Confessions of a bird nerd

[jbird]

I have taken a few distant photos of Indigo Buntings in the past. This spring they are thick on my property and I had no problem attracting them to my window feeder. Im shooting these with a Macro lens. I am behind a blind approximately 12-18" from the bird! When this guy came in and posed for about 100 shots, I figured, OK, been there done that! Next bird please! :) SO, the next challenge was getting a close up portrait of an Oriole. I cut an orange in half and put it in the feeder. 30 minutes later, I checked the feeder to see 4 Orioles lined up to get at the orange! CHECK! Nailed him!
A GREAT afternoon behind the lens!

Female Indigo Bunting

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/jbird35/JDS_1670_zpscd8e4300.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/jbird35/media/JDS_1670_zpscd8e4300.jpg.html)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/jbird35/JDS_1659_zps24c7d3f5.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/jbird35/media/JDS_1659_zps24c7d3f5.jpg.html)

Male

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/jbird35/JDS_1680a_zps1a6e87e0.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/jbird35/media/JDS_1680a_zps1a6e87e0.jpg.html)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/jbird35/JDS_1838_zps0d75312e.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/jbird35/media/JDS_1838_zps0d75312e.jpg.html)

Baltimore Oriole

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/jbird35/JDS_1738_zpse7804c78.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/jbird35/media/JDS_1738_zpse7804c78.jpg.html)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/jbird35/JDS_1745_zpsfb476bbc.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/jbird35/media/JDS_1745_zpsfb476bbc.jpg.html)

Female Oriole

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/jbird35/JDS_1819_zps2be3d1c4.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/jbird35/media/JDS_1819_zps2be3d1c4.jpg.html)

Rose Breasted Grosebeak

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/jbird35/JDS_1735_zpsd0bb413b.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/jbird35/media/JDS_1735_zpsd0bb413b.jpg.html)

Purple Finch

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/jbird35/JDS_1849_zps4c6b98f1.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/jbird35/media/JDS_1849_zps4c6b98f1.jpg.html)

Then this bully dropped in and cleared the crowd

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/jbird35/JDS_1829_zpsf0ff54a9.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/jbird35/media/JDS_1829_zpsf0ff54a9.jpg.html)

[Kneedeep]

Beautiful shots!

[k.hanley]

Jay I always enjoy your bird pics.

You put in the time and effort. The results are magical. Well done bud!

Cheers, Ken

[Darian]

WOW!!! Great photo's!! I've never seen an Indigo Bunting before. Beautiful bird. Thanks for sharing.... :cool:

[jbird]

Thanks guys! I don't have the 10 grand one needs to get a really good lens, so my solution is to get as close to the birds as I can. This set up gets me almost too close! Theres times when they are too close for my lens to focus.
It is hard to know what to do next when you get such excellent results on your first try. Its almost cheating. So now my endeavor is to improve little aspects of what I have. I found a nice mossy branch and screwed it to the feeder to give a more interesting perch. And then theres the search for perfect light... Heres a few shots from today...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/jbird35/JDS_1892_zps1f878505.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/jbird35/media/JDS_1892_zps1f878505.jpg.html)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/jbird35/JDS_1862_zps9b89c890.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/jbird35/media/JDS_1862_zps9b89c890.jpg.html)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/jbird35/JDS_1859_zps4730b433.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/jbird35/media/JDS_1859_zps4730b433.jpg.html)

These are really interesting birds. Look at these strange facts on this species...

"Indigo Buntings have no blue pigment; they are actually black, but the diffraction of light through the structure of the feathers makes them appear blue."


"Indigo Buntings migrate at night, using the stars for guidance. Researchers demonstrated this process in the late 1960s by studying captive Indigo Buntings in a planetarium and then under the natural night sky. The birds possess an internal clock that enables them to continually adjust their angle of orientation to a star—even as that star moves through the night sky"

[Larry S]

Jay,
Thanks, as always. I have a nesting pair of Orioles in my neighborhood. Boy, are they shy and secretive.
I see them daily, and always together. Never long in one spot. At my finch feeder, I often have to shoo
them away so that I can fill the feeder. Ain't nature great?
Larry S

[jbird]

Hey Larry? How ya holdin up down there with all the fires??

[DLJeff]

Beautiful photos, Jay. I noticed out here that as soon as the flowers and trees started to bud and bloom, the number of birds at our feeders has dropped of dramatically. I'm not sure if it's because there is so much other food available now or possibly because the migration can proceed along. Probably the former because many of the birds aren't migrants - chickadees, goldfinchs, house finchs. The white crowned sparrows have moved along. I also noticed the larger flocks of quails have broken up into pairs - nearly also see them in pairs now. Still learning the bird habits of central Oregon.

[Larry S]

Jay,
All of the SD fires are 20 - 30 miles to the north of me. Scary stuff. Very dramatic pictures and video
on the coverage. Along with the heat, low humidity, and winds, we had a full moon. Think loony behavior!
Finally, a nice cool down today.
Caught the first yellowfin croaker of the season in the surf yesterday. Cooler water temps delayed their
arrival about a month.
Best to you and yours,
Larry S

[jbird]

Beautiful photos, Jay. I noticed out here that as soon as the flowers and trees started to bud and bloom, the number of birds at our feeders has dropped of dramatically. I'm not sure if it's because there is so much other food available now or possibly because the migration can proceed along. Probably the former because many of the birds aren't migrants - chickadees, goldfinchs, house finchs. The white crowned sparrows have moved along. I also noticed the larger flocks of quails have broken up into pairs - nearly also see them in pairs now. Still learning the bird habits of central Oregon.

Ive noticed that too Doug. Especially back there in Oregon. We concluded that they move into a phase of being so focused on nesting, they all but abandon the feeders. Then it heats up again with the fledglings a bit later. Your drought may have messed with the migration too. Ya never know.


Jay,
All of the SD fires are 20 - 30 miles to the north of me. Scary stuff. Very dramatic pictures and video
on the coverage. Along with the heat, low humidity, and winds, we had a full moon. Think loony behavior!
Finally, a nice cool down today.
Caught the first yellowfin croaker of the season in the surf yesterday. Cooler water temps delayed their
arrival about a month.
Best to you and yours,
Larry S

Good to hear your area has been spared Larry. If it DOES come too close, just wade a wee deeper in that surf ;)

[FRSam]

Jay your shots are amazing. What exactly is your set up? You mentioned your shooting distance is 12 to 18 inches and you're behind a blind with the feeder on just the other side of the window. Are you shooting from a tripod? Do you have a hole cut for just the lens? Are you doing a pre focus? Whatever you're doing, you're sure doing it right. Beautiful shots.

Pete
FeatherRiverSam

[jbird]

Thanks Pete!

I hang black fabric in the window. The fabric has two holes, one for my lens and another just above it for me to see out. The camera is on a tripod and I also use a remote shutter release. I find I get a bit sharper images with the remote. I usually use auto focus cause the birds are hopping around here and there. Sometimes I will set a pre focus if I want a flight shot. I will manually focus the lens a few inches beyond the perch and I'll shoot continuous while a bird comes in and if I'm lucky, I'll get something when it flies thru the plane of focus.


Jay your shots are amazing. What exactly is your set up? You mentioned your shooting distance is 12 to 18 inches and you're behind a blind with the feeder on just the other side of the window. Are you shooting from a tripod? Do you have a hole cut for just the lens? Are you doing a pre focus? Whatever you're doing, you're sure doing it right. Beautiful shots.

Pete
FeatherRiverSam

[Mike McKenzie]

Really great shots of the birds... Outstanding bokeh from your lens or lenses!
Again, envy is upon me!

Mike