birding
- Some birds don't understand how to pose
Just to go over the rules again...
- Sit near the ground, not at the top of a mature Horse Chestnut Tree
- Sit at the Front, not at the back of the tree
- Choose a sunny day to come out to a shoot
- Don't hide behind twigs
- Don't hide your head
- Don't fidget
But do you Goldfinches listen? No you don't!
- Tree Creeper
Reading, UK
What can I say? It creeps round trees, I rarely see it, and just look at those claws!
Canon R6 + RF800mm, ISO10000 (c.f. creeps round trees!), 1/1250s, F9
- Birds Watching || Crapshots Ep779
YouTube Video
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I thought this was pretty good.
- Family of Mandarin Ducks
Absolutely delighted to see the parents and brood of pretty much adults on a town park pond. I'd not seen any of them for a while, and feared for their safety.
Reading, UK
Canon R6 + 311mm (yay, zoom), f7.1, 1/1250s, ISO1250
- The Bird Photographer of the Year award has been announced
BBC Report on the award, with some stunning (and some very sad, including the very first) photos shown.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj4d92n5p4do
- What Duck am I?
Google suggests a Duclair Duck (and so an escapee) but I'm unconvinced.
Seen on the Thames at Reading. Canon R6 + 800mm
- Windhover
An alternative name for a kestrel, and definitely what this one was doing!
Reading, UK, Canon R6 + RF800mm, 1/2000s, F10, ISO1000, Exposure Bias +1 1/3
Must have knocked the dial as that should have been F9. For most of its hover, its head was in the shadow of its wing , making for less than perfect shots needing drastic post processing, e.g.
- Wildpark Aurach, Austria
Male Snow Owl :)
- Some brief thoughts on composite wood in regard to bird house construction
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/19705740
> In my post earlier today, I commented that I saw bird houses made of composite material (such as Trex) and was curious as to their thermal properties, since climate change is making many traditional house designs dangerous due to higher average temperatures. > > After reading the articles below, it sounds as though composite lumber heats up faster,
retains heat longerreaches higher temperatures, and also loses heat faster than traditional, unfinished softwood. > > Article from Trex > > Article from a deck builder > > Even if the heat differential won't kill the birds, it seems to have greater potential to stunt nestling growth and to increase dehydration risk. > > I didn't find any articles from birding groups about them being dangerous, but it seems very recent that they have been taking note of increased nest box death, so it may not have much research into it yet. > > While the initial thought was something like this should last longer, stay prettier, and be easy to maintain sounded great, seeing it both holds more heat during the day and loses more at night sounds like a negative in both directions. It may be best to stick with unfinished wood. > > I'm curious to hear anyone's thoughts on this. Don't take my hour of research as gospel. It just came up in conversation and I haven't seen this discussed. - Swallows Hard
Reading, UK - today, which rather surprised me to still see a flock of Swallows around. I find them really hard to photo - they notoriously don't land, and fly fast, so this lot of photos is as good as I get.
Canon R6 + RF 800mm, 1/1250s, ISO 100 or 350 for these
- Long Tailed Tits
Always a delight to see flitting about, even more of a delight if they stay still long enough to photo. Reading,UK
- Great Egret (Ardea alba) - Kedron Brook Wetlands Reserve, Brisbane, Australia - September 2024
Image description: A great egret, neck extended high in to the air, wading through wetlands
#bird #egret #heron #birds #australianbirds #kedronBrook #wetlands
- Teen documents Red Tailed Hawk being raised by Bald Eagles
>The eagles Parham photographed no doubt brought the Red-tail to their nest intending not to raise it, but to feed it to their own nestling. However, when it was deposited into the aerie, the hungry and disoriented fledgling immediately began begging for food alongside the eaglets. The confused parent eagles mistook the hawk as one of their own and began treating it in kind. Though surprising, such behavior can occur when the wrong species ends up in a nest. That’s because most adult birds cannot recognize their own chicks from others—a vulnerability that brood parasites exploit by laying eggs in other species’ nests.
- Hey, what are you looking at?
Red Kite, Prospect Park, Reading, UK Canon R6 + RF 800mm
I like how the colours came out, especially as this was a dark bird on a white sky, which is always needs correction when on auto-ISO.
- [Pigeons] Flight school
> Papa and the kids, four days ago, the first day they left the balcony
I thought they'd be gone by last weekend, but flight school apparently takes some time. Was awesome seeing their first excursions off of the balcony and onto the roof gutter. I was so happy to be there for it. And i have a video of them returning from their first little flight, haha. The older one seems now to go flying with papa, the smaller one - i think - with mama, at least they showed up together yesterday. The younger one still sleeps on my balcony. It has been alone there for the last two nights, first evening alone it seemed a bit worried. Maybe today it will find somewhere else to sleep, i think it may be two days younger than the other one.
This weekend i'll clean up the mess and barricade their nest spot so they don't keep breeding here. It was nice to have them but i kinda want the balcony back for myself, i was minimizing my balcony time so they could do their pigeon stuff in peace. Really caring parents, very nice to see.
- This bird species was extinct in Europe. Now it's back, and humans must help it migrate for winterapnews.com This bird species was extinct in Europe. Now it's back, and humans must help it migrate for winter
The northern bald ibis, or the Waldrapp, once soared over North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and much of Europe.
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/19034034
> How do you teach a bird how, and where, to fly? > > The distinctive Northern Bald Ibis, hunted essentially to extinction by the 17th century, was revived by breeding and rewilding efforts over the last two decades. But the birds — known for their distinctive black-and-iridescent green plumage, bald red head and long curved beak — don’t instinctively know which direction to fly to migrate without the guidance of wild-born elders. So a team of scientists and conservationists stepped in as foster parents and flight instructors. > > “We have to teach them the migration route,” said biologist Johannes Fritz.
- Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae) - Brisbane Airport, Australia - August 2024
Image description: A kookaburra sitting on a street light, with a clear blue sky behind. A jet fills most of the frame in the sky behind the bird
- [OC] Eastern Kingbird showing off beautiful tail feathers
Taken in Kelowna, B.C.
EOS 1100D, Tamron 150-600
- Steller's jay rocking the hairstyle
Photo taken this week in Estes Park, CO, USA.
More photos of the same day (no other birds) on pixelfed!
https://pxlmo.com/i/web/post/731645515845491178
- [Pigeons] Mama and Papa
and their little stinkybums.
Today one of the lil' stinkybums flew onto a flower pot. They'll be flying out into the dangerous world in a few days. Yesterday evening, opposite side of the garden, a kestrel caught a bird. Don't know what bird it was who had a nest under the roof gutter, the swifts are already on their way to Africa.
- Chiffchaff?
I'm reasonably sure this is a Chiffchaff, though it might be some other sort of warbler, and I was pleased to get such an action shot. (even if a bit obscured) Reading, UK.
- Australasian Darter (Anhinga novaehollandiae) - Brisbane City Botanic Gardens, Queensland, Australia - August 2024
Image description: An Australasian Darter standing on a sandy riverbank, wings outstretched to dry in the sun, water lapping at its feet