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Bird Watchers

Thanks to this thread, I got the DSLR out last night and am charging the batteries. An 80-200mm F2.8 (older model) is as high magnification as I have and most of the birds are a decent distance away. I'll give it a shot.
 
A Great Blue Heron sitting on the garage (taken several years ago). There is trail along side a creek that borders the property, and once or twice a year I spook one that I had no idea was hanging out in the creek. The noise that is produced from them taking flight always scares the crap out of me.

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A few weeks ago we had a migration of either egrets or herons fly past my house. I tried to see where they were, but their "croaking" call sounds (very unique sounding) seemed to be coming from everywhere. I'm sure they're somewhere in the area, but I'm going to have to go looking for them. They certainly are not hanging on my roof or at the feeders!
 
Thanks to this thread, I got the DSLR out last night and am charging the batteries. An 80-200mm F2.8 (older model) is as high magnification as I have and most of the birds are a decent distance away. I'll give it a shot
Sounds like a decent lens for mid range close ups (I have a 28-200mm lens that has very nice optics and I take some great photos with it). Most of the pictures I've been posting were taken with my 55-300mm lens. I'm supposed to receive my new 200-500mm lens later today and I already have the 2X teleconverter. I can't wait to see what that will produce given the reviews I'm seeing indicates it has some incredibly fast mechanicals (auto focus and vibration reduction) coupled with very nice internal glass.

What kind of DSLR do you have?
 
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Sorry - no new bird photos but…. My new “super” telephoto came yesterday. It was raining like hell this morning but hoping I get some good shots this coming week when it warms up and stops raining!
 

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Sorry - no new bird photos but…. My new
“Super” telephoto came yesterday. It was raining like hell this morning but hoping I get some good shots this coming week when it warms up and stops raining!

You're gonna definitely need to sell some calendars... and plasma!

It is good to see that they were able to repurpose parts of Hubble... 😋🔭📡

Seriously, that rig looks amazing and I look forward to all the wonder and splendor you catch with it. Thanks again for sharing. 👍
 
Can anyone confirm if this is a Scarlett Tangier? Never have seen one. The picture is about 1.5 years old. I say Tangier. My dad says no. Sorry, iPhone again. No fancy telephoto! 😉4A887547-E9D7-4663-9C12-A9AEA1F1E5BD.jpeg
 
Can anyone confirm if this is a Scarlett Tangier? Never have seen one. The picture is about 1.5 years old. I say Tangier. My dad says no. Sorry, iPhone again. No fancy telephoto! 😉View attachment 55257
2 years ago I saw that exact bird in my front yard and tried to capture a good picture with my cell phone (you may recognize the same shepherd's hook I take other "portrait" photos on when they pose for me 😁). I was told it was a Scarlet Tanager. This was the best I could manage which led to my quest to find something that could do a better job. Hoping he comes back at some point!

This is an amazing, rare sight. I completely agree with the ornithologist Elliot Coues who wrote in a United States Geological Survey in 1878: "I hold this bird in particular, almost superstitious, recollection, as the very first of all the feathered tribe to stir within me those emotions that have never ceased to stimulate and gratify my love for birds."


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Tanager (auto correct)
My autocorrect always tries to make me look like an ass too... I swear it's a conspiracy spawned by the Grammarian himself - engineer Bill "CoventryCat86" because he was bored and had a deep need to correct other people. 🤣
 
Can anyone confirm if this is a Scarlett Tangier? Never have seen one. The picture is about 1.5 years old. I say Tangier. My dad says no. Sorry, iPhone again. No fancy telephoto! 😉View attachment 55257
Wow! I’ve never had the pleasure of seeing one of these. Sure looks like the painting of a scarlet tanager that my parents had in their house.
 
after looking at @ggiese pics every day now every time I take a pic with my phone I just delete it and say to myself “trash” 😂 I guess I need to go rummage thru the attic and find my old Polaroid.
I hate when that happens. But I was there - just like you - seeing the amazing photos others were posting and feeling like mine were so inferior. And I look at mine compared to others and I feel like I need to upgrade my equipment. Which is exactly why I bought the new super telephoto…. 🤣
 
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