Photos of Our Fine Feathered Friends

[Muscles]

For us here in Oz, they are a massive pest and reduced many a veranda to dust. To me, cockatoos are the bikies of the bird world, you hear them coming a mile away, they travel in packs, trash the place and really enjoy doing so and then you hear them leave and start cleaning up after them....

 

[MarkStar]

This guy was doing his darndest to get the camera out of my hand...

 

[MarkStar]

 

[Pjotr]

Sorry about the quality of the shot but I had 10 seconds from detection to grabbing the camera to opening the window and shooting. Was gone after that. It's either a brown goshawk or a juvenile peregrine. My money's on the former but in any case it's not bad for your average Western Australian suburban front yard. I think it might have a mouse in it's left claw or it could be a Willy Wagtail (little Australian wren) because that seems to have gone missing from the front yard suddenly.

 

[Pjotr]

Allright let's try this one again. My son who actually knows what to do turned it into a better shot.

 

[Black Adder]

Allright let's try this one again. My son who actually knows what to do turned it into a better shot.

I'm not super familiar with Australian birds, but it's a goshawk; that accipiter build is unmistakable. Nice shot.

Don

 

[Pjotr]

Thanks Don. What defines an accipiter build? I've been fascinated with raptors all my life but have never done any research or reading. I just scramble for a Field Guide and try to remember the plumage and approximate size.

 

[spindlecone]

Truley the dumbest bird god ever created,pests in my hood.

 

[Black Adder]

Thanks Don. What defines an accipiter build? I've been fascinated with raptors all my life but have never done any research or reading. I just scramble for a Field Guide and try to remember the plumage and approximate size.

Long legs, short, stubby wings, long tail. They're built for speed and maneuverability. They prey mostly on birds, but will take anything they can tackle. They are capable of running on the ground to make the catch.

Falcons are more of an open country hunter. They need space and distance for their dive, or stoop, to make the kill. They MIGHT show up in your back yard, but an accipiter is more likely. Another giveaway to their presence is that all the other birds will be making alarm calls and in general, creating a ruckus. Accipiters mean trouble.

Nothing wrong with scrambling for field guides; that's how you learn!

Don

 

[Mycon]

A pair of Baldies. There's a big group of them that like to chill out in Sanpete County during the winter. Sorry it's not closer. They are very skittish and will take off if you get remotely close. This was with my 10x zoom maxed out.

 

[Zephyr]

Went for a walk along the river today, lots of ducks and swans chilling on a foggy sunday.

 

[D.Gray]

Great photos here. I thought I would share some of what I have taken in Eastern Oregon.

Plethora of Snow Geese AKA a "Goose Explosion"

Juvenile Bald Eagle

Red Tailed Hawk

Mallards

Flicker

American Kestrel

and finally a Great Horned Owl

Oh and I have many more species photographed, but this is what I am sharing for now as I am always adding to my collection of wildlife photos. I am still trying to find some Sandhill Cranes to photograph as they summer in my local area. Last year was the first time I was able to find and photograph a Kerlew (I knew where hundreds of them were, but couldn't take a camera in to the area due to restrictions).

Dave

 

[smokejumper]

Hi
Heres a couple of mine hope you like them

 

[MarkStar]

 

[73mountaineer]

Credit for this one goes to my 12-yr-old son, who took the pic in our backyard. Nice job, kiddo!

 

[D.Gray]

Took these on the 7th of May this year

Enjoy,
Dave

 

[smokejumper]

A difficult bird to find and photograph, A Nightjar

 

[Turtledrum]

Was happy to see this crew in my backyard...

 

[The Chandos]

Backyard birdwatcher, myself. Nice shots of that Nightjar! I've neither seen nor heard a Nightjar, unfortunately, except on my bird call cd's. Are those black-necked stilts in the top photo?

 

[Pjotr]

Classic Australian backyard scene. The local mob of Kookaburras. There's a family of four of them that hang out at around half a dozen backyards. When they're calling each other it's almost deafening. Incredibly noisy. They're easy to photograph and let you come up really close. One day I'll get a decent camera! They're actually not native to Westerm Australia. There is fossil evidence that they were around several thousand years ago but became extinct here and were re-introduced. Unlike many other introduced species they seem to behave themselves and don't breed at plague proportions. These are about a foot from head to tip of the tail feather. They're almost as wide as they are long. Not exactly graceful in flight but great character birds.