Birds 2012

[Birma]

Hi Pat - Nice Greenfinches - you had me going for a moment I like the stick idea - will have to try that.

Your Flickr link is saying it is a private pic?

[Greg Beetham]

Great capture of the Greenfinch pairs Pat.
Greg
Ps I liked the illustrations back then the most I think, I still remember looking at them when W in the W was read to me a few years ago.
There was one where Toad was sitting in the middle of the road in a dazed condition muttering car horn noises, it might have been ‘poop poop’ but I can’t remember for certain. I couldn’t find the illustration either so the Illustrious Toad dressed for the road will have to do.

Toad-dressed-for-the-road.jpg (10.61 KiB) Viewed 3757 times

[David Kilpatrick]

Heron dipping its wing into the ice-free bit of the Tweed today, out testing the 70-300mm Tamron USD - 1/500th at f/9, ISO 640, 9 megapixel crop from the frame.

heronovercoldtweed-web.jpg (309.88 KiB) Viewed 3760 times

David

[Greg Beetham]

Wow that’s good for quite a big crop David; I wonder how good it would be with the bird much closer and filling more of the frame.
Greg

[Birma]

Nice heron DK - I like the river surface a background

[David Kilpatrick]

100% crop of shot. Even at 300mm, the bird is very distant as well as moving, and autofocused using wide area (proves the best method with the A77 for birds).

heron-100%.jpg (387.73 KiB) Viewed 3758 times

David

[Wildieswife]

Hi Pat - Nice Greenfinches - you had me going for a moment I like the stick idea - will have to try that.

Your Flickr link is saying it is a private pic?

Have changed it! Thanks for the comments.

David - I want an A77!

Pat

[mvanrheenen]

Great image of those Greenfinches, Pat! I'm actually pretty jealous of your images. They are both technically as aesthetically terrific!

Went out today to look if I could find the kingfisher again, but no luck. The hole in the ice where the bird was yesterday was frozen over again. So I went to "my" peck of the woods again and had a blast! Found the bullfinches again and a new species: the marsh tit! However, the images were quite bad, so didn't post them, but they were good enough for a positive identification. Every time I find some new species it makes my whole day, how common the species might be, I don't mind!

Here are the best images of today:

#1 - Grey heron (Ardea cinerea)

Was sitting along a stream near my house. He/she looks annoyed by the cold weather. Can't blame it!



#2 - Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus)

Cute as ever! Notice the tick which hitched a ride.



#3 - Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)

First half-decent image of these birds I caught.



#4 - Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos)

This thrush was looking as in a trance to the little snail it caught. I was beating it like it "ain't no thing" but flew of with the snail. A pity, would've liked to see it (or the snail) win

[Greg Beetham]

You have done very well Mark, photographing wild birds can be very difficult at the best of times, the poor Grey Heron looks like he’s got the wings and head into the best position to ward off the cold, and I think it might be even standing on one leg. The Long Tailed Tit looks like the proverbial fluffy ping pong ball ha ha, and like you say very cute. The Goldfinch is a nice one and the Song Thrush is also a very nice shot, good even lighting.
Greg

[Birma]

Nice to see some more of your birds Mark - no need to say which is my fav .

[mvanrheenen]

Thanks guys!

[Wildieswife]

Every time I find some new species it makes my whole day, how common the species might be, I don't mind!

This is a great attitude to have! Everytime I go in the garden I get pleasure from seeing the everyday birds and not just the more rare ones You've one of my favourites there - the Long tailed tit. They look like fluffy lollipops on sticks!

Pat

[mvanrheenen]

Oh yes, the long-tailed tits are like fluffy flying tennisballs Like them too!

Mark

[david antony]

Greg that would be Toad of Toad Hall. I was ask to play Toad at the Dorothy Somerset Theatre UBC many years back, it was a project for a student friend. Right after the play I bumped into Dorothy at the liquor store.

A few years later I bought a cottage at Toad Lake in Bellingham WA in the States and put this together for the entrance. They later changed name of the lake to Emerald as it was getting popular and thought Emerald would sound better. Realtors idea I would think? it is now hanging in the family room. :^)

You had some great stuff read to you.

[Greg Beetham]

Yes DA all those characters were precious, Badger, Ratty, Mole and of course the impetuous Toad, he would have been a challenge to play especially. The place name you have there in the living room is nicely done.
Greg
Ps The little figure sketches in Winnie the Pooh were done by E.H. Shepard as well.http://www.just-pooh.com/shepard.html