Birding

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

I saw two bald eagles the other day, actually thought of this thread and tried to take an iPhone pic but it wasn't very good.

[swampfrog]

This one was really lucky. These things don't usually stay still long enough to even focus.

The small songbirds that like to hide in the brush are usually difficult. Even when you can see them and get close, there is rarely a clean shot.

[wuapinmon]

I saw two bald eagles the other day, actually thought of this thread and tried to take an iPhone pic but it wasn't very good.

This thread isn't just for good photos. I want to know that you saw two bald eagles. I never saw one ever until I was in my 30's. The first time I ever remember seeing one was in Apalachicola, Florida fishing in the bay for mullet and redfish with my dad. I looked up in some coastal pines and there was one just staring back at me. I could hardly believe it.

I was on Jekyll Island, GA in March with students and we looked up at some power lines and there was one atop each of the poles. One of my students quipped, "They're guarding our freedom."

Post your bad photo here. This is about birding and birds. I shot almost 400 photos yesterday. Most of them were garbage, but I had a great time.

[wuapinmon]

The small songbirds that like to hide in the brush are usually difficult. Even when you can see them and get close, there is rarely a clean shot.

I think this is an irruptive year for blue-gray gnatcatchers. Their whiny calls are everywhere right now. You can't get near leafy trees without hearing them and northern parulas. At least not in the South.

[Jeff Lebowski]

My wife and I were driving down Provo Canyon last week and a hawk came up over the trees flying away from the river. It was flying oddly so I looked closer as it passed right over us on the highway and I noticed it has a huge trout hanging from its talons. Wish I could have snapped a pic.

[byu71]

Unusual bird siting in Detroit.




http://sports.cbsimg.net/images/visu...ddlefinger.jpg

[Flystripper]

Unusual bird siting in Detroit.




http://sports.cbsimg.net/images/visu...ddlefinger.jpg

don't ever change!

[wuapinmon]

My wife and I were driving down Provo Canyon last week and a hawk came up over the trees flying away from the river. It was flying oddly so I looked closer as it passed right over us on the highway and I noticed it has a huge trout hanging from its talons. Wish I could have snapped a pic.

Hmmm. Could it have been an Osprey? I'm guessing you know what those look like. It might have stolen the fish from another animal, or it could've scavenged it too.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Hmmm. Could it have been an Osprey? I'm guessing you know what those look like. It might have stolen the fish from another animal, or it could've scavenged it too.

No, it wasn't an osprey. Looked like a medium-sized falcon or red-tailed hawk.

[swampfrog]

This thread isn't just for good photos. I want to know that you saw two bald eagles. I never saw one ever until I was in my 30's. The first time I ever remember seeing one was in Apalachicola, Florida fishing in the bay for mullet and redfish with my dad. I looked up in some coastal pines and there was one just staring back at me. I could hardly believe it.

I was on Jekyll Island, GA in March with students and we looked up at some power lines and there was one atop each of the poles. One of my students quipped, "They're guarding our freedom."

Post your bad photo here. This is about birding and birds. I shot almost 400 photos yesterday. Most of them were garbage, but I had a great time.

I'll try to be better about this. I tend towards not just getting a shot, but one that is also close to the bird, of high technical (exposure and sharpness) quality, and maybe some artistic merit. That's what I get for hanging out at birdphotographers.net. From what I understand, a lot of birders that keep track of what they have seen and where tend to make "record shots", quick snaps that record the sighting. I should do more of that here. I shot almost a couple hundred of the oystercatcher pair. On any given hike/outing I may shoot 500-1000 depending on the scenery and lighting.

[mtnbiker]

No, it wasn't an osprey. Looked like a medium-sized falcon or red-tailed hawk.

Last fall I was driving north on 1000 E in Orem when a large hawk took off from a lawn to my left and flew north in front of me. As it swerved a bit to the right, over the road, at treetop height, and then back to the left, I noticed it had a snake in its talons. It was really cool, and I wish I could have had a picture of it.

[Paperback Writer]

Years ago a neighbor acquired several kittens. I asked the owner where she had put the litter box because I wanted ideas for litter box placement as our homes had similar floor plans and I didn't like where my wife put the litter box for her cat. The reply I received was that these cats were outdoor cats so she wasn't going to mess with a litter box. These cats soon became somewhat of a neighborhood nuisance. A few weeks later, I noticed the remains of a cat in the nearby park. So did the neighbor and she called the police, convinced that some kids in the neighborhood had tortured and killed one of her cats. Knowing most of the kids in the neighborhood, I didn't think it likely. The following week I noticed a large hawk standing on a different neighbor's roof. It was bending down and eating something. My neighbor was missing another cat.

[Eddie]

Years ago I was driving to my office following a small bird as it flew a slalom course weaving back and forth down the center of the street above and a little in front of me. As I was watching it, a falcon hit it and snatched it right out of the air, then flew off to the left.

One of the cooler things I've ever seen - wished I'd had a camera rolling at the time.

[wuapinmon]

I'll try to be better about this. I tend towards not just getting a shot, but one that is also close to the bird, of high technical (exposure and sharpness) quality, and maybe some artistic merit. That's what I get for hanging out at birdphotographers.net. From what I understand, a lot of birders that keep track of what they have seen and where tend to make "record shots", quick snaps that record the sighting. I should do more of that here. I shot almost a couple hundred of the oystercatcher pair. On any given hike/outing I may shoot 500-1000 depending on the scenery and lighting.

Well, I don't want to push you to only post in the Official Photography thread, but I felt that most of my photos weren't up to the standards of that one, and not every post was about birds over there. Plus, I didn't know if anyone else really cared about them. Your photos are usually amazing, but I'll take even your bad ones about birds here.

[Commando]

Beating off doesn't count as having had sex outside.

In all fairness, we don't know what he meant by "backyard."