Birds 2013

[Dr. Harout]

Snow owls. And more BOPS (Birds of Prey) . I must admit the latter BOPs look a little sad. Are they in cages?
Pat

Sadly, yes. They are in the zoo. However, the care they receive is quite well.

[david antony]

I have never seen the horned in full daylight before Greg.
This was a grab, by the time I adjusted the camera he was
gone!

The snowy seem to go 24/7 with 40 winks here and there, you
do see quite a few while driving between 5&6am still dark.
Which is not often for me!

Those are fine shots Doc. I agree with Greg on the living
conditions.

[mvanrheenen]

Great birds of prey DA and Doc!

You make wonderful images in the shelter in you backyard Pat. Very nice close-ups!

I went out yesterday and had some nice results.

Blue tit (Parus caeruleus)

This little blue tit was enjoying a little sun with its group of about 7 tits. I liked the backlight of the low sun in this shot.



Siskin male (Carduelis spinus)

I found a large group of about 15 Siskin looking for food high up in the trees. This was the only one I could capture on its own. I myself was standing in a bog at the time and had to dig myself out of the mud afterwards



Two Rode-ringed Parakeets building a nest (Psittacula krameri)

This was one hell of a find for me. 2 parakeets building a nest. Great to watch!



Mark

[Greg Beetham]

All very nice bird moments there Mark, I think you deserve a medal going out in the cold and bogs and stuff.
Greg

[mvanrheenen]

All very nice bird moments there Mark, I think you deserve a medal going out in the cold and bogs and stuff.
Greg

The only reason I'm going out in those conditions is to be certain that I'm the only one out there in the woods so if the wildlife is spooked, it's because of me or some type of predator

For example, yesterday I was watching a group of about 15 Siskin feeding high up in the trees, when all of a sudden they all fled. Me initial response was looking for that other homo sapiens when I saw a Kestrel swooping over

Mark

[Wildieswife]

The light situation looked challenging on that first one. he looks as though he's just had a bath and is possibly de-miting. We had some siskins visit last year but it rare we see them in the garden. And the parrots are pretty early! Ours our 'flirting' but I haven't seen them start to build yet.

Some from Friday

More from the Hide

All shot using Manual (I don’t use anything else) and at f4. It’s great having a live view to actually show the exposure. I also use the histogram display much of the time when shooting birds.
Once you get used to the different areas of light you can make adjustments pretty quickly.


Great tit





Male Chaffinch. He’s taking the ‘Bird on a Stick’ pose very seriously, here.





Robin in a classic ‘wing drop’ pose.




Pat

[mvanrheenen]

I.ve seen it hundreds of times, but still can't believe how good those creatures are at balancing on what seems to be a little twig. The posture of the finch is great! You definately were in the right spot for that shot Pat. The Robin has beatiful colors and details. The image of the tit is a bit cool on my monitor, but that can be due to the fact it's a laptop and thus not calibrated.

Mark

[Wildieswife]

You're right - it was on the cool side. Better?




Pat

[mvanrheenen]

Yep, still a bit too much green on my screen though. The yellow isn't that warm. The robin image is, so I don't think it's my screen but it very well could be my taste

Mark

[david antony]

Very nice shots Mark & Pat, love the colours.

Caught this Black Capped walking thru the woods
couple week back.

[mvanrheenen]

Very nice shots Mark & Pat, love the colours.

Caught this Black Capped walking thru the woods
couple week back.

You found the Blackcap walking through the woods?

Just kidding. Nice shot on the treestump! When I spot these, they never sit on such nice spots...

Mark

[david antony]

⎝◕‿◕⎠ Yes I noticed that mark but left it.

The guy was stood there for a full 5 seconds, caught him a
second before he took off.

[Greg Beetham]

Wonderful tweety bird shots Pat, and that was a good chance take DA, I was going to say I bet that one was there for about 5 nanoseconds but it was a bit longer in fact, almost enough time to aim the camera and get set for a shot, btw the woods look interesting, looks like a place where you could find anything.
Greg

[sury]

wonderful contributions yet again. I think we should change the subject from Birds 2013 to Great Bird Shots of 2013.

Sury

[Wildieswife]

[quote="david antony"
Caught this Black Capped walking thru the woods
couple week back.
[/quote]
What a cute bird. He/she reminds me of our coaltit and marsh tit. Also of the N American 'Chikadee'. I like the way this image shows how tiny he is - sometimes that is lost in an extreme close up. Nice.

Pat