....and i've never tried it before and am pleased with the results i got.I photographed the exterior of the John the baptist church in Burscough near Ormskirk and below is a small history.


The church was built between 1829 and 1832 to a design by Daniel Stewart. A grant of £3,040 was given towards its construction by the Church Building Commission. The total cost of its construction of the church was £3,440. Galleries were inserted on three sides in 1857. In 1887 the chancel was added by William Waddington and Sons, and in about 1932 the south vestry was built.

Yesterday was my first time at this location and my first time seeing the Florida Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens). Below from Wikipedia:

Ecology

The Florida scrub jay is found only in Florida scrub habitat, an ecosystem that exists only in central Florida and is characterized by nutrient-poor soil, occasional drought, and frequent wildfires. Because of its somewhat harsh weather pattern, this habitat is host to a small assortment of very specific plants, including sand pine, sand live oak, myrtle oak, Chapman's oak, sandhill oak, Florida rosemary and various other hardy plants such as Eastern prickly pear.

Florida scrub jays are omnivorous and eat a wide variety of acorns, seeds, peanuts, insects, tree frogs, turtles, snakes, lizards, and young mice. Florida scrub jays have also been occasionally observed to eat other birds' eggs or nestlings, but this occurs rarely. They routinely cache thousands of acorns a year, burying them just beneath the surface. The acorns are typically buried in the fall and consumed during the winter and spring. Acorns that are forgotten or missed may germinate, making the Florida scrub jay an effective agent for the dispersal of a variety of oak trees.

Scrub jays may also take silverware and other shiny objects in a manner similar to the American crow.

In appearance, they differ from the Western Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma californica) by having blue cheeks rather than grey and a whitish forehead.

This outing was with the local Audubon group. We had expected to also see Red-cockaded Woodpeckers as they had been seen there three days earlier. Unfortunately, we saw none but we did see more of the jays than we had expected.

Many Floridians, myself included, feel that this bird which is endemic to Florida, should replace the mockingbird as the State Bird.

I am new to the forum and a new hobby photographer. My current passion is the wild horses in Arizona and our beautiful spring Mexican poppies. I'd really appreciate it if you'd take a look and then give me your feedback.
I recently switched from a Sigma 80-300 to a Canon 80-300 lens. I think it's helped with the clarity of my pictures. And, thanks to the info I've gained from following this forum, I've switched from multi-focus points to a single point. I've been using JPEG but started experimenting with RAW today. I'm currently using the software than came with my Canon Rebel for editing . . . I may need to invest in some different software.
Thanks for your time!