Now that we are almost at the end of 2011 I thought we could each post a bird photo of your own that is your favorite. It can be your favorite for any reason (not necessarily because it's a good shot).
This photo of mine is a Summer Tanager which was a great bird to see at all ( let alone in my own NJ backyard).
Let's start out with 1 photo each (for now). :-)
Excellent theme for a new birding thread, Pelle. And, an excellent start, with your Summer Tanager. I know that you will always treasure this photo and the experience, as I recall, right in your backyard.
I picked this photo of the "Mad White-eyed Vireo" which I egotistically believe is a strong competitor to the "Mad Bluebird". The photo was taken at the Patuxent Research Refuge on 4-30-11 and he really was mad ! I took it with a 500mm lens so I shouldn't have represented a real threat to him.
I probably shot some better photos technically, but without question my shot of the year was Norma, the elusive leucistic Red-tailed Hawk that had avoided a decent pic for three years. Norma was electrocuted not long after this photo, so I'm glad I put out the effort to get a shot of her.
Linth, I love that shot!
Red, That is definitely a favorite of mine seeing it's so rare.
This message was edited Dec 28, 2011 7:50 PM
It's got to be the Desert Wheatear who doesn't know the meaning of fear - I'd sit down on the beach and it would fly up and land less than a metre away.
Amazingly, it's still there today, according to birdguides bird news, coping just fine with a wet and windy British winter, when it ought to be wintering somewhere in the Arabian Desert.
Resin
Neat idea for a thread, Pelle. I have taken frighteningly few bird shots this past year. My favorite would have to be this one from a few months ago, when the Blue-crowned Conures stopped by.
Nice thread Pelle and a great way to end 2011!
Beautiful shots of some beauties everyone...I remember some of them.
This isn't the best shot of this year but has to be my favorite. The Eastern Bluebirds had fledged while my back was turned and I spent two days worrying and looking for them. I was fearful that some had not survived. You can imagine how thrilled I was when I spotted the parents feeding them in a tree close to our house.
What a precious group shot, Rose. I bet you were so relieved to spot them.
Thanks GP...I remember thinking I could now die a happy woman!! Amazing how attached we become to "our" birds!
I love all the choices so far. Easy to see why they are favorites. Often they are not the best photo of the year but special for their own reason.
This one is at the top of my list. The mother & daughter pair of Pileated Woodpeckers. It is a nice shot....but I like it because I spotted them out while I was taking a walk and they didn't seem to notice me at all. So I got to watch them and take lots of shots of them just doing what they do.
Hello!
New member here and this is my first post. I love this topic, as I am both an avid photographer and an avid birdwatcher. My favorite image for 2011 is this one of a female Rufous Hummingbird feeding her newly fledged chicks. Just out for a walk around Buttertubs Marsh with my husband and my dad, when we came across this lovely little family. The mom came back to feed the chicks several times while we watched, and she seemed not especially concerned about our presence. I was thrilled just to see them, let alone get photos.
What an awesome shot. Love how the mother is standing on the babies back. Welcome the the Birdwatching forum.
Wonderful collection so far. Every single one of them is so very special.
Hi Shyanni, Welcome to the Bird Watching Forum! Love that shot of the Rufous feeding her babes!
I agree Dave, every photo is very special.
Shyanni....that is a very special shot!
What a wonderful idea for a thread, Pelle and what a beauty you started it with.
Wonderful shots, everyone and I can understand why they are your favourites.
Welcome to the bird watching forum, Shyanni. Beautiful shot of you Hummingbirds.
It may come as a complete surprise to know that my favourite shot for the year is of the Osprey chicks.
Limpkin
Boys I hope this pix comes out ok. Not so much a fav. but one that's memorable one is this when I saw half a dozen of Pelicans-- which are rarely seen this far out of the coast. Some of my local friends think I was joking when I mentioned of Pelicans on our local lake. Then a couple of weeks ago, another friend in our circle saw litterally hundreds of these currious birds by her resident. They do stop by our area during their migration.
Lily, I am glad to hear that Pelicans are plentiful near you. The number of Pelicans in Lake Ponchartrain is shockingly low. Much of breeding was destroyed by the BP spill, not to mention how many birds actually died from the catastrophe.
I would have to say getting my first shot of an Owl (the Short-eared) was the highlight of my year...plus it was my first new bird of the year.
There were many birding highlights for me in 2011. It's very hard to pic one favorite, but I have picked one.
This fledgling Mississippi Kite spent a few hours on my back porch on a miserably hot August day. We gave him water and shade and he eventually flew away, but a neighbor let us know that he passed away the next day. In this photo, it looks like he is asking for mercy from above. This could be classified as my heartbreak of the year, but he is just beautiful.
Sorry your beautiful Kite didn't make it. It's a nice photo to remember him by.
Pelle what a great idea you had, to start this thread. The Summer Tanager is a wonderful visitor to have in the back yard.
I would have to say, my favorite is the Snow Bunting.
Very hard for me to choose, as I'm sure it was for many of you. This year was such a discouraging one, what with losing the first two bluebird broods to the hawks, both very soon after they fledged, and finally, seeing the hawk take my female two days before her third clutch would have hatched. For the first time I gave serious thought to taking down the nest boxes.
But I am going to try it at least one more time and I feel this shot, taken back in March, reflects the optimism of Spring.
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This message was edited Jan 1, 2012 6:40 AM
Cousin Dave that is a heart warming notion of optimism for the Spring ahead. Thank you. I'll share a pix of two fishermen enjoyed the spring-like day of winter in our local lake which was taken today. The reason? The ducks were there to enjoy the beautiful day with the men. Look:
So many amazing photos here-well done everyone!
Welcome Shyanni, I hope you'll stick around and share more photos with us.
I had a very hard time picking but finally ended up with a Tree Swallow photo. Each spring these birds nest on our deck and that's the only time that these birds will allow our dogs and us to walk within 4-5 ft. of them and they don't fly off the branches that are attached to our deck.
Almost forgot to say thank you to Pelle for starting this thread.
This message was edited Jan 3, 2012 10:48 PM
I was waiting to see your choice, duc. I thought it would have been the one where the hummer had the other hummer by the bill, and almost posted it for you!! Good thing I waited.
This is my #1 Favorite!!!!
I did think about the hummer photo Dave, but everyone had such pretty and colorful photos here.....
Great photo Ladi!
Nice choices duc and Ladi_Burd!
