Love it!
Got any bird pics?
- Thread starter Wadin' Boot
- Start date
Gyrfalcon22
Life of the Party
Great to see all the bird postings on here ! Nice work.
Here is a flock of Brewer's blackbirds on an old Oak tree with a big moon about a week back.
Here is a flock of Brewer's blackbirds on an old Oak tree with a big moon about a week back.
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Gyrfalcon22
Life of the Party
A favorite whenever I see them, which is rare. Northern Shrike-the "Butcher Bird." Really a unique bird that is like a mix between a jay and a kestrel.
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You often hear the calls of a marsh wren from deep in the reeds and maybe have a few fleeting views as it flits around. You know from its call that it is right there in front of you, but seeing it is a different story. But every so often, one pops up and gives you a chance for a clear view.
Steve
Steve
It is easy when you are visiting a place like Nisqually Wildlife Refuge or Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge to focus on larger birds: geese, ducks, herons, cranes, eagles, etc. And a number of the small insectivorous birds have migrated south to warmer climes. But if you pay attention, there are a number of insectivores still in residence. In fact, the bare branches on the deciduous trees and shrubs make these small active birds easier to spot. Individuals of some species, such as wrens, tend to remain in the same area while others, such as chickadees and kinglets, follow a regular circuit. It is quite common to have mixed flocks of two species of chickadees, two species of kinglets, nuthatches, and juncoes in these flocks.
Among the winter residents are yellow-jumped warblers; this is one of the few warbler species which has some individuals that overwinter in the PNW.
Golden-crowned kinglets travel in small flocks. They rarely are still and can be a challenge to photograph. But shoot enough and you'll catch one.
Ruby-crowned kinglets travel in smaller groups but are just as frenetic in their activities as they scan the branches and stems for tasty morsels.
More range-limited birds include Bewick's wrens,
spotted towhees,
and golden-crowned sparrows.
Large and small. It's all good.
Steve
Among the winter residents are yellow-jumped warblers; this is one of the few warbler species which has some individuals that overwinter in the PNW.
Golden-crowned kinglets travel in small flocks. They rarely are still and can be a challenge to photograph. But shoot enough and you'll catch one.
Ruby-crowned kinglets travel in smaller groups but are just as frenetic in their activities as they scan the branches and stems for tasty morsels.
More range-limited birds include Bewick's wrens,
spotted towhees,
and golden-crowned sparrows.
Large and small. It's all good.
Steve
Jim F.
Still a Genuine Montana Fossil
Outstanding Steve! Those quick & tiny "here & gone" subjects are typically both difficult & frustrating to photograph. I have my share of keepers that are perfect in every way, except the pix only show the space that the little feathered sprites had occupied after they had flitted away.
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Hi Jim,
Yeah, it's a volume game. Thankful for digital cameras vs. Kodachrome/Ectachrome. After several diving trips to the tropics, I could create a field guide to fish butts from all the buggers that decided to turn just as I was hitting the shutter button...
Steve
Jim F.
Still a Genuine Montana Fossil
Lousy picture, tough day (lots of folks enjoying a nice day) but I practiced finding & swinging-on a lot of distant flying birds today. All were w a y off, but I had fun. This Merganser was the last, so I snapped the shutter on it. Took 6 pics in the burst, this was the closest to being in-focus.
Jim F.
Still a Genuine Montana Fossil
Photogenic little bird. Nice!
Was a total surprise. Got a fleeting glimpse of one earlier when hiking a trail on South Mountain near Phoenix. Thought I missed my chance then this guy showed up at the trailhead on my way out.
MUCH more cooperative than the Gambles Quail which are everywhere around here. They're the real road runners.
Gyrfalcon22
Life of the Party
My Olympus EM-1 Mark II mirrorless has an amazing feature called Pro Capture that buffers photos with a half pressed shutter but does not keep any until you push down fully. After a couple of seconds of half pressing the shutter the buffer dumps the old and continuously fills in with new without actually storing any. When watching a bird perched where it suddenly flies and you are half pressing/buffering, you quickly push down fully and it grabs the past what the slow human reflexes missed. Really ingenious stuff and I am now getting far more keepers that were misses before.
This recent Black Phoebe would have been another missed shot and long gone in the times before my Pro Capture mode.
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Gyrfalcon22
Life of the Party
Chasing photos of songbirds is an endeavor saved for only the true masochists of wildlife photography. Nice work !
Very sharp picture! I am expecting black phoebes, which breed about as far north as Ridgefield NWR, to expand to the Puget Basin in the next decade. Have you seen any in the Chehalis Basin?
I saw a great egret at Nisqually NWR this afternoon. That is another common species at Ridgefield that I expect will move north to breed.
Steve
Gyrfalcon22
Life of the Party
Steve, that was a backyard phoebe so they are here and have had them for almost 10 years I am thinking? I see them year-round so assume we have breeders in the valley already. Even saw one today up the valley nearer to Oakville. Often see them down right on the river here.
There has been an explosion in flycatcher individuals and species locally the past 5+ years. The couple of Scissor-tail individuals the past year and the Tropical kingbirds add more to the influx. They are all very graceful birds and quite chatty.
Some are not so easy for me to ID as the Black phoebe
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Gyrfalcon22
Life of the Party
Chasing shots of flying mergansers is right up there in difficulty with pursuing tiny songbirds in thickets.
