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Photography

arg-fallbackName="Isotelus"/>
I'm a bird photographer :)

Male Yellow-headed Blackbird by Isotelus, on Flickr


Ross's Goose by Isotelus, on Flickr
Obviously a Ross's goose, but it had some Snow goose features as well, so I believe that it's parents or grandparents were hybridized.


Common Loon by Isotelus, on Flickr


Saw-whet Owl by Isotelus, on Flickr


'Akohekohe by Isotelus, on Flickr
Not that great a photo, but it's my pride and joy. I find the Hawaiian honeycreepers in general to be fascinating, and I'd been searching for this bird for 5 years until I finally saw it and got a picture. I have a tattoo of one my ankle. :D
 
arg-fallbackName="Laurens"/>
Not a patch on any of the photos in the post above, but I did catch a Goldfinch today with my camera:
549259_10150779951459456_512439455_9435471_1883136774_n.jpg


530041_10150779960654456_512439455_9435477_206732206_n.jpg


And a Greenfinch:
524068_10150779879994456_512439455_9435264_353161631_n.jpg


:)
 
arg-fallbackName="Isotelus"/>
Laurens: I'm curious about the House Sparrows you have. Over here they bully the native species and can monopolize the bird seed. Do you have the same problem at your feeders? I'm assuming no (or at least to a lesser extent) because of coevolution, but you never know. :)

My solution to my House Sparrow problem is attracting bigger birds like magpies, crows, and flickers that scare the sparrows away for fairly long periods of time and give the native birds a chance to get their share.
 
arg-fallbackName="Laurens"/>
Isotelus said:
Laurens: I'm curious about the House Sparrows you have. Over here they bully the native species and can monopolize the bird seed. Do you have the same problem at your feeders? I'm assuming no (or at least to a lesser extent) because of coevolution, but you never know. :)

My solution to my House Sparrow problem is attracting bigger birds like magpies, crows, and flickers that scare the sparrows away for fairly long periods of time and give the native birds a chance to get their share.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I've seen any evidence of bullying myself, but house sparrows are very common around here (along with blackbirds, collared doves and pigeons). The sparrows don't seem to fight other species off the feeders or anything, but they are extremely common.

Starlings on the other hand often swoop down and scare other birds away in order to have the feeders for themselves. I haven't really thought of any solutions to this kind of thing, although we've been getting more expensive feed in the last few years and that has attracted much rarer birds (goldfinches were really rare a few years back, but now I see one every few days).
 
arg-fallbackName="Isotelus"/>
Laurens said:
I'm not sure I've seen any evidence of bullying myself, but house sparrows are very common around here (along with blackbirds, collared doves and pigeons). The sparrows don't seem to fight other species off the feeders or anything, but they are extremely common.

Starlings on the other hand often swoop down and scare other birds away in order to have the feeders for themselves. I haven't really thought of any solutions to this kind of thing, although we've been getting more expensive feed in the last few years and that has attracted much rarer birds (goldfinches were really rare a few years back, but now I see one every few days).
Click to expand...

They really are crazy abundunt birds. Good thing you don't have any issues with them; they're a tough nut to crack.

Yes, I hear starlings are very common problem. Some solutions I'm aware of are getting feeders that only allow access to the smaller birds, or having a tray or big hopper so the Starlings will ignore the other feeders. What sort of seed do you use?
It's always a treat when you get the uncommon birds popping by. The plumage on the goldfinch really intriques me, and I love the red patch on its face. Hope you get more pictures!

Here are a couple photos of my sparrow solution:

Poofy Flicker by Isotelus, on Flickr
It was around -30 C that day. :lol:


Magpie by Isotelus, on Flickr
Blue eyes and gape flanges = subadult :)
 
arg-fallbackName="Laurens"/>
Isotelus said:
They really are crazy abundunt birds. Good thing you don't have any issues with them; they're a tough nut to crack.

Yes, I hear starlings are very common problem. Some solutions I'm aware of are getting feeders that only allow access to the smaller birds, or having a tray or big hopper so the Starlings will ignore the other feeders. What sort of seed do you use?
It's always a treat when you get the uncommon birds popping by. The plumage on the goldfinch really intriques me, and I love the red patch on its face. Hope you get more pictures!
Click to expand...

I'm not sure exactly what seeds are in the mix, on the bag it only says sunflower seed and ground peanut, but I'm pretty sure there's more than that... If I manage to find out I'll let you know.

There's some interesting stuff about the Goldfinch here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Goldfinch and here: http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/g/goldfinch/index.aspx
 
arg-fallbackName="Isotelus"/>
Laurens said:
Isotelus said:
They really are crazy abundunt birds. Good thing you don't have any issues with them; they're a tough nut to crack.

Yes, I hear starlings are very common problem. Some solutions I'm aware of are getting feeders that only allow access to the smaller birds, or having a tray or big hopper so the Starlings will ignore the other feeders. What sort of seed do you use?
It's always a treat when you get the uncommon birds popping by. The plumage on the goldfinch really intriques me, and I love the red patch on its face. Hope you get more pictures!
Click to expand...

I'm not sure exactly what seeds are in the mix, on the bag it only says sunflower seed and ground peanut, but I'm pretty sure there's more than that... If I manage to find out I'll let you know.

There's some interesting stuff about the Goldfinch here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Goldfinch and here: http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/g/goldfinch/index.aspx
Click to expand...

Sunflower is the king of bird seed. I buy hulled seeds because otherwise the sparrows make a huge, huge mess. You could always give safflower a try at some point too; starlings can't crack the shells, but the goldfinches should have no problem.

Thanks for the links! Interesting that the sexes are similar. I'd imagine that the male and female share nesting duties almost equally. That seems to be a common pattern amongst birds.
 
arg-fallbackName="Isotelus"/>
Laurens said:
Wow, what in incredible looking bird!

Makes most of the birds you see around these parts seem drab in comparison.
Click to expand...

He's a looker alright! What I find interesting about them is the fact that their feathers aren't actually blue. The unique structure of their feathers reflect the blue wavelength and absorb everything else.
 
arg-fallbackName="CosmicJoghurt"/>
Isotelus said:
Laurens said:
Wow, what in incredible looking bird!

Makes most of the birds you see around these parts seem drab in comparison.
Click to expand...

He's a looker alright! What I find interesting about them is the fact that their feathers aren't actually blue. The unique structure of their feathers reflect the blue wavelength and absorb everything else.
Click to expand...

That's what being blue.. means.


Beautiful pictures anyways.
 
arg-fallbackName="Frenger"/>
I have just bought myself a bridge camera and am looking to get into photography (mainly butterflies......no I'm not gay). Does anyone have a tips on taking pictures or some tutorials on youtube or whatever? I'm completely new to photography so as simple as possible pleases :)
 
arg-fallbackName="Laurens"/>
Frenger said:
I have just bought myself a bridge camera and am looking to get into photography (mainly butterflies......no I'm not gay). Does anyone have a tips on taking pictures or some tutorials on youtube or whatever? I'm completely new to photography so as simple as possible pleases :)
Click to expand...

Take pictures of things that look cool...

That works for me :p
 
arg-fallbackName="Duvelthehobbit666"/>
Went to Burger's Zoo today. Here are some pics.
https://plus.google.com/photos/102424902937990944253/albums/5786261813818762529?authkey=CJTSrq2GwfzdZw
 
arg-fallbackName="CommonEnlightenment"/>
Jupiter - First Attempt

Decided to take this shot while waiting for the Leonid Meteor Shower. The 'Seeing' conditions were OK (not awesome, not terrible). GRS was on the 'far' side of Jupiter while attempting this shot (rotation of planet was not in my favor at this specific point). Want to try this again under better conditions.

Hrm.......

It appears a small little hardware issue needs to be taken care of before slightly better quality pics can be obtained. Will try again soon......

Leonids were rather spotty around these parts. Approx 4 in an hour.
 
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