Birding and Bird Photography

Yeah, I want to know what $100 PnS caught that Osprey! I need a cheapie to take with me kayak fishing.

 

Stunning photos!!!

 

Some fresh pics from today kayaking Trout Creek in Thonontasassa, FL.

 

Hmmm...I'll have to look online or something. Maybe Ben knows or has a guide or something from his trip to croatia??

Thanks! I hadn't heard that but I know that they're rare. They're pretty unique to the region, too, so that makes sense.

Nice! That's quite the nice ending.

Probably European Starlings?

Understatement of the year...
Those are quite the pictures! Do you go out kayaking for the birds/just for fun or for exercise?

Finally finished editing my bird photos...I've been super busy while my girlfriend's back here visiting so I haven't had much time for editing. Photo dump time...

 

Starting off with the Oceanside Christmas Bird Count...

Some highlights:
There was a family of Red-tails living on the golf course that got all angry at each other when we were going through. That was interesting to see!
Red-tailed Hawk by 92shawman, on Flickr

Nuttall's Woodpecker by 92shawman, on Flickr

Chipping Sparrow by 92shawman, on Flickr

Hermit Thrush by 92shawman, on Flickr

 

Always neat to see the bright blue male western bluebirds!
Western Bluebird by 92shawman, on Flickr

This was a new species for my year:
American Pipit by 92shawman, on Flickr

Right at the end as we were leaving to go over to our other assigned area there was a black phoebe that swooped down and perched right in front of me. I had to back up to get him entirely in the frame and in focus!

Black Phoebe by 92shawman, on Flickr

 

Then over to the less-exciting cemetery...
First guy there was a Killdeer. We ended up seeing quite a few of them, which was a surprise!
Killdeer by 92shawman, on Flickr

And we got some good close-ups of a pair of California Gnatcatchers
California Gnatcatcher by 92shawman, on Flickr

Quite a few Selasphorus sp. hummingbirds this winter! Not sure exactly if they were Allen's or Rufous, but most, if not all, of them were probably Allen's.
Selasphorus sp. Hummingbird by 92shawman, on Flickr

A flock of Bushtits came through and the best shot I got was this "soon" one
Female Bushtit by 92shawman, on Flickr

And then we headed back over to the Audubon nature center to turn in our lists and got a nice view of this guy from the parking lot!
Red-shouldered Hawk by 92shawman, on Flickr

My mom and my total number of species was 50 and I haven't heard news of the final list yet. Might take a little while... there were quite a few teams.

 

At the nature center we heard that a pair of Hooded Mergansers that was spotted the day before had been spotted again in the same place so we headed out there on our way home. Nice views of a very pretty bird!

Hooded Merganser by 92shawman, on Flickr

It was funny to watch them flatten their crests right before they would dive.
Hooded Merganser by 92shawman, on Flickr

Hooded Merganser by 92shawman, on Flickr

 

Two days later my mom and I went to Quail/San Diego Botanical Gardens for about a half hour to look for a Varied Thrush that was reported there. We saw it within the first 15 minutes and then had a very exciting 15 minutes in the middle of a battle ground around the one flowering tree. There was at least one Townsend's Warbler, a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and a number of hummingbirds battling each other over flowers. It was interesting to see the hummingbirds really actually attacking each other but the warblers and kinglets would kinda tolerate each other as long as there was only one individual in the tree foraging at a time.

First birds we saw up in the trees were some Western Bluebirds:
Western Bluebird by 92shawman, on Flickr

Then got the Varied Thrush!
Varied Thrush by 92shawman, on Flickr

And then found the tree. Most of these are full pictures, not cropped in at all.
Selasphorus sp., likely Allen's Hummingbird by 92shawman, on Flickr

Selasphorus sp., likely Allen's Hummingbird by 92shawman, on Flickr

Townsend's Warbler by 92shawman, on Flickr

 

Moar!

Ruby-crowned Kinglet by 92shawman, on Flickr

Ruby-crowned Kinglet by 92shawman, on Flickr

Nice little Western Tanager off in a different tree.
Western Tanager by 92shawman, on Flickr

Townsend's Warbler by 92shawman, on Flickr

 

Finally, just some interesting shots.
This was cool to see how the wings articulates to provide lift at the first take-off:
Ruby-crowned Kinglet by 92shawman, on Flickr

And then this shot shows the feather details on this hummer quite well, too:
Selasphorus sp., likely Allen's Hummingbird by 92shawman, on Flickr

Selasphorus sp., likely Allen's Hummingbird by 92shawman, on Flickr

Alright, that's it from me for the moment. Gotta write up my year review like Lisa started!

 

Nice work Kevin!

 

LOL very true! Fantastic job Kevin and love the colors. -16 this morning and my 1 year old truck won't start the battery is sick of the cold already. Thanks for giving me something to warm me up.

 

Nice set Kevin!

What part of the state are you in Mike?

 

Haha, you guys have posted amazing stuff, too! I'm really happy with the participation in this thread. Doesn't even matter how great the photos are, it's all about seeing something that interests you.
Besides, most of it for me was just being in the right place at the right time and having the right gear. The right place being a place where there are tons of people yet also tons of bird food so the birds are habituated to people so that they can get the food. The right time being afternoon during a cold spell in a wintering area so the birds are all active trying to eat up before the night!

Thanks, Ian! Nice shots yourself on the last page!

Brrrrr that's chilly. I hope your truck gets over it and starts working for you again!

 

I'm in Rochester Kyle, most of the time wishing I was in Grand Marais and driving down one of the feeder roads of the Gunflint Trail. It is warmer there much of the time than here being on the Lake. The Falls however... OUCH!

 

North of Duluth at Sax Zim Bog the owls are pretty abundant this year. No snowy's though. You are pretty far from there though!