Birder/photographer skill vs. instant gratification

I just read a post on the Florida birding listserve that I thought encapsulated the issue of frequent use of bird rcordings quite well. The issue pertained to a impatient photographer who wanted to get a photo of a rare bird, in this case a Masked Duck, though I think the issue is equally applicable to birders:

"A photographer who had been trying to get some shots of the bird was obviously frustrated by this as he came up to me and asked "I WONDER IF IT WOULD RESPOND TO A TAPE?". I was furious and my response to him probably reflected that. There seems to be an element in the birding community these days which has lost all concept of what it means to wait PATIENTLY AND QUIETLY for a bird to show. In their rush for instant gratification it has become all too convenient to reach for an I-Pod and force it into view so that it can be added to the county list, year list, life list or whatever. Over the past few months we have seen examples of that broadcast on BirdBrains. Some birds you may need to use a tape for but these represent a small minority of the bird species out there. Woodpeckers, Hermit Thrushes and Least Bitterns definitely do not belong to that category and Masked Ducks certainly don't. This may sound old school (and yes I have been birding for 40 years) but if you need to use a tape to see a Least Bittern or a Hermit Thrush then I think you need to take up another hobby.

I am therefore pleading with everyone out there to develop some patience and field craft and resist the urge to automatically reach for the I-pod when a bird refuses to show." Read the full post

Red-naped Sapsucker-wintering in Canon City,CO

I found this Red-naped Sapsucker on December 12 and it continues to winter here in Canon City, CO. Though Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers winter here every year, Red-naped are not found every year. They generally winter from the middle of New Mexico and south into Mexico at this latitude.
Though Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers have more generalized white on their backs, more limited white on Red-naped Sapsuckers occurs in two longitudinal patches as clearly shown in the top pic.This bird has a lot of red on it's nape as shown clearly in the second pic.
Another difference between Red-naped and Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers is the framing around their throats--the red throat feathers of this male Red-naped invade the black malar stripe that makes up the frame while on a Yellow=bellied the frame is intact.
I took these pics with my Canon dslr camera with a 400 mm lens (effective focal length of 640mm as camera is not full frame) then cropped pics to get these enlargements. Be sure to double-click on the top 3 pics for some awesome extreme close-up views (the bottom pic loses quality but the others stay pretty good). SeEtta

Red-napedSapsucker: video clips

These are two short video clips that show the Red-naped Sapsucker perched high on a deciduous tree engaging in grooming and some loafing. I video-scoped the sapsucker so it did not seem to be bothered by my distant presence, one of the main reasons I took up digi-scoping and video-scoping. SeEtta

Greater White-fronted Geese

Another species not commonly found in Colorado that is found regularly in Canon City in the winter is the Greater White-fronted Goose. These are part of a family group of 11 Greater White-fronted Geese that have been in Canon City since November. SeEtta

Wild Turkeys & an eagle

I spotted this immature Bald Eagle yesterday at dusk appearing to roost on top of a cliff area Phantom Canyon which is northeast of Canon City. This appears to be a first year bird in Basic I plumage (White Belly I type as described by Wheeler & Clark in A Photographic Guide to North American Raptors--see the jagged trailing edge of wings.
The Wild Turkeys were part of a flock in Florence, Colorado that I photographed today.
These are all females even though one has a 'beard', something that grows on 10-20% of females according to the National Wild Turkey Federation website.

Yellow-belliedSapsucker

Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers winter in the Canon City,CO area, the furthest west location in Colorado with a regular population (usually several). I first found this male on October 29, 2009 in Centennial Park and have seen it there off and on since then. Today it had snowed about an inch and this sapsucker was not in the mood to be disturbed from it's feeding on phloem in a pine tree--it gave it's mewing/screaming like call after I took a few pics. I stopped taking photos (though not loud, my dslr camera makes a mechanical noise each time I depress the shutter and some birds are disturbed by this) and sat quietly in my car for a few minutes in hopes it would go about it's business. It continued feeding so I snapped a few more pics but it called again. I did not want to further disturb it or cause it to flush from an apparently good spot on this pine tree so I not only stopped photographing the bird but left. I used my Canon xti dslr camera with 400mm super telephoto lens (effective focal length of 560 as camera is not full frame) then cropped pics to get these enlargements.
The fully framed throat that distinguishes Yellow-bellied from Red-naped Sapsuckers (another sapsucker along with Williamson's that we get in winter here) is shown well in the bottom pic. SeEtta

Sandhill Cranes in W.Texas: video clips

These are just two short video clips I video-scoped (video taken with my point and shoot camera that I handhold up to my spotting scope) in W. Texas on my way home to Colorado from Texas in early January. These cranes were part of a flock of hundreds that I spotted while driving down the highway. The bottom clip is very short showing the cranes flying but is mostly for the audio side as they sound came out very good. SeEtta

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Click here for important information for songbirds, farmworkers (who get poisoned by the pesticides) and you.

More from trip home thru Texas

My posting got interrupted by the Snowy Owl and I didn't get to finish posting about some of my birding on my way home as drove through West Texas and the Panhandle. I didn't get any post-able pics of a neat spectacle I saw in small town in West Texas--many hundreds of Chihuahuan Ravens. I first observed numbers of Chihuahuan Ravens feeding in a just-plowed ag field. When the farmer drove his tractor back towards them, the ravens started lifting off with many more coming from behind vegetation and others from the trees surrounding the field. They formed into 2 separate "kettles" and flew in apparent thermals around and around as they lifted higher--I was amazed as there were more than 500 ravens in total. As the kettles rose several hundred feet up, first one then the other kettle flew off each in a different direction. The above pic shows some of the ravens in a kettle--I just haven't mastered the technique necessary to get good pics of kettles be they ravens or hawks (any suggestions will be welcomed). I looked for signs of the ravens as I continued my drive north but they were long gone.
I saw many Ferruginous and Red-tailed Hawks in West Texas and in the Texas Panhandle and a few Rough-legged Hawks including this male I photographed in the Santa Rita Grasslands in the far nw corner of the state. Double-click on this pic for a closer view of his brilliant eyes.
The Sandhill Cranes in the bottom pic were part of a flock of 150 or more that I spotted in a pond not far off the highway. I saw several other flocks near the highway which made the drive more interesting. SeEtta

Snowy Owl & photography ethics

There was a brief discussion on our Colorado birding listserve this week in which several of us expressed our concerns about the impacts of birders and photographers on the Snowy Owl. Sadly some folks have no tolerance for views that are different than their own and one birder made sarcastic derisive remarks about those who have expressed concerns. Over the years I have seen similar discussions and not uncommonly similar attempts to bully those with concerns into silence. Some discussions with a professional nature photographer from California caused me to remember another professional nature photographer whose photography I admire and who is outspoken about the of photographing Snowy Owls. With his permission, following are his principles-I think they are great.

"My approach to snowy owl photography is based on these principles:

1. I don't use food to get a better picture (I don't give them mouse, real or fake). It's a personal choice, but I must admit that I love mouse, squirrel, and etc as much as I love snowy owl.
2. I will always try to take photos from a comfortable distance, using the appropriate equipments (ex: Canon 500mm + teleconverter 1.4).
3. I approach them quietly and silently and monitor their response to my presence. I want to avoid to disturb them and that they fly away because of me (energy thing - remember).
4. If the snowy owl goes away because it does not like to be disturbed, I may have fail to detect their comfort zone. I will then stop photographing this bird and come back another day.
5. I don't photo-hunt the snowy. PERIOD. If the bird wants to be alone and fly away, do not follow him from spot to spot. Some people like to take picture of the bird in flight and will start a pursuit. Remember that while you do that, the snowy don't hunt, and worst than that, it is spending its energy not to survive but to get away from a photographer.
6. I don't scare birds or animals to get a better picture. If everybody start doing that, it will make the birds and animals harder to approach for the photographers and it some case, like the snowy owl, it may be life threatening.
7. I also recommend that if you join others photographers on the field, that you respect them: talk quietly, verify with them if you can join their group, don’t scare the bird that everybody watch just to get your own photos of the bird flying away.

Nature photography is about respecting and imaging the nature." from Richard Dumoulin's Flickr site where his beautiful photos of Snowy Owls and other nature photographs can be viewed. SeEtta

SnowyOwl: one more video clip

This is the best of the video clips I have as the Snowy Owl turns its head several times as it looks around and appears to scratch an itch on it's back with it's beak. I apologize for a few quality problems that are a result of the fact that I only recently got my camera for this and learned to use it. I am handholding the camera against the scope until I assess whether I want to invest in a device that might produce video with more consistent quality. SeEtta

SnowyOwl: videoclips

These are video clips of the Snowy Owl that I took using the technique of 'video-scoping'--holding my point and shoot camera against the eyepiece of my spotting scope, thus enlarging the view. The top video clip shows the owl turning it's head to look around while the wind blows it's feathers.
The bottom video clip shows the owl doing some more head turning and it's feathers are also blowing in the wind. All my video clips were taken from about 200 feet from the owl. SeEtta

SnowyOwl: more digiscoped pics

Though many photographers choose to show only the frontal view of birds, I think that backshots are worthwhile and so I often include them on this blog. These are both the same pic with the bottom being an enlargement that shows the tail feathers and one of it's toenails a little better. I have failed to mention so fare that this is an immature owl. SeEtta

SnowyOwl: digiscoped pics

These are some of the digiscoped pics I took of the Snowy Owl last Saturday. Though it flew twice while I was there, it dropped down behind the houses so those of us watching only got brief glimpses so all my photos were of the owl on the ridge of one of the homes it used for perches. All my digiscoped pics were taken at about 200 feet from the owl.
These are all backlit pics which shades the facial features but I think provides some interesting effects. The bottom pic is an enlargement of the middle pic. SeEtta

Snowy Owl: the watchers

I took these photos of the birders and photographers watching the Snowy Owl in eastern El Paso County, Colo last Saturday. After several discussions on the Colo birding listserve about the etiquette and ethics of watching and photographing the Snowy Owl, I took these photos of the birders and photographers who were watching the owl last Saturday when I was there (by the way, I don't know any of them but I think the pics are sufficiently distant). I took these pics with my point and shoot.
I agree with the saying that 'a picture is worth a thousand words'--and I think these photos show 'how to' watch a rare owl in a manner that is considerate to the owl, the neighbors and the other watchers. Everyone was standing/sitting and their vehicles were parked out of roadway (and on one side of the street) but not trespassing on private property, giving the owl the space it needs to conduct the activities of daily living with limited impacts by the watchers. The owl is out of view in the top pic and barely visible in the other two where it is the the small thing sticking up the right side on top of the house roof.
I included the bottom pic as it gives a better perspective on the very rural nature of this subdivision which is located in an area with large/larger acreage home-sites with a lot of fields/meadows/grassland that has not yet been developed. Unfortunately one person posted on the listserve that the "bird is in a human subdivision for crying out loud! He is obviously used to people coming and going!" I think this is quite misleading. The lots in this subdivision are about 5 acres and as can be seen there are hundreds of feet between the houses. And several of the lots are still vacant as are several of the houses so the Snowy Owl has a lot of space and is not being subjected to close contact with people. It perches on rooftops and antennas on top of roofs, which remove him from proximity with people and their pets by at least 20 feet and often much more and provides it with not only a good place to view it's surroundings (for prey and danger) but with safety from coyotes, dogs running free and other threats. SeEtta

SnowyOwl: one more pic

This is the only photo I took with my Canon xti camera with 400 mmm lens besides the ones in my first post of the owl on the antenna that I felt was good enough to post. Though I might have gotten some better pics if I had the 1.4 extender that I forgot, I think that digiscoping often lends itself to better pics of birds at a distance. This was taken from about 200 feet from the owl. SeEtta

Snowy Owl: real perspective

When I woke up this morning I realized that posting the photo taken with my digital camera lens equivalent of 640 mm does not really provide most people with an idea of what the Snowy Owl looks like without the benefit of super telephoto lens combos or spotting scopes. You see that 640 mm is more than 12 times magnification. So here is a pic I took with my point and shoot camera at close to 'normal' view (approximately 50mm). In fact, this is a totally unedited pic without not only the cropping that most of us do to enlarge the view but without the other tweaks like improving the lighting.

Because of the lack of enlargement it may be necessary to double click on the pic to enlarge it for better viewing of the owl (which is why photographers enlarge their pics). The owl is on the ridge of the rooftop just to the right of the jog in the ridgeline. It is on a different house than the one in the post below and the view from the street where we were standing was about 200 feet so, though visible with the naked eye, it is very small. SeEtta

Snowy Owl in Colo

A Snowy Owl was found last week in eastern El Paso County while I was still driving back to Colorado. Though not as rare to Colo as the Northern Wheatear was to Texas, Snowy Owls are still quite rare and enjoy considerable attention by Colorado birders. It was nice to see one of these beauties again.
This series of pics of this Snowy Owl is a progression of views from most distant to closer. In the top pic, the owl had flown from the top of a home in this rural subdivision where it has been seen for well over a week and can be seen on a distant rooftop where it perched on the HD antenna as shown by the arrow I sketched. In the middle pic the owl is perched on the highest point it can get to--on the HD antenna. Note the whitewash beneath this antenna which is evidently a location this owl has used on a number of occasions. I cropped the middle pic to obtain the closer view in the bottom pic of the owl on the antenna.
I took the middle pic from the far side of the street that was adjacent to house on which it was perched which was a distance of about 200 feet. I took these pics with my Canon xti digital slr with a 400 mm lens(f5.6)-since my camera is not 'full frame', this provides a multiplier of 1.6 resulting in an equivalent 640 mm photo length. SeEtta

NORTHERN WHEATEAR: last video clip, not least

POST NOTE: I took most of these videos from between 50 and 75 feet and they are magnified by the fact I took the video through my spotting scope. I was able to take this and the previous videos this close because the wheatear flew into a wood pile about 50 feet from where I was standing. This last video clip is pretty short but quite nice because I had lighting that let the color on the bird show through. I am not enlarging the screen on this one because the original size provides a crisper view that stands out with the color. SeEtta

NORTHERN WHEATEAR: more video clips

POST NOTE: The bird was about 50-60 feet away in the top pic as it had flown into a woodpile about 50 feet from me. The bird was more than 75 feet away in the bottom pic and on the other side of a barbed wire fence (slightly visible) in a field.
In the top video clip the Northern Wheatear I videoscoped on Jan 6 in Bee County,Texas actually perches in one position for 19 seconds (quite awhile for this bird) on top the wood-pile then quickly flies down out of view.
In the top video clip the bird bends forward as though to pick up a seed, then gives a rear view as it bobs it's tail. At the end it turns, looks towards the birders then scurries quickly out of view. By the way, I haven't noted that I am hand-holding the camera to my spotting scope so sometimes I'm not perfectly still. Stay tuned to next post for last video clip. SeEtta

NORTHERN WHEATEAR-another rarity

POST NOTE: I took these pics by putting my camera up to my spotting scope which provides super enlargement. The bird had flown into a wood pile about 50 feet from me as I was talking to the property owners brother so the bird was from about 50-75 feet in these digiscoped pics. I have cropped the pics to enlarge them. I got to see another big rarity that was located north of Corpus Chrisi,Tx. This was another easy decision as it was less than a 20 mile detour off the highway I was taking north to San Antonio, on the first leg of my trip home.
I have seen postings that this is a second Texas state record for this bird. According to the Patuxant Wildlife Research Center, "North American range restricted to parts of Alaska and Yukon-casual stray to rest of United States and Canada." SeEtta

More LeConte's Sparrow pics

Having found two LeConte's Sparrows in a week was made sweeter when this bird came out into the open and stayed put for at least 5 minutes while I snapped pics and slowly approached closer. I was very pleased to get the top pic that shows the bird's nape quite nicely. I got these pics from only about 25 feet away.
At the CBC compilation we found out there were about 5 LeConte's Sparrows found on this count and all were in or around the Estero Llano Grande State Park.

CBC LeConte's Sparrow

First I spotted a LeConte's Sparrow during the La Sal Vieja Christmas Bird Count on Dec 27 then this one on Jan 3 during the Weslaco CBC at Estero Llano Grande State Park--these are the first two LeConte's I have ever seen. Only a few of these have been found back in Colorado where their status is of very rare vagrant. So it was pretty cool to find two in less than a week. SeEtta

BARE-THROATED TIGER-HERON :video clips of Bentsen bird

POST NOTE: All videoscoping and digiscoping of the Bare-Throated Tiger-Heron by me were taken from a distance of no less than 100 feet but up to 160 feet and only from the authorized roads and trails authorized by Tx State Parks.I took these two video clips of the BARE-THROATED TIGER-HERON on 12-31-09. They do not have as much action as my first video clip but they do provide a realistic view of a bird that stands in place to do much of it's hunting. In the top video the bird starts with it's head in a forward position and quickly moves it back up. Then someone walks in front of the spotting scope followed by the bird hunting in position but moving it's head small amounts back and forth. In the bottom video clip, which was taken not long after the video clip of the bird engaged in feeding behavior (and posted 2 posts below), displays some chewing-like behaviors towards the end of the clip (sorry for the white spot, it's some kind of reflection that can be difficult to avoid when digiscoping and videoscoping). Interestingly, the bird moves it's head so that it's right eye appears quite bulging (due to angle of view??). Hint: you can enlarge these a little more by hitting the "View" tab at the top of your screen then clicking on 'zoom in' one or several times (but quality may diminish some) SeEtta

BARE-THROATED TIGER-HERON : Costa Rica pic

This photo by Hays Cummins, Miami University is copyrighted and posted here by permission from his website A Tropical Bird Collection
This is an ultimate photograph of a Bare-throated Tiger-Heron in Costa Rica that shows ultra-up close details of an adult bird. Compare the plumage of my digiscoped pics of the Bentsen BARE-THROATED TIGER-HERON below. SeEtta

BARE-THROATED TIGER-HERON : video of feeding

This video is copywrited--please ask for permission before use other than viewing on this blog.
This is my first video clip and it has been a bit of pain to get uploaded but it is worth the hassle.

This is videoscoped by videotaping the tiger-heron through a spotting scope--too cool. At the begnning of the clip the BARE-THROATED TIGER-HERON is standing still as it forages in it's slow, methodical manner. Then you will see it move it's head--watch very closely because it will jab down and almost behind in an exceptionally fast manner-puts new meaning to the phrase 'break-neck speed'! This is followed by swallowing movements (and my comments of astonishment as if I had never seen a creature swallow before), then some chewing movements. In the background someone talks about whether it is eating a grasshopper but I don't know that anyone was able to see what it ate. SeEtta