Post your best bird shots!

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Originally Posted by ahab1372

Thanks Dsiegel and Bob,
the picture is certainly not exceptional, but I was happy to see that guy around scaring the pigeons away. I also like to see wild life (other than pigeons) being able to adjust to suburban areas.

Arnt

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Me too. Especially in my backyard. It just seems to increase the opportunities to score a decent shot. I have a copper's Hawk that frequents my neighborhood and polices the dove activity. I always get excited when I see him, but have yet to get a really good shot. When I started putting out birdseed and suet, I thought it would attract a variety of songbirds and woodpeckers. Instead, it just increased the number of sparrow, finches dove already visiting. But....since their food supply is more abundant now, I seem to get regular visits from raptors, inluding: Cooper's hawks, Northern Harriers and even a mississippi kite. But I haven't seen any redtails or owls--Perhaps this year.

I have seen the same thing ( I think it's expected) in terms of raptors hunting the bird feeders. In my case I rarely get a shot at them with a camera but I have seen Red Tails, Coopers and Sharp Shinned Hawks. Strangely enough I live just above a small stream that's called Owl Creek but I have yet to see or hear one!

The birds here this morning are extremely active and vocal, I think they are beginning their mating season...I had a dozen or more BlueJays in the trees as well as several other species this morning....here's an example

http://joeleadephotography.zenfolio....11201224-5.jpg

Hi :D


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Originally Posted by Sinh Nhut Nguyen

Hi :D


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Sinh, Great to have you back. I have missed you. This is a wonderful shot of Mom and youngster. Beautifully captured and framed.

Here are a couple from today.

First, a black capped chickadee. Taken with 60D and 135L at f/2.8, 1/1600 second, and ISO 100. I shot it as a JPG this time using camera settings of 4 - 1 - 1 - 0, cropped to isolate the bird, resized, and sharpened for web posting.

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Second, I believe this is a sparrow but am unsure of what type. It was shot using the same gear as above at f/4, 1/640 second, and ISO 100. I shot this one RAW, post-processed to taste, cropped, resized, and sharpened for web posting. You may have noticed most of my other bird pictures I had posted earlier always had the bird feeder or deck in the shot. This one didn't because I set up a tree branch near my deck for the birds to perch on when they break from eating.

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Went out looking for bald eagles today. Saw a few flying and two in a nest but everything was just too far away for a good shot. It's almost a two hour drive from my house to where I went looking for them. The day wasn't a total loss. I did get a few hawk pictures along the way.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7069/6...860ed438_z.jpg
IMG_7982 by Denise Trocio, on Flickr

[IMG]http://4mozasmiles.smugmug.com/Anima...02182049-M.jpg[/IMG]

This guy jumped off the feeder before engaging his wings!

60D 70-200 2.8 ii w/ 2x-iii ; 400mm ISO 800 f/5.6 1/2000

Very nice hawk picture. Where do you typically go for bald eagles? I'm not terribly far from your area. Lake Michigan off Kenosha is about a 70 minute drive.

Dave

Thanks, Dave! I go to South Beloit, WI, just over the border from Illinois. Last February there were alot of bald eagles there but only a few this year due to the mild winter we have had.

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Originally Posted by ddt0725

Thanks, Dave! I go to South Beloit, WI, just over the border from Illinois. Last February there were alot of bald eagles there but only a few this year due to the mild winter we have had.

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Denise,

Is there a particular spot you go to or just anywhere along the Rock River?

Dave