo). The poor little Oly XZ-1 was too little tele for them, but a few flew right over head. There was also at least a pair of hawks, a few dozen pie billed grebes, tons of canada geese and a pair of swans.

[kgosden]

Well, it seems at least one of our cardinal eggs hatched this evening. It was before I got home from Grand Rapids. My wife had setup the camera timer in the morning. The camera caught one little beak barely peaking up at 6:14. No, it is not a great shot, but it is baby's first photo :). But that blasted shallow DOF, 10-12 minutes later the proud dad is standing on the side with mom.

Hopefully I will be able to find a good vantage point in the morning. The glare on the window is bad until around 10am. Since it is the weekend I will be here to swap cards and batteries so I will set the timer to 30 second intervals from the present 2 minute one.

[kgosden]

Dad drops by pretty regular to feed mom or the kids. Boy I need a camera with good IQ at ISO6400 to get enough DOF and decent shutter speeds.

[kgosden]

It seems I catch the male feeding the chicks more than the female. The lighting is difficult inside the holly. Heavy green cast and a bit dark, especially in the afternoon. I probably should go with raw, but I do not want to spend the time to process what are effectively lucky snap shots. I also want to maximize the unattended run time as well.

[Falconest174]

KG;
Remarkable shots just the same!

[Phill D]

Yes a unique perspective keep them coming kg.

[Geoff Chandler]

Really cool captures - I especially like that last one

[kgosden]

I am getting pretty lucky with the camera just on timer. I manage to capture a few feeding sessions every hour or so. Biggest challenge there is that the shutter speed tends to be low even at ISO 800-1600 since I am trying to keep the lens in the F6-7 range. The other issue is that the parents are always between the camera and the chicks. When I left the house this morning I set the timer for 15 second intervals. We will see how long the battery lasts. With the display off, manual focus and only JPG's I have easily had 400 photos.

[Geoff Chandler]

Good luck sifting through all those then!!

[kgosden]

Seems that the camera will take at least 500 photos on a battery. At 15 seconds I get a pretty decent number of feeding shots. Even caught the male feeding his mate once or twice, but it was too much motion and quite a blur of red and brown birds in a beak to beak moment. They seem to be feeding the chicks more often today.
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[kgosden]

Lots more today, but only looked at the morning ones. I was home at lunch and trimmed a few more leaves that have been intruding. The female got a little flustered, but came back after 10 minutes. The chicks are not very attractive.
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[danwiz]

Maybe you should start a separate thread, this thread has become overrun with the nest shots. Or maybe just pick the very best one from each day. Just a suggestion from one who is getting bored by all of these mediocre nest shots.

[kgosden]

I suppose I could start a new thread, but there did not seem to be much other activity here. Using the camera on a timer and with a very limited view point I really wasn't expecting much. I am sorry you are bored, why not post a photo to wake everyone up?

[Phill D]

A separate thread would be fine, maybe Jeff could lift your posts into a new thread. I for one aren't getting bored.

[kgosden]

Decided to add to the glass collection this past week when I saw a potentially nice Sigma 50-500 4/3rds mount on ebay. It was a good copy as advertised. It does make the 50-200+EC-20 seem light, but not much bigger. In decent light it focuses well and is pretty easy to use in manual focus on the E-5. Took it down to the river this afternoon to stalk a great blue heron.

[Phill D]

I guess training with that Bigma is better than using weights. Looks like it's going to fit in well. Nice first shots. Wonder if it will work ok with your EC20 as well!? Now that would be some telephoto !

[kgosden]

Trying the EC20 and Bigma is on my list for a sunny day. I imagine I will need a tripod, not just the monopod, at those focal lengths. I have read that it works okay with the EC14.

[Falconest174]

Got these nice shots of a pair of Mallards the other day. They were resting and let me get quite close, which is unusual.

[kgosden]

I like the female better Falconest.

[Falconest174]

I do too. But I figured if I didn't show the male as well he would be jealous and bird bomb me the next time I came out to the river to shoot.:p

[kgosden]

Lots of young bluebirds in the yard this year. I counted at least 3 at one time. They are still bothering the parents on Mother's Day.

[Falconest174]

" But Mom!!" great shot, loved it!:)

[kgosden]

Thanks, Falconest. I was watching the backyard bird action a few hours today. Kept grabbing the camera even in the rain and poor light. Had a few others I wish had come out better, but can't really handhold the 50-500 at 1/30th and expect keepers. heck, it is tough enough on the monopod.

[Falconest174]

Was walking a local park and saw this Mallard drake resting in the shade. He didn't seem too pleased when I moved in for some closeups although he didn't move away. I guess he was too lazy to move out of the nice shade.