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Any birders? Share your photos!

altagirl

Moderator
Staff member
Do any of you use any Bird ID apps? Which ones do you like best? (android)

I have the Sibley app on my phone - I also use their paper book, and the app also has a variety of songs and calls that you can play on your phone. It downloads the data so it works even when I'm out of coverage.

I do know a bunch of people use an app called Merlin which analyzes photos and tells you what it is, but that seems to take the fun out of actually figuring it out and learning it. I have not used it though so maybe I'm missing out!

And I also use eBird a ton. This is not necessarily an ID app, but actually helps significantly with ID. The purpose is to log what you see - it contributes to scientific data on migration patterns and population densities. The nice thing is that once you start a log for a spot, it brings up a list of all the common birds that would be there. This helps you significantly narrow things down. I can have it up, and type in "warbler" or "hummingbird" and it will bring up what varieties you'd expect to see in that spot. You can also select it to show rarities, which gives you a broader list, but it's still not showing you things that are outside the realm of possibility. (For example, this would give me like 3 hummingbirds to choose from in most local areas, not the 19 in my field guide)

Plus, eBird keeps track of lists of what you've seen and sorts in in countless ways - want to know what you've seen this year, or in this state this month, or in a specific county in 2016? It sorts out that data instantly. Want to know what others saw in this spot in the past week? It tells you, and if they uploaded photos, you can see the photos. Super useful app!
 
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KatyPerrey

PSIA 3 Children's Specialist 2 Keystone Resort
Looks like this is a Lilac Breasted Roller. Those colors are just amazing!

Yep that's what it is. Had to do a bit of looking at files to get the name and you beat me to it!

And that looks like a Dark Chanting Goshawk. (What a name!)

Yes it's a Goshawk and the other is a Tawny Eagle.
 

KatyPerrey

PSIA 3 Children's Specialist 2 Keystone Resort
Bald Eagle taken last year at Green Mountain Reservoir 6 miles from where I house/dog sit.
IMG_6814.jpg
 

EeveeCanSki

Certified Ski Diva
I love to do wildlife and animal photography as a hobby and I hold a special place in my heart for raptors.

A couple of hours from my home, there is one of the largest gatherings of bald eagles on the East Coast. I go out once or twice a year during the fall to photograph them:

eagle_sm.jpg

There's also lots of other interesting birds around, including cormorants that will fight over catfish (the catfish of course...are all having a pretty bad day, lol):

cormorants_sm.jpg

A raptor rescue near me also does some shoots a few times a year, which is where I took this screech owl portrait:

owl_sm.jpg

What can I say...I heart bird photography! And I have enjoyed all your shots posted here as well.
 

altagirl

Moderator
Staff member
That screech owl is just the cutest! Amazing photos!

What do you use for a camera? I'm thinking maybe next Christmas will be time to get a real DSLR.
 

EeveeCanSki

Certified Ski Diva
That screech owl is just the cutest! Amazing photos!

What do you use for a camera? I'm thinking maybe next Christmas will be time to get a real DSLR.

Thank you :smile: She (I think the bird was a she!) was a real poser--made for some super-cute portraits!

I use a Canon 7D Mark II. It's a great camera for shooting wildlife photos--it has a high frame rate per second when photos are taken in continuous mode rather than one shot. It also has a pretty sophisticated focus-tracking system that is useful for fast-moving subjects, such as birds in flight. I love love love this camera!

I would encourage you to take the plunge into the world of DSLRs! It's fun to learn the art of the best settings and lenses for different needs, such as portraiture, landscapes, animals and nature, etc.
 

Rainbow Jenny

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Love your photos of northern mockingbird, and lazuli bunting, @altagirl and for being our resident birder! Now I have birds to look forward to whenever I return to SLC. And to train one's ears to recognize their calls is simply mind boggling to me!

I first met a birder while working in Kampala, Uganda 8 years ago. He was my housemate for a month from Belgium, would go out every weekend with his checklist, and probably checked off some 200 birds off his list that month. He apparently had been birdwatching since childhood.

Good to learn that crested crane, national bird of Uganda is aka grey crowned crane, @KatyPerrey. I had a chance to also see some shoebills and Uganda Wildlife Educational Center, essentially an animal orphanage.

A retired uncle in southern Taiwan is an avid birder, he showed me the rare black faced spoonbill a few years ago. And while he stayed with me few weeks ago, I looked up several local chapters of Audubon Society outings for him. I also discovered Cornell Lab of Ornithology e-newsletter then.

While driving through Hokkaido with family last spring, we saw the majestic red crowned crane.

Sorry, no photos.

A high school physicist friend works for a local telescope company and has the offered to help me obtain a quality binocular, plan to take up his offer. As for becoming a dedicated birder... maybe someday...
 

altagirl

Moderator
Staff member
Thank you :smile: She (I think the bird was a she!) was a real poser--made for some super-cute portraits!

I use a Canon 7D Mark II. It's a great camera for shooting wildlife photos--it has a high frame rate per second when photos are taken in continuous mode rather than one shot. It also has a pretty sophisticated focus-tracking system that is useful for fast-moving subjects, such as birds in flight. I love love love this camera!

I would encourage you to take the plunge into the world of DSLRs! It's fun to learn the art of the best settings and lenses for different needs, such as portraiture, landscapes, animals and nature, etc.
That sounds excellent. I will certainly be picking your brain when I start shopping! :smile:
 

altagirl

Moderator
Staff member
I was giddy this morning when a friend of mine started texting me with bird songs she recorded in her yard. So much fun to help identify her yard birds for her!
 

altagirl

Moderator
Staff member
Just had a really interesting evening bird walk where we saw a Great Horned Owl and one of her nestlings was sitting just out of the nest with the mother owl hanging out in the tree across the trail keeping an eye on things. The momma owl apparently suffered some sort of injury in the past and only has one eye, which you would think would be a problem, but the locals with us said she has only had the one eye for years and years and successfully raises chicks in the same spot every single year. Truly amazing. And really fun to see the floofy owlet. It looked like an owl wearing a teddy bear suit.
 

KatyPerrey

PSIA 3 Children's Specialist 2 Keystone Resort
DSC_0148.jpg
Grouse taken last year. Saw two this morning but was too slow to get a picture.

DSC_0986.jpg
Got this turkey this afternoon. Not the best picture as he was pretty far away and on the move.
 

altagirl

Moderator
Staff member
I went out this morning on one of the tours with the Great Salt Lake Bird Festival - fun morning!
Western Grebe

Clark's Grebe May 2017 Glover Pond.jpg
Great Egret - almost the size of a Great Blue Heron



Great Egret May 2017 FB.jpg
Marsh Wren - I can't get one of these in focus to save my life, but they are so dang cute

Marsh Wren singing May 2017 FB.jpg

Yellow Headed Blackbird - so gorgeous in the morning sun!
Yellow Headed Blackbird May 2017 FB 4.jpg
Snowy Egret - I loved his expression, so focused on the water!
Snowy Egret May 2017 FB cropped.jpg
 

newboots

Angel Diva
Stunning photography. The big bird and the woodpecker are all so exotic, but that wren! Can I take it home?
 

ski diva

Administrator
Staff member
I'm visiting my parents in Fort Myers, Florida, and just took this today. It's two ospreys in a nest. There were babies in there, too.

IMG_5936.JPG
 
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