Having Fun Chasing Birds and Other Images

In this blog post we will chat about a variety of images, some good and some not so. We will mostly focus on the fun of taking bird images, our purpose for taking them, and show a few non bird pictures.

The main thought to keep in mind from this blog is that if you want to take bird pictures or any pictures for that matter you need to get out and look around and take pictures. Practice, practice, practice and don’t get frustrated if the exact image you want isn’t there, relax, roll with it, and go take some more pictures.

The big red bird is a Northern Cardinal. The leaves in front of the Cardinal are in good focus and that would be fine if you wanted a nice picture of oak leaves, we did not want that. We were driving along a dirt/gravel road and looking for various birds hoping for them to be out in the open. The camera was set on automatic focus when in this case we should have used manual focus and tried to focus on the Cardinal behind the oak leaves. Many images don’t turn out as you would like.

We often get a chance to take bird images where they are doing something other than just sitting there. This Red-tail Hawk was across a little dry creek and apparently had something ready for lunch, perhaps a ground squirrel or snake or some such. It was out a bit from the bushes and moved in closer and closer as we stopped to watch it. He certainly was hiding something. It blends in very well with the bushes.

This shows a Red-tail Hawk. The image was taken in Washington State and is here to show the belly band or row of dark feathers across the belly or lower chest of the hawk.

That is one field mark that can be used to identify the species. It was really windy when the image was taken, the feathers seem out of control, and the hawk appears to be leaning into the wind.

As mentioned in the previous image, Red-tail Hawks are often defined by the band of darker feathers across their belly called the “Belly Band”.

Many of the Red-tails we see in the southwest have very faint or indistinct bands and in some case almost nonexistent markings. Many bird species will vary from one geographic location to the next in terms of coloration and markings.

Often times we take a bird image to help us identify the bird at a later point in time and to document what we have seen and where. In this case the image of our feathered friend is fairly clear and useable but we don’t a have solid identification as to the species of this bird.

We have asked several friends, who are much better at bird identification than we are, and no one seems to know. The best guess is a house finch with an oddly colored top hat. It appears most finch like. Do you know what this bird species might be?

This is a Black-throated Gray Warbler. It flits about in the trees looking for insects to eat. It does not sit still very long at all. We took more images of leaves and twigs than of birds. But if you take enough images, something is bound to turn out right, maybe.

There is no bird in this image. It is just a fun, simplistic image that shows a yellow flower(weed?) maybe a false daisy in and amongst some tree duff. One does not have to only take bird pictures.

Some birds do not display much plumage or coloration differences between male and female of the species while others can exhibit considerable differences. Many sparrows for example appear the same in the male and female while many ducks have totally different plumage patterns. Here is an image of a Male Horned Lark. It is a little dull in color and many of the males show much brighter yellow on the neck and throat.

Here, in this example, is a female Horned Lark, much drabber in color and overall markings. As is the case with many of the duck species perhaps the female is drab in coloration because she must sit on the nest to incubate the young and does not want to be easily seen.

Just as you point the camera and begin to press the shutter the subject, in this case a Mexican Jay, will fly away. It seems to happen quite often. Tha main concern is not to get frustrated. Photography can act like a relaxing therapy and should not be the reason to go see a therapist.

This is a composition image. I had shown the tree in an earlier blog post. For fun, I used software and layered in the moon behind the tree. The digital image coupled with the available software makes many image changes and modifications possible.

Here is a decent image of a Western Kingbird. They are back for the summer having spent the winter season further south in Mexico and beyond. Most often they display brighter yellow coloration on the lower chest and belly area. We have no idea what he is squawking about or to whom. It is early in the year so maybe it is calling for a mate.

This image is of two Sandhill Cranes flying. They seem to be in some sort of synchronization and the position of their wings makes for a pleasant looking symmetrical image. At least we think so.

That concludes our look around at various subjects and a brief chat about taking bird and other images. We hope you found something of interest. If you want to take pictures of birds or any subject matter get a camera and go take pictures, it is a fun hobby.

Please let us know if you have any questions or comments.
All the best – Stay Safe - George & Deanna