Birders

[Firth]

The next door neighbor is feeding mystery meat to the “birds”[emoji15]. This visitor showed up on my deck today.

[Firth]

A telling pic:

[Shadow]

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I was around Rt 40 west and 695 last week and there were five of them in the neighbors yard across the street picking at the ground. There was no carcass but there must have been some remains in the grass.

[Firth]

Haven’t got a good picture, but seeing quite a few blondish red tail hawks here in MD.

[progmatist]

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I was around Rt 40 west and 695 last week and there were five of them in the neighbors yard across the street picking at the ground. There was no carcass but there must have been some remains in the grass.

In the late 80s, I was driving on a remote, 2 lane mountain highway in AZ. Approaching a curve, I saw a group of vultures by the side of the road. When I got closer, they turned out to be feasting on a dog who apparently fell out of its owners vehicle.

[ForeverAutumn]

My biologist friend spotted a red crossbill by driving with her window open and hearing it's call. She pulled her car over to search for them and found them at the top of a spruce tree. Man, I wish I had those skills.

I should also mention that it's been hovering around 10F this week. A bit cold for driving with your windows down.

[Nearfest2]

My biologist friend spotted a red crossbill by driving with her window open and hearing it's call. She pulled her car over to search for them and found them at the top of a spruce tree. Man, I wish I had those skills.

I should also mention that it's been hovering around 10F this week. A bit cold for driving with your windows down.

Crossbills are pretty loud and chatty. If you know what you're listening for, they're pretty easy. I still want to find one in Chester County, PA

[proggy_jazzer]

I think my wife and I are going to take the plunge and get a "real" camera for our bird-watching activities. Looking for recommendations for a beginner's camera that would be a bridge between the iphone and something perhaps more serious down the road. Budget? Under $1000 for sure, would rather something around $500 or less if the quality is good enough. Thanks in advance!

[ForeverAutumn]

I'm not sure what kind of camera you're looking for, but I bought this one a couple of years ago and am pretty pleased with it, as long as your subject is in good light. It's not very good in low light.

It's pretty adjustable for a point-and-shoot. It's got a 30X optical zoom, which is good for birding. In order to get the Zoom in this price range, you sacrifice the size and quality of the sensor. Hence the grainy photos in low light. For outdoor shooting I'd recommend it. For indoor shooting, not so much.

I LOVE the electronic view finder. You can adjust the focus of it so that you can view it without reading glasses.

https://www.panasonic.com/ca/consume.../dmc-zs60.html

[progmatist]

Something like this would give you the ease of a point and shoot, with the quality of a DSLR. Nikon is known for their optics.

[Firth]

Something like this would give you the ease of a point and shoot, with the quality of a DSLR. Nikon is known for their optics.

I got the Nikon Z6 which is a mirror less camera, not DSLR. I find it purely amazing at capturing birds in flight.

[Firth]

[proggy_jazzer]

I'm not sure what kind of camera you're looking for, but I bought this one a couple of years ago and am pretty pleased with it, as long as your subject is in good light. It's not very good in low light.

It's pretty adjustable for a point-and-shoot. It's got a 30X optical zoom, which is good for birding. In order to get the Zoom in this price range, you sacrifice the size and quality of the sensor. Hence the grainy photos in low light. For outdoor shooting I'd recommend it. For indoor shooting, not so much.

I LOVE the electronic view finder. You can adjust the focus of it so that you can view it without reading glasses.

https://www.panasonic.com/ca/consume.../dmc-zs60.html

Something like this would give you the ease of a point and shoot, with the quality of a DSLR. Nikon is known for their optics.

I got the Nikon Z6 which is a mirror less camera, not DSLR. I find it purely amazing at capturing birds in flight.

Thanks, folks - much appreciated!

[Mister Triscuits]

Female hooded merganser. She was the only merganser in a small pond populated mainly by Canada geese, coots, mallards and one bufflehead (also female).

IMG_1897.jpg

[ForeverAutumn]

Female hooded merganser. She was the only merganser in a small pond populated mainly by Canada geese, coots, mallards and one bufflehead (also female).

IMG_1897.jpg

They are such cool looking birds. We rent a cottage every summer (the same cottage) and every couple of years we see them on the lake.

[jake]

They just re-opened the Loch Arkaig osprey cam in anticipation of the new hatching season. Although there hasn’t been any bird action for a few days, a spider has taken the time to build a web over the camera lens - it’s quite funny watching it weaving away unaware that the world is watching:

[Shadow]

They just re-opened the Loch Arkaig osprey cam in anticipation of the new hatching season. Although there hasn’t been any bird action for a few days, a spider has taken the time to build a web over the camera lens - it’s quite funny watching it weaving away unaware that the world is watching:

It doesn't play for me.

[Dave (in MA)]

It doesn't play for me.

It's a live feed of not much happening. Isn't the time code changing at the lower left?

[jake]

Click on the live button at the bottom until it turns red. Spider looks to have completed the web. BTW showing night vision at the moment due local Scottish time.

[JKL2000]

Chad, this isn’t a lot to go on I know, but a couple of days ago I saw a bird that was black with some b&w striping on the wings. It was singing what sounded like several different bird songs, switching around randomly (to me, anyway!). Any idea what this was? Probably between a sparrow and a blue jay in size. Lower Hudson Valley.

[Nearfest2]

Chad, this isn’t a lot to go on I know, but a couple of days ago I saw a bird that was black with some b&w striping on the wings. It was singing what sounded like several different bird songs, switching around randomly (to me, anyway!). Any idea what this was? Probably between a sparrow and a blue jay in size. Lower Hudson Valley.

Red-winged Blackbird

[Dave (in MA)]

Can't confirm or deny, but:

"White-winged Red-winged Blackbird-yep"
https://www.theweathernetwork.com/us...d-yep/34146692

[JKL2000]

Red-winged Blackbird

That doesn't really sound like it, or look like it. It's like it had several different calls that it used, and they were all pretty different from each other, and he went on and on singing, switching from one song to another.

[Fracktured]

Red-winged Blackbird

Saw them over at the park the other day while walking my dog.

[Fracktured]

There was a nice segment on living on earth on npr this past weekend about bird migration. If you didn’t catch it you can go to loe.org and listen to it. I knew I didn’t know anything about birds but until you start learning you don’t really know how much there is to know and learn. It’s really a lifetime of learning.