Summary of some of my bird photos from Photo Forum

[Maestro]

Here's a bit of a summary of what I have been posting over in the Photo Forum. I know some here like the boids so....

Downy woodpecker


Red Bellied Woodpecker




Loggerhead Shrike




Eastern Bluebird


Carolina Wren


Bewick's Wren


Great Egret with breeding plumage




Harris's Sparrow


Lark Sparrow




Savannah Sparrow


Next week I hope to be able to show you pics of a golden cheeked warbler, a highly endangered species, and a few other cool birds like a golden fronted woodpecker. I will be visiting Los Madrones Ranch over the weekend.

[TZ]

1. Beautiful!

I LOVE the bluebird pic. I haven't decided which bluebird is prettier the Eastern or Mountain, both of which I've seen....
How common is the Eastern Bluebird there? Seems like thats a little far west .....

[Maestro]

5. The eastern bluebird is pretty common!

It is making a nice come-back here in Texas after habitat destruction and invasive species wreaked havoc on its breeding. Many people are trying to attract them to their yards. Texas even has a whole society dedicated to them: http://texasbluebirdsociety.org /

[suninvited]

28. Cool site.

I printed the plans for the nest box. We have a lot of bluebirds here this year since we dug a new pond. They hang out on the wires over the pond and dive for bugs.

[Critters2]

41. It's making a comeback in Iowa, too. Members of my birding club

there were really excited that we were seeing more and more each season.

Those are beautiful pics, especially the egret. Thanks for sharing!

[Maestro]

42. Thanks mycritters2

I saw probably between 12-15 eastern bluebirds driving down from the Dallas area to the Austin area yesterday.

[spindrifter]

2. As always, your bird photos are just spectacular!

You have such talent! Thank you for posting these and bringing them over to the Lounge.

[Maestro]

15. Thank you.

I'm trying to work on my presentation, the composition, exposure and the type of pose I photograph. The only problem is that the birds could care less.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. My dear Maestro...

These are wonderful, as always!

I especially like the Egret in the breeding plumage...the one on display was quite a catch!

Thanks for sharing these!

[Maestro]

16. Thank you so much Peggy.

I wish I had a few more shots of the egret where I did not have so many branches obstructing a complete view, but you take what you get. Thanks again.

[stuntcat]

4. wwwwwowwww! they're all beautiful!

I'm glad I caught the thread, I was fixin to go to sleep!
I'd pick out a favorite but they're all so great.. maybe the woodpecker lookng out of the hole is my favorite, but I have a special love for sparrows.
You must have the most patience of anyone. I hope you get pics to show next week too!

[Maestro]

17. My patience has definitely grown, but when

you are having fun, it's much easier to wait. It also makes finding a bird, or any other animal to photograph, that much more exciting. Thank you for the comments.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

6. They are all beautifully sublime but, I think the Egret is especially

spectacular. You "touched" the photos a little...

[Maestro]

19. Thank you so much Tuesday Afternoon

I'm glad that you liked them.

[leftyclimber]

7. Tremendous! And I now know what kind of bird got into my office a while ago.

A Berwick's wren. Nobody around here could identify it (it got out on its own after I left for about half an hour because it was getting stressed).

We have a red-bellied woodpecker that pecks on our roof at 8:13 AM every day without fail. After that it eats from our suet holder. (I wish he'd just go for the suet.) Unfortunately he won't come around if we're (me and my SO) outside, and I don't have a long lens, so no photos.

Thank you for those lovely shots!

[Maestro]

20. Thanks Leftyclimber

It certainly could have been a bewick's wren. We have had several fledgelings, mostly mockingbirds, that get caught in our garage. I actually picked one up last year and put it out in our yard as it kept getting stuck in and amongst the junk in our garage. The mother or father was calling loudly from a tree in the yard. Thanks again.

[mwdem]

8. We just saw the bluebird the other day in our backyard.

We've been here nearly 3 years, and this was our first sighting here. The egret is beautiful!

[Maestro]

22. That's good to hear about the bluebirds in your area.

I hope that sighting is one of many more. And thanks for the comment about the egret.

[Shine]

9. Kewl, man. I liked the blue bird and the egret.

Have a great time on your b.d trip! Enjoy!

[Maestro]

23. Thanks Shine!

I am really excited about the trip.

[pitohui]

10. nice photos

i esp. like the bewick's wren

[Maestro]

26. Thanks

I think the hackberries add some nice color to that photo.

[Kat45]

11. Beautiful pictures of beautiful birds, as always.

Thanks for posting them here.

[Maestro]

30. No problem notmyprez

I am glad that you liked them.

[EFerrari]

12. OMG! Who is that bright blue little guy on the barbed wire?

And, is that a white crane or an egret?

So amazing!

eta: I see you named him upthread.

[Maestro]

31. Eastern Bluebird and you probably have the Western variety

where you are. And that is an egret although I have some cranes if you would like to see them.

Thanks for the nice comment.

[housewolf]

13. These are gorgeous!

Don't think I could pick a favorite, though - they are all wonderful photos.

You are so talented... thanks for sharing!

[Maestro]

32. I love sharing

Thanks for very kind words.

[sarge43]

14. What charmers

As always Maestro, beautiful and thank you for posting them.

[Maestro]

33. Thanks for looking

[YankeyMCC]

18. Great stuff thanks nt

[Maestro]

34. Any time!

[zanne]

21. I LOVE your bird pictures...

Did you take all of these in Texas? Is it good birding country?

[Maestro]

35. Yes, all of these and the rest of my pics

have all been from Texas. Texas is great birding country especially in the Lower Rio Grande Valley.

[lost-in-nj]

24. Thanks for posting these!!!

they wre wonderful


the colors and depth of field on some are amazing!!!!




lost

[Maestro]

36. Thanks Lost

Much appreciated.

[raccoon]

25. Those are great! Thanks for posting. nt

[Maestro]

39. I know I have said this before, but I love

sharing the beauty of these little guys and gals. Any time....I wish more people like those in our government cared more about the flora and fauna.

[tigereye]

27. thanks Maestro!

great pics as usual!

[Maestro]

40. Thanks so much tigereye.

I'm posting now from the ranch I mentioned in my OP. I hope to be able to find the endangered Golden Cheeked Warbler soon.

[suninvited]

29. Those are great !

I sure wish I had a lens where I could get good bird shots. I need to upgrade my camera to an SLR soon.

[Maestro]

43. With your new pond and bluebirds

you definitely need to.

[yy4me]

37. Beautiful, thank you! We need more of these posts to lift

our spirits.

[Maestro]

45. I am glad that they lifted your spirits.

That is exactly why I take the pictures. It relaxes me and gets me back to Nature. Although the shots that I miss really irritate me.

[Forkboy]

38. I've been on DU for over an hour now, and this is the first thing worth responding to.

I never get tired of seeing your pics. The Egret pics are really cool, especially how the sun brings out the greenish color around the eye on the second one.

Awesome, as always.

[Maestro]

48. Thanks so much forkboy!

That is honor to know that you responded to my thread instead of the Hillary vs. Obama threads. Actually, I take these pics precisely because of all the frustration I feel for our political system currently. I want my representative government back! Okay, enough political stuff. I really do appreciate you taking the time to comment.

[gristy]

44. Well done. Can you give us technical details? Did you use a spotting scope for any of these?

[Maestro]

49. Sure thing

Canon 40D DSLR camera
Sigma 500mm or Canon 100mm-400mm IS zoom telephoto

EXIF
ISO 200
F8-F11 on most of these shots
Shutter speed most probably was somewhere between 200 and 300. I am not on my home computer so I do not have access to the true EXIF info but this is a good estimate.
I also probably shot these in manual mode or Aperture Priority mode with the 40D's standard color setting.
This are all JPEGs processed from the RAW images.
In post processing I applied slight sharpening, basic color adjustments, applied some shadows/highlights plus a smidge of saturation.

[DarkTirade]

46. That bluebird one is very striking.

You've got a good eye and a good camera.

[Maestro]

51. Hey DarkTirade.

Thanks a bunch. The camera is a quite a piece of technology for sure. I love it.

[Haole Girl]

47. They are all excellent!

My fav is the shot of the Carolina Wren because I like light on the bird's back, the colors, and composition. Thanks for sharing.

[Maestro]

50. Hey KC2. What's up fellow Metroplexian?

Thanks for noticing the comp and the nice light on the back. I worked for that shot. I was on my knees crawling under some dead brush in a pasture. Its nest is right behind it inside the brush pile.

[Haole Girl]

52. Hey!

I took some pics of flowers and baby ducks today. If I have time, and you think anybody would want to see them, I might post them tomorrow.

It sure was a gorgeous day today!

[Maestro]

53. Go right ahead and post

One thing that I do not have enough of in my collection are ducks!