birds

Sharp-Shinned Breakfast

sharp-shin-bluejay — A sharp-shinned hawk makes a morning meal of bluejay

My breakfast this morning was disturbed by the sound of bluejays screaming outside the windows by the feeders. Looking out, I saw them scatter as a fast moving shape slammed one of them to the ground. A sharp-shinned hawk had found its breakfast!

The hawk flew the still struggling jay over to underneath the apple trees near the brook to finish its prey off. I was able to get a few shots from the living room window before it flew off into the woods to finish its meal.

Panasonic Lumix GM5, Lumix 100-300mm lens @ 300mm, ISO 3200, f/5.6, 1/250″ exposure.

February 6, 2016 8

Passing by…

A person walked by in the distance as I snapped this shot of a juvenile gull at Popham Beach.

Panasonic Lumix GM5, Lumix 100-300mm lense @ 280mm, ISO 400, f/5.5, 1/6400″ exposure.

October 13, 2015 0

Nashville Warbler

A yellow warbler on our front porch — A Nashville warbler on our front porch

I was making dinner the other evening when I heard a bump on the window by the sink and caught a fleeting glimpse of a bird fluttering down. Looking out, I saw this yellow warbler sitting on the arm of one of our front porch chairs. It was stunned but still alive. I went cautiously outside to take a closer look (and to make sure the cats hadn’t heard it as well…) Gradually the little bird came back to its senses, but not before allowing me to get close enough to snap several shots with my iPhone. It shortly took off into the trees seemingly none the worse for wear…

August 21, 2015 2

Song Sparrow

I spent some time stalking this song sparrow yesterday morning as he hopped about in the sumac in part of our front field. He didn’t seem too bothered by my presence, allowing me to get in fairly close as he hopped from branch to branch pausing to loose is lovely song.

Nikon D600, Sigma 120-400mm lens @ 400mm, ISO 800, f/8, 1/1250″ exposure.

May 6, 2015 0

Bohemian Waxwing

We had a visit from a garrulous gaggle of Bohemian waxwings yesterday morning. They honed in on the berry laden Korean mountain ash in our front yard and chowed down for a good long time. Bohemians are similar to their Cedar cousins, but are easily differentiated by the prominent rufous coloring beneath the tail and chin.

March 14, 2015 2

Bird Feeder…

Our pal the barred owl was back yesterday afternoon, making himself (herself?) very comfortable on the top of our feeder stand for a good two hours. He seemed to be most interested in the goings on right below the feeder, no doubt waiting for a juicy mouse or other rodent to make its appearance. At times it looked like he was napping. Interestingly, none of the little birds seemed to mind too much that he was there, as the chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, and even cardinals happily munched at our other feeders just a few feet away from the owl.

Nikon D600, Sigma 120-400mm lens @ 330mm, ISO 1250, f/5.6, 1/200″ exposure.

March 2, 2015 8

Barred Owl and Chickadee

A plucky chickadee keeps an eye on a barred owl by our pond

I posted this on my Weather Blog this morning, but figured I post it here too. As I walked up our walkway yesterday afternoon coming back from a ski, I caught the movement of a larger critter flying out of the hemlock by the feeder. Sure enough, it was this barred owl lurking about looking for a meal. It flew up into the top of one of our now-broken willow trees by the pond. Note the chickadee in the branch just below the owl. Chickadees like to know where the predators are, and will stay close and even harass them as a warning to other birds. Just another reason I love chickadees so much! The owl was nice enough to wait for me as I went inside and grabbed my camera.

Nikon D600, Sigma 120-400mm lens @ 400mm, ISO 800, f/5.6, 1/1250″ exposure

February 23, 2015 0

Chick-a-dee-dee-dee!

A chickadee pauses briefly... — A chickadee pauses briefly…

Chickadees are my favorite birds. I think I’ve said that before… I love their gregariousness and seeming tameness (I’ve had one eat out of my hand once) and the way they talk to each other and to me when I’m filling the feeders. When the weather’s bitter cold—as it has been recently—they rely on a consistent food supply to keep their little engines running.

Nikon D600, Sigma 105mm macro lens (I was on a macro shoot…), ISO 1000, f/18, 1/640″ exposure.

February 17, 2015 0