Photo Challenge #126 ~ Feathered Friends {05/10/2011}

Cook22 · 05-10-2011, 03:36 AM

I guess it's because there was a thread on taking photos of birds, but to my amazement when I checked back through the master list, there's never yet been a bird challenge. I spend hours watching the birds at our feeders, and always look out for them along the river on the way to work, and when we're out walking in the park. So let's see your feathered friends!

Photo Challenge Rules:
~ Have FUN with this! There are no right or wrong photos.
~ Take as many pics as you want, share the few you like best.
~ Please share only current photos, taken after the challenge was issued.
~ We CANNOT upload our photos to the SCS galleries. You may upload them as an attachment or host them from your blog or any online photo hosting site. Just provide the direct link to the photo in your post and also make sure that it is not from a password protected album.
~ Just a reminder that we are a family-friendly site if you are sending others off this site to view photos in an album hosted elsewhere.
~ You can jump in and start any of the photo challenges at anytime..
~ Again - HAVE FUN

A chaffinch on the wall in the garden
A gull with his prized possession - it just looks like crumpled paper to me, but he was guarding it jealously.
I always have trouble taking pictures along the river; the reflections make it hard to get the exposure right, plus at low tide the water is pretty manky. But I like the splashes of colour from the beak, and that I could see the feet. It started to rain just then so I had to call it a day and head on to work.
A heron in the garden nearby that I often visit. He often perches in this tree looking over the lake.

armadillo · 05-10-2011, 05:44 AM

I would have sworn there had been a bird challenge a while back because I posted my Great Horned owlets. Guess I posted them for a different challenge.

Sabrina, those are nice bird shots, especially the heron.

armadillo · 05-10-2011, 05:47 AM

I found it! but it wasn't started as a challenge - Bird Photos

Cook22 · 05-10-2011, 05:58 AM

LOL, I had to check twice through the challenge list, because the bird thread made me sure that we'd had a bird challenge somewhere along the way.

armadillo · 05-10-2011, 09:47 AM

Maybe the bird thread and the Feathered Friends challenge could be combined?

yellowrose46 · 05-10-2011, 10:05 AM

Wow! Great minds think alike! I was just thinking that we hadn't had a challenge on birds. I also posted on the Bird photos a long time ago, but I realized there had not been a bird challenge. I'm off to the city today, but will try to get some photos later this week. Last evening my DD called me and told me they ran out of wedding invites. She was just going to send an -e-vite to her co-workers, but I told her I would make some more. Seeing as she was going to take me out for a 'Mother's day' dinner this evening, it made it easier for me to bring her more invites, although I am rushing now to get more finished.

bambi64 · 05-11-2011, 01:36 PM

These were taken last year but I had to share them. The birdfeeder is one my son made for Scouts project. Hopefully I can get some new bird pictures.

yellowrose46 · 05-12-2011, 06:28 AM

I finally got a chance to look at your photos Sabrina. They are all wonderful........love the details on the finch, and the close up of the heron. You really seem to know your birds well.......even distinguishing between two gulls. I'm afraid my participation in this challenge will be limited, as I don't have a magnescopic lens for my camera. For these challenges, I have been using my digital point and shoot, as I have such an old computer that I have been unable to upload the soft ware for my digital SLR.

yellowrose46 · 05-12-2011, 06:29 AM

Amber, I love the bird feeder your son made! Is the bird's head inside the bottle?

JBgreendawn · 05-12-2011, 12:06 PM

oooOoooh, just found the nest in the honeysuckle by the bbq is occupied... ( think its a robin nest) but, so far when the mama is in it she keeps her head down. ( its been really windy here) shot dozens of birds in the yard on Mothers day and the wind was blowing so bad that ( and cloudy over cast day) I had shots that looked more like I was going for the motion blur of the day award...

will have to go back out and try it again.

Cook22 · 05-12-2011, 12:28 PM

I like the way you can see the bird ducking right into the feeder - and it looks as if you have it hanging nice and close to the house too.

JBgreendawn · 05-12-2011, 05:47 PM

so the wind is not blowing... got sidetracked because, found this in the driveway ( color caught my attention) and Hubs picked it up and moved it to the cement between the driveway and the flowerbed. ( it's empty)

yellowrose46 · 05-13-2011, 04:41 AM

Robins' eggs are so pretty aren't they? I wonder what happened to this one.....the hole doesn't look big enough to have hatched a baby. I wonder if a bigger bird pierced it and sucked it dry?

Cook22 · 05-13-2011, 05:46 AM

I'd say Ina's right - sad. I came across a properly hatched egg (blue, but not vivid blue like that!)last week when I was litter-picking for our local area clean-up, but I also came across two dead fledglings. I bet it was magpies. I saw one of them chasing a full-grown thrush just last week.

I took these yesterday - the thrush was along the canal - a bit grainy because I had to whomp up the ISO on account of all the shade in the trees.
The hooded crow was crossing one of the green areas.

armadillo · 05-13-2011, 06:35 AM

Sabrina, those are great shots and to get ones with a bird holding a berry, wow! A few weeks ago I saw a woodpecker at a neighbor's Saguaro I think tending to possibly a baby. I was going to go back and stake out the Saguaro but, of course, forgot!

JBgreendawn · 05-13-2011, 06:46 AM

Oh that is a terrible thought, ( I was just hoping it had died a natural death and the mama maybe pushed the shell out of the nest, but the idea that the egg fell out somehow then something else came along and ate it makes more sense for the shell surviving the fall intact.) It was just something interesting since i usually find shells in half or quarter pieces.. ( We have Lots of robins)
some black things with orange on the wings that are noisy and mean, and some different finches and doves. (some quail) and blue jays.

I am finding it a big challenge to shoot the tiny birds in the yard more then the bigger ones at the refuge though.

Think I may go see if that shell is still out there before i go to work and pick it up.

Cook22 · 05-13-2011, 11:24 AM

We don't have woodpeckers here - sniff. They're on the list of many birds I'd like to see, although at least they're common in much of Europe so I'm more likely to see them than something like a cardinal, bluebird or hummer.

I sat on the floor of the back porch this afternoon and snapped away in between the thunder showers. I got the coconut feeder just last week because I was thinking I hadn't seen any little bluetits for a while - but the other birds like it too!

Bluetit
Coal tit
Robin
A sparrow on one of the other feeders, cracking open a sunflower seed. The little coal tits - when they get a sunflower seed they move to a branch and wedge it against the branch with a claw, and you can see him working away at getting it open. The sparrow seems to be more like the finches, it can do it just with its beak.

armadillo · 05-13-2011, 11:48 AM

Sabrina, those are awesome! There are no cardinals in Oregon. My bird pictures might be relegated to the zoo since I don't carry my camera around with me.

yellowrose46 · 05-14-2011, 05:59 AM

Oh my goodness Sabrina......your photos are amazing! They not only speak for your patience, and great eye, but also for your photographic skill! To be able to see all the details on these wonderful birds is simply amazing! Thanks so much for sharing these with us!

yellowrose46 · 05-14-2011, 04:03 PM

I was on my way to the dump, when I noticed my gas tank was almost empty, so I had to go into the little village of Belwood for gas that was 5 cents per litre more expensive than what my usual gas station charges today. But the bonus was that I saw a flock of Canada geese at the lake. I took several photos before I realized there was also a family of goslings!

Cook22 · 05-15-2011, 12:04 AM

Those are lovely - we get to see Canada Geese here in a few places, where they've escaped from collections and naturalised. It looks like a very grey day there!
Not this year's goslings surely after your late Spring? I've seen just one mallard chick here and no cygnets yet.

yellowrose46 · 05-16-2011, 04:46 AM

Yes, they are this year's goslings! It was a grey day....as a matter of fact, it was sprinkling at the time. And it has been grey and raining ever since, with the exception of last evening around 8 p.m. when there was a gorgeous sunset and a rainbow! I will post a couple of photos in the cloud challenge thread. Weather forecast for this week is rain every day!

armadillo · 05-19-2011, 11:41 AM

I finally got some pictures of birds and didn't have to leave home! I decided to buy a new hummingbird feeder the other day so now I have the woodpeckers back and other birds. The red bird I always thought was a red throated finch but when I checked the name, there is no such thing but there is a purple finch that this looks a lot like, so who knows. The last image i did crop and enhance the cactus and birds a bit.

craftnut · 05-19-2011, 04:07 PM

I love to photograph birds, especially the migratory birds that come to Ontario every May. I post several on my blog - Crafty Violet's Chaos

...but I also make cards, scrapbook, quilt, sew and do other crafts so I post quite a few different things - but lots of bird pictures.

yellowrose46 · 05-19-2011, 06:39 PM

Violet, I love your blog! Great bird photos. I am on dial up in the countryside, so my computer was very slow to view your blog, but I will check it out some more when I get to work tonight.....high speed in town! Where are you in Ontario?

JoBear2 · 05-19-2011, 10:08 PM

I thought I would take a photo of the Rainbow Lorikeets which come to our feeder on our decking each day. Sheesh - it was so hard to get a photo I was happy with as they are constantly moving - and it was difficult to get a shot where there wasn't a blurry bird! Anyway, this was the best photo out of the tons I took. As it is very cold and dull here at the moment, it is such a joy to have them visit and brighten my card.

Cook22 · 05-19-2011, 11:44 PM

I love to see the woodpeckers - Armadillo's and Violet's. I just discovered that some have been heard in the park near us - something for me to find

.
And it's fascinating seeing them on the cactuses, and thinking that that's just as normal for you as seeing ours in the mahonia or the trees along the railway line. I like both the silhouette shot and the one when you can see the finch.
Jo, those are fabulous - definitely something it would make me happy to watch. I know what you mean about the movement when there are several birds - I usually up the ISO a bit so that I can get the fastest possible exposure.

yellowrose46 · 05-20-2011, 02:24 AM

Oh my goodness, Jocelyn! those lorikeets are gorgeous! The colors are so rich and deep! Where do you live anyway........that these birds are out in the open. It must be a warm place!

armadillo · 05-20-2011, 05:06 AM

Love those colorful lorikeets.

Cook22 · 05-20-2011, 12:18 PM

I know I shared a robin already - but this shot was taken just as it was regurgitating some sort of pellet, and you can see its tongue.
The collared dove is very hard to get a shot of - the slightest movement and they're gone. This was taken through the window.
A moorhen (you can just see it!) on its nest in a city centre park. There's a short video on my blog post for today.

armadillo · 05-20-2011, 01:01 PM

Awesome photos and video Sabrina!

Alcojo94 · 05-20-2011, 06:04 PM

I love all of these photos. Wow, some of you get some very colorful birds, I love it!! I havent had a lot of time to get out and get some photos, so here is a bit of a mixture.

The first one is of one of my favorite little birds, the chickadee. This was taken a month ago at one of my feeders. The 2nd photo is of a Myrtle Warbler. Its the first time I have ever seen one in my yard but I couldnt get a very good pic because he was zooming all over the place! The last photo is a male common redpoll. This yr I seem to have more redpolls than I ever have. They love to sit on the shelf outside my dining room window and tease my cat.

Cook22 · 05-21-2011, 06:28 AM

I never realised how like your chickadee our coaltit is. The warbler is beautiful with that splash of vibrant yellow, and the redpoll looks sweet. I'm certainly enjoying seeing all the birds.

craftnut · 05-23-2011, 11:29 AM

Thanks YellowRose46 for the compliments. I have oodles of bird and nature photos! I live in Chatham, ON so I'm close to both Rondeau Provincial Park and Point Pelee National Park, both of which are top of the list for bird watchers and photographers. We've met people from all over the world that come here just to see and/or photograph the birds. Some of my favorite photos are from last year - like the Pileated Woodpecker but the rules said to post only new ones. I'm not sure how to post thumbnails so I had to direct people to my blog - Crafty Violet's Chaos. If someone can give me directions on how to post thumbnail photos I would appreciate it.

Cook22 · 05-23-2011, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by craftnut

Thanks YellowRose46 for the compliments. I have oodles of bird and nature photos! I live in Chatham, ON so I'm close to both Rondeau Provincial Park and Point Pelee National Park, both of which are top of the list for bird watchers and photographers. We've met people from all over the world that come here just to see and/or photograph the birds. Some of my favorite photos are from last year - like the Pileated Woodpecker but the rules said to post only new ones. I'm not sure how to post thumbnails so I had to direct people to my blog - Crafty Violet's Chaos. If someone can give me directions on how to post thumbnail photos I would appreciate it.

You need to either click the Reply button at the top of the thread or else on Go Advanced under the reply box at the bottom of the page.
Then the first section is for Reply to Thread, and the second section is for Additional Options. Click on Manage Attachments and then it should (I hope) be obvious what to do. I think it may still say the limit is 3 per post, but actually it went up to 5 recently.
It may be that you have to have made a certain number of posts before you can add an attachment, it's certainly the case if you want to add a link to something.

yellowrose46 · 05-23-2011, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by craftnut

Thanks YellowRose46 for the compliments. I have oodles of bird and nature photos! I live in Chatham, ON so I'm close to both Rondeau Provincial Park and Point Pelee National Park, both of which are top of the list for bird watchers and photographers. We've met people from all over the world that come here just to see and/or photograph the birds. Some of my favorite photos are from last year - like the Pileated Woodpecker but the rules said to post only new ones. I'm not sure how to post thumbnails so I had to direct people to my blog - Crafty Violet's Chaos. If someone can give me directions on how to post thumbnail photos I would appreciate it.

I grew up in Strathroy and my niece got married in Chatham, so I do know where you are.....have even been to Point Pelee National Park years ago. Maybe that should go on my bucket list of places to visit this year. Hopefully Sabrina got you on the right track to post thumbnails. Can't wait to see more photos!

Cook22 · 05-24-2011, 12:20 PM

We went to the park this evening - I snapped a jackdaw in the woods and a little coot chick on the lake. It always surprises me that they have red beaks, when the adults don't - makes me think they're moorhens till you see the adult coots feeding them.

And the goldfinch (ours are different to the US ones) was this afternoon - I love them. We had a whole flock in the garden of the last house we lived in, here they are too rare a treat; this is only the second time I've seen one in the garden in four years. They have a flash of bright yellow on the wing.

The wet robin was after one of our torrential downpours yesterday - we had blustery high winds all day with mostly blue skies but occasional cloudbursts.

yellowrose46 · 05-25-2011, 06:30 AM

Sabrina, this challenge was inspired. I love seeing all these birds that are local to you and so different from ours. I got a good laugh out of the poor drowned robin!
Well, off to see this week's challenge!

craftnut · 05-26-2011, 04:14 PM

Not sure I did this right but here are three more photos I took this spring.

First one is a Northern Mockingbird. Rare to get a good photo of this one according to the Naturalist at the visitor centre.
Next one is the Yellow-throated Vireo - another rare shot.
and the last one is the Prothonotary Warbler - the most "want to get a picture of it" of all the migratory birds. The professional photographers will set up their equipment and wait for 8 - 10 hours "in case" it shows up. We walked the trail, came upon two males putting on a great show. They love to look at themselves in the water. I got some great photos of them.