Birdwatching

[emw]

Alright, I know just about nothing about birdwatching, but we just put up a bird feeder outside our sunroom, and I'm hoping to catch some nice pics of the birds eating or hanging out.

So far, I've only managed this picture of a sparrow (damn, I need a better zoom lens!). We've had cardinals and, I believe, a finch or two, but haven't been able to get them on camera - too skittish, and I have to be fairly close to get a reasonable picture with the kit lens on my Digital Rebel XT.

Still, anyone else out there have any good bird pictures?

 

[iGary]

If you really want to be dazzled, go to the Wildlife forums on Fred Miranda - seriously, go now.

There are images there that are just astounding.

We have a feeder similar to yours right outside our window with the same visitors every day -

House finch pair in the morning, house sparrows during the day, gold finches later in the summer, and lately a couple of mockingbirds, which makes me happy. I never try to shoot them because our cat's perch is right underneath the feeder and the birds are fairly timid because of her.

I love birds, they make me happy.

 

[BakedBeans]

taken with 20d and a 70-200L F4

its helps when you dont have to be close, dont fly away etc etc

 

[emw]

That's a great shot - I recall seeing it in a different thread. I may have to look into that lens you're using - as I recall, though, it costs about what I paid for my XT!

But I guess if I really want to be able to explore my photographer side in more detail, I might as well bite the bullet.

 

[BakedBeans]

That's a great shot - I recall seeing it in a different thread. I may have to look into that lens you're using - as I recall, though, it costs about what I paid for my XT!

But I guess if I really want to be able to explore my photographer side in more detail, I might as well bite the bullet.

hi, yeah it was actually a different shot of the same thing (but i will let you off )

the lens is cheep for what you get - and considering its actually sharper, cheeper and lighter than the more expensive 70-200s its a total bargain, i wouldnt pay near double for the extra stop of the 2.8 myself - seems pointless for my uses. not many lenses with the optical quality like that

 

[wdlove]

Both of those bird pictures are very nice, thanks for sharing. Hopefully we will get to see more.

I'm sure that the birds are very appreciative of your bird feeder, emw.

 

[emw]

I'm sure that the birds are very appreciative of your bird feeder, emw.

Yeah, they've almost emptied it after only about a week. We're going to have a bunch of fat birds flying around

 

[revenuee]

That's a great shot - I recall seeing it in a different thread. I may have to look into that lens you're using - as I recall, though, it costs about what I paid for my XT!

But I guess if I really want to be able to explore my photographer side in more detail, I might as well bite the bullet.

lenses are more important then the camera in many respects ... well ... that's not completely true anymore since camera's built in CCD's or CMOS chips are responsible for capturing the image rather then film

either way ... you could have the top of the line camera but if you out fit it with cheap glass, you won't get better results then a cheap camera with a cheap lens.

personally i think the extra stop of light is fantastic and worth the money it costs .. but that's just me

 

[JDar]

a Grosbeak and a Stellar's Jay in NM

We're overrun with birds in the summer. Taken with a Nikon 990 and a cheap telephoto attachment.

 

[emw]

We're overrun with birds in the summer. Taken with a Nikon 990 and a cheap telephoto attachment.

Nice. Is the jay eating a peanut? Wild.

 

[iGary]

Nice. Is the jay eating a peanut? Wild.

Yeah, I used to feed the jays up on Capitol Hill in the winter, but they never swallowed them whole.

Real men carry a 100-400L IS USM

 

[Aeolius]

Here's a well-known bird I caught in my backyard yesterday, using a motion-sensor deer camera.

Larger Image

 

[oakdryad5]

too skittish, and I have to be fairly close to get a reasonable picture with the kit lens on my Digital Rebel XT.

How long have you had the feeder out? Over time I have found that the birds become used to the area and are not as skittish when seeing people around as when i first put up the feeder. If you're interested in bird photography, there is a really cool website--www.birdforum.net, free to join and plenty of photography and birding forums.

Here's a halfway decent pic of a carolina wren. I have a panasonic lumix dmc-fz20 with 12x zoom.

-Christine

 

[emw]

How long have you had the feeder out? Over time I have found that the birds become used to the area and are not as skittish when seeing people around as when i first put up the feeder. If you're interested in bird photography, there is a really cool website--www.birdforum.net, free to join and plenty of photography and birding forums.

Here's a halfway decent pic of a carolina wren. I have a panasonic lumix dmc-fz20 with 12x zoom.

-Christine

Nice picture!

We've had the feeder out for about 1 week now, and some of the birds have already become pretty comfortable having us and the dogs around. Others, primarily the finches, still seem very cautious.

 

[JDar]

Nice. Is the jay eating a peanut? Wild.

He sure is. The jays will ask for them and get very close to people to pick up peanuts. Every creature here seems to like peanuts.

 

[JDar]

Corvax corvax

This guy is a Chiuauaian raven. Ravens are very intelligent and are about my favorite local big bird with the wild turkey coming in second.

 

[wdlove]

That is a very nice looking turkey that you caught with your motion sensor. Just don't get too close, a turkey bite can be nasty.

Very nice pictures JDar, thank you for posting the pictures.

 

[fitinferno]

WOW Awesome pictures! Birds are by far my favourite animal (I even love the London pigeons) so this is a great thread. Though I am concerned for the bird that has the peanut in it's mouth...

 

[JDar]

WOW Awesome pictures! Birds are by far my favourite animal (I even love the London pigeons) so this is a great thread. Though I am concerned for the bird that has the peanut in it's mouth...

Don't be concerned. The jays will choke down three peanuts (carefully evaluating the choices to make sure the best are chosen) then fly to the ground and bury them for later. If he takes only one he'll fly to a tree and peck it open. It's fun to stick a long peanut into a knot hole on the deck railing and watch the jay work to pull it out or eat it there from the top down.

I'll find a local wild turkey to post later. They were around this morning.

 

[mkrishnan]

Don't be concerned. The jays will choke down three peanuts (carefully evaluating the choices to make sure the best are chosen) then fly to the ground and bury them for later.

Wow! Nice capture, though! Birds are not something I have really tried much with. I should play around with bird photos more.

Christine -- nice wren! Have you tried cropping that picture down a little to tighten up on the lil' guy? The contrast with the skytones is very nice too.

 

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

I rarely take pictures of birds, but I think these two were a bit cute (I wonder where the full res version is):

 

[mkrishnan]

I rarely take pictures of birds, but I think these two were a bit cute (I wonder where the full res version is):

I always love to see racial integration!

 

[JDar]

additional turkeys

Here are some more turkeys in addition to Aeolius's capture. A flock comes through our property usually twice a day (it's almost a game preserve with all the animals including pesky, protected mule-deer.) The turkeys walk around the deck rail hunting peanuts the jays leave and get on the roof, spooking indoor cats.

 

[virividox]

Here are some more turkeys in addition to Aeolius's capture. A flock comes through our property usually twice a day (it's almost a game preserve with all the animals including pesky, protected mule-deer.) The turkeys walk around the deck rail hunting peanuts the jays leave and get on the roof, spooking indoor cats.

YUMMY turkey hehe

 

[JDar]

virividox, people say the wild turkey is a disappointing meal after being used to the domesticated versions. Still, if one really needed something to eat these would be a better choice than our other pets.

Reminds me of a line in a bad tv disaster movie-- "take the dogs, we may need to eat them."

One last bird feeder shot involving a suet feeder and a Nuthatch: