Posts Made By: ken blankenship

This was taken a while ago (as was the Willet I posted earlier) and before I had any tutorials on aperture or shutter speed, etc. Anyway, I was surprised at the detail from so far away, even if it is still a bit fuzzy. If I get nicer software as I get into this (with sharpening, for example) I bet some of the tricks you can do are awesome!

Took this from 2nd floor window - too bad the fence kind of blends with her color...

Also taken today (12/30) from 2nd floor window...

I took the hand-me-down camera into the field for the first time today. I was mostly sparrowing so I'm posting 3 species. This is an Olympus Camedia C-2100 with 10X optical and 2.7X digital zoom. I also had a 1.7X telephoto attached for these shots. As if it's not hard enough just to observe sparrows, getting them to sit still long enough for a photo is a nightmare!

When I saw this on the feeder today I immediately freaked out and scrambled for the camera, Sibley, and Peterson guides. After some studying and reading up on blackbirds in the "Bird Behavior" book, I am 99.9% sure it is a male Red-Winged Blackbird. It is most likely a juvenile. The colors are very vibrant, which would be typical because they molt in late summer/early fall with black feathers that have tips with more color. Feather wear is what renders them blacker as breeding approaches (as opposed to a molt). However, this bird does not display the red/yellow "epaulets" of a more mature male. This is my analysis... comments?

This bird stayed only 30' from Mark Cohen while he snapped several shots - this is the best! He is family that was in town over the holidays and is helping get me into the hobby! It is a Red-Shouldered Hawk.

I was hoping some of you could shed some light on a good weather-proof roof-prism binocular that is moderately priced. Of course, I one day will purchase a $1800 Leica or Swarovski nitrogen-purged blah, blah... but for now I would like a good quality set of 10x42's (or comparable) for birding that I don't have to worry about getting a little mist on or that could get dropped and not break like my Orion 8x56 Mini-Giants (doh!).

Does anyone know anything about the Nikon Monarch series? It claims a lot of good qualities (such as fully multi-coated, waterproof, etc.) and is priced at $300 on Anacortes. Here is a link:

http://www.buytelescopes.com/product.asp?t=&pid=4356&m=23

Anyway, all advice is welcome!

Ken

I'm getting pretty good with woodland species, but since I'm only "fair" with waterfowl this duck has me foiled.

Yesterday he (and another like him) was diving and swimming with 18 REDHEADS. I figured they were sub-adult males with developing rufous heads; but I actually thought of LESSER SCAUP. However, today all the Redheads were gone and he was still there on the pond by himself.

These photos are not that great, but they give the basic idea. Notice the white/buffy patch at the base of the bill and the apparent lack of white marking on the bill (as a Redhead would have).

Anyway, I'm pretty sure it's a LESSER SCAUP but a more trained eye could verify!

Ken

These guys have been coming and going on our subdivision pond for the last week. It is a rare to uncommmon species in the winter this far inland in Georgia (they are more common winter residents on the coast) so it's a cool local find!

Note the sub-adult male on the left, adults in the center, and female to the right - nice of them to pose like that

Ken

Hello all. A fellow GA birder and myself have come up with a neat and fun contest webpage to practice bird ID of species that could hypothetically be seen in GA. Each week we feature 5 pictures from the same photographer; at the end of the week we show the right answers, and credit the "winner" who ID'd them fastest, and of course credit the photographer. Please feel free to participate at the link below.

ALSO... We need photos! We cannot compensate financially, but if anyone would like to email me 6-7 photos of generally Eastern species or migrants, it would be very helpful. I have put a link to a GA bird checklist to help you. If your photos are copyrighted, please tell me so we can put something on them to that effect. Please provide the correct IDs with your photos, and your signature as you want it to appear when credited.

Email me at: [email protected]

An official checklist of GA birds can be found in a .pdf file at:

http://www.gos.org/checklists/GOS%20Official%20Checklist%2020050128.pdf

The Contest Page is located at:

http://www.burtsonline.net/contest/

Thanks in advance!

Ken Blankenship