Just got off work this morning and went out birding. The birds are in heat...so this is a great time to get shots of plumage.










Forgot to mention, these were taken with my D50 and Sigma 50-500. I think the sigma tends to backfocus. Most of these shots were handheld...which is a bad idea. I ought to have brought my monopod, as the sigma is a beast.

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All I ever really needed to know, I learned from watching Star Trek.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/14/2008 05:57PM by wowzer.

Ah, yes. Speaking of "this time of year" and "birds in heat", Mr. Northern Flicker has sure been noisily staking out his claim in my back yard lately. At least this year he decided to do his machine gun imitation on something made of wood instead of the metal vent cap on the roof. That's a relief.

Your bird pictures are very nice, by the way. Except for that crow. What kind of bird is in the first picture? I don't recognize it as being any kind we have around here.

These are nice wowzer.

Yeah, I'm curious about that first bird too-- pretty sure I saw those at home in CT. I didn't have any luck figuring it out from this page: [www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov]

Alpha, what do you have against crows?

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Freya says, 'Hello from NOLA, baby!' (Laissez bon temps rouler!)

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PeterB
Yeah, I'm curious about that first bird too-- pretty sure I saw those at home in CT. I didn't have any luck figuring it out from this page: [www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov]

Alpha, what do you have against crows?

They're just big and greedy. When we had the bird feeders, the crows would come in and chase away all of the little birds, and then they not only devoured all of the food, they made a huge mess.

Actually, if a person has the time to just sit and watch crows, they're kind of funny. I especially like watching the young ones; they're just as big as their parents, but they do some really silly things.

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AlphaDog

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PeterB
Yeah, I'm curious about that first bird too-- pretty sure I saw those at home in CT. I didn't have any luck figuring it out from this page: [www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov]

Alpha, what do you have against crows?

They're just big and greedy. When we had the bird feeders, the crows would come in and chase away all of the little birds, and then they not only devoured all of the food, they made a huge mess.

Actually, if a person has the time to just sit and watch crows, they're kind of funny. I especially like watching the young ones; they're just as big as their parents, but they do some really silly things.

Actually, their being big, greedy, nasty, and messy is consistent with them being very human-like -- crows are known for being some of the most intelligent birds: [en.wikipedia.org]

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Freya says, 'Hello from NOLA, baby!' (Laissez bon temps rouler!)

Well, except for the intelligence, they do kind of remind me of the new neighbors that live behind me. You know, the big, greedy, nasty, and messy aspects.

I think that bird in the top shot is a pewee. It's a flycatcher, likes to sit out in the open, and its call sounds like its name.

Gutenberg, that's what I thought too-- except the pics on the page to which I linked didn't seem to jibe with that...

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Freya says, 'Hello from NOLA, baby!' (Laissez bon temps rouler!)

That top bird looks like it might be a mockingbird.

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Roswell, GA (Atlanta suburb)

The mockingbird? I'm new to birds...I just need targets for my photography fetish.


Actually, I think the Cardinal should be re-named to mocking-bird. That son-of-a-gun will show it's bright red colors and immediately fly away from you. I can't tell you how many times, I nearly got that bird on sensor and it zooms away. I had a lot more luck in central park---where the birds are a little more used to people. Out in the wild, birds hate people.

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All I ever really needed to know, I learned from watching Star Trek.

Mockingbird, that works! Mockingbirds have a plump profile, but maybe the angle accounts for that.

[www.tpwd.state.tx.us]
pic of a northern mockingbird.

I've seen them attack anyone who gets too close to thier nest.

oooh...maybe I ought to wear a red cardinal's football/baseball cap. That'll get the sucker to come out!

[www.tpwd.state.tx.us]

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All I ever really needed to know, I learned from watching Star Trek.

I've never seen cardinals get aggressive except with each other especially young males. They seem to playing though. Especially in the Fall.
I've never seen them attack their reflections in windows like I've seen orioles and canaries do.
All the ones I've watched are quite cautious. Will spend quite a few minutes watching a feeder before appoaching it. Even when it has come to that same feeder all Summer.
Any pics I've gotten are through windows or just a blur flying away. Same with deer.

Mockingbird, eh? My mom will be thrilled ... even though it says they have a reputation for being aggressive, I still think it's a pretty bird.

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Freya says, 'Hello from NOLA, baby!' (Laissez bon temps rouler!)

Not a Mockingbird… grey and black and white plumage.