#61
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Similar to our Kestrel possibly the most brightly colored of North American hawks. They are very shy of humans and vehicles. I see them perched on electric wires along the road, watching the fields for mice. They will leave their perch, fly ahead and settle on the wire only to have to repeat the operation a few seconds after landing.
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#62
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Great shots. Even if I had good equipment I don't think I'd have the skill or patience to get any pics as good as those. This photo (taken with the phone from the tractor cab while driving down the road) of 15 turkeys in the bean field south of my house is typical for me.
Last edited by oliver1850; 11-21-2019 at 05:40 PM. |
#63
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Once has a seagull try to pick my jersey pocket and steal my phone case out of it thinking it was food while riding the Bay Trail.
That's the best I've got. |
#64
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And this is why I've tried to stay out of the bird forums. I'd get sucked in worse than bike forums.
There are some great shots here guys! |
#65
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We rescued 2 mourning doves, that counts?
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#66
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Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm, dove breast pan fried in a little butter. Heaven!
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#67
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I've got Peregrine Falcons on the roof where I work. The Female showed up back in 2011 and has had fledglings every year since.
Couple pix, first mom, and then a few of the youngsters |
#68
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thanks for sharing; what birds are those? Presumably limited to the tropics/sub-tropics? |
#69
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Just guessing from what I've observed but they may be too timid to hang out in a metro area. I'm sure there are plenty of them around Madison in the country, as their range covers most of the 48 states with the exception of the Carolinas, GA, FL, MS, AL, and LA. Range extends to most of Canada south and west of Hudson Bay, and to most of Alaska.
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#70
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The duck is a Harlequin, photographed on the Alaska peninsula. Pretty common on the North Atlantic coast and BC and Alaska. Maybe WA state, too? Not really sure to be honest. They are sea ducks and love rocky shorelines, though. And the other is a golden white-eye only found on a few of the Northern Mariana Islands. This one photographed on Saipan. |
#71
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Jeremy Clarksons bike-riding cousin |
#72
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For the birders here, anyone have experience using Nikon 200-500 mm f/5.6E ED VR lens or something similar (say a 400 mm zoom lens)?
I have been using a bridge camera for the last two years and the measly image sensor means I don't really get to capture much feather details, not to mention that it is quite limited in its abilities (non-operative auto-focusing for conditions I need it, slow manual focusing, slowness in general under mediocre light, etc). Basically, it struggles in conditions where birds may be observed. I have been thinking about getting a DSLR and telephoto lenses to go along with it, and was wondering how much of an improvement over what I have below could be reasonably expected. I should preface the photos by saying that i must have taken close to 1000 photos of adult cardinals, as they are by far my favorite birds. Unfortunately, I rarely get any feather details, with the following ones the closest I've come. I've been able to get better photos of fledglings, but that's only b/c they don't fly away unless I get really close. But even then, the shots I really want (e.g. parents feeding fledglings) are often botched, as I can't acquire the shots fast enough under bad lighting conditions. Would the better sensor and a 400-500 mm focus help? Also, anyone has ideas as to what the fledgling in the last photo has in its mouth? I wasn't sure if it was animal or plant. |
#73
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A lot of great images in here! I wouldn't call myself a birder, but when I'm out hiking in the woods I like to know what I'm seeing. I've found these RTP Field Guides invaluable many times in identifying different bird species.
W. |
#74
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#75
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