Category: Wildlife

Backyard Morning

by Michael

Today I took the day off work to attend a conference, but since it doesn’t start until noonish, I decided to take the chance to spend the morning in my backyard and discover what critters frequent the feeders in the AM.

I’ve noticed the squirrel a few times now.  He seems to live in the neighbor’s yard, but occasionally comes over to sneak some of the peanuts and such that I leave out for the blue jay.  Here, he is on the neighbors fence and seems to be cursing the dove that is standing watch on my fence, baring his way to my yard.  Truth is, when he comes over, the doves scatter, so they really aren’t much of a defence.

The blue jay showed up for a brief second.  I’m getting closer to getting a very good shot of him, but in this one, I just cut to tip of his tail off.  And yes, there are two peanuts in his mouth.  How long before he realizes that there is no threat to him here and takes him time.  Then I’ll be able to aim and shoot much better shots of him.  I look forward to that t day.

Next, the male cardinal showed up but spent most of the time up in the tree above the feeder.  I don’t know, maybe I have the only birds around here that just aren’t hungry in the morning.  In any case, I got a shot of the bird in its natural habitat: a tree.

And finally, seems that I can get all the shots of doves that I want, and then some.  They guys just hang around all the time.  They were even hanging around my yard long before I ever put up the feeders.  In any case, I realized that normally shoot them from the side, but when this one looked at me straight on, he seemed to be saying to me, “What are you looking at?”  To which I replied, “Snap!”

That was it for the morning shoot.  It was very windy and cloudy, so maybe that kept the birds away.  I’ll have to try again.

Shots taken with Canon 7D, EF600Lf/4IS

Red-shouldered Hawk

by Michael

So, if you can’t catch the hawk as if flies through your yard, go to his yard.

This evening, Karen and I spent some time at the Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area (LLELA) to do a little practicing with our cameras before heading to Yellowstone in two weeks.  This is only the second time I’ve been our there, and as I said the first time, I’ve got to get out there more often.  There is wildlife all over the place.  Too many times we yearn for the exotic wildlife we see on television while ignoring the exotic wildlife in our own back yards.

Today, along with meeting a couple of new friends, I got a few good shots of a Red-shouldered Hawk as it sat on an old tree looking for dinner.  A very magnificent bird.  I don’t know if this is the same fellow that flies through my yard scaring the little birds or not, but if I were a little bird, I would run too.  Check out the talons on this guy!

Another new bird to add to my list now is the American Coot!  Can’t say I have ever noticed these guys before, but they are pretty cool looking water fowl.  Black and shiny with the red eyes, white bill, and the black ring on the bill.  They were diving for dinner and didn’t seem to mind the hawk watching over their territory.

It was a good day for wildlife, photos, and making new friends.  I look forward to returning again in the near future and possibly maybe even helping out in the area.

Back Yard Birds

by Michael

This evening I spent time in my back yard, honing my skills with my new lens and catching some of the local wildlife.  In my case, “the local wildlife” just happens to be “common birds.”  But, as I learned recently, just because these birds are common in my back yard, they are not necessarily common in everyone’s back yard, so I share what I have with you.

First is one of my favorites; the Blue Jay.  I think this is one of the prettiest birds God created, even if their attitude doesn’t match their looks.  But I’m learning that they really are the quintessential bully.  They make a lot of noise, but when it comes right down to it, they are afraid of their own shadow.  Take this shot for instance.  I have to be quick to catch a good shot of these guys because they either fly away quickly, or turn their back on me.  At least, with its back turned, I got a great shot of the details of its feathers.  Very pretty bird.

Probably the most numerous birds I have are the doves.  I have a whole flock of them that come every evening to pick up the seeds that the other birds knock out of the feeders.  They are great, but they too get flustered easily.  It is funny to watch them because around 6pm, they will start lining up on the fence.  And then, almost as if on cue, they all descend to the ground together and begin eating.  These two on the fence looked like they were discussing why the guy on the porch kept pointing the big clicky thing at them.  🙂

And last but not least, are my House Finches.  I have several of these in my back yard as well.  They are not as numerous as the Doves, but they are close.  They aren’t quite as skittish as the other birds, and they don’t seem to mind the flash of the camera.  Their coloring lends to some very pretty pictures too.

So, that’s my birds from this evening.  There was one out-of-the-ordinary thing that happened this evening.  At one point, all the birds in the yard, at one time, took off in a mass exodus from the area.  I hadn’t heard any noises or anything, and I couldn’t figure out what had happened.  Then, about that time, a Hawk flew through my back yard, right at eye level with me.  I was shocked!  It was beautiful.  And then I thought… “I have a camera right in front of me!” but it was too late.  Doh!  Maybe it will return and land long enough for me to get a picture some day.  But until then, I’ll just have to wait and practice.