Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Bird photo round-up

This post is going to show all the birds I've been excited to snap during the last few weeks.  I've photographed a few new birds - new checks in my birding guide - and a couple of repeats that I just liked.

I've gotten this guy before, but I just love his coloring.  I have to admit, they seem to be all over the place and are very easy to get pictures of, but I still try to get better, clearer shots.


Here's the Hairy Woodpecker again - check out the last shot.  His little pink tongue actually made it into the feeder's tiny opening and it looks like he's getting some nectar.





Next are some House Finches - a red male and the plainer brown female.  I don't know if I've seen them here at Bluewater before, but these are pretty good shots.




I changed the settings on my new camera to see if I could get the wings clearer while the female Anna's Hummingbird was was feeding - and it worked, especially in the second photo. 


 
I was parked in the parking lot of Saint Theresa of Avila Catholic Church in Grants, NM and heard some bird calls.  I looked up and here was a Chihuahuan Raven.  I wonder if he was singing a hymn?


This next bird is a first sighting and photo for me.  I snapped his photo at Bluewater Lake State Park.  He's a male Violet-green Swallow.



Blurry picture, but I may never get one in flight again.  Wish I had changed the camera setting before I got this shot.

This next bird is a White-breasted Nuthatch.  It was climbing all over a Pinyon Pine in the campground, then hopped off, jumped around and climbed back on the tree.  I took a ton of pictures, but it moved so fast, only a few were clear.  The male has a black cap and nape, and the female has a grey cap and nape.  I think this one is a female.




These Great-tailed Grackles are in the parking lot at Wal-Mart, the males are black and the females/juveniles (who are molting right now) are brown and black.  I liked the way this one looked, kind of raggedy:



I put up a seed feeder to see what would come by.  So far, Pinyon Jays have emptied it, but no other birds so far.  This first guy is standing on a little broken branch coming out of the trunk, looking down at the feeder.


Before I knew it, I had a tree full of Pinyon  Jays on the Pinyon Pine.  There were more, but this was taken out the front windshield, and I cropped out the rest with the steering wheel, rear-view mirror, etc.  It was fun to watch them all jockey for position to get to the feeder.  Most of them didn't make it.


This one is a Say's Phoebe - I've seen them twice in the park, I don't think they are very plentiful and felt lucky to get a photo of this guy.



I've had this green bird for a long time and she's a favorite.  She is always standing near my houseplants, and is a Fat Green Kitchenbird. They are usually seen in threesomes - one with a hat, one in a bikini and one with a belt.  Although they like to hang around together, I think the other two are stored in a cupboard for now. 


And that's all the photos of birds for now.  I have to say, although I'm not a real birder, I sure love finding new ones, getting their pictures, and checking them off in my Field Guide.  It's nice to post them in my blog for easy future reference.

From me and Katie, have a great Tuesday, everyone!  :)

16 comments:

  1. Loved the bird photos. What did you change on the camera settings to get better visibility of the hummingbird's wings? If you wouldn't mind sharing?

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  2. I think your bird shots are getting better and better all the time. I got a chuckle out of the green kitchenbird. :)

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  3. I just love today's photos. I can't believe how clear and crisp they turn out, and really show the beauty of the birds.

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  4. GREAT pictures of the birds. I sure enjoyed them. I can relate to that last bird!!

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  5. Outstanding... you find beauty even at Walmart parking lots... wherever you are. love the Pinyon tree... and the Hairy? Woodpecker's tongue! wow

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  6. really nice shots! You are learning a lot about your camera if you know how to change settings! I'm impressed!

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  7. Beautiful and lovely images of the birds. Love the Reww swallow and the Pinyon Jays! Of course, being a birder, I love the all!

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  8. Lovely shots, pretty birds. Many of the birds I've never seen before. They obviously don't get this far north.

    My fave...the kitchen bird, she's cute!

    Have a great rest of the week.

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  9. What great photos and I bet you had lots of fun taking them too.

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  10. OK...I want to know the setting too...my hummingbirds had blurry wings!

    That picture of all the Pinyon Jays in the tree is way cool! They look like decorations.

    Love the kitchen bird!

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  11. You got some great shots. It takes great patience to get those shots. I think I do better with flowers they at least sit still! Keep up the good work.

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  12. Great pics! I love birds too, love finding new ones that I haven't seen before. Cheers!

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  13. great bird photos today! the hummingbird one is amazing..
    would love to see the trio of kitchen birds though!

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  14. Beautiful bird shots! That hairy woodpecker..it's ruined for life. It's gained an interest in sugar, we all know where that leads us! I like the kitchen bird, that was a much easier shot. Good job on the hummingbird! Good job on all of them in fact.

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  15. PS, I think Grackles have an internet group on walmart camping too...

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  16. You must have the patience of Job to get such excellent bird pics.

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