Bird Watching

Lemme see your bird.

Like the cap! I have one just like it

Here is one!

My backyard birds...

Big Sarge;710118 wrote:

Like the cap! I have one just like it

Betchya ain't got one of deez...Pre-pre-release.:D

Truex Jr. Fan eh?

I am an 18 Fan. :D

I recognise the male & female sparrows, Pico.
What's the second one - a Dunnock?

Merc, that's not a bird that's a carnival!
What a beauty, what is it?
I want to come to Savannah even more now.

I do believe its just another house sparrow, SG.

I sometimes get finches too when I offer thistle seed.

Not to be picky, Pico, but it doesn't look like a female sparrow.
It looks like a dunnock.
If you have them over there of course.

Damn, that is bloody picky isn't it?
I didn't say before, but beautiful pictures BTW.

TheMercenary;711033 wrote:

Truex Jr. Fan eh?

I am an 18 Fan. :D

You and my best friend. He's a bigger fan of the Blue Deuce. My self, when Bill Elliott "retired", I stayed with the #9, Kasey's my boy. I think Truex is a really good driver, but, the hat was free.

Sundae Girl;711145 wrote:

Not to be picky, Pico, but it doesn't look like a female sparrow.
It looks like a dunnock.
If you have them over there of course.

Damn, that is bloody picky isn't it?

Oh, I was looking at the wrong bird...the one peeking out from the feeder. Its sure looks like a dunnock, doesn't it, but I don't think we have them around here. But who knows, it could be.

I didn't say before, but beautiful pictures BTW

Thank you. Sometimes, when it feels like it, my camera can do a good job.

A lickle bit of searching says you do (have dunnocks I mean).
The pic I used is by an American photographer, although available enough that I don't feel guilty for using it.

Given the sharp quality of your photos I imagine you have long periods of waiting?

My quick googling didn't serve me quite as well.

Those were taken through the glass of my back door. I probably took about 20 or 30 pictures and those are the only good ones. When you have a feeder, birds will give you tons of opportunities.

I love these pictures because the birds look so brave for enduring the cold wintry day.

I'm a great fan of the many pictures approach. As Dana and Limey noticed when we went away.

It doesn't work with the Diz cat though - I still only get close ups of his face as he hurries over to see what I am doing. And I doubt it would work with the birdies either. By the time I spot a robin or a bluetit feeding, it would be off before the camera lumbered into being. Do all digital cameras take ages to get a shot or is it just at (my) cheaper end of the market? My camera is pink though :)

Regular visitors to our garden NOT photographed by me. Yes I know this is cheating but I wanted to share anyway. Bluetit from Wiki, Robin from RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) taken by Chris Gomersall. Robins are ubiquitous on Christmas cards here. We always get a shedload of them because the family name is Robinson. Robins on... you see?

Sun tanned toes tickling the sand.
Cold drink chillin' in my right hand.
Watching you sleep in the evening light.
Resting up for a long, long night.

'Cause when the sun goes down, we’ll be groovin'.
When the sun goes down, we’ll be feeling all right.
When the sun sinks down, over the water,
Everything gets hotter when the sun goes down.

~Kenny Chesney "When The Sun Goes Down"

Sundae Girl;711210 wrote:

I'm a great fan of the many pictures approach. As Dana and Limey noticed when we went away.

It doesn't work with the Diz cat though - I still only get close ups of his face as he hurries over to see what I am doing. And I doubt it would work with the birdies either. By the time I spot a robin or a bluetit feeding, it would be off before the camera lumbered into being. Do all digital cameras take ages to get a shot or is it just at (my) cheaper end of the market? My camera is pink though :)

Regular visitors to our garden NOT photographed by me. Yes I know this is cheating but I wanted to share anyway. Bluetit from Wiki, Robin from RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) taken by Chris Gomersall. Robins are ubiquitous on Christmas cards here. We always get a shedload of them because the family name is Robinson. Robins on... you see?

I have a pretty decent camera, a fuji, but it is sometimes testy. There are many times that I cant get it to focus, and right now it is only taking RAF pictures which I cant switch over to jpeg on my computer. I really want to trash it at this point and get a new canon rebel digital.

BTW, you robin is so much cuter than ours...

Seems like the only bird pix thread we got, even though it didn't start that way. So...

Got mahself a new-to-me camera with a 24x optical zoom.

Been playin' widdit.

Nothing/no one is safe now.

[ATTACH]43125[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]43126[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]43127[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]43128[/ATTACH]

This wren was not too happy about the giant eye staring at him through the window.

Nice pics, grav. The last one is priceless!

I took this shot of a group of African vultures while in South Africa in 2009. There is a big push to rebuild their population which has dwindled as agriculture replaced the wild bush where animals routinely die as a meal. Farmers bring the carcasses of dead animals to this spot and the vultures feed on them.

It was all I could do to hold my breath to get this and some other images, the smell of rotting animals was unbelievable!

The other day Popdigr brought in one of his trail camera cards to see what was on there. None were outstanding pics, but, we did have a few semi-rarities. A gray fox, terrible picture, a few shots that captured flying squirrels, horrible pics, and, of course, deer.

And then there was this pic:

[ATTACH]54181[/ATTACH]

It's a pretty bad pic of a blue jay (he's quartering toward the camera). He's got the crest. He's got the black collar. He's got the yellow bill. Wait, WTF? Blue jays have black bills. I have never seen a blue jay w/a yellow bill, they're always black.

Wiki quote:

The bill, legs, and eyes are all black.

I went to GoogleImageSearch and searched for blue jays. I looked at every result, not one blue jay in those results had a yellow bill. Not one.

Here is your challenge: Find me another blue jay with a yellow bill. Or tell me just wtf I have a picture of, and, please don't say it's a blue jay with a yellow bill.;)


Also: I learned, during my search, that blue jay feathers aren't blue. They only look blue.

Wiki:

As with most other blue-hued birds, the blue jay's colouration is not derived from pigments but is the result of light interference due to the internal structure of the feathers; if a blue feather is crushed, the blue disappears because the structure is destroyed. This is referred to as structural colouration.

I will be crushing the next blue jay feather I find.


ETA: Even juveniles have black bills.

Ah Ha, shenanigans.

Shenaniwhatnow?

she·nan·i·gans
/SHəˈnanəɡənz/

noun informal
plural noun: shenanigans

1-secret or dishonest activity or maneuvering.
"widespread financial shenanigans had ruined the fortunes of many"
2-silly or high-spirited behavior; mischief.
3-Bluejays using strap on beaks to fake their identity

Ok...It's a string. I couldn't make out where you were headed.

it's glare off the glossy bill