Hooded Merganser
Jan 4, 2014 15:44:11 #
First time for me. Still practicing. This guy was very wary.... and also aggressive in chasing off other waterfowl-- some much bigger than he.
Jan 4, 2014 18:24:52 #
Nicely done, Allen. Their head feathers remind me of a 59 caddy tail fins.
Jan 4, 2014 18:31:15 #
jrb1213 wrote:
Nicely done, Allen. Their head feathers remind me of a 59 caddy tail fins.
Thanks. I'm giving the 70-300 a work-out. I watched this guy for about 20 minutes or so. He was probably 60-100 feet away, pretty active with lots of diving. I was hoping to see him surface with a fish-- but no such luck. He did chase off several larger ducks-- so whatever he was diving for, he wasn't sharing. This is the first one I've seen-- much less photographed. Had to look him up in the Audubon Guide book when I returned home. Next time, I'm sticking it in the back-pack.
Jan 4, 2014 18:39:40 #
I know what you mean by having to look one up. I just saw a juvenile double crested cormorant ( no crests) for the first time not only had to look it up, but had to ask a Audubon education specialist what it was.
Jan 5, 2014 03:33:10 #
I'd say your doing pretty good with your new 70-300. I really like number 2. Looks really sharp and shows a lot of the feather detail. Well exposed!
Jan 5, 2014 11:10:56 #
Jan 5, 2014 11:52:56 #
Jan 5, 2014 13:52:22 #
jrb1213 wrote:
I know what you mean by having to look one up. I just saw a juvenile double crested cormorant ( no crests) for the first time not only had to look it up, but had to ask a Audubon education specialist what it was.
That's the trick with identifications. I'm by no means an expert--and rely heavily on my Audubon field guide. It's pretty old (before digital) and many of the photos are pretty poor quality-- I'd trash-can them (!). Not only can you have juveniles-- but you have male and female. Sometimes juveniles are really hard to ID when you have multiple species some of which are difficult to distinguish in the best of conditions.
For me, doing this is equal parts just being out and observing species in their natural habitats, identifying them, photographing them. It's kinda like fishing: beats the office any day of the week-- even if you come home with nothing on the card.
Thanks, Allen
Jan 5, 2014 13:53:49 #
O_S_O_K wrote:
I'd say your doing pretty good with your new 70-300. I really like number 2. Looks really sharp and shows a lot of the feather detail. Well exposed!
Thank you. I was fortunate to have some time off with relatively good weather. My biggest challenge are those darn Buffleheads!
Jan 5, 2014 13:54:24 #
Georgie wrote:
:thumbup: :thumbup: Thankyou for sharing those.
Thanks! I'm having fun.
Jan 5, 2014 16:36:13 #
LoneRangeFinder wrote:
First time for me. Still practicing. This guy was very wary.... and also aggressive in chasing off other waterfowl-- some much bigger than he.
Nice shots. Pretty bird. :thumbup: :thumbup:
Jan 5, 2014 16:39:32 #
bcheary wrote:
Nice shots. Pretty bird. :thumbup: :thumbup:
Thanks, bcheary
Jan 5, 2014 18:10:54 #
LoneRangeFinder wrote:
That's the trick with identifications. I'm by no ... (show quote)
Nice job on the Hoodies! Two of the better books available are the "Peterson Field Guide to birds of North America" and "The Sibley Guide to Birds". My preference is for the Sibley book as it contains more info on juveniles and alternate plumages. However, the Peterson book is better for beginners as it uses a system of field marks to help ID the birds.
Jan 5, 2014 18:16:26 #
birdpix wrote:
Nice job on the Hoodies! Two of the better books available are the "Peterson Field Guide to birds of North America" and "The Sibley Guide to Birds". My preference is for the Sibley book as it contains more info on juveniles and alternate plumages. However, the Peterson book is better for beginners as it uses a system of field marks to help ID the birds.
Thanks. As a "newbie" to the Birding forum, that means a lot. Until last week, my macro 105 was my longest lens. Just picked up the 70-300 and I'm enjoying the new challenge: to wring as much out of this lens as possible.
I'll look for the Sibley guide-- got a bookstore giftcard...
Jan 6, 2014 19:03:10 #
If you want to reply, then register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.