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cleaning house
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Last edited by tmp; 25 February 2025, 12:25 AM. -
As usual just a great set. Boring, but for me the GGO's are the pick again! Keep up squeezing great shots out of that OM-1
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Another great set Paul
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Love the owls and woodpeckers. Super set Paul. You must live or visit the wild to get these birds, it would be intersting to know the location and techniques...
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Thank you.Originally posted by MJ224 View PostLove the owls and woodpeckers. Super set Paul. You must live or visit the wild to get these birds, it would be intersting to know the location and techniques...
my work territory is more and less an hour’s drive in all directions from my residence in central Alberta. I get to spot this stuff during the work day if I’m lucky and return later to take pics. I sometimes bring my camera along to work when I know I’m going to be in the rurals all day. the GGOs are near a large lake in my work territory approx 45 minutes west. a lot of folks have been spotting GGOs all over the Alberta map though. There seems to be an abundance of them around this year. the other pics were captured yesterday in a large nature reserve 25 minutes away from my residence. there was also blue jays, magpies, ravens, red and white breasted nuthatches, red crossbills, purple finches, waxwings, downy woodpeckers, northern flickers, squirrels, and chickadees too but I didn’t capture any of those. Aside from the red crossbills…those are the usuals. Brown creepers are not rare there too but they are just not spotted easily and often.
the technique is mostly listening for them and then following the sound.
for the GGOs…it’s just looking. Sometimes someone will point stuff out to me that they know of. I don’t use bird calls much because I don’t know what birds are attracted or curious from the calls and which ones will vacate the area when a call is played. I don’t bait(and no one who I spend time with does either that I am aware of). Aside from the ethics…keeping mice to feed to raptors is surely a technique some folks use to help guarantee a photo but I’m pretty squeamish about the idea of raising a bunch mice in my house. There is enough folks out there reporting (ebird and local Facebook stuff) and sharing locations to keep a person busy enough. I think the practice of baiting is diminishing and the folks that do it mainly are the ones who offer photography tours which is very few . I have heard the old timers talk about baiting like it was common place back in the day before ebird and social media and much less ‘birders’ around than there is today. there is an occasional video of someone baiting in a group but even those are rare. I’ve never seen anyone baiting.Comment
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Wow, thanks for the insight. Gosh, we have lost so much wildlife in the UK, especially compared to your area in Alberta. In Hendy, my usual birds are woodland ones, and not a lot else at this time of year. In Spring we get the migrants returning, and then the wildlife range increases a lot...
As for baiting, I use grain, which supplements the bird's diets anyway, and they don't mind me taking a mealtime snap...
Never thought of baiting raptors with mice, what a horrible thought. All wildlife is more important than my photography....Yep...Comment
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Yes, a lot of folks leave seed/nuts/suet for the songbirds along the trails. That isn’t considered baiting in these parts. Some places have rules against feeding wildlife but I’ve been told those rules do not apply to the small songbirds and leaving seed and such. I don’t carry seeds normally but I take my kids once in a while to a couple places where the songbirds will land on the hand to take seeds/nuts.
Wife puts seeds/nuts/suet out in the backyard.
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Very interested in the 2 comments above. I follow sound or a slight movement in peripheral vision. I've been lucky on this long trip (see off on an adventure) to have keen, knowledgeable birders around to help point out and identify birds. I am also impressed by the numbers and diversity of birds even in Santiago. It confirms to me, once again, what we in Britain have lost since I was a laddie. Most commentators talk of 70% decline in the last 40 years. To me that is bordering on a mass extinction. It is fine and all very well doing re-introductions of species such as White-tailed Eagles, Red Kites, etc. but what about the 'ordinary' species such as Sparrows and Starlings?
Thank you for permitting this rant.Duncan
Lots of toys.Comment
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I spent a few months working in Italy (surveying the Italian airforce’s fuel pipelines) long before I was a birder. It was winter. We started in the northern area and worked our way as far south a Venice.
At the very start, near an open excavation of a 4” steel fuel pipeline, I saw a very finely dressed gentleman in hunting attire that one would see in a classic portrait/painting, shotgun over his shoulder. He was quietly and calmly doing his thing very nearby. He did not approach to converse. I assumed he was a bit curious to know what the commotion was that we were up to at the same time. Maybe he was the land owner. No one (two Canadians and a half dozen Italian personnel) was concerned or alarmed or even paid attention to the fellow.
Anyhoo…that was a minor culture shock event in my books. If an armed person approached an oilfield crew here…the law authorities would be dispatched immediately.
So…after a few minutes the fellow disappeared from view behind one of the rolling hills but was still very close by and began shooting.
Still, no one alarmed or concerned. Another minor culture shock as that definitely would have been a ‘we are leaving here now’ event back here.
I made one comment to my Canadian colleague…what the hell is he shooting at…spiders? There wasn’t a bird, mouse, squirrel , or anything animal I could see/hear around anywhere.
Aside from pigeons, that never changed as far as what I saw for wildlife (to be fair I wasn’t looking for wildlife very hard) for the entire trip.
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