Birding and Bird Photography

Thanks , never seen bald eagles in our area until about 10 years ago, that photo was taken in Nova Scotia

 

Beautiful capture!

 

I vacationed years ago on Campobello Island.

Bald Eagles galore.

Met the HS Vice Principal, a native, who said they started to come back a few years earlier (this would’ve been around 2007 or so). He said the arrival of the Bald Eagles coincided with a noticeable decline in the cat population.

 

From a perched position, how do you tell if it's a butio or accipiter? I know butios circle, where accipiters fly in straight lines, but have no idea how to tell the difference when they're perched.

TIA!

 

There are a lot of things, but the most obvious is length of the wings compared to the length of the tail. Accipiters have short wings and very long tails. Also, your fly in a straight line or circle thing is very general and far from 100% accurate.

 

thnx for this!

 

Beautiful Barred Owl in my parent’s back yard. Of course I was sans photo equipment...
Though I did have my phone.

 

My favorite owl.

 

Hi group!
Don’t know how I missed this thread and why I didn’t search for it earlier, but glad to found it! See a few familiar ppl, hi there buds!!
Rookie birder but do have a love for raptors!
FYI great raptor app that helped me a lot for young raptors: Raptor ID (if you haven’t heard of it)

 

This little guy was hanging around at the job site in the fall ,I think it’s Northern Saw-whet Owl . This is the only I have every seen.

 

Yep, it's a saw-whet. Cute little buggers.

 

I’m assuming the best time to spot owls are dusk? Iv never seen one in its natural habitat..... hear them but never really got into looking for one and I think I’m about to study up on some

 

Beautiful!
Not sure if you noticed, but Lov the selfie reflection in the eye!!
I noticed this before when I took some pics of alligators, zoomed in to the eye and … ha that’s me!!

 

I hope you weren’t as close to the alligators as I was to this owl

 

Might of been… lol
Was fixed on this monster 13-14’er, took some dslr and then this phone pic….. it wasn’t till after did I see the 7’ staying out of the water too!!! In the top left of the pic hiding in the grass

 

One of the benefits of the recent cold weather was we got some unexpected visitors to our little lake by our house. We don't normally see pelicans, and I caught a Kingfisher as well, poor resolution because I had to crop it so much. The Cormorants were not too happy with the pelicans moving in on their fishing grounds and kept them in check whenever they landed. The Heron flew by, but didn't stop for long with all the extra guests.

 

Love that little wood pecker....?

 

You never can tell! I have seen barred owls and great horned owls during the day and both at night as well here in south central Texas. To be honest I have not seen an owl at dusk that I can remember - it has always been around 3-5pm or after it is dark. I have a barred owl that frequents my apartment complex that I only see after 8pm in late summer.

 

I'd love to start hearing a brief description of camera/lens/equipment/camera settings on some of these posts. Some of us are ever-learning! Just a thought

 

Not my photo - It's a belted kingfisher