Shitting birds, for n00bs, using camera

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BeastOfExmoor: Aug 19, 2003; I will be gone, but not forever.

Here's a few photos from my recent trip to Louisiana. I hauled around my SX40 instead of my DSLR and had mixed results. Once you get a bird framed and focused the results aren't bad, but the framing and focusing can be a nightmare.

The trip was good overall and I added nine new life birds, but missed some of the ones I was hoping most for such as American Woodcock, Crested Caracara, and Northern Bobwhite. Louisiana is amazing though and if you ever get a chance to go to Cameron Prairie or Grand Isle I highly suggest you do so.

Broad-Winged Hawk by beastofexmoor, on Flickr

Fulvous Whistling Duck by beastofexmoor, on Flickr

Red-Cockaded Woodpecker by beastofexmoor, on Flickr

PipingPlover by beastofexmoor, on Flickr

Here's a couple videos of a very cooperative Clapper Rail. Normally rails are that sit in the cat tails completely invisible at you feet (at least that's how my Ridgeway's and King Rail experiences were), so this was quite a surprise. I saw another one later doing the same thing.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/beastofexmoor/15323819824/in/photostream/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/beastofexmoor/15946103555/in/photostream/

And a little closer to home:

Edmonds Pacific Loon by beastofexmoor, on Flickr

BeastOfExmoor fucked around with this message at 17:34 on Dec 4, 2014

# ? Dec 4, 2014 17:28

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# ? May 16, 2024 23:05

polyfractal: Dec 20, 2004; Unwind my riddle.

InternetJunky posted:

Finding owls is entirely dependent on the species. Some species can be found throughout the day (Hawk Owl for example), but to find others depends on a lot of factors. The colder it gets the better your chance to see species like Great Greys since they basically have to hunt 24/7 if it's really cold.

It really helps if you can get some locations from local birder groups. I work a lot with owl banders and as a result I get a huge advantage in finding certain species. The main area I go for Great Greys has a lot of them in a relatively small area. If you were to just go out and drive around looking for them you could drive all winter and never see a single one. Check ebird and see where people are finding them.

I would love to shoot owls on bright sunny days, but sadly I hardly ever find any when it's like that. Most of my owl shots are on completely overcast days because that seems to be another trigger to see them during the day. Shooting snow scenes is a bitch and I still don't really know the best way to expose properly. By default I shoot at +2 EV now and accept the fact I'm going to be getting overexposed snow.

Makes sense, thanks. I found a few birding groups in the area, and it looks like there is an owl-banding operation too. I'll contact them to see what's what

BeastOfExmoor posted:

In InternetJunky's case it really helps to be located in Alberta where you get more species that are visible during the day (Northern Hawk Owl, Great Gray Owl, Snowy Owl). Those of us farther south usually have to settle for Short-Eared Owls as our only daytime hunter.

At least we don't live in a frozen wasteland, I suppose.

A few new photos:

Red-Shouldered Hawk by zacharytong, on Flickr
Not a great picture, but personally satisfying. This hawk lived behind our last house and I heard it every day, but could never find it for a photo. The day before we moved out, it finally landed on a tree that I could see and screeched for like an hour in plain view. Huzzah!

Warbler? by zacharytong, on Flickr
Help ID'ing this? Some kind of warbler I think, but hell if I know which.

Rough-Legged Hawk? by zacharytong, on Flickr
I think this is a Rough-Legged Hawk, but I'm not sure either. It is supposed to migrate through this area in November, so it's a bit late for that...but I read that sometimes they stick around if the hunting is good.

# ? Dec 5, 2014 02:15

BetterLekNextTime: Jul 22, 2008; It's all a matter of perspective...; Grimey Drawer

polyfractal posted:

Warbler? by zacharytong, on Flickr
Help ID'ing this? Some kind of warbler I think, but hell if I know which.

American Goldfinch. The bill is like a sharp chisel. Their plumage can be kind of tricky since they go from bright yellow to drab, and sometimes you catch them half-way inbetween like this guy with the yellow face.

quote:

Rough-Legged Hawk? by zacharytong, on Flickr
I think this is a Rough-Legged Hawk, but I'm not sure either. It is supposed to migrate through this area in November, so it's a bit late for that...but I read that sometimes they stick around if the hunting is good.

Red-tailed hawk. The juvies don't have the red-tail yet. Rough-legged are really dainty looking for a buteo.

# ? Dec 5, 2014 02:37

polyfractal: Dec 20, 2004; Unwind my riddle.

BetterLekNextTime posted:

American Goldfinch. The bill is like a sharp chisel. Their plumage can be kind of tricky since they go from bright yellow to drab, and sometimes you catch them half-way inbetween like this guy with the yellow face.

Red-tailed hawk. The juvies don't have the red-tail yet. Rough-legged are really dainty looking for a buteo.

Thanks! I immediately thought "goldfinch" but discarded the idea after a quick google image search showed only bright yellow/black birds. Didn't realize their plumage changed so dramatically for winter.

# ? Dec 5, 2014 02:58

Moon Potato: May 12, 2003

BetterLekNextTime posted:

Red-tailed hawk. The juvies don't have the red-tail yet. Rough-legged are really dainty looking for a buteo.

That, and this hawk has the telltale dark patagials and belly band of a red-tail. Nice shot, though - it looks like it just ate a rodent or small bird.

# ? Dec 5, 2014 04:48

polyfractal: Dec 20, 2004; Unwind my riddle.

Moon Potato posted:

That, and this hawk has the telltale dark patagials and belly band of a red-tail. Nice shot, though - it looks like it just ate a rodent or small bird.

Oh neat, is that what's causing the bump along it's throat/chest? I didn't even notice that until now. Should have posted this variant of the photo instead, it shows the bump a bit better:

Red-tailed Hawk by zacharytong, on Flickr

Edit: while we are playing the "Polyfractal cannot ID hawks" game, could I get a second opinion on this one? Not a good shot at all (was flying away when I showed up) but I'm curious what it is. Another Red-Tail? The eyes look wrong, but maybe they were just fully dilated? This was shot about twenty yards from the other one, so they may have been a pair.

I'm a Hawk by zacharytong, on Flickr

polyfractal fucked around with this message at 14:27 on Dec 5, 2014

# ? Dec 5, 2014 13:56

Kenshin: Jan 10, 2007

polyfractal posted:

Edit: while we are playing the "Polyfractal cannot ID hawks" game, could I get a second opinion on this one? Not a good shot at all (was flying away when I showed up) but I'm curious what it is. Another Red-Tail? The eyes look wrong, but maybe they were just fully dilated? This was shot about twenty yards from the other one, so they may have been a pair.

I'm a Hawk by zacharytong, on Flickr

The closest match in my Sibley guide is juvenile rough-legged hawk.

Notice the very large brown splotch on the belly that continues into a "belt" and the distinctive dark wrist patches on the underside of the wings. The white flight feathers with dark tips are also unique to rough-legged it looks like.

The small beak and mostly pale face with a very thin "eyebrow" could also be only a juvenile rough-legged or juvenile Swainson's hawk and the rest of the coloration is nothing like a Swainson's, so it must be a juvenile rough-legged hawk.

Kenshin fucked around with this message at 15:59 on Dec 5, 2014

# ? Dec 5, 2014 15:57

polyfractal: Dec 20, 2004; Unwind my riddle.

Kenshin posted:

The closest match in my Sibley guide is juvenile rough-legged hawk.

Notice the very large brown splotch on the belly that continues into a "belt" and the distinctive dark wrist patches on the underside of the wings. The white flight feathers with dark tips are also unique to rough-legged it looks like.

The small beak and mostly pale face with a very thin "eyebrow" could also be only a juvenile rough-legged or juvenile Swainson's hawk and the rest of the coloration is nothing like a Swainson's, so it must be a juvenile rough-legged hawk.

Thanks for the detailed explanation, that really helps. Ironically, I thought I had photographed both of those hawks...except I labeled them backwards

In other news, I just read this: http://www.projectsnowstorm.org/posts/report-arctic/

quote:

In a core study plot of 100 km2 (39 square miles) that has been systematically searched every year since the late 1980s, the previous record number of nests was 13, found in 2004. This summer, we were thrilled to send that record to the archives when we found 20 active nesting pairs in the same study plot. Such density had never been recorded on Bylot Island before!

[...]

Overall, including a larger portion of the Island, the total number of nests found was 116, surpassing the previous total of 33 nests found in 2010. These owls had plenty of lemmings to eat, but the availability of food didn�t seem to be as great as in 2013 in the Salluit region, so the number of fledglings might be lower than what was seen during summer 2013.

[...]
Given the high density of nests, we are nonetheless expecting to see some snowy owls this winter, but we�ll have to wait and see if the numbers get close to what we had last winter. However, exciting early reports (as of 17 Nov.) of snowy owls have already come in from southern Quebec, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Maryland, to name only a few places. The 2014-15 winter story is about to unfold before us. So grab your binoculars and long-johns, and let�s get ready to head out!

So that's exciting

# ? Dec 6, 2014 00:04

ExecuDork: Feb 25, 2007; We might be fucked, sir.; Fallen Rib

Awww... the Bylot Island crew were always pretty :3:

on radio sked. When it wasn't some super-bubbly highly excited (and can you blame her?) undergrad assistant, it was a very proper, very Oxbridge, very British voice describing the weather in semi-technical terms.

Especially when we could hear them but Resolute Main (the logistics center of the Canadian Arctic) could just barely make them out ("one-by-one" for "gently caress no I can't hear a word you say", in contrast to "five-by-five" for loud-and-clear). In that case, Resolute Main will request "a series of rogers if everything is OK and you have no traffic" - it's common for the conversation's clarity to be highly asymmetrical.

Nothing quite like a proper British professor type very carefully stating "ROGER. ROGER. ROGER. ROGER" through the radio.

# ? Dec 6, 2014 02:13

Fraction: Mar 27, 2010; CATS RULE DOGS DROOL

FERRETS ARE ALSO PRETTY MEH, HONESTLY

I went out today looking for robins (they're one of my favourite animals, and I didn't have a fancy camera last year so couldn't really get decent photos of them). I've seen a couple here and there but they must have known my intentions today because they were out in force. Either that, or there was just two or three robins that were stalking me :v:

European Robin by straygiraffe, on Flickr

European Robin by straygiraffe, on Flickr

(Cross posted to Critterquest thread)

# ? Dec 6, 2014 18:37

torgeaux: Dec 31, 2004; I serve...

He did not like me walking up to the phone pole he was hunting from. Only had my 85mm with me, so a bit too heavily cropped.

Hawk by torgeaux, on Flickr

# ? Dec 6, 2014 18:51

StarkingBarfish: Jun 25, 2006; Novus Ordo Seclorum

Fraction posted:

Those are really nice. I loving love robins, and my favorite photo from this time last year is this one:

Robin! 2 by barfish, on Flickr

# ? Dec 7, 2014 01:08

InternetJunky: May 25, 2002

Today I went out looking for owls and struck out, but what I found kind of surprised me.

Wild? Turkey

I live in Alberta and found this guy (and 15 others) about 1 hour north of Edmonton. The only place to find wild turkeys is way in the southern part of the province. I don't know if I should do an ebird report or not since I could very well be reporting some birds that escaped some guy's farm.

Fraction posted:

European Robin by straygiraffe, on Flickr

StarkingBarfish posted:

Those are really nice. I loving love robins, and my favorite photo from this time last year is this one:

Robin! 2 by barfish, on Flickr

I wish the North American Robin looked like this guy. They are adorable.

torgeaux posted:

He did not like me walking up to the phone pole he was hunting from. Only had my 85mm with me, so a bit too heavily cropped.

Hawk by torgeaux, on Flickr

90% of my hawk shots are basically the same as this. They have an amazing ability of keeping as much of the power line in your shot as possible when they fly away.

# ? Dec 7, 2014 03:42

Fart Amplifier: Apr 12, 2003

Missed the focus and the framing, but still ended up liking this

DSC_4749.jpg by Steven Sarginson, on Flickr

# ? Dec 7, 2014 04:23

ExecuDork: Feb 25, 2007; We might be fucked, sir.; Fallen Rib

Ravens are great. Nice shot!

Some birds from this summer, northern Saskatchewan.
A merganser of some variety that nervously watched us as we paddled by.

Day 4 Merganser 1 by Execudork, on Flickr

Baby loon!

Day 4 Loon Family 2 by Execudork, on Flickr

Day 4 Loon Family 4 by Execudork, on Flickr

Day 4 Loon Family 9 by Execudork, on Flickr

# ? Dec 7, 2014 07:30

vxsarin: Oct 29, 2004; ASK ME ABOUT MY AP WIRE PHOTOS

InternetJunky posted:

Wild? Turkey

most definitely. that's what the wild ones look like

# ? Dec 7, 2014 16:20

BeastOfExmoor: Aug 19, 2003; I will be gone, but not forever.

Turkey's are expanding pretty rapidly so it doesn't shock me. I have wondered if there are efforts, either government run or illegally by hunters, to plant turkeys in new places.

David Sibley posted this humorous photo on the subject a week or two ago.

# ? Dec 7, 2014 16:39

Fraction: Mar 27, 2010; CATS RULE DOGS DROOL

FERRETS ARE ALSO PRETTY MEH, HONESTLY

StarkingBarfish posted:

Those are really nice. I loving love robins, and my favorite photo from this time last year is this one:

Robin! 2 by barfish, on Flickr

Thanks! Your Robin photo is way better though. I need a better cam or glass

# ? Dec 7, 2014 20:30

Moon Potato: May 12, 2003

A Peregrine Falcon spooked the kingfisher I was trying to film yesterday, but on the plus side I got to film a Peregrine Falcon instead. I set up to track it diving toward the shorebirds on the bay, but it went behind me and made a pass at a Bufflehead instead. Tracking it was kind of rough while walking around the tripod, but there's a few seconds of excellent footage at the end.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3IfjSFpYZg

Bath time for a young cormorant
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umMZ77QreNQ

# ? Dec 7, 2014 21:36

BetterLekNextTime: Jul 22, 2008; It's all a matter of perspective...; Grimey Drawer

BeastOfExmoor posted:

Turkey's are expanding pretty rapidly so it doesn't shock me. I have wondered if there are efforts, either government run or illegally by hunters, to plant turkeys in new places.

David Sibley posted this humorous photo on the subject a week or two ago.

Yup- many introductions/reintroductions. I think in the early/mid 20th century there were some private introductions from hunting clubs, but now it's mostly state sanctioned releases. Here in California, turkeys were absent at the time of European contact. Lots of birds brought in mid late 1900's, to the point that the state was sued to stop releases because of worries about impacts on native plants and animals.

# ? Dec 7, 2014 22:21

Kenshin: Jan 10, 2007

Two to share today.

Golden-crowned sparrow (first winter), Discovery Park, Seattle
Really happy with this shot, I followed a song sparrow over to a foot trail where this golden-crowned was looking for food on the ground. I held very still and kept snapping pictures and the golden-crowned just kept browsing its way closer and closer to me.

I found this song sparrow taking a cold, dirty bath in a puddle by its excited chirping.

# ? Dec 8, 2014 00:39

neckbeard: Jan 25, 2004; Oh Bambi, I cried so hard when those hunters shot your mommy...

Probably last chance I'll have to watch the falcons this month, only a Gyrfalcon was hunting today, it hit 5 pigeons before finally making a kill. It came back a couple hours later and we were hoping to see it chase down some mallards that were buzzing around, but it didn't leave it's perch to pursue them. A Bald Eagle has been hanging around the are this past week, but it's only flyby the area was behind me and into the sun.

Gyrfalcon hunting by tylerhuestis, on Flickr

Gyrfalcon hunting by tylerhuestis, on Flickr

And the kill, it actually dropped the pigeon then dove down ~5 feet and got it again

Gyrfalcon hunting by tylerhuestis, on Flickr

# ? Dec 8, 2014 05:35

vxsarin: Oct 29, 2004; ASK ME ABOUT MY AP WIRE PHOTOS

dude! those feathers! It's like it's out of a cartoon

# ? Dec 8, 2014 05:49

accipter: Sep 12, 2003

Amazing gyrfalcon pictures! I love the feathers. What city were the pictures taken in?

# ? Dec 8, 2014 06:06

VelociBacon: Dec 8, 2009

How are you nailing focus on all of these shots? Center point AF and praying?

# ? Dec 8, 2014 06:16

BeastOfExmoor: Aug 19, 2003; I will be gone, but not forever.

Wow. Those are loving amazing.

# ? Dec 8, 2014 06:16

Kenshin: Jan 10, 2007

Simply fantastic mid-flight shots. You got really lucky with the angle of the sun!

# ? Dec 8, 2014 07:13

BetterLekNextTime: Jul 22, 2008; It's all a matter of perspective...; Grimey Drawer

congrats dude those are amazing.

# ? Dec 8, 2014 08:07

StarkingBarfish: Jun 25, 2006; Novus Ordo Seclorum

neckbeard posted:

Gyrfalcon hunting by tylerhuestis, on Flickr

This is spectacular. You're making that 150-600 work!

# ? Dec 8, 2014 08:39

Pablo Bluth: Sep 7, 2007; I've made a huge mistake.

I can say I'm jealous of those. Especially the one with the trail of feathers.

# ? Dec 8, 2014 09:19

neckbeard: Jan 25, 2004; Oh Bambi, I cried so hard when those hunters shot your mommy...

Thanks everyone

accipter posted:

Amazing gyrfalcon pictures! I love the feathers. What city were the pictures taken in?

Edmonton, Canada

VelociBacon posted:

How are you nailing focus on all of these shots? Center point AF and praying?

Continuous-servo AF mode

Kenshin posted:

Simply fantastic mid-flight shots. You got really lucky with the angle of the sun!

Not really lucky, set up directly south of the building it hunts from by about 100m and when there's action it usually comes toward where everyone is all set up, some people are set up a bit closer, but off at an angle they sometimes have trees in the way. It's December and I'm up north so the sun is directly behind me and never that high up in the sky.

StarkingBarfish posted:

This is spectacular. You're making that 150-600 work!

Thanks, I seriously love this lens. On a crop-body it's the best value for money, there was a guy out yesterday with a full-frame using a 500 f/4 with a 1.4 teleconverter, while I'm certain he's getting better shots than I am, but would I want to spend 10 times as much money for his setup? Not with my current financial situation

# ? Dec 8, 2014 14:56

Moon Potato: May 12, 2003

Holy poo poo, neckbeard. Those are great!

# ? Dec 8, 2014 21:58

ExecuDork: Feb 25, 2007; We might be fucked, sir.; Fallen Rib

From a canoe trip down Eagle Creek and the North Saskatchewan River in May of this year.
White-throated Sparrow

Eagle Creek 2014 1 by Execudork, on Flickr
American White Pelican

Eagle Creek 2014 9 by Execudork, on Flickr
Northern Harrier as a bookmark

Eagle Creek 2014 12 by Execudork, on Flickr
Canada Goose

Eagle Creek 2014 24 by Execudork, on Flickr

# ? Dec 9, 2014 05:07

Moon Potato: May 12, 2003

I got a shot of a Northern Harrier diving at another hawk today - it looks like a juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk to me, but I'm not 100% sure (I didn't get a look at the backs of its wings, unfortunately). Any other guesses for a hawk looking like that in Northern California?

harrier-rsh by Redwood Planet, on Flickr

# ? Dec 10, 2014 06:04

Kenshin: Jan 10, 2007

Sure looks like one, look at that distinctive beak, nothing else with anything like that plumage in the Sibley guide with a beak like that.

# ? Dec 10, 2014 06:12

TheMirage: Nov 6, 2002

Got my first Falcon shots this weekend. Too bad it was overcast.

Merlin by justincook5376, on Flickr

Merlin by justincook5376, on Flickr

Also went back to the same spot I found this sleepy guy a couple of weeks ago.

Eastern Screech Owl by justincook5376, on Flickr

Eastern Screech Owl by justincook5376, on Flickr

Bonus Junco

Dark Eyed Junco by justincook5376, on Flickr

# ? Dec 14, 2014 19:46

vxsarin: Oct 29, 2004; ASK ME ABOUT MY AP WIRE PHOTOS

TheMirage posted:

Dark Eyed Junco by justincook5376, on Flickr

Never get sick of seeing these guys.

# ? Dec 15, 2014 20:59

Kenshin: Jan 10, 2007

I love how different they look depending on the region. That one is a beautiful slate-colored example, here in WA we get the "Oregon morph" ones most often that have chestnut colors on them. Always fun to watch them browse for food in little flocks. :3: