Birding and Bird Photography

P.S.



These are Clapper Rails. You find them along the shoreline. Palo Alto Baylands is a sanctuary of sorts for them. Avocets are pretty common there as well.

Oh. And some bird shooter humor.

 

That's perfectly fine! They're some damn good photos. It's nice to take dogs out on trails, I always enjoy it, they definitely look like they're having fun. But yeah, not so good for birds.

That's not a clapper rail. Rails beaks don't look anything like that; they're short and straight. I'm pretty sure it's a long-billed curlew.

Nice! I really like Avocets. They always look so pretty!
I have one of those, too, from that Ibis from Friday:

White-faced Ibis by 92shawman, on Flickr

 

I wish i could get out more and take pics. When i first got my camera I was all over the place shootin.

 

Theres the clap, so difficult to get.

 

har har, so bad.

But seriously...I've never even seen one before, but I've been to plenty of places where they've been reported. Good job photographing one!

 

Anyone wanna take a stab at what these two are?.. This was the first and only sighting ive gotten for these two species.

 

See how bad I suck? LOL.

Kevin, Palo Alto Baylands (Bay end of Embarcadero, toward the airport) is your best bet for a spot.

 

Without looking at the book, common nighthawk and some sort of heron? The first is definitely a caprimulgidae member, but I can't tell between common and lesser very well. Or maybe it's a common poorwill?
The heron I have no idea...

Edit: Looked at the book. Eastern Whip-poor-will and Least Bittern?

That's a bit of a drive for me, but the next time I head by there I'll see if I can check it out!

 

Yeah. I'm pretty sure the largest populations are between Palo Alto, Don Edwards (which is where I saw the egrets eating voles). Early spring through mid summer are the best times (for egrets too).

 

Least bittern for sure....i was thinking either whip poor whill or chucck wills widdow. Im not sure how to tell them apart... some other birders that were there told me Chucks but they coylda been wrong.

 

Thanks man, i cant take full credit bc some other birders spotted him and i happen to get lucky and be at the right place at the right time.

 

A friend got me into birding back in fall 2011. Not long thereafter I built a feeding platform with a camera housing, and have been streaming it online since. I've just been amazed by the variety of birds I get, this is what I've seen on the platform in our suburban backyard:

• Brown-Headed Cowbird (Blackbirds and Orioles)
• Common Grackle (Blackbirds and Orioles)
• Northern Cardinal (Cardinals)
• Rose-Breasted Grosbeak (Cardinals)
• Carolina Chickadee (Chickadees and Titmice)
• Tufted Titmouse (Chickadees and Titmice)
• Blue Jay (Crows, Magpies, and Jays)
• American Goldfinch (Finches)
• House Finch (Finches)
• Pine Siskin (Finches)
• Purple Finch (Finches)
• Ruby-Throated Hummingbird (Hummingbirds)
• Ruby-Crowned Kinglet (Kinglets)
• Brown Thrasher (Mockingbirds and Thrashers)
• Catbird (Mockingbirds and Thrashers)
• Mockingbird (Mockingbirds and Thrashers)
• Chipping Sparrow (New World Sparrows)
• Eastern Towhee (New World Sparrows)
• Song Sparrow (New World Sparrows)
• White-Throated Sparrow (New World Sparrows)
• Brown-headed Nuthatch (Nuthatches)
• Red-Breasted Nuthatch (Nuthatches)
• White-Breasted Nuthatch (Nuthatches)
• Mourning Dove (Pigeons and Doves)
• European Starling (Starling)
• Eastern Bluebird (Thrush)
• Myrtle Warbler (Wood Warblers)
• Pine Warbler (Wood Warblers)
• Yellow-Rumped Warbler (Wood Warblers)
• Downy Woodpecker (Woodpeckers)
• Hairy Woodpecker (Woodpeckers)
• Red-Bellied Woodpecker (Woodpeckers)
• Red-Headed Woodpecker (Woodpeckers)
• Carolina Wren (Wrens)

Here's the link if anyone's interested. It's been a little slow with the cold snap we have right now:
http://www.justin.tv/benyawd

 

^^^Nice, dude! Lookin' at the cam right now. You've got a sweet setup there! I'm jealous of some of your birds, too. I've never even heard of a Rose-breasted Grosbeak! It's really cool to see what bird people get around the continent.

Awww balls...Could be either...I just saw the rufous morph of the Chuck wills widow but there's a gray morph that looks just like the whip-poor-will. It looks like the defining characteristics would be the head size relative to the body (Chuck-wills-widow has bigger, flatter head), body size in general (Chuck wills widow is about 3 inches larger), and the white on the tail feathers (chuck wills widow has less white). That's a tough one!

 

Just took my recycling out and heard the cedar waxwings so I ran back, grabbed my camera, and went out to find them. I found them high up in a pine tree! Got some pictures of them, but probably not very good ones. But then I saw a Nuttall's woodpecker and she was kinda low in the tree, the lighting was perfect, and she posed for the camera and there were NO STICKS in the way! Perfect shot! I'll post it soon

 

Birds from today and yesterday:

Yellow-rumped Warbler by 92shawman, on Flickr


Nuttall's Woodpecker by 92shawman, on Flickr


Nuttall's Woodpecker by 92shawman, on Flickr

Finally got my cedar waxwings!

Cedar Waxwings by 92shawman, on Flickr

 

Ive never seen a nuttail woodpecker before, we have mostly gold fronted and ladderback down here

 

Went on a ski trip last weekend in Colorado, and of course i always had my eyes wondering looking for birds...heres a few shots i was able to get....i had another pic of a robin and a stellers jay male, and some ringneck ducks but the pics didnt turn out very great...i wish the goldeneye would have been in full plumage, but ill take what i can get. Can anyone ID the bird in the last photo, im thinking its some sort of female jay?

 

The last photo on Lockeman's series in Colorado is a gray jay. very nice photos, all of them. (First post from me, pardon if I mess up)

 

I'm really enjoying all these photos. The quality is incredible. Here is a photo of light-footed clapper rail, one of our endangered species in San Diego. I happened to be lucky and was working at the South San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge on a restoration project and this guy was just hanging out - until he saw me and then went to hide.

 

Saw this today , thought it was cool

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/camera-wearing-falcons-reveal-hunting-strategy-1.2510027