the local birds

[beth]

been working crazy long hours nearly every day since november.  with all of the ot money i bought a sony a7r iv and 200-600mm to shoot wildlife since that’s the one thing that the fuji 50r can’t do.

i was hitting up the local wildlife refuge after work but it was recently vandalized so they decided to start closing at 6pm every day.  it’s bs, since the boss (who’s also the late shift guy) lives in a house on the refuge and 2/3s of the refuge were closed anyway for repaving.  i think homeboy just wants time off, he tried closing the whole thing at the start of the pandemic but wasn’t allowed.

so i started going to crackhead alley by the docks, there’s a few osprey and some bald eagles around there.  also, flies big enough to saddle up and dead horseshoe crabs that smell absolutely horrific.

don’t see too many herons at crackhead alley, but there’s one bald eagle and a ton of osprey and gulls.

 

eastern bluebird

 

belted kingfisher

shot this one in the refuge.  it was cold, windy and rainy that day, it seems to be a lot harder to find these on good days.

 

osprey

there’s a few at the refuge, but i think the large eagle population has pretty much chased them out.  it seems like there’s a nesting pair every 10 ft on crackhead alley.  but they’re skittish so when you stop and put the window down they usually fly off screeching.

 

swallow

managed 2 photos before an eagle scared the swallows off.  the eagle flies over my car and crapped all over the windshield.

 

bald eagle

a nearby photographer with an a7r 3 spent the entire time he was out there trying to convince me that the a7r 4 was a crappier camera than the a7r3 because it has more megapixels.  never saw him take a single photo.  i got him to leave by agreeing with him that sony sucks and my fuji 50r was way better.  he wasn’t too sure what to say about that.

 

black crowned night heron

there’s probably 20 or 30 of these things hiding in the reeds at the north end of the refuge.  managed to get one out in the open one day.

 

great blue heron

these things are everywhere around here.  but the light was right so i shot it.

 

eastern screech owl

also at the refuge.  this was the beginning of the pandemic when we were social distancing but not on lockdown.  i was shooting right outside of my car shooting at 600mm on a tripod and ended up cropping heavily.  some idiot decided to take the same photo over my shoulder with her cell phone.  i dropped a few f-bombs as i er..politely reminder her to stay 6 feet away.  i’m kinda liking the pandemic so far.  plenty of personal space, i get to yell at people who get too close, nobody is on the roads, free lunch (and breakfast and dinner) at work.

[Patrick]

Good to see you staying busy Beth , all of these photos are class my fav was the little fella in image 1 eastern bluebird, i’m a sucker for the colour blue on a bird , lovely share and stay well 😉

[beth]

thanks.  for a few weeks there i was afraid that i was going to be sequestered for the duration of the pandemic.  sure glad that didn’t happen.

the bluebird was from my first outing with the new gear.  sony makes a very nice machine, but it has no soul.

[Kristi]

Those are all very stunning! Thanks for sharing!

[beth]

thanks kris

[Dahlia Ambrose]

Beautiful images Beth. That owl image is so cute 🙂

[beth]

thanks.  i wish i could find some more owls, but they’re pretty rare around here.

[Dave Watkins]

Beautiful series of our feathered friends. I agree with Dahlia. Screech owl photo is terrific!

[beth]

thanks.

[Rob Eyers]

Enjoyed the ramblings Beth. Gotta love those know-it-all’s that need to chew your ear off…LOL. Oh, and the photos are great too! 🙂

[beth]

thanks.  it seems like only the crazies are out now.  ugh.  oh well, i enjoy yelling at people and cursing so combining that with photography makes it all the better.

[John Thompson]

Great photos Beth!  What fun to have a long lens!!  I have a few stories about other photographers while out shooting.  Some people do not know when to STFU!  Or, as Jacque Chirac once said, he missed another opportunity to keep his mouth shut.

[beth]

thanks.  the lens is a lot of fun.  the camera has a few issues..  in this day and age it’s ridiculous that you can’t have a histogram and a horizon level on an evf at the same time.  esp. in an advanced camera.

hah, jacque chirac was a very wise man.

[Jim Collins]

Terrific photos, Beth, and a great little story to accompany them. Thank you.

[beth]

thanks jim.  i only wish i could get out more.  we’re supposed to start opening up soon so hopefully i can still find some fox kits if i can get back to the refuge.

[Tobie]

Lovely shots Beth! Other than for the ospreys & herons, these birds are not seen on my side of the globe.

[beth]

thanks tobie.  you’ve probably got some very interesting birds instead of the typical ducks and geese we seem to get.  the kingfisher is probably the most exotic thing that i’ve seen locally, but the owl is the hardest one for me to find.

[Tobie]

Yea we are spoiled for choice with 950+ bird species. Our Kingfishers and Bee-eaters are probably the most colourful of them all. Not that I really view them as ‘exotic’. The Turacos, paradise flycatchers and one or two other species hold those spots.

[Tersha]

Great selection of birds Beth, good photos, and I really enjoyed the narrating!

[beth]

thanks tersha

[Author]

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