Posts for: LittleRed
Feb 25, 2020 15:02:37 #
drc023 wrote:
Cool shot. Looks great to me.
Thanks for looking and commenting, tis appreciated.
LittleRon
Feb 24, 2020 00:14:27 #
Playing around with a new program I found on the net called PhotoPad. Its an Aussie one that is not too shabby. This is an old picture I had taken bout 2011 at Quintana Beach on the Texas Coast. It wasn't the best pic as the light conditions twasn't as good as I would wish. But the pose was one I couldn't ignore. So I snapped a quick shot and put it in storage. Finally took it back out and played with it a bit and I kinda like the result. Not the best but considering what I had to work with it came out fairly good.
Have to make another trip to that location and get me a better one.
LittleRed (Ron)
Have to make another trip to that location and get me a better one.
LittleRed (Ron)
Feb 24, 2020 00:03:43 #
Took a long time to get this set up. Had every part of my body crossed, fingers, toes, eyes etc. when I saw them together. Been trying for many moons to get this chance with no success til this happened. Saw these two characters drifting along the shore near a bunch of fishermen cleaning their catch. Was lucky to be in the right spot at the right time as they passed in front of me. Took a long time to catch this opportunity and probably will be the only one I will ever even see. It's not often when you find these two birds together as one prefers fresh water and the other one salty brine.
LittleRed (Ron)
LittleRed (Ron)
Feb 5, 2020 14:28:14 #
fetzler wrote:
I forgot to mention earlier that your images are excellent. I have nit seen this species at they are not native to places that I have lived.
First, thank you for visiting and the kind comment.
Yes, l knew that these birds were of one of the main Thrush families the Turdus group. That I should have mentioned in my original posting. That makes the American Robin also a true Thrush but due an error by our ancestors was incorrectly called a robin. This was due to them being somewhat lookalikes (but only in coloration I think). But I don’t think we will ever see an “American Thrush”. In that case it’s “ once a robin, always a robin “ 😋😋
Like I said if you want to see this bird live you need to visit RGV area as these bird are for the most part a Mexican native. But slowly and surely they have been moving northward as the weather patterns have been changing. I first encountered this bird in 09 in the Bentsen State Park right on the border. At that time it was a vagrant species and still quite rare in the USA. Took all one day of searching before I was able to spot one. It was a “lifer” for me and my wife. At that time it was always called a Clay-Colored Robin even though it carried Thrush species name. Made me ? It at the time but all the people I met and spoke too at the time insisted it was a Robin. However there were a few old timer birders that were at that time calling it a Grey’s Thrush. But in 2013 when my posted pictures were taken almost everybody I encountered in the same area had changed their tune and were calling them correctly as a Clay-Colored Thrush. I think the real change in title came about that time and was a result of a decree from the ABA. Also it went from being a virtual rarity in 09 to being quite numerous in 13 especially right on the border (Bentsen-Rio Grande SP, Santa Anna NWR, Salineno Wildlife Preserve and Sabal Palm Sanctuary to name a few sites I have seen these birds)
Even though these birds are slowly moving north there is no hope in hell either I or you will see it in our backyard in our lifetime. I live on the east coast of Lake Superior and am too far north. But contrary to what a lot of people say the weather patterns are drastically changing leading to some interesting events occurring. Call it what you want i.e. global warming or whatever there are changes occurring. For example for years our American Robins deserted our frigid north for the sunny south in the fall. However for the past few years we have getting frequent visits all winter from some these Robins/Thrushes at our feeders to get their fruit and mealworms. Why?? Don’t know but I guess anything is possible nowadays.
LittleRed (Ron)
Feb 5, 2020 13:10:46 #
kpmac wrote:
Two nice images. And thanks for the narrative.
Thanks for looking and commenting kpmac, tis appreciated.
LittleRed (Ron)
Feb 4, 2020 20:47:01 #
A breeding resident of the RGV in Texas a few years back they were called a Clay-colored Robin but then they were renamed a Clay-colored Thrush (Turdus grayi) even though they are both part of the same family of birds. The widely dispersed American Robin (Turdus migratorius) that graces all our lawns are of the same genus. If anybody would like to observe this bird in action check out the Cornell Lab Bird Cam Panama Fruit Feeders site at the allaboutbirds.org website. There usually quite a few feeding there day and night. They are a real fruit lover. These pics were taken a few years back during one of my sorties to the valley and had been stuck on a hard drive of mine since then. Been going through a few of my files to find something to do on a cold snowy nite up north. Usually am down with these birds at this time of year but some character with a white lab coat and a stethoscope is disagreeing with me this year. No out of country health insurance, no south for me. Cant afford your hospital costs. Next year (maybe).
LittleRed (Ron)
LittleRed (Ron)
Jan 28, 2020 12:34:05 #
First I would like to thank all whom have viewed and graciously commented on my posting. All the kind comments were appreciated. To me this pic was a once in my life opportunity as I doubt in my few remaining years I will ever have the same happen! I’m getting to old to stand out in “hurricane-force “ winds.
As for the ? about what happened to the Blue. He did his best impersonation of a long-legged, wide-winged peregrine falcon as he streaked downwind and disappeared as quick as a wink. The only birds that appeared un-moved by the inclement weather were the cormorants fishing below the pier.
Again thanks again for the comments, tis a great pleasure being a part of this blog.
LittleRed (Ron)
As for the ? about what happened to the Blue. He did his best impersonation of a long-legged, wide-winged peregrine falcon as he streaked downwind and disappeared as quick as a wink. The only birds that appeared un-moved by the inclement weather were the cormorants fishing below the pier.
Again thanks again for the comments, tis a great pleasure being a part of this blog.
LittleRed (Ron)
Jan 27, 2020 20:20:54 #
Was going through some of my older pics taken a few years back. Doing so has brought back a lot of memories of the good trips I've had but also some of the sad items associated with them. This picture is of one of those sad occasions. I took a pic of this character on the fishing pier at Gulf Shores in Alabama in April of 2015. He was just being a total pest to the fishermen at the time. The wind for most of the afternoon was quite strong but at about 5 it became unbelievable to a point where I and my wife along with most of the fishermen had to retreat to safety. I must add that this old man had quite the time holding the camera anywhere's near steady and was happy as a lark to get any type of picture. But this fine fella held on for quite awhile but in the end even he had to search for a safer perch.
At the time little did me know but just 40 KM west of us a disaster was stiking a large boat race/regatta on Mobile Bay by way of a storm with hurricane-force winds and very heavy seas. At that time there were over a 100 boats on the water with many were destroyed or severely damaged. Usually a storm of this type would pass quite quickly but in this case took more than 40 minutes before it abated. Sadly when finally over 6 lives were lost. It has since been termed one of the worst sailing disasters in American history. So even though this is one of my favourite pics it still gives me a real feeling of sadness whenever I take a look at it.
LittleRed (Ron)
At the time little did me know but just 40 KM west of us a disaster was stiking a large boat race/regatta on Mobile Bay by way of a storm with hurricane-force winds and very heavy seas. At that time there were over a 100 boats on the water with many were destroyed or severely damaged. Usually a storm of this type would pass quite quickly but in this case took more than 40 minutes before it abated. Sadly when finally over 6 lives were lost. It has since been termed one of the worst sailing disasters in American history. So even though this is one of my favourite pics it still gives me a real feeling of sadness whenever I take a look at it.
LittleRed (Ron)
Jan 16, 2020 10:00:34 #
Makes one think doesn’t it? Many ideas came to mind but for me it would probably be my dad. He passed away at a time when the two of us were not seeing eye to eye! We never had the chance to “talk it out”.
LittleRed (Ron)
LittleRed (Ron)
Jan 6, 2020 12:34:53 #
In Ontario Canada if you drive in the left lane and maintain the posted speed limit you could be ticketed and fined $200 (plus 3 demerit points against your license). A bit of incentive to stay in the right hand lane.
LittleRed (Ron)
LittleRed (Ron)
Jan 3, 2020 15:05:05 #
Kbelz67 wrote:
Does anyone format your sd card after you've downl... (show quote)
I always format my cards in-camera when the time is come to do so. Usually this is at the end of photography session no mater how long it is. A lot of these outings may be for a month or longer. During that time I and my wife are out “shooting” every almost every day unless there is bad weather. We are almost totally doing wildlife (mainly birds). For example last summer on one trip we were on the road for 40 days and were in the field for 35. I usually carry 20 or more SD cards in my kit, mostly 32’s and a few 64’s thrown in. I do carry a couple of 128’s mainly for a short video. Usually I only use one card per location or day depending on how many pics I take. Once I take a card out of the camera I download all the pics onto my laptop HD and also put a copy onto an external drive ( of if it is getting full ) onto a group of thummers. The cards still with the pics on them are then safely put into a case to be transported back to our home base. That means that we always have 3 copies of each pic when we get home. A lot of the time we have the opportunity to see and capture some of those once in a lifetime instances and I want to make damn sure they are not lost. There is no guarantee that an “accident” may not happen but with a copy in 3 different locations the chances are slim. Once at home the pics are again downloaded onto our desktop for processing. Once this is done a check is made to make sure all the pics are safely stored away. Its at that time the cards are put back into the camera and a “full” format is done. I also do one or two test shots to make sure both the card and the combination of the card and camera are up to snuff. Also I should mention that my wife (probably a better picture taker than I as she has more patience) does exactly the same so everything I have said above is doubled. Being doing this for at least the last 10 years and have never lost one picture. Back a few eons while taking a photocourse at our local college the instructor stressed that the card should be done only in the camera and not in a computer. Don’t know why but since I’ve never had any card problems I think I’ll continue to follow that rule.
LittleRed (Ron)
Dec 26, 2019 15:05:27 #
cullumjt wrote:
I like them both, but give the nod to the mono. Wonder how it would look in sepia? Cuba has been on my bucket list for years, then I missed the narrow window. Glad you didn’t!
Too bad you live so far from either Canada or Mexico. Some American travelers have long illegally traveled to Cuba by way of Mexico and Canada. Because there are no restrictions from the Mexican or Canadian governments regarding travel to the island, Americans can fly in and out of Havana from either destination without an approved reason. Even though my wife and I live in smaller city in Northern Canada we still have a direct flight to Cuba during the winter season. Never have tried it as I DONT fly. 🥴
LittleRed (Ron)
Dec 23, 2019 11:36:33 #
speters wrote:
general chit chat on a photography forum!
Come on people. I think old peters is just pulling your cords. You telling me doesn’t know about the chit-chat portion of this blog considering he’s been with us since 13 and has posted over 13000 times. If you believe that I have a mountain to sell you in the Everglades.
LittleRed (Ron)
Dec 19, 2019 15:11:33 #
Nope, just a lonely juvey hoping mom will soon show up with his lunch.😊😜
LittleRed (Ron)
LittleRed (Ron)
Dec 11, 2019 11:06:42 #
CHG_CANON wrote:
St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge is one of the o... (show quote)
Excellent pics and text of one of my most favourite places in Florida. Brings back many pleasurable memories. Hopefully we will get back in the near future. A place with a large assortment of birds that usually is not real crowded like some of the more southern Wildlife Refuges especially in the winter season. If you get a chance to return in the future along with St-Marks take a look at Bald Point State Park near Alligator Point. It is usually very quiet with a very good assortment of both shorebirds and seabirds that can be approach quite closely. Seen and gotten excellent pics of Pelicans, Oystercatchers, Plovers, Mergansers and the like.
And to finish a enjoyable day with the camera with a meal of ribs at Hamaknockers at Medart or a plate of fresh shrimp at Posey’s in Panacea only doubled ones pleasure.
Again thanks for the posting and am waiting with anticipation for more of the same.
LittleRed (Ron)