Birding

[Hill]

I need some help on the ID of this raptor. After going over my field guide, I have a best guess that it is an immature Bald Eagle? :confused: Opinions?

 

I agree with the Turkey Vulture i.d. Rocking flight and upward dihedral ("V") of wings is diagnostic along with wing shape. Eagles fly with wings flat, not V'ed.

[Thunderbird]

I agree with the Turkey Vulture i.d. Rocking flight and upward dihedral ("V") of wings is diagnostic along with wing shape. Eagles fly with wings flat, not V'ed.

 

 

 

They remind me of the rounded wings of an old bi-plane.

 

Sitting in tree silhouetted against a cloudy sky, the white head and tail can sometimes disappear leaving the shape of a dark heart on a limb.

[Hill]

Recently a friend and I were visiting Planes of Fame Museum in Chino east of Los Angeles. While we were checking out some Fouga CM-170 Magisters that are awaiting restoration, we noticed a Burrowing Owl roosting on the edge of an access hatch. I took some pictures , inspired by classroom investigations I had done, and Mike Rowe collecting owl pellets on "Dirty Jobs", decided to collect a few pellets. The aim was to take them home and dissect them to try to determine what the little guy had been eating recently.

 

 

 

Contents included small mammal lower jaw bones, top of skull, ribs, a few leg bones, lots of fur, beetle wing covers, lots of bits of exoskeleton, an a few random pieces of plant material.

 

If you are interested in more details, pellet by pellet, go here:

 

Picasa Web Albums - Hill - Burrowing Owl...

[Cedars]

I have a pretty hard time identifying hawks from eagles from vultures down here in GA.

The last link you posted, Cedars, should help me in the future, thanks. :confused:

 

I use a combination of Audubon and Sibley to try to ID hawks. Most of them have unique underbellies combined with wing/tail shapes that will give you the answers. As summer wears on, I hope to get many shots for the side by sides.

[Cedars]

OK, I'm curious. Just what is the new camera and or lens. It gives good results. :confused: Nice pics. Of course the photographer has a lot to do with it.:eek_big:

 

This is the one I bought,

Nikon D40x Digital SLR Two-Lens Bonus Outfit (18-55/55-200) - 9421-2156 - RitzCamera.com

but it was on-sale for $750 with the two lenses. Its a good beginner camera, but if your an experienced photographer and understand all the settings stuff, you would probably want to go D80 or similar. The lenses in my kit fit the D80, so thats nice. Another feature I wish I had was the vibration reduction lenses, but that would have added alot to the price.

 

I was watching these cameras since last fall as prices went up and down.

 

I would also add that the software that comes with it is mediocre and out in the photography forums alot of people are using photoshop with this camera. Make sure if you buy a digital that some kind of editing software comes with it.

 

I am very impressed with the battery power. I took 400 pics today (1 GB when placed on the PC) and the battery still reads fully charged.

[Cedars]

Reading the above link you gave, I think Vulture too now, but because of the squared tail. :confused:

 

I wish I could have said Imm. Baldy

[Cedars]

Recently a friend and I were visiting Planes of Fame Museum in Chino east of Los Angeles. While we were checking out some Fouga CM-170 Magisters that are awaiting restoration, we noticed a Burrowing Owl roosting on the edge of an access hatch. I took some pictures , inspired by classroom investigations I had done, and Mike Rowe collecting owl pellets on "Dirty Jobs", decided to collect a few pellets. The aim was to take them home and dissect them to try to determine what the little guy had been eating recently.

 

Contents included small mammal lower jaw bones, top of skull, ribs, a few leg bones, lots of fur, beetle wing covers, lots of bits of exoskeleton, an a few random pieces of plant material.

 

If you are interested in more details, pellet by pellet, go here:

 

Crex Meadows hosted Burrowing Owls a few years ago, but I dont think theres been any for the last few years. I did get a pretty good pic of an owl pellet last year on the meadows. I thought about taking it apart, but decided to leave it for other explorers to find (or miss) :confused:

[freeztar]

I would also add that the software that comes with it is mediocre and out in the photography forums alot of people are using photoshop with this camera. Make sure if you buy a digital that some kind of editing software comes with it.

 

Cedars, you should download the free programs "GIMP" and "Paint.net". GIMP is an emulation of photoshop. It's not quite as feature packed, but for basic photo editing and manipulation it is great! And free!

 

I am very impressed with the battery power. I took 400 pics today (1 GB when placed on the PC) and the battery still reads fully charged.

 

Wha-wha-what!!? :confused:

[Cedars]

Picture taking on Crex Meadows was not as good as it could have been. Not due to a lack of birds, rather it was the clouds that messed up the day.

 

These guys were interesting to watch. Instead of diving as I am used to, they would sink below the surface and as the body slipped below the surface, then they would twist their heads down to submerge themselves. I tried to get it in a pic, but wasnt able to (this time).

[Cedars]

Cedars, you should download the free programs "GIMP" and "Paint.net". GIMP is an emulation of photoshop. It's not quite as feature packed, but for basic photo editing and manipulation it is great! And free!

What I have been doing is using the program that came with the camera (picture project) to delete the messy pics and test out potential keepers with their tools. Then using Jasc, paint shop pro for the finals. The Pic Proj has better sharping and other features that dont work as well in PsP. The thing I do like about Pic Proj is even after I save a pic with changes, I can undo this later. But its kinda a resource hog and sometimes its very slow to shut down after closing the program. But I will check out your suggestions. Maybe its PsP I will end up dumping :eek_big:

 

I also save a copy of unedited pics in a different drive (which I need to burn to a disc soon).

 

Wha-wha-what!!? :confused:

Yeah, aint that something. I am still getting a second battery and another 2 GB mem card.

[freeztar]

But its kinda a resource hog and sometimes its very slow to shut down after closing the program. But I will check out your suggestions. Maybe its PsP I will end up dumping :confused:

The reason I mentioned Paint.net is because it is extremely light on resources and opens up on my computer in about 2 seconds. GIMP takes about 15 secs to load on my computer. With those two programs, all of my editing needs are covered. :shrug:

 

Yeah, aint that something. I am still getting a second battery and another 2 GB mem card.

 

You said 400 pictures equaled 1 GB, right? That doesn't seem right. Are you shooting at the highest quality settings? What file format are you saving to?

 

Nice grebe pic btw. :eek_big:

[Cedars]

The reason I mentioned Paint.net is because it is extremely light on resources and opens up on my computer in about 2 seconds. GIMP takes about 15 secs to load on my computer. With those two programs, all of my editing needs are covered. :eek_big:

 

 

 

You said 400 pictures equaled 1 GB, right? That doesn't seem right. Are you shooting at the highest quality settings? What file format are you saving to?

 

Nice grebe pic btw. :confused:

 

No, I am shooting at JPEG normal (one higher Fine, one lower basic) and size is Large (highest) 3872 x 2592 px @10.0 mega pix. I have options higher using NEF (RAW) which I have not tried yet.

 

Some of these pics, when I open them up full sized, the bird is larger than real life and dont fit on the screen. The grebe was around 35 feet away and that is the actual size of the pic. I didnt have to resize it to fit hypo rules.

[freeztar]

Some of these pics, when I open them up full sized, the bird is larger than real life and dont fit on the screen. The grebe was around 35 feet away and that is the actual size of the pic. I didnt have to resize it to fit hypo rules.

 

I'm confused. You took a 48kb pic with your 10MP camera and didn't resize? :confused:

[Cedars]

I'm confused. You took a 48kb pic with your 10MP camera and didn't resize? :confused:

 

I cut the grebe out of the full picture and loaded that to hypo. I was using a 55 - 200 mm lens for the shot. I dont have any of those fancy zoom lenses, or I am not using the lens right. Dont know for sure cuz I am a beginner with fancy schmancy camera stuff. :eek_big:

 

But you can buy me one of these if you want. I bet they would work better.

Nikon 400mm F/2.8G ED VR AF-S Lens - 2171 - RitzCamera.com

 

I know... dont hold my breath....

[Hill]

I cut the grebe out of the full picture and loaded that to hypo. I was using a 55 - 200 mm lens for the shot. I dont have any of those fancy zoom lenses, or I am not using the lens right. Dont know for sure cuz I am a beginner with fancy schmancy camera stuff. :confused:

Here is a great - and free - viewer that allows all sorts of modifications to images - Irfanview: IrfanView - Official Homepage - one of the most popular viewers worldwide

[Hill]

This is the one I bought,

Nikon D40x Digital SLR Two-Lens Bonus Outfit (18-55/55-200) - 9421-2156 - RitzCamera.com

but it was on-sale for $750 with the two lenses. Its a good beginner camera, but if your an experienced photographer and understand all the settings stuff, you would probably want to go D80 or similar. The lenses in my kit fit the D80, so thats nice. Another feature I wish I had was the vibration reduction lenses, but that would have added alot to the price.

 

 

Yes those image stabilized lenses are worth the price. I have a Canon with 70-300 IS zoom. It's really great for capturing pictures hand-held. I bought the body and two IS zooms and a macro (love that lens but it's non-IS).

[Cedars]

This guy was south of Crex Meadows by about 10 miles. He was perched at the top of a tree about 20 feet off the road, around 35 feet high. I was on the opposite side of the road so I guess the bird was around 45 feet away. The background looks white because of the clouds and the sun trying to break thru.