Backyard Birds

  
 

Today was the first day for my new woodpecker feeder.  Nothing more than an 18 inch x 3 inch diameter piece of cherry my neighbour, Brenda Lee, was gracious enough to give me.  I drilled 7/8 inch holes about 2 inches apart at the top end of the log and filled it (well, Denise, my wife filled it) with seed, mixed with peanut butter.  To keep my nemesis, the squirrel, at bay, I placed a 17 inch circular piece of aluminum plate on the top and screwed it into the log with an eyebolt.  Within an hour, I had 3 birds clinging to the log (2 woodpeckers, and one Northern Flicker).  By the time I got my camera out, the flicker was on the ground searching for food.  I found this odd, as I have never seen them as ground feeders.  The woodpecker photo was highlighted with a flash and Flash Extender from a distance of about 40 ft.

Dog Mountain

One great thing about living in British Columbia, is that there are spectacular views everywhere.  For those who know me, know I am not partial to snow, and cold weather.  However, since moving to BC, I have been introduced to snowshoeing.  Actually, to clarify, I would never have tried snowshoeing if I knew there wasn't something to photograph.  It can get darn cold here.  Once, my wife and I took a hike on snowshoes, in Manning Park (east of Vancouver), at -19C.  Believe it or not, we actually saw a mosquito.  I tried to photograph it but it was in a hurry.  I did manage to get several photos of a spider walking on the snow.  I suspect the sun caused the tree bark to heat up and the critters hibernating inside thought it was spring.

This photograph was taken after hiking from Mt. Seymour to Dog Mountain, north of Vancouver.   We were part of a local group from Wanderung.   The view was outstanding the whole way up.  The couple to the right, in the photo were having lunch and admiring the view.  Don't blame them.

Again I used my reliable Nikon D200, and 17-55mm lens with a Moose Peterson Circ/Pol filter.

House Cleaning

The story is pretty obvious, as to what is happening, in this Osprey nest.  I spent a month watching these young ospreys grow up and learn to fly.   This photo was taken at Pitt Lake in British Columbia, using my Nikon D200, Nikon 600mm VR Lens, Gitzo Tripod.

Yellow Flower

Picked this flower out of my wife's garden.  The background is a piece of black velvet.  Nikon D200, Nikon 105mm Lens, R1C1 Closeup Kit.

Spotted Moray in The Florida Keys

After a long separation from serious photography my interest was rekindled while diving in the Florida Keys.  For those who have been there, you know it is teeming with life.  This photo of a Spotted Moray Eel was taken off of Tavernier.  About 15 miles south of Key Largo.  I was still using film cameras when this was taken.  I used a Nikonos V, with a 50mm lens, and an Ikelite 400 strobe.  Lots o'light is needed to bring out the colours.  I actually was using Fuji Velvia 50 slide film and had this one scanned at the local photo shop.  

I've had a couple people ask how I get so close to those skittish little hummingbirds.  The truth is, I don't.  At least not with the camera.  The Nikon 600mm VR lens has a minimum focus distance of about 18 ft (6m), so I have to be at least that distance away from the birds.  I also use a 1.4x tele-converter, this gets me a bit closer, digitally speaking.  I have approximately 8 feeders with various foods for the different bird species.  They are spread out on a clothes line from about 10ft to 30ft (3m - 10m) away. 

Here are a couple photographs I took with my phone camera.  I prefer having the setup on the table, so I can sit down and patiently wait for the birds.  The odd shaped thing on the top of the camera is actually a red dot scope used on a shotgun or paintball gun.  I made a bracket that fits into the hot shoe of the camera and rests on the top of the filter cover.  Why you ask?   This lens has a very small angle of view, meaning you only see bout 4 % of the area in front of the camera, while looking in the view finder.  A bird can come and go before you actually find the darn thing in the viewfinder to get the picture.  With this set up, I turn the red dot scope on, and it shows a red dot where the lens is aimed.  This thing is outstanding for panning shots of moving birds or airplanes.   You don't need to look into the viewfinder, just look into the scope from a distance, the dot will be on target.  As you can also see, I have a cat to deal with.  Truth of the matter is, we have FIVE cats to deal with.  And if you know cats, they want to be directly in front of you whether you are reading the newspaper, or on the computer. As for the birds, they don't seem to mind them being in close proximity.  However, its a pain when the cats decide to stretch and sit up when the birds finally do show up.  

Hummer in Motion

This little guy has become a backyard regular.  Stops by, gets his fill of my special blend of water and sugar, hangs around for a little while, then heads off to parts unknown.  I was actually hoping on getting pictures of finches, but when opportunity knocks, I answer the door.  This was taken with my Nikon D200, Nikon 600mm VR, using f/9, 1/250 sec, ISO 400, and a 1.4 tele-converter.  I didn't have to use a flash as the sun was shining directly into the bird's face.  Metering was done in spot mode and I focused on the eye.  These guys love to dive in and take a sip, then pull back into the same spot, making it easy to predict where they might hover.