Daily Bird Pics - Vol. 363

WOW Burd, your T1i is nailing 'em. I liked the wing detail on your "almost" action shot. Thanks for the P Warbler verification. I reckon the yellow coloring around the eye will help me tell them from a Kinglet.

teddy, those four babies are adorable. Your Kodak Z8612 Is the date correct in the pic?

rose, your 40D did a great job on the BB's. Wow, the detail was great.

nanny - 3 DEGREES, Good Lord, how do you stand it? Nice Card, too. My doves never left. Peaceful things, aren't they? Your PowerShot SX20 did a nice job, esp. on the dove.

Thanks rose. I read on Mrs_Ed's camera thread that you shot with a T!i. Mine is one the way to me.

Hack

This message was edited Dec 16, 2010 9:44 AM

Good grief these threads go by fast! Love your purple finch Mrs. Ed. I'm dying to see one.
Nanny, hilarious pileated shot.
VA - love Rumpus! Great name -- all beautiful shots too!
Hack, GREAT shot of the kinglet. I've been trying to get a good pic of one for two weeks now.
Burd, just stunning photos.
Rose, BEAUTIFUL bluebird shots.
GG, totally jealous of your finch fest!
Duc, lovely photos like always.
Teddy, you get the prize for determination. It looks so cold. I'd be under the electric blanket instead of taking bird pics!

Got 3 new lifers yesterday! Here's one -- American White Pelicans.

The other two new ones were Canvasbacks and this Horned Lark.

This is my best pic of Caracara. First time to get the eye which really makes a difference.

I LOVE my birds, and I am determined to get good pics. The latest one of the hawk, if my hubby had any idea the way I was dressed, he would have killed me. But I wanted a pic of the hawk. I was in a pair of sweatpants,t-shirt,and a thin hoodie. And house slippers! So I did not go into the deep snow, my Blue Jay is back, I saw him for a brief moment. Your pictures are fantastic Elphaba, I get to see birds that I know we don't and will never see here.

The other day our temp was in the teens. I went out and poured about an inch of hot water on the frozen bird bath. This is what I got:

And here are the ones who were waiting their turn

And here is what a very cold hawk looks like

Congratulations on the new birds Elphaba!!

Good one of the Carcara too!

Chicochi, Looks like you have quite a Starling convention there!


Great pics everyone!

Teddy...cute shot of the Geese. If you are shooting pics in the snow wearing slippers than you are hooked!

Burd...love that almost action shot and how you got both birds in focus.

Nanny...nice shots of the Card and Dove and snow!

Elphaba...congrats on your new birds, very exciting!!

Chi...Love that cold Hawk shot!

The other day when it was so cold I noticed the Blues didn't stand up on their legs but covered them with their bodies, I guess to keep warm.

Excellent photos everyone-way too many to mention.

I was out on the deck taking photos of birds in the trees when they all quickly disappeared. Sure enough, along came this Sharp-shinned Hawk. The skinny legs sure showed up nicely.

The hawk just stayed long enough for a couple photos and then continued on, but it sure took a while before my birds reappeared.

I took this one through the window because of the rain. The Dark-eyed Juncos are such sweet birds.

This message was edited Dec 16, 2010 7:16 PM

This Spotted Towhee refused to stand still for very long.

This Yellow-rumped (Audubon's) Warbler gave me a quick look.

You know, when I don't wait for 2-3 days to check the daily thread, it's pretty easy to make comments about all the lovely shots. But with the speed of these thread, you'd better not wait too long, or you'll be covered up.

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Elphaba - 3 new lifers yesterday! Wow, you must be ecstatic, I sure would be! Your right, getting the eye of the Caracara does makes a difference - nice

teddy_8905 - I see improvement in your pics. Just be sure to keep the subject centered in the view finder. Sometimes, I get excited and move the camera just enough off target to get a real sharp pic, of a bush.

OMG, chicochi3, that is a LOT of Starlings. Your bird bath is exactly like mine. I felt plumb sorry for the cold hawk.

dellrose - I'm glad you pointed out the squatting BB. I'm gonna be on the lookout for birds around here following suite.

ducbucln - All you pix, as usual, were top notch. Those two of the Sharp-shinned Hawk were fantastic. You nailed the eye. And the little limb between the hawk and you didn't mess up your focus - great job.

I'm headed outside to see who visits today.

Hack

Nice SS hawk duc!! I saw the Cooper's this morning chasing birds. I had hoped he come land in my tree but never did...darn it.

I did not have as many birds today, but it was because of the hawk this time, a Blue Jay scared them off, I think he likes our feeder. He perches on the one on the tree, have not seen too many Cardinals, male or female. My hubby took those the other day, and I did not even see them, he has an eye for photos!

That group of starlings just proved to me how much the birds need water when it's really cold!

Gorgeous pics duc!

It started snowing here around 2:30 this afternoon. The feeders have been very busy with lots of birds all day.

Chico, your very cold hawk looks so cool! That's a great shot.
Duc, beautiful shots -- love the sharp shinned and the towhee.
Rose, another nice bluebird shot.

The birds were going nuts yesterday. I was so excited because the house finches appeared again after disappearing for about 3 months. Then there were about 100 red-winged blackbirds. It was a very exciting day.

This Orange-crowned Warbler discovered the sugar water, so now I'm bound to get some good pics of it this winter (knock on wood). Weird thing is lots of birds like the sugar water this year even the blackbirds were drinking it and the chickadees are positively addicted.

Pine Warbler -- way more subtle than yours Hack but pretty sure its the same thing.

Goldfinch

Ruby-crowned Kinglet.

One more Ruby-crowned Kinglet.

I'll make this my last one, a Carolina Wren.

Not many birds here, I think the hawk is up there somewhere, not going out in slippers to find out where, made my head cold worse. Plus it is snowing here again, darn it! I am SO tired of snow,Elphaba, couls I come stay with you in Texas for awhile until it stops snowing here? lol!!!!!

Wow Duc and Elphaba...way to go with the variety of those beautiful shots. And you both have such nice spring like backdrops!!

It is too cold to do anything outside but I went out for a few hours anyway and got absolutely nothing. I did see a Pileated, Bald Eagle, Coopers Hawk as well as many other birds...just not where I could get pics.

When I looked out my kitchen window I spotted this gorgeous American Kestrel. It is a very big crop but at least you can see his beautiful colors.

Wonderful pics Elphaba! Love seeing the Kinglets and Warblers.

Good one Rose! Love their colors too!

Like all you little ones there Elphaba! Would be nice to enjoy the warblers during the winter!

Okay Rose you got you AK shot...now when is my turn! lol

I did see a shrike this morning up on a wire when heading home from town. Had both the female & male pileated today....have to unload camera later.

This message was edited Dec 17, 2010 2:32 PM

nice ones all!

You know what I would like to see… some Steller's Jays!

What is the difference between a Steller Jay and a regular Blue Jay? Is there a difference?

Elphaba, great shot of the red-wings-I love them, but they don't come to my feeders very often.
Cute little warblers and great job with the kinglet-mine don't sit still for very long.

Rose, I think your cropping of the kestrel was much clearer than mine-great job. He sure is a beauty. Have you seen a female anywhere? I'm hoping once the rain storms are gone that I can go find some better photos of ours.

Speaking of Stellar Jays, I haven't seen any here for some time now. I'd like to see them too!

Teddy, here's an older photo of one of my Stellar Jays. They're beautiful.

Here's a House Finch taking a break from eating berries.

I think the Dark-eyed Juncos have the cutest poses.

This Yellow-rumped Warbler found a spider in the tree.

Teddy, Here are some links for you to show the differences in Steller's Jay and the Blue Jay. Besides their physical differences their ranges are quite different.

Steller's Jay- http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Stellers_Jay/id

Blue Jay- http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Blue_Jay/id

Duc, those are wonderful shots! Love the Junco pic.

Well I can tell one difference, a stellar jay is a heck of a lot bigger than a blue jay and the markings are different too. I don't think I ever saw a stellar jay in person, and I kinda doubt that I will unless I move. Great pics everyone!

Teddy, where we live, don't expect to see any Stellars.

Hack