Birds - personal observations

[Dinadan]

I guess this is dog days. There is just not much bird activity in my little garden so far this month. I do have Hummers: they are just starting to arrive for the fall migration. Occasionally I see raptor or two overhead. And when my pears got ripe a couple of weeks ago the Downey Woodpeckers liked getting them.

Hummingbird

Red-tail

Downy Woodpecker

Downy Woodpecker

One problem I have this time of year is that it is so humid that my camera fogs up when I take it outdoors. Hopefully the humidity will be down a little in a few weeks.

[rea1eye]

One problem I have this time of year is that it is so humid that my camera fogs up when I take it outdoors. Hopefully the humidity will be down a little in a few weeks.

Good photography. As far as your camera fogging up, place it in a clear bag before you go out
and leave it in the bag for 5-10 min. This way the moisture will accumulate on the bag and
not on the camera ( old days gone now where I did a lot of amateur photography with my
Canon F-1 and Rollei 35S)

Bob

[doglegg]

As always Mel, great pics. Doldrums here as bird go here too.

[Dinadan]

Thanks for the camera tip, Bob.

Doglegg, I think that things will start perking up at the end of August with the migration.

Here is a bit of eye candy from last September.

[FRJ]

I really like the pictures, Mel. Eye candy indeed.

Bob, I've got a nice little Rollei 35 S.
They are wonderful cameras.
My little reminder tab tells me I'm shooting 125 B&W.

[Dan In MI]

Bob, I've got a nice little Rollei 35 S.
They are wonderful cameras.

Indeed they are. I miss my Rollei 35T.

Fantastic photos, Mel!

[Dinadan]

Thanks, fellows.

I also had a small 35mm camera that I liked a lot. Mine was a Canon and went to a lot of states and parks with me. Now I use an image stabilized Sony.

[Dinadan]

The Hummers are here in force now. They are sucking my feeders dry! This one was hovering in front of the shadows in my garden. I like the way the sun highlighted her.

Hummer

The sun was not shining when I snapped this lady today.

Hummer

The Brown Pelicans were very active on Wednesday when my wife and I did a bit of fishing. The fish were biting pretty good so I barely had time to try a photo of the pelicans.

Brown Pelicans

[FRJ]

Very nice pictures, Mel.

[Waukonda]

The Hummers are here in force now. They are sucking my feeders dry! This one was hovering in front of the shadows in my garden. I like the way the sun highlighted her.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird14.jpg
The sun was not shining when I snapped this lady today.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird22.jpg

The Brown Pelicans were very active on Wednesday when my wife and I did a bit of fishing. The fish were biting pretty good so I barely had time to try a photo of the pelicans.
Pelicans12.jpg

Very nice pictures, Mel!
We are still seeing Hummers here, most migrants have been gone for the last 2 or 3 weeks though. It has been rather quiet around here, but I did notice some of the first wave of Warblers showing up a couple of days ago.

[Dinadan]

Very nice pictures, Mel!
We are still seeing Hummers here, most migrants have been gone for the last 2 or 3 weeks though. It has been rather quiet around here, but I did notice some of the first wave of Warblers showing up a couple of days ago.

Thanks, Ike. Other than the Hummers I have not seen any birds that I thought were migrants. It is just about time for some warblers to start showing up. I am not in a flyway, so I do not see huge numbers of migrants most years.

[mrwatch]

Sunday was Bald Eagles, day at my nephew's front yard.

[Dinadan]

Very cool eagles, Mrwatch. It is about time for some of our winter eagles to show up. We have some Bald Eagles all year, but a lot of eagles from northerly areas spend the winter along our coast.

[doglegg]

Sunday was Bald Eagles, day at my nephew's front yard.

Very cool Mrwatch.

[Dinadan]

I am seeing some migrants now. Not a lot. Plenty of hummers are here, and very feisty about the feeders and flowers.

Hummer

Hummer

Also have some American Redstarts, though I was not able to get a good photo. Here is a female from behind showing the distinctive marking on her tail.

American Redstart

I also have some of these in my oak. I think they are Vireos but I am not certain what species.

I am soo happy to finally have a bit of cooler weather so I can walk outside to look at birds withouot sweating!

[Steve Warden]

Some great pics, Mel

[FRJ]

Nice pictures of the Bald Eagles, mrwatch.

Nice pictures from you, Mel.
I have seen some Humming birds around the local pond but haven't been able to get a picture.

I did get some pictures of the Blue Heron that is a bit of a celebrity at the pond.

[Waukonda]

I am seeing some migrants now. Not a lot. Plenty of hummers are here, and very feisty about the feeders and

Nice pics, Mel, looking forward to more as migration rolls
on.
Still seeing some warblers here, but not getting a great deal of variety. Have had Cedar Waxwings in larger flocks this year, 50 to 60 at a whack. Overall though, it has been a fairly quiet migration period, hopefully it picks up.

I did get some pictures of the Blue Heron that is a bit of a celebrity at the pond.

You should name that character, Joe! Nice pictures, very nice!

[FRJ]

You should name that character, Joe! Nice pictures, very nice!

Thank you, Ike.
With this birds following I think we should call him "Valentino".

[doglegg]

Mel, Joe. Excellent!

[Dinadan]

Thanks for the comments, Joe, Ike and Doglegg.

Those are some interesting Heron photos, Joe. I especially like the first one where we are seeing him face on.

[FRJ]

Thank you Mel.
He is a very efficient hunter.

[Boji]

Great pictures everyone!! The Orioles have departed for the south lands but I still have hummingbirds. Problem, the yellow jackets kept buzzing at the feeder.
Only good yellow jacket (my opinion) is a dead one.
Dead pool of them. A little jelly mixed with the sugar water in a dish just for them.

Update: About 4 hours ago I dumped that bunch down the garbage disposal and put out fresh. I now have 25 more of dead drowned bastards

[Dinadan]

Boji - I hate Yellow jackets. I have been stung more by them than by all other wasps and bees put together. When they show up in my garden I put out a trap. None around right now!

Right now, we have some really nice early autumn weather in my area. Makes me feel even more for the folks dealing with Hurricane Ian.

We still have lots of Ruby-throated hummingbirds. They usually leave by October 10, so I have just over a week to appreciate them. I have not seen any other migrant species this week.

Ruby-throated hummingbird

The bird I see more often than any other in my neighborhood is the Mockingbird. I almost never photograph it because it is so common, and not very pretty . But here is one from my garden.

Mockingbird

Red-tailed Hawks continue to patrol my area.

Red-tailed Hawk

[doglegg]

Great pics Mal.