Birds where we live!

Asher Kelman · Dec 20, 2012

We have not only the fruit of the summer flowers on the trees serving as food for birds but also the spring buds are already formed and out.

This morning I noticed leaves blowing in the wind a then landing back up on the trees again. I ran out and then realized that tiny yellow birds were feasting on the spiked fruits. I have hated the fruits for years as they are tough and fibrous and just the size to block up my Kreepy Krawly pool vacuum. However, from today onwards, I intend to love theese trees as they bring beauty to my street.

Asher Kelman: Yellow bird and Spikey Fruit #1

I'm going to add pictures from my neighborhood and then folk can add their local sightings too!

Asher

Asher Kelman · Dec 20, 2012

Well, I'm not even part-time birder, so I'll await identification by more knowledgeable folk here! Meanwhile, this one I'd imagine is the opposite sex to the yellow chap above!

Asher Kelman: Yellow bird and Spikey Fruit #1

Don Cohen · Dec 20, 2012

Nice to see you putting some bird shots up here!

I'm not sure about the ID - the closest I can guess is either an American Goldfinch or a Lesser Goldfinch, although the beak looks a bit large/heavy for those. Hopefully somebody else can chime in here.

I'm very familiar with these trees - we call them gum trees out here. A definite nuisance as you describe!

Asher Kelman · Dec 20, 2012

Don Cohen said:
Nice to see you putting some bird shots up here!

My limit has been lens reach since I gave up my 300 f2.8 L to pay for my 70-200 2.8 L IS for portraits and music performances. I use a x 1.4 to get extra magnification but it's hardly enough. Those pictures are at 80 percent or so of real pixels. Now I think I'll get a 7D and that will restore my longer shots by a further x 1.6!

Don Cohen said:
I'm not sure about the ID - the closest I can guess is either an American Goldfinch or a Lesser Goldfinch, although the beak looks a bit large/heavy for those. Hopefully somebody else can chime in here.

Don,

I'm so pleased to get any name tag on them! You're uncertainty makes me slightly less ignorant. What amazes me is that the birds seem to move from the tree to tree as if they are leaves, blown in the wind. That's why I have never noticed them before!

Asher Kelman · Dec 24, 2012

Well, I thought all the little fellas were yellow and green or their mates, yellow and brown each with a striped jacket on their wings. To my surpise, I started to find red ones too. At first, I believed it was just the angle and this, like the early pigment inks from Epson was showing some metamerism and that there were only one species of bird there. Well, I found the red birds in the same light as yellow ones so these were obviously different. I think this may be a purple finch.

Asher Kelman: Yellow and Purple Finches

These are taken with the 5DII and the 70-200 2.8L IS version I and a x1.4 extender, version I.

Asher

Asher Kelman: Male Purple Finches

Asher Kelman: Male Purple Finche

Don Cohen · Dec 24, 2012

These guys look like House Finches to me. We have plenty of those around my house. Purple Finch might be a possibility, but I'd put my money on House Finch, until somebody else comes along and corrects me.

Fun little guys, aren't they!

Asher Kelman · Dec 24, 2012

Don Cohen said:
These guys look like House Finches to me. We have plenty of those around my house. Purple Finch might be a possibility, but I'd put my money on House Finch, until somebody else comes along and corrects me.

Fun little guys, aren't they!

Don,

Purple schmurple! These little chaps are so lively and amazingly energetic. I wonder about the different colors. I'd imagine that there's a survival benefit having different colored species together, since from the sky, the raptors might see the mixture as autumn leaves. Has anyone worked out what's really going on? When the sun is gone, and in the last light, the hawks patrol the sky and not a finch is to be seen anywhere! Now why don't the hawks come during the day, or are there too many mice to catch?

Asher

Jerome Marot · Dec 24, 2012

Asher Kelman · Dec 24, 2012

Jerome,

That's the cutest fellow yet! can you give an idea or else a name! I love the fast movement and double exposure of the beak! Interesting that the head, black, us seen as one image. I guess the beak, sticking out more, moves more as the head rotates!

Asher

Jerome Marot · Dec 24, 2012

Asher Kelman said:
can you give an idea or else a name!

Probably a great tit (Parus major), although I am not entirely sure (I am not much of a wildlife shooter or bird lover, actually).

The relative unsharpness is not due to movement, but to the limited depth of field: original size (big).

Asher Kelman · Dec 24, 2012

Jerome Marot said:
Probably a great tit (Parus major), although I am not entirely sure (I am not much of a wildlife shooter or bird lover, actually).

The relative unsharpness is not due to movement, but to the limited depth of field: original size (big).

It certainly has stout legs! But what of the colors? Do you have other pics to get a side view? This looks more like a Coal Tit, but I'm no bird mavin either, LOL! Just that yours is one of the most adorable fellows!

Asher

Asher Kelman · Dec 24, 2012

I love hummingbirds and the fact that they defied scientists for years, beating their wings so fast and hovering at will impresses me still! As I walked by birds of paradise, there was a blur that caught my eye.

Asher Kelman: Hummingbird Visits Bird of Paradise

I don't know the species, but it looks to me akin to an Allen's Hummingbird. There and gone in an instant! This, hardly caught, OOF, happenstance-sighting is still a little treasure for me.

Asher

Jerome Marot · Dec 24, 2012

Asher Kelman said:
[Do you have other pics to get a side view?

Yes, one:

You are probably right: it is a Coal Tit (Periparus ater).

Asher Kelman · Dec 26, 2012

Excellent, Jerome! He looks like a stalwart little warrior. The picture is very well drawn with a lot of detail in the feathers and face. Great job. The EXIF is empty in the file. What lens and camera did you use? I love this bird!

Meanwhile, back to the city trees outside my garden. The yellow finches are busy as ever although their numbers have decreased as the weather gets colder. Still I am surprised by new things. I caught a glimpse of a hummingbird there too and will try to get that fellow later of it returns. Meanwhile I caught this fellow springing into a short catapult dive to catch an insect!

Asher Kelman: Finch with Fresh Insect!

Canon 7D 70-200 2.8L with 2x Extender at 400mm

I find it a challenge exposing against the bright b.g. sky, getting the insect, the bird and the darker branches all in one shot. This is where higher dynamic range would be great. I'll eventually process and post the series of the bug being caught, hopefully with my newly acquired Capture One version 7.

Asher Kelman: Finch with Fresh Insect!

Canon 7D 70-200 2.8L with 2x Extender at 400mm

Processed in Capture One 7 and sharpened as above in Photoshop CS5

My first impression is that Capture One is doing better with the bird. The branches in CS5 were processed separately so I'd not want to blame Photoshop so fast, LOL. I'll check that out again.

Asher

Jerome Marot · Dec 26, 2012

Asher Kelman said:
The EXIF is empty in the file. What lens and camera did you use?

It is taken with a 135mm f/1.8 lens (at f/4.5) and a Sony A900. The young bird could not fly, so I could approach it quite close. Flickr strips the exifs, but you can get the same info by clicking on the picture and choosing "exif info" from the "actions" menu on the top left.

Asher Kelman · Dec 30, 2012

I am getting a bit luckier with finding hummingbirds but not enough to fill the camera frame.

Asher Kelman: Hummingbird in Tree

Canon 7D 70-200 2.8L with 2x Extender at 400mm 1/3200 sec ISO 1600 f5.6

Still, I feel I'm at least catching glimpses of these wonderful fellows!

Asher

Asher Kelman · Dec 30, 2012

The feeling of this fluttering creature is always admiration and wonder. I've missed these in motion too many times so I went wide at 140mm.

Asher Kelman: Hummingbird On Its Way!

Canon 7D 70-200 2.8L with 2x Extender at 140mm 1/4,000 sec ISO 1600 f5.6

I think these are Allen's hummingbird, a common Southern California visitor.

Asher

Don Cohen · Dec 30, 2012

Hummers are among the most difficult subjects to photography, as they are so constantly on the move, so small, etc. You might buy a feeder, and place it in an area where there are nice perches, with a nice background, for them to 'hang out' before they head to the feeder. And often, they'll hover a little ways from the feeder, providing somewhat controlled photo opportunities.

Or you could buy some flowering plants that they like, and place them where you want, to give you more of a chance to photograph them.

I can't imagine how photographers used to burn through film in the pre-digital era, trying to get decent images of these beautiful little guys!

Maggie Terlecki · Dec 31, 2012

First time I saw these birds was yesterday. I went back this morning in -23C (seriously cold!) and took some pics.
This is an evening grosbeak. The male, of course. I thought it would fit in well with the pretty birds I have seen in this thread.

Asher Kelman · Dec 31, 2012

Maggie,

This fellow is a welcome visitor here! It's also a finch and a well dressed one with a white pocket handkerchief in his top pocket! Your design of the frame works well here. Normally, black seems to imprison the image, but here, your border of golden yellow, picks up the color of the bird and it is so handsome as a presentation. Also, you clearly have good pixels dedicated to the bird resulting in a high quality image. Kudos!

What are they feeding on?

Asher

Maggie Terlecki · Dec 31, 2012

Asher Kelman said:
Maggie,

This fellow is a welcome visitor here! It's also a finch and a well dressed one with a white pocket handkerchief in his top pocket! Your design of the frame works well here. Normally, black seems to imprison the image, but here, your border of golden yellow, picks up the color of the bird and it is so handsome as a presentation. Also, you clearly have good pixels dedicated to the bird resulting in a high quality image. Kudos!

What are they feeding on?

Asher

This is the first time I've seen them here, it was such a joy and brought a bit of color to a cold, frosty winter day. I actually don't have a lot of pixels, or a great lens, for that matter, but they let me get within 15 feet or so. They were not very jittery. I was lucky. After I passed it through routine in Lightroom, I brought it into photoshop where I pushed the highlight and pupil a bit to make them look sharper, I think that makes a big difference. Oddly enough, I didn't add any saturation or vibrance, as this bird was this screaming yellow. If you would have seen me, I was doing a dance of joy. We don't get many colorful birds here, much less a yellow one and then even rarer in winter. :-D

oh, and they love sunflower seeds.

I took some images of a pair of redpolls yesterday, I'll see if I have one that's good enough to post.

Asher Kelman · Dec 31, 2012

Maggie Terlecki said:
This is the first time I've seen them here, it was such a joy and brought a bit of color to a cold, frosty winter day.................................Oddly enough, I didn't add any saturation or vibrance, as this bird was this screaming yellow. If you would have seen me, I was doing a dance of joy. We don't get many colorful birds here, much less a yellow one and then even rarer in winter. :-D

So you're the beneficiary of an irruption of birds! They lost their habitat somewhere else and they go on mass to new territories every few years until the former ones get replenished.

Maggie Terlecki said:
oh, and they love sunflower seeds.

so have you set up a bird feeder or do you just scatter them?

Maggie Terlecki said:
I took some images of a pair of redpolls yesterday, I'll see if I have one that's good enough to post.

Looking forward to the latter!

I must sat the the stout little coal tit by Jerome is a permanent favorite of mine and my grandkids, but this smart splendid male is a winner in style. So far, the best dressed dandy and even beats my hummer!

Asher

Maggie Terlecki · Dec 31, 2012

I don't consider myself a bird photographer, as I am not only not equipped for it, but I wouldn't go out of my way or sit in the woods for hours waiting on them, but when they just land in the trees where I live, they are begging for me to take their picture. At the moment, some bird seed simply strewn on the snow, but I think I'll get a feeder and put it just in front of my kitchen window; I think I'd enjoy that.

Oh, and the yellow handkerchief is my favorite part of that photo also!

Here are a pair of male redpolls I took yesterday. They are not as sharp as I'd like, but they are hard to capture. So cute though, as they look like they are wearing little red berets. Taken from the front on, they kind of look very French, Red beret and mustache! :-D Not as cute as Jerome's baby though, which would be hard to beat, so darn pretty!

Jerome Marot · Dec 31, 2012

Is this thread only for "creatures of the wild"?

Asher Kelman · Dec 31, 2012

Jerome,

Of course the lady counts!

Asher

Jaime Johnson · Jan 1, 2013

Funny Story with this one…

We decided to go for a hike today and shoot some landscapes. We loaded up our two packs and drove to the trailhead.
Shortly after starting the hike, we noticed a large Great Horned Owl sitting in a nearby tree.
Our experience with the Great Horns is that if they know you know where they are, they are gone. Zoom – off they go….

But today… to our surprise, the owl just sat there. Seemingly oblivious to our presence.

I dug out the largest lens we had and snapped a few off the tripod. Dang… it was too small… landscape lens..

This is incredibly frustrating. It is almost impossible to get an owl to play and then when they do, we don’t have the proper gear.
We made the decision to beat feet home to get better telephoto gear.

About an hour later, we got back to the spot where the owl had been. To our surprise, he was still sitting there!
We shot him for about an hour and then decided to complete our hike.
After a couple hours of hiking, we were passing back by the owl tree on the way to the truck.
Our friend was still there! We stopped again and shot for another half hour or so..

What a wonderful experience. Tolerant owl for sure! He was still sitting there when we left tonight!

This wasn't in my yard, but they often are in my yard.. sometimes two or three at a time.

So I guess it counts..

Asher Kelman · Jan 1, 2013

Jaime Johnson: Great Horned Owl that has patience!

Jaime,

The owl just said, "There's Jaime and his wife from that garden I visit! This is my tree and i'm not going to budge!"

Asher

Don Cohen · Jan 1, 2013

Interesting story, Jaime (and nice photo as well!).

Amazing that he stuck around!

Michael Nagel · Jan 1, 2013

Jaime,

thanks for showing the owl and the history related to the picture.
I like owls, but I rarely see them outside.

I am not a bird photographer, but as the birds in Munich are quite tolerant towards human presence, sometimes I am tempted.

I could get pretty close to this cygnet during shooting (1m to 1.5m) , the parents did not consider me as threat and almost ignored my presence.

Neugier

This is the kind of picture that makes you think (and shudder) when checking the result...

Missing Foot

Best regards,
Michael

Asher Kelman · Jan 2, 2013

Michael Nagel said:
I am not a bird photographer, but as the birds in Munich are quite tolerant towards human presence, sometimes I am tempted.

I could get pretty close to this cygnet during shooting (1m to 1.5m) , the parents did not consider me as threat and almost ignored my presence.

Neugier

Michael,

But it's full of fun. No storm coming here! This is idyllic!

It's a very simple composition reminding me of Jerome's cloud picture with the strong horizontal mass of grass. (That picture by Jerome, and the references to the stretched out sterile art by Gursky and the more colorful images by Eggleston, have made themselves key players in my landscape evaluation references, LOL!)

Michael Nagel said:
This is the kind of picture that makes you think (and shudder) when checking the result...

Missing Foot

Sometimes things go wrong in life and that's the test! This fellow passes with flying colors. Bravo little bird!

Asher

Birds where we live!

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