Magnífico !!! Exquis .... Vorzüglich .... My congratulations to you, Dave. You're like a fine wine. You improve with age ..... and experience. It's fantastic to get recognition on the international scene.
wallaby1, nice photos of the Magpies.
sybil, nice shots of the Pileated Woodpecker. As some of you know, they have provided me with some of my most rewarding photo experiences. Periodically I go back through my originals just to relive those moments.
Came across this bird today while out for a little drive. Had never seen one of these before and had to look it up on the internet.
Caracara
WOW!!! Congratulations Marilyn! That must have been so exciting!
Thank you SO much for posting it!!!!!
I had to go and read up on them after you posted ; their very interesting falcons!!!
Thanks for posting one from that great series of shots you had before Linth!!!
Thanks linthicum, I just wish I had a longer zoom lens! You have captured an amazing shot of the Pileated there!
Marilynm I agree, WOW! It looks huge, and you look to be right under it!
I thought the most surprising thing I had ever seen on a car window was a snake. A Pileated? Wow! :)
I just found this in the Tropical forum. Thought you bird lovers might enjoy this one.
http://birdloversonly.blogspot.com/2007/09/may-i-have-this-dance.html
Wonderful video of a dancing cockatoo.
I saw that last week on youtube; isn't it funny?
Thanks for posting it Janet!
you guys ROCK! Keep it up, it's wonderful. Thanks SOO much.
Diane
Dave, I am so excited for you - and I thank you for complimenting ME on my knowing how good it was!!! LOL - honestly, you are really talented. Yes, good equipment is a huge help, but you have quite the eye, plus sure seem to know when to push that button at precisely the right time!!!
Congrats!!!!!
Oh it was so lovely here at midday, 19C (66F), sun shining, birds galore, all in a short space of time. The sun went, it actually feels warmer outside now than inside.
I first heard some pheasants in my neighbour's garden at the opposite end to me, there is a double row of oak trees filling much of it. One flew, the other hopped onto a low branch on the far side, but I managed some reasonable shots in the half light.
It turned sideways, sun shining on it's feathers nicely, some appear pinky purple!
There were lots of Long-tailed Tits flitting from the top of my Horse Chestnut tree to the tops of the Oaks, but they were too quick and too high to get, they make a lovely chittering noise.
Then a Blue Tit sat over in the neighbours apple tree, it was difficult to get a good pic but it looked very sweet.
Then it flew to the wood fence, eating some insects from under the top, another smaller one flew in. Again, not the best pics but they seemed not to focus well in the situation.
Looks like a male and female..
Before I got the Blue Tits, I went across the road where there is a gate into a paddock with horses, I could hear a khuk khuk sound, then this hawk came gliding over! I had one once outside my back door attacking a pidgeon. Not sure what this is, maybe a Kestrel.
Shortly after, I turned to go across the road and a Jay flew low over the road, landing in an Oak at the other side. I took a hasty shot of half a bird in the shadows (which didn't work!), then it flew off into my Horse Chestnut tree, I didn't see it again, sob.
This was the best pic of the Hawk, they glide fairly high up, maybe 30' and it had keeled so the sun shone under it's wings.
Never before have I seen such talent and care put into being a BW thread starter.
Congrats!!
Blushing here........thanks Dave!
The finale, my resident Robin likes sitting in a purple leaved Cherry tree, I often hear it singing but it's difficult to see! Today I was stood nearby on the other side of my hedge, I spied it preening itself near the top right in the middle, but wasn't sure if the camera could pick it out. I tried at first on a 'P' programme which just gave me black pics, then tried the trusty (or not) 'Auto', it worked!
Spot the Robin!
linthicum, thanks for my new desktop pattern!
If I can't get a pileated to come to dinner in my yard, I might as well have them as my desktop pattern!
This is a different angle of the tree it was sitting in (from the road side), over the top of my 8' tall hedge you can see the purple leaved Cherry tree, it was in the middle near the top!
Not sure what this is, maybe a Kestrel
Thanks resin, I was just searching for pics, found a lighter one which looks the same but many look similar. There doesn't seem to be many pics around of Kestrels in flight.
I found out why my 'P' and other vario-digi programmes are giving me black, I tried more and it wasn't just bad luck, it's faulty! A couple of days ago I took one on 'P' and I could just see a little white, otherwise was black. Not long after that I saw a black spot when looking through the viewfinder, it wasn't on the lens but was on the sensor. I cleaned it off with a cotton bud, but I couldn't understand how it got in there as I hadn't taken the lens off for a long time, and only once since I put it on. It seemed hard like a bit of molten plastic although it was tiny. I was coming to the conclusion I must have damaged something, but it works on the other programmes, then I saw the light! The black spot was from some electrical fault! Now I have to go through the trouble of trying to get it replaced and doing without a camera, just when there's lots of birds around!
I think this is a house finch. Took the picture through my bedroom window.
Yep, House Finch, though an unusually pale-plumaged individual. Could reasonably call it leucistic ("washed-out" colours).
Resin
Cool pics Wallaby!
I love the colorful Pheasant!
I just adore the Blue Tit, all the well.. Tits you guys have over there are so cute!
(LOL, no comments Judy!)
The kestrel shots very nice and I love the colors you have in the tree pic!
Thanks so much for taking the time to post all these!!! Pelle
Nice pic Marilyn !
It seems the House Finch are becoming more common down there w/ time.
I'm so happy to see photos of these birds that my husband has talked about for years. It's just not the same seeing them in a book. Thanks for solving the mystery about the robins, too. Now I know why he said they looked so different! Dippers are another of his favorites - can we order one up? LOL
When I first went outside this morning, a pileated flew over. I've seen one three times in the last week or so. Later I went for my "bird walk" around the place, and it flew over again, but landed not too far away. I located it, but the light wasn't good. Sometimes a not too good image is better than none at all, right?
While I was busy snapping away at the pileated, this sweet little White-breasted Nuthatch landed nearby.
This message was edited Oct 12, 2007 5:52 PM
I gather your husband has lived here, or is British, kaperc! I'm surprised anyone can recognise some birds from pictures in books, they just don't meet the bill!
Dippers I don't have, they live around fast flowing rivers. Sorry! I am going to keep a more watchful eye though for birds, with a better camera it is much more encouraging, that is if I can get it replaced. So annoying as I've only had it since early September, I got it through the post so can't just go to the camera shop.
Next I saw a Mountain Chickadee! Yesterday was the first I'd seen one in years. Someday, I'll even get a good picture of one.
I wholeheartedly agree with you tigerlily! Getting it is the important part, although we do like to get good shots!
Sweet little Nuthatch, it's strange what turns up all at once isn't it! I realised today with all the birds I saw in a short space may have been because of the hawk.
Yes all our western members need to be on alert for the American Dipper! :-)
I don't think we've ever had a pic here of one of those.
Great pics tiger! The Mountain Chickadee is so different looking from the other Dee's.
Thanks for taking all the wonderful photos!
This Black-capped Chickadee had just taken a BOSS from my feeders, and was attempting to crack it.
I was in Maine this w/e and thought I saw a different chickadee, but didn't get a close look or pic
Then this winged creature landed nearby. I only got the one shot. It's a new butterfly for me..........and it's not in my book. Resin, do you ID butterflies too?
Thanks pelle! I have the occasional pheasant strutting through the garden, and partridge too.
Our Tits are most definitely cuties, lilyfan might say more rounded, but if I say that I might get into trouble. LOL!
I now understand why the Robin often sits in the Cherry tree, good camouflage!
This Partridge in the summer looked to be pecking at pansies, perhaps eating the seeds. This was through the kitchen window/
Janet, I really enjoyed your photos of the pheasant. Beautiful bird. Love the way the light shone on his feathers.
More than 25 years ago, I made little cowboy hats to hang from rear view mirrors. I used pheasant feathers for the band around the hat. I can't remember now where I acquired the feathers from (probably Goodwill, knowing me) but remember that I had a half of a pheasant "hide" to work with. Everyone loved those little hats. I think I sold 250 that year. I sat out at the Southeast Texas State Fair making them while folks watched. It was a whole lot of fun. I burned my thumb many a time though on the hot glue that I used.
This is the first time I've ever seen one in the wild, so to speak. Gorgeous birds!
The rest of your menagery was just as pretty. Love those little blue birds.
Tiger your birds are pretty also. I've only seen one pileated woodpecker in my life. I was in a deer blind with my camera, but he was too far away to get any decent photos. When I got home and downloaded the shots, I could just barely see him and I wouldn't have seen him at all, had I not known he was there.
Marilyn, I've seen a lot of those pretty house finches this year. Not too many lately though. Hubby complained because the seeds were causing ants wherever they got dropped, so I had to take those feeders down. I put up some thistle feeders instead. They haven't gotten used to the change I guess.
An Evening Grosbeak stopped by today for a meal and a drink on it's way south.
Tiger, a cool site for IDing butterflies is BUGGUIDE.NET. You can click on the butterfly on the left. If you don't see yours, click it again. Eventually your fella will show up. Then you can click on the image to enlarge it.
That partridge just needs a pear tree now. :-)
