Birding and Bird Photography

I think it's a Western Warbler's nest. It could also be a Black Headed Grosbeak.

 

Yesterday took a trip to the Mississippi River on the Wi. side, the Upper Miss. Wildlife Refuge. Rained on and off, foggy cold and low visibility but it was worth it. Rained hard all day today, and it is snowing right now so glad I went yesterday. Except for the Bald Eagles these are pretty much the first time I have seen these birds this year.

Ice is leaving and birds are coming back. But hard to get good pictures with the poor atmospheric conditions.


Saw my first Golden Eagle, they are huge compared to a Bald Eagle. Flight reminded me more of a hawk than an eagle for some reason. Only saw it for a minute and the limited flight was low and on the wrong side of the trees to get a shot. But he decided to perch for a few seconds at a distance of course, and I was able to get a shot.


Many people seem to take more pictures of the male cardinal than the female and I am guilty also. Females are starting to show more color now.


Blue Winged Teal


American Coot


Tree Swallows, talk about a difficult target LOL. Not enough sun to catch the beautiful color though.


Sandhill Cranes


Red Wing Blackbird


Northern Shoveler


Pelicans


In Flight


Grackle


Wood Duck


Bald Eagles are moving up the river to the North. Lots of local resident ones though. They mate for life and usually travel in pairs.


Juvi's travel in larger groups but almost always just 6 of them. Here a Juvi on a sandbar ~300 yards from shore caught a fish and was getting ready to eat it when an adult (above him) decided to take it away from him. You can almost read the juvi's mind as he is looking up at the adult.


Once the adult took over and started eating another juvi (7th eagle) came up behind him and ALMOST decided to fight for the food. But at the last minute banked off and flew away.


It is pretty big water and large distance most of the time. Really starting to appreciate the need for a ~600mm lens.

 

Nice ones Cold Iron! Yeah those swallows are next to impossible to shoot! I was trying to get some shots of some that were swooping down to a pond and drinking on the wing but the angles weren't right and they were too fast and too small...
Oh and would you mind posting smaller photos, please? I consider my internet connection relatively fast and it took a good 8 minutes to load that post...

Thanks! Hmmm...not sure on that one. It was flying pretty quickly. It was maybe dove-sized, so maybe just a Mourning Dove?

Holy crap, dude! Awesome birds!!! I'm super jealous!

 

I was going to ask the same.

Have a look at the beak and wing span. I think it's too big on both counts to be a dove.

 

I don't know...I think it's a bit deceptive because of the angle, but I zoomed in on the higher quality picture and it looks like both the bill and part of the head make up that bill that's extending out, but I'm not 100% sure on that. The feet are pink-ish, too. Argh!
Here it is cropped in more:

IMG_2344_edit_croppedtight by 92shawman, on Flickr

 

Moar birds!!


California Quail by 92shawman, on Flickr


Red-winged Blackbird by 92shawman, on Flickr


Red-winged Blackbird by 92shawman, on Flickr


Red-winged Blackbird by 92shawman, on Flickr

Love all the harriers out in the ag fields!

Northern Harrier by 92shawman, on Flickr

Kingbirds are so cool!

Western Kingbird by 92shawman, on Flickr

Caught two of these guys flying over the ag fields...a bit out of place

Long-billed Curlew by 92shawman, on Flickr


Savannah Sparrow by 92shawman, on Flickr

Sad one...poor little guy probably got hit by a car

Dead Savannah Sparrow by 92shawman, on Flickr

 

Hey, Mike! Nice photos. In the future you may want to choose a smaller size for posting haha my internet is pretty slow but literally every other photo on the page had loaded far before even your first one did because they are so big ha again, great shots.

 

I was guessing based on a couple of things. The MD's beak is pretty short and from that angle, I don't know the beak is long enough. Plus the width of the wings.

The legs are hard to see too. That'd be the real tell. For the BCNH, they extend behind the tail. In this photo, it looks like they're hanging a bit.

Anyway, that's my best guess.

 

Cripes Kevin you don't ever seem to run out of targets of opportunity where your at! Nice, very nice.

Sorry I thought the BBS software downsized pictures until the window header title bar was clicked. No idea it not only downloaded to the server but passes through to some clients. I re-sized them all so it should load faster now.

 

It downsizes on this side and it looks like it's every time.

 

First thought- Independent suspension can articulate. Good shots.

 

Sorry if you guys get tired of seeing this guy. But I am posting him anyway. lol


IMG_9911 by flyin' B photography, on Flickr

 

Awesome turkey shot, and crazy story behind it, too (from the official photo thread)! I thought about telling you to post it in here but figured you'd get it in here eventually

Hahahaha nice

 

Yeeeaahhh...I don't know...gonna just pass that one off as an unknown for now. Probably nothing interesting, though

haha, Hooray for getting paid to do bird field work!
Thanks for resizing them! They loaded much faster for me this time (within 20 seconds or so)

 

Thanks Kevin,
I guess i just dont realize how lucky i am to live in a city that is smack dab in the middle of the migrations, and being a coastal city helps too.
Im still waiting for someone, anyone to make a trip down. Im no professional bird guide, but i have some good hotspots to mark some species off the checklist. ANY TAKERS?lol
Kevin, I love the quail pics, we have mostly bobwhites but i have yet to snap a pic of them. Ive never seen a california quail though. Im not sure if ive asked before but what size lens are you shooting with?

Last night i broke down and used some of my tax return and ordered a Sigma 50- 500mm f/4.5 that im super stoked about. Its due to arrive on thurs. So my friday plan is to go do some birding.
My depth has just increased by 200mm, i cannot wait!!

 

Haha, my mom and I will for sure take you up on that, but it'll be a while...I'm still in school and then I'll be in and out of Ecuador to see my girlfriend.
I'm using a 400mm canon lens. It's not the longest but it works really well and is very clear so I can crop the image in to get it to look really good. A lot of times I'm pretty close to the birds anyways, though.
Nice! That's a craaaazy zoom! Can't wait to see the photos from it!

 

Sounds good, just let me know when

I have a nikon camera myself, but the nikon 500mm lenses are like double or triple the price, and thats a little outta my budget. But i am definately anxious to take some pics and see how they turn out.

 

Congrats on your new lens purchase Mark! Yeah that is a step up in reach, hope it works out well for you. And looking forward to your pics with it in the gold mine you call home

 

Heck ya man i appreciate it and im definately anxious to get it.. if anyone ever uses ebird.org i just recently registered so i can see what sighting have been spotted in your area. Its pretty cool. There are 2 secluded birding area close to my house and they have been seeing some painted buntings. That is my goal this year, i really want a stellar pic of a painted bunting, so hopefully the next time a post a few, ill have one lol