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Yeah, penguins are awesome but endangered for the most part  The yellow-eyed is the rarest in the world, there's only 3000 of them left. At least a lot of people in NZ are doing quite a bit to help save them, like building them burrows to hang out in and be safe. Hopefully it'll be enough 
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Sep 14, 2015 01:10
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Great stuff everyone! I'm back from a quick trip to Iceland. Many birds had already migrated but there were still some around. My tour wasn't really designed for bird photography but I got a few pics I'm reasonably happy with. Obviously a lot of other things to take pictures of in Iceland so I'm not too sad! Rock Ptarmigan. We were specifically looking for these so I got more photos of these than anything else.  North Iceland 2214 on Flickr North Iceland 2218 on Flickr North Iceland 2274 on FlickrEurasian Wigeon.  North Iceland 2167 on FlickrBlack-headed Gull  North Iceland 2133 on Flickr North Iceland 2130 on Flickr
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Sep 14, 2015 23:36
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BetterLekNextTime posted:Rock Ptarmigan. We were specifically looking for these so I got more photos of these than anything else. I like this. The background defocus is minimal, but it's a nice scene. I found a flowerbed swarming with Ruby-throated hummingbirds. It has loads of Turk's caps, Spicebushes, and Heathers for nectar, plus Crape Myrtles laden with Ball moss for bug forage. I think the birds are getting ready for migration. They were so busy gorging themselves and fussing with each other that I could approach, unnoticed: At first I tried it with my 5D. I was running up against my lens' minimum focus distance the whole time.  It was chilly on the day this was taken, and the birds were fluffed up. Then I put the 400mm onto my mirroless camera with an adapter. The FOV crop greatly enlarged the subject at minimum focus distance.  I think the above two photos are of the same individual, because of the orange thing on the beak. Don't know what it is, but it's stuck there - these shots were taken on different days. I was excited to finally get a good shot of an adult. This one has a patchy pollen toupee.  I feel like the high ISO noise is reasonably controlled in these photos. There's some artifacting on the middle one due to heavy chromatic aberration correction on the branch and beak. These were developed form raw in ACR. Any tips, especially for reducing the CA without marring the image? SMERSH Mouth fucked around with this message at 05:32 on Sep 16, 2015 |
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Sep 16, 2015 05:30
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Some bird eating bugs out the front of my house. 2015-217 by Tom Rintjema, on Flickr
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Sep 16, 2015 15:25
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Great job with the Green Herons and hummingbirds, Smersh. I'm loving those Rock Ptarmigans too, Lek. We've had a ton of exciting bird activity around lately, so I've been out shooting a lot. Three White-tailed Kites fledged right in my neighborhood, so I've been keeping tabs on them. The father disappeared right around the time the young emerged, so the mother has been working nonstop to keep everyone fed. The smallest of the young didn't last long, but the remaining two seemed healthy and were practicing their hunting skills between feedings. I didn't have very long to spend with them today, but I only saw one juvenile, so I'm a bit worried. Since they're in a residential area in rural California, rodenticides and assholes with pellet guns are looming threats. Anyhow, it's been great to get such a close look at their behavior - while wearing a cloth blind, I've been able to sit near their favorite perch and hunting grounds without disturbing them. A prey hand-off:  kite-baby-handoff by Redwood Planet, on Flickr Returning to the perch with a vole:  kite-vole-sibling by Redwood Planet, on Flickr A botched prey hand-off. Junior missed the vole with his talons and face-planted into it:  juvi-vole-faceplant by Redwood Planet, on Flickr Juveniles fighting over a vole in mid-air:  juvies-steal by Redwood Planet, on Flickr One of the juveniles was getting too aggressive while begging, and got in the way of mom's hunting. She scolded it and chased it back to the perch.  kite-mother-chase by Redwood Planet, on Flickr One of the young Belted Kingfishers at Arcata Marsh is starting to let me hang out near her fishing spots without flying off. She caught a small sculpin for me today.  princessfisher-catch by Redwood Planet, on Flickr They're removing pennywort overgrowth from a lot of the ponds at Arcata Marsh right now, so all the bitterns are gathering in the remaining ponds that have a lot of floating plants.  bittern-head2 by Redwood Planet, on Flickr An otter surfaced just a few feet in front of me to chew a frog while I was shooting this fellow, but it was well inside my minimum focal distance, so I just sat there and watched while wishing I had a different lens. Another bittern eating a red-legged frog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9PUlgmpaWo I spent the last of my memory card filming this one, then I spotted another one around some cattails just feet from where I had been standing when I got up to put my camera away. A shorebirdsplosion:  shorebird-megaflock by Redwood Planet, on Flickr And a making GBS threads bird:  kite-poop by Redwood Planet, on Flickr The USGS bird banding survey didn't have data on the Peregrine Falcon from my last post, but one of my wildlife technician friends was able to track it down through her connections. It came from the Santa Cruz area, and this is a photo from when it was banded: 
Moon Potato fucked around with this message at 09:16 on Sep 20, 2015 |
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Sep 20, 2015 08:49
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Moon Potato posted:
really liking this one
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Sep 20, 2015 15:10
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Y'all have been getting some fantastic bird shits lately. I'm finally sorting through photos from Ghana last year. This was the only bird in the whole country willing to pose nice and close.   Yellow-billed Shrike
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Sep 25, 2015 05:16
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 Morning Lorikeet. by me, on Flickr
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Sep 25, 2015 14:18
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Morning birdscenes are nice.  Edit: cropped This moment didn't quite come together as well as it could have, but hey. SMERSH Mouth fucked around with this message at 19:42 on Sep 25, 2015 |
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Sep 25, 2015 16:55
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SMERSH Mouth posted:Morning birdscenes are nice. Yeah I like watching them eat those plants, it's hard to photograph because they don't do it when you are close enough to take a shot, but they jump from branch to branch and always just about fall off and get mad. Even the cockatoos do it, but they are never around when I have my camera.
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Sep 25, 2015 21:06
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 Satin Bowerbird in the rain by A Saucy Bratwurst, on Flickr Satin Bowerbird by ASB, on FlickrWent 4 wheel driving, found this guy. Wish it wasn't raining so I could follow him to his nest, for anyone who doesn't know, these are the birds that attract mates by making nests with loads of blue stuff, including Australian money:   Pied Currawong by Saucy Bratwurst, on FlickrThere were tonnes of these Currawongs too. Wish I could have taken more photos but we had to go before the trail got rained out. underage at the vape shop fucked around with this message at 08:08 on Sep 26, 2015 |
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Sep 26, 2015 07:41
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Loving all the shots of non-North American birds! 
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Sep 26, 2015 13:13
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A Saucy Bratwurst posted:
We had a school of surfperch come into Butcher's Slough yesterday afternoon. The waders were so preoccupied by it that they didn't care about having a photographer sit right next to them on the bank.  ge-fish-grab by Redwood Planet, on Flickr  gbh-strike-splash2 by Redwood Planet, on Flickr  gbh-fish-snag by Redwood Planet, on Flickr  ge-strike-headon by Redwood Planet, on Flickr A Greater Yellowlegs caught a tiny crab, too.  yellowlegs-crab by Redwood Planet, on Flickr
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Sep 26, 2015 21:14
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Thanks! These are the other 3 of the same Bowerbird/another Currawong that I took, the 30-40 I took of parrots/finchlike things came out horrible.  Satin Bowerbird by me, on Flickr Pied Currawong by me, on Flickr Satin Bowerbird with drips by me, on FlickrI really feel this one is the only one I got that got close to capturing how striking his eyes were in person, which is why I kept it, pity about those water drops. underage at the vape shop fucked around with this message at 15:23 on Sep 27, 2015 |
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Sep 27, 2015 15:21
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A Saucy Bratwurst posted:Went 4 wheel driving, found this guy. Wish it wasn't raining so I could follow him to his nest, for anyone who doesn't know, these are the birds that attract mates by making nests with loads of blue stuff, including Australian money: Is that Inspector John Robinson from Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries?  Great shots BTW. Pictures of dark coloured birds are hard.
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Sep 27, 2015 22:48
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There's an art gallery / store in my area (in the US) called Bower Bird, with a big neon sign in the shape of what I up until now thought was just a crow or raven (either of which I assumed was called a 'bower bird' in some regional idiom). Know I know better. Nice photos, too. It's herons all the way down for me, it seems. This Tricolor heron allowed me to approach rather close. It seemed to be preoccupied with fishing. Wasn't until it hopped onto a log that I noticed that one of its legs was injured. Hard to say how bad, but it wasn't dangling or showing exposed bone. My guess is that a snapping turtle nicked it. It managed to find a few fish, then flew away.   Most of the shots have the injured leg in them, but these two don't. It felt a little bit like cheating to take photos of an injured bird, but it didn't seem to pay me any mind at all. I stayed on the dock, and it only flew off after I had walked away from it. The area where these photos were taken offers a year-round source of fish and plenty of cover. Maybe the bird will make it? If not, some of these guys will clean up the mess. 
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Sep 28, 2015 02:58
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Geektox posted:Is that Inspector John Robinson from Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries? SMERSH Mouth posted:There's an art gallery / store in my area (in the US) called Bower Bird, with a big neon sign in the shape of what I up until now thought was just a crow or raven (either of which I assumed was called a 'bower bird' in some regional idiom). I'm glad you both enjoyed them! The guy on the note is way more boring than that, he a famous poet from a long time ago, I'm pretty sure that's one of his more famous works in very tiny print behind his portrait, but I don't have a $10 to check. I think they might be going for the idea that their store is a big nest of pretty things, cause thats what bowerbirds do, but it doesn't work if no one knows what they are. I can't stop looking at that herons neck in the first one, it just looks so odd. I like it. Hopefully he'll be ok
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Sep 28, 2015 03:35
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I love this shot. I got back last week from spending an extended weekend in McAllen, TX, going to Quinta Mazatlan World Birding Center and Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge. I struggled with the unreliable/dying autofocus system on my Tamron 150-600mm the entire time (time to take it in for warranty repairs!) but it worked well enough to get some fun shots of birds I don't ever get to see here in the Pacific North West. I don't know what all of these birds are but I've figured most of them out.  ruby-throated hummingbird (I think)   ladder-backed woodpecker  western kingbird  black-necked stilt  great egret (autofocus issues!)  least flycatcher  barn swallows on a wire   curve-billed thrasher  plain chachalaca  I *think* this is a ruby-throated hummingbird but I'm not at all sure  buff-bellied hummingbird  Inca dove  plain chachalaca lounging in the sun for a few minutes  curve-billed thrasher in the shade  northern mockingbird  Harris's hawk (I have some photos of another much closer but they are severely backlit. ) some sort of vireo? flycatcher?  fleeting view of a greater roadrunner (70-100 meters away)
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Sep 28, 2015 19:34
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Kenshin posted:
Yikes! I hope dying autofocus in the Tamron isn't a thing. Looks like an awesome trip otherwise! Thanks for sharing all the photos. When I was in that area I just had a Panasonic bridge camera- hope to go back sometime with time for a little photography. quote:I don't know what all of these birds are but I've figured most of them out. quote:quote:
quote:
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Sep 28, 2015 20:31
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Nice south Texas birds. I really want to get down there when I'm back in Texas, but it's such a far drive from Waco that it's would eat up a significant chunk of any visit. This is a black-crested titmouse. quote:
quote:quote:
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Sep 28, 2015 20:43
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BetterLekNextTime posted:Tufted Titmouse McAllen is out of range for tufted titmice, but in range for black-crested. It sort of looks like a shadow, but the front of the crest is entirely black on this bird.
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Sep 28, 2015 20:45
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EPICAC posted:McAllen is out of range for tufted titmice, but in range for black-crested. It sort of looks like a shadow, but the front of the crest is entirely black on this bird. Derp- thanks. I looked up Bridled but forgot Black-crested...
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Sep 28, 2015 20:51
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Kenshin posted:
Brown thrasher rather than curve-billed I think.
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Sep 28, 2015 21:49
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Cythereal posted:Brown thrasher rather than curve-billed I think. Actually Long-billed, didn't catch that earlier.
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Sep 28, 2015 21:54
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BetterLekNextTime posted:You're on your own here! I have a really hard time with Empids. EPICAC posted:This is definitely a flycatcher. I'm not great at flycatchers, but my guess this is an olive-sided flycatcher. Again, I could be wrong here. A little help so you don't have to embarrass yourselves again:  (Fwd: Fwd: Re: Fwd: Re: Re: Re: Empids)
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Sep 28, 2015 22:24
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Kenshin posted:
My bittern stakeout failed yesterday evening, but I got a juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron and Snowy Egret having a scuffle over a perch at their roost. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHjUpyBQXRg
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Sep 28, 2015 23:32
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Nice collection there. I'm hoping to get in on the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival this year, but it's tempting to just make a weekend trip of it before then. I'm about 4 - 5 hours away. Of course, I see a lot of the same species nearby where I live, but the relatively more exotic stuff like the chachalaca and of course the hummingbird variety would be a big draw for me. Although I probably just need to hit up some points to the immediate east of my location before turning south for a long haul. I've seen created caracaras out there before, but don't yet have any photos.
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Sep 29, 2015 00:13
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It's been awhile since I've seen the local merlin while I've been out walking my dog, saw it this afternoon, shortly after this it got chased away by 2 magpies Merlin by Tyler Huestis, on FlickrI went out looking for snow geese migrating last week, didn't see any on the ground/at lakes, but saw a flock of 50-100 fly overhead. Also saw another merlin with a cedar waxwing prey on a fence post, but was too far away/had road heat distortion so the pic didn't turn out. Heading out to Vancouver Island next week, so will hopefully be able to photograph a different variety of birds
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Sep 29, 2015 01:41
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Kenshin posted:
Sorry I missed ID chat yesterday, but I have one more correction. Western Kingbird would have yellow that turns to gray on the upper chest and a much smaller bill than this bird. This is either a Couch's or Tropical Kingbird. Couch's is the more common of the two, but they are very similar in appearance. Couch's has the smaller bill of the two and this bird's bill looks right for Couch's, but its hard to completely eliminate Tropical without hearing the bird itself. edit: Kenshin posted:
First one is definitely an empid. I think you're probably correct on Least, but I'd have a hard time saying for sure. Short wings look right for Least. Second one is a Wood-Pewee, I believe. The front almost looks right for Olive-Sided, but Olive-Sided should show a much more of an obvious vest than this bird. Range is better for Eastern Wood-Pewee, and I think it looks closer to that species than Western, but again I don't think I can say anything for certain. BeastOfExmoor fucked around with this message at 22:42 on Sep 29, 2015 |
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Sep 29, 2015 22:34
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There were a shitton of finches and robins out in the neighbourhood this morning House Finch (male) by Tyler Huestis, on Flickr House Finch (female) by Tyler Huestis, on Flickr
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Sep 30, 2015 20:14
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Digging the composition and colors on the first one especially. Although you could maybe crop out a little bit from the left side. The House finch is a common enough sight around here, but I always tend to find them in poor lighting.
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Oct 1, 2015 06:11
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Just a common white-wing dove, but I liked how the setting worked out. 
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Oct 2, 2015 23:30
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The simpleness of it works really well. Is it missing a toe on its left foot?
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Oct 4, 2015 04:35
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Thanks. I think it's just twisted one of its forward-facing toes backward on its right. I believe they are normally anisodactyl. This one's just in a weird position.
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Oct 4, 2015 05:31
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We've had a big flock of Elegant Terns around Humboldt Bay for the last few days. They came to fish right in front of me while I was staking out a shorebird/falcon hotspot. tern-swoop by Redwood Planet, on Flickr  tern-sploosh2 by Redwood Planet, on Flickr This one was having difficulty swallowing a stickleback, and dropped it a couple times before eating it.  tern-stickleback by Redwood Planet, on Flickr Eared Grebes are showing up on the coast again.  eared-grebe-float by Redwood Planet, on Flickr  eared-grebes by Redwood Planet, on Flickr
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Oct 4, 2015 23:54
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What my photos lack in technical skill they make up in the rarity of taking birds that are super common. Fantail:  Wai-o-Tapu by Hannah, on FlickrGrey warbler I think:  Wai-o-Tapu by Hannah, on Flickr
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Oct 9, 2015 05:00
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I went to our wonderful Woodland Park Zoo here in Seattle last week. The golden crowned kinglet is wild, everything else is captive. I know, I know, captive birds, but it does allow me to get close-in portraits.       
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Oct 9, 2015 05:54
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We've barely had a break in the clouds here this week, but we have even more Peregrine Falcons showing up at Arcata Marsh now. I've counted at least 6 individuals in the last couple months. peregrine-approach2 by Redwood Planet, on Flickr The two remaining juvenile White-tailed Kites in McKinleyville are now too cool to hang out with their mom. They're hunting for themselves and watching out for one another.  juvi-kiting by Redwood Planet, on Flickr Great Egret fishing at its favorite tidal sluice:  bruce-strike by Redwood Planet, on Flickr The Long-billed Curlews usually don't let me get too close, but this one seemed to want to find crabs and worms in a tidal channel more than it wanted to avoid me.  curlew-wade by Redwood Planet, on Flickr
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Oct 10, 2015 01:48
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This Red-tail was ripping the guts out of a chipmunk. Red-tail and chipmunk by Jason the Hutt, on Flickr
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Oct 13, 2015 01:52
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Amazing. I've got some shots of my local Red-shoulded hawk with a rat, but nothing so close or well-lit. Poor chipmunk  Here's a mockingbird that stood its ground as I approached, and a Golden-fronted woodpecker that'd been evading me for some time now, but which I finally caught in a reasonably appropriate position to be photographed.   The fall weather has been coming along lately, and with it the first of the winter migrants. I've been seeing some Scissor-tailed flycatchers and assorted wrens and goldfinches in the area, but I'm still watching for the warblers. Had the day off and not much to do today, so I was hoping to get something worthwhile on the bird photography front, but instead it's a record high of 99ºF outside today, and hazy. No one was coming out to bask in the sunshine. 
SMERSH Mouth fucked around with this message at 02:29 on Oct 13, 2015 |
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Oct 13, 2015 02:18
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