Bird feeding/Watching

[MauEvig]

lol no I wasn't talking about four wheelers and ATVs.

[Boogeyman]

I doubt Spooky was either...

[Pumpkin_Man]

I never saw a humming bird except in pictures. I understand they are the very smallest birds in existence.

Mike

[Spookymufu]

I doubt Spooky was either...

[MauEvig]

lol not sure what that means.

In any case, I myself have captured some pictures of them last year, but they're difficult to take pictures of. I just like referring to them as hummers. So far I've had no problems with the hummers or the humming bird feeder, other than it attracting random insects especially bees and wasps due to the fact that the nectar is sweet. The specific kind I bought it supposed to give the birds calcium so that they'll have healthy eggs, and healthy babies. So I'm not just feeding the hummers, I'm giving them a nutrition supplement as well lol.

[Spookymufu]

In any case, I myself have captured some pictures of them last year, but they're difficult to take pictures of.

I just like referring to them as hummers. So far I've had no problems with the hummers

So I'm not just feeding the hummers, I'm giving them a nutrition supplement as well lol.

stop stop stop, you're killing me

[Pumpkin_Man]

I would love to try to get photos of Humming Birds. The trick to that is to use your fastest shutter speeds. Depending on the weather, (i.e. if it's a cloudy day) you may have to boost your ISO, but the very rapid movement of their wings are very hard to capture unless you are shooting at least 1/500 of a second. You may also have to open up your F stop a little wider which will narrow your depth of field, but all in all, it would be an interesting challenge.

Mike

[MauEvig]

Here's one of the pictures I took last year. if I can capture the hummers this year I'll post them.
You're right, it is a huge challenge and of course, the wings are going to appear blurred. My camera is just a cheap 16 MP Fugifilm from Walmart that I got.

https://scontent-a-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hph ... 8520_o.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/ ... 2257_o.jpg

Not the best quality, the pictures themselves I believe I took with my old Camera, which was 12MP. It got ruined though so I got a new one with my Birthday Money last year, and it was around Halloween season when I got it.

[Murfreesboro]

It's been years since I actually fed birds, but that is a fun thing to do. When my second son was in grade school, I worked on a conservation badge with him through Cub Scouts. It involved a few weeks of bird watching and keeping a diary about what we saw. I bought some field guides for this area, and I became very attuned to the variety of birds we have around here. I thought I would keep it up, but so far I haven't.

Although we live in town, we live on a double lot, and we have allowed the back portion of it to get pretty woodsy. I am actually in the process of trying to clear a lot of that brush out now. However, we do have lots & lots of birds. I regularly see robins, blue jays, cardinals, mockingbirds, and mourning doves in my yard. More occasionally I have seen hummingbirds, chickadees, and wood thrushes on our property.

[Pumpkin_Man]

MauEvig, those aren't half bad photos, but if there's a way you can speed up your shutter speed, you might be able to capture the humming birds a little better. Check out your camera's manual.

Murf, watch out for those blue jays. They can be pretty aggressive especially around children and especially during their mating season. My brother was attacked by a blue jay when he was about 4 or 5. He was swinging on the swing, and this blue jay swooped down and packed him on the forehead. Put a big gash in his forehead, which required 3 stitches.

Mike

[MauEvig]

These little guys seem to be getting slowly more accustomed to my presence, because I was actually able to capture them on film right on the front porch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMUVlGi ... e=youtu.be

I'll have to see if I can find the Camera's manual, if not maybe I can find instructions online or youtube howto videos on the subject for my specific camera.

I don't know much about blue jays, other than they have a bad rep for pecking a cat's eyes, another reason for me to keep the cats inside so they can watch the birds from the safety of a window. The other birds haven't seemed to be a problem as of right now.

There seems to be two hummers flying around, and both seem to be competing for food. My landlord left her old hummingbird feeder so maybe I can clean that out and fill that up.

Also just yesterday I was able to capture a hummer sitting down on one of the wooden boxes I'd brought home from work:

https://scontent-a-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hph ... 5117_o.jpg

Granted, it's through the window so you can see the curtains and glare, but it's there. I think that's pretty awesome.

Here's another more recent picture:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/ ... 7682_o.jpg

[Pumpkin_Man]

Those are nice photos, even with the glare of the curtain. If you had opened that curtain to shoot the photo, that bird would have flown away. I liked your video, too.

The company that made your camera should have an on line manual for it, but you might have to have Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to open it.

Mike

[MauEvig]

I nearly forgot about this thread; I still feed the birds and I have this cute little bird feeder now that looks like a little podium. I'm not sure if I showed off the little bird house, but I believe birds have moved into it.



This is one I got at the maple festival one year; I believe the 2014 one. I thought it had a cute barn shape to it which fits right into our country setting.

Here's a bird in the feeder:



It took a while before the Hummingbirds arrived. I don't have a lot of good pictures of them yet this year (hopefully I can catch them, but they're just so darn quick and spook so easily!)

This one makes a nice silhouette though:



Of course the cats are highly amused by the birds:



Those of you who saw our newest cat Nova in some of my Christmas pictures, he's grown quite a bit since then. He may be small but he acts like a tiger. I'm taking him to get fixed Thursday. I feel really bad that I have to leave him overnight at the vet. But I know it's necessary.

Here's one of Talos looking at the birds:



Storm hasn't been interested much in them lately, but she's gotten to be an older kitty now.

Here's another picture:



Some of these I had to take so quickly which is why they're a bit blurred. Birds are quick! You have to be sneaky or quick to get a decent picture that isn't all blurry.

I have more bird pictures from the College if anyone wants to see them. I'm glad to be done with College for the summer though, but while I was there I got some decent bird pictures. Guess it's another semi-hobby for me. I love the Spring and Summer season, sometimes it feels like they're one season packaged together.

[Murfreesboro]

I love your bird photos! Especially the silhouetted one, and the one of the kitty watching so intently!

You know, back in the Middle Ages, spring & summer were considered one season. That's why "midsummer" is the summer solstice, which we count as the end of spring and beginning of summer. (Same thing with the winter solstice being midwinter long ago).

[MauEvig]

The Middle ages philosophy actually makes sense when you think about it. Sometimes I don't think there's any "clearly" defined seasons as we know them. Sure the equinox and solstices mark when each season begins and ends, but my seasons go like this:

Spring time is when the blossoms and birds come out. It starts to warm up. Everything is illuminated with bright pinks and whites everywhere. After a long winter's rest, the world reawakens.

Summer time, things start to really heat up. Everything is a brilliant shade of green. Everyone's busy with barbecues and grilling outside. Some people start earlier in the Spring depending on how warm it is. There's some flowers, usually bright yellows like daisies. Berries are abundant. We are thinking about fireworks as well.

Fall/Autumn, this one is easy because the leaves start to turn colors due to lack of chlorophyll. The Earth is no longer getting as much sunlight in our hemisphere, so the plants respond to it accordingly. Leaves start falling off the trees. Back to School signs are abundant, immediately followed by Halloween merchandise. But for me, Summer does not end after the Fourth of July; things really heat up throughout the month of July and start winding down at the end of August. September is when it truly has a "fall feel" to it, but sometimes we have what's called an "indian summer" where harvest season begins, we can start reaping the benefits of our gardens if we have any, and while the leaves are a brilliant shade of red and orange, we still have warm weather comparible to the summer months.

Winter: When it's freezing cold and snowing. But admittedly winter has it's own under appreciated beauty, something majestic about scenery after a harsh snowfall, when dark bark of the trees contrasts with the bright white snow.

But in reality there is only two seasons: Winter and Road Construction!

Thanks for the kind compliments on the photos. I thought the cat ones would add a whimsical feel to the theme.