Monday, January 26, 2009

Macro Monday

Burning Candle

Friday, January 23, 2009

..and More Back Yard Birds

We've been fortunate to have a good supply of woodpeckers in our yard over the last few years including regular visits from Pileated and even a visit from the Red-headed Woodpecker. The Downy Woodpecker is also a regular at our suet feeder and deserves some recognition for being a part of our birding lives.

Downy Woodpecker:
Downy Woodpecker

Downy Woodpecker

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

More Back Yard Birds

Interestingly enough, I realized the other day that I really didn't have a decent shot of a Black-capped Chickadee. These birds are always in our yard and at the feeders. They are dependable that way and I appreciate that. :)

Black-capped Chickadee:
Black-capped Chickadee

Black-capped Chickadee

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Back Yard Birds

It was such a nice day out today compared to the recent weather we have had I decided to just sit in the backyard and take a few shots of the birds in my yard and on my feeders. I had the "usuals" that visit my feeders which are Downy's, Chickadees, and Nuthatches. I was kind of hoping to see the Pileated since I could hear him not to far away but he decided not to show today so I'll have try again another day.

White-breasted Nuthatch:
White-breasted Nuthatch

White-breasted Nuthatch

Monday, January 19, 2009

Macro Monday

Sea Shell

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Sitting and Landing Swans

I still find it hard to believe that the cold water and ice doesn't bother the birds. They seemed quite content even though we were all freezing!

Trumpeter Swan

Trumpeter Swan

Monday, January 12, 2009

Macro Monday

I've been working more on my macro photography so I thought I would start doing a Macro Monday shot. Here's the first one! :)

White Sea Shell:
White Sea Shell

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Flight of the Swans

Here's one more flight shot:

Trumpeter Swans in Flight

Friday, January 09, 2009

Swans in Flight

There were a lot of opportunities to shoot pictures of the swans in flight, and I was somewhat successful. Swans make for good practice on shooting birds in flight mainly because they are big enough to make focusing on them easy and are slow enough that you can keep up with them as the pass in front of you. I think birds in flight is going to be an area of focus for me this year, although, given the opportunity to photograph a sitting bird I'm pretty sure I'll take the photo. :)

Trumpeter Swan

Trumpeter Swan

Thursday, January 08, 2009

Swans in the Mist

Due to the cold, there was a bit of mist/steam coming off of the water which made for a very pretty seen, but it also made for a bit of trouble when taking shots. Sometimes the mist was thick enough where it somewhat obscured the birds. Either way it was still pretty cool to see.

Trumpeter Swan

Trumpeter Swan

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Sleepy Swans

Did I mention that it was about 0 degrees when we went and that there was a pretty good breeze which made it quite chilly to be holding my camera? My first battery didn't last very long, so it was nice to have a second battery which was a gift from my wife for Christmas.

Trumpeter Swan (3 of 3)

Trumpeter Swan Sleeping on the Ice

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Monticello Swans

Hey All,

I hope that the holidays treated you all well and that you've had a chance to spend time with family and friends. I certainly did!
I started out the new year of birding (the first birding I've done in a while as many of you know) by going up to Monticello, MN to see the Trumpeter Swans with my parents. It's quite a spectacle, with a phenomenal amount of birds, mainly Mallards, Canada Geese, and of course Trumpeter Swans. We also saw a some Common Goldeneye, although they were at quite a distance.
Here are a couple shots of the swans to start with. I'll be posting a few more over the coming days.

Trumpeter Swan (2 of 3)

Trumpeter Swan (1 of 3)