Loungers, here are some more of my photos. (Extreme 56k Warning)

I'm trying to improve. It's funny. I was a always an environmentalist type, outdoorsy type, but now that I have become interested in wildlife photography I have become a rabid environmentalist. It's sort of bittersweet. I take pictures of these beautiful animals, mainly birds, and I just wonder how long some of these species have unless we change our way. The hawks and other raptors of which I take pictures are especially vulnerable. But this is not a discussion for the Lounge. Enjoy my photos and thanks for looking, even more so if you make me feel good with a nice comment. ;)

First up. If you have ever wondered why Red Tailed Hawks are called Red Tailed Hawks, behold the red tail. :rofl:


A few days later, I found, what I think to be either the breeding mate or the same hawk perching on a juniper about a mile down the road. I was about 75-100 yards away, but that was still too close. After this it took off, but what a beautiful bird.





That same day, I saw my first scissortailed flycatcher of the season.


This was done at dusk in low light so the photo is a bit soft. I love their tails. Here a few more from a few days later.



"I have an itch"




"My, what a long tail you have."


I went down to my local lake to see if I could find some herons and/or egrets. I found both but the egrets just really aren't presentable. I need to work on how to properly use my exposure setting for an all white bird.


Aw what the heck. Here is one egret.


Near a local stream, I found an Eastern Phoebe.




Around my house the finches are nesting.

Male


Female


Finally, flowers are blooming so I changed lenses and captured these bees in my front yard on the Chinese Yoppon.









Here is a butterfly I found. I haven't identified it yet but it was pretty. I actually shot this one with my long lens.


Head on...


Finally, to end things, I will show you a few pics of the Texas state bird, the mockingbird and the Texas state flower, the bluebonnet.

I wish the leaves weren't in the way.


Looking the other way.


Bluebonnet


Enjoy because I enjoyed taking these pics. :hi:

thanks for sharing. :hi:

I love taking them (except when I blow I shot that I just knew I nailed.) :rofl:

:thumbsup:

Optics courtesy of Canon. :)

they are a totem animal for me, I think, wherever I go I see them and there are two that I see just about everyday at the pond next door (really it's about 50 feet from the driveway on state land so it's more 'our' pond than anything. They are beautiful, and whenever I am having a hard time I will see them around. Great photos, you just made me wonder why I never take pictures of the herons here. We have an egret every once in a while but they are not nearly as consistent as the herons. Great photos, thanks for sharing. :hi:

please share. Thanks for the comments. :hug:

really good!

This is a scissor tailed flycatcher I believe... the Oklahoma state bird




good shot!

:hi:

Thanks for looking and commenting.

Can I dedicate this one to my friend buddhamama :)

You have a great eye and a nice camera.
Thank you for sharing :)

These are lovely!

What size lense are you using?

The only criticism I have is that you need to get in closer...

On some of them.....and some need to be cropped a bit more......

The heron is one that could stand a bit of cropping...

Your focus is excellent, and the depth of field is as well!

Keep 'em coming! It is very hard to get excellent pics of wildlife...

I'm really enjoying these.......

:woohoo: :woohoo:

I am using for most bird pics a Canon F4.5-5L 100mm-400mm telephoto lens. The bee pics were done with a Canon EF-S Macro 100mm F2.8 lens. I tried cropping the heron pic. It is actually cropped, but I tried cropping it more, but the sharpness suffered if I got the crop any smaller. I just need longer glass. ;) Thanks for the suggestions and kind comments.

Absolutely stunning. I love birds too. Thank you for sharing them.

Thanks for looking. I'll share more when I have them.

Thanks especially for the Great Blue Heron and Egret pics. They are marvellous looking birds. :-)

They do regal.

husband is a birder. I've been sharing your pic threads with him. We've both been enjoying them and think you're doing a great job. He thinks that second hawk isn't a redtail female. He says the redtail females look almost identical to the males, unlike other birds whose females are less ornate than their male counterparts. He thinks it might be a Cooper's hawk, maybe.

Keep up the great work and sharing those pics! :hi:

Cooper's have extremely red eyes though and the one perched on the juniper doesn't have the deep red eyes. When it took off, I was almost positive it was a Red Tailed but of course I could very easily be wrong. It was too big for a Red Shouldered hawk which is another hawk we have around here but I can't seem to ever get a pic of one. Did you ever see my pic of the breeding pair I posted some weeks ago? Here they are just in case. It was done is very harsh light.

The female is the larger one.

I think I will never get to the point where I take for granted seeing them soaring through the skies. And the herons that look like something out of prehistoric times when they are flying. Adn the owls! I love to hear them calling to each other in the night! The wild birds are a true joy to watch.

I've only ever seen one in the wild and it was in my backyard but it was night I couldn't get a pick. I think it was some sort of barn owl or barred owl.

barred owls we have in the woods along the east side of our house. We also have lots of woodpeckers, phoebes (one pair is nesting on the west side of the house under the soffets), bluebirds, mockingbirds, flycatchers, painted buntings, you name it! We have 8 acres and leave 6 or more wild to encourage them to make their habitats here.

Here's a pic of a pilated woodpecker we took a couple of years ago. It's not a very good shot as we saw it out the window and grabbed the camera really fast. It was huge!

area but I can't find them. I will have to go to the piney woods of East Texas I betcha. :)

Great job! :hi:

I'm planning a trip to the "Valley" here in Texas over the summer. I have in-laws down there and of course South Padre Island is down there as well. It is one of the best places in Texas for wildlife photography specifically birds. I can't wait.

Thank you so much for sharing. I love your bird photos and always look forward to them. :applause:

You are very kind, and I will make sure to post more.

And I think that egret came out great. The white bird looks great against the blue sky with the branches arrayed around him.

The egrets I encounter are so skittish. I can never get close even with a long lens. I am going to keep trying though. :)

:yourock:

and you ROCK for commenting. :hi:

Quite an ambitious undertaking. Wildlife photography is difficult to say the least. Thanks for sharing.

a ton of patience and accept the fact that most of what you take, will not turn out exactly the way you wanted it to. At least it happens to me that way, but when it comes out right, man, it's exciting. Plus you get to be outdoors with Nature. You can't beat that. I'm also teaching my kids more and more about their surroundings.

Thanks, Maestro. :thumbsup:

I love mockingbirds, they are fun to watch and mess with. I can do their little hiss they do, and I get the female that hangs out in the trees at work all worked up. She will sit and stare at me, and do the lean forward thing they do.

You big flirt! ;) :hi:

Nice work. :)

:hi:

I am allergic to bees so I was :scared: when I saw it literally looking at me!
I've never seen one that close to study it before

Thanks so much for sharing - I always enjoy the photos of DUers.

http://www.ivyhall.district96.k12.il.us/4TH/KKHP/1insects/redadmiral.html

I love your stunning photos! Thanks for sharing them! :toast:

What a beauty!

I was only familiar with the admiral that looks almost like a monarch. At least I think that is the one. :)

It's pattern is almost (not exactly) identical to the Monarch; but it's slightly smaller. In places where Monarchs are scarce, Viceroys are more brown than orange, mocking the Queen butterfly. Monarchs and Queens are unappetizing to a number of butterfly predators. With a little luck, the Viceroy appears to be as bad-tasting as the butterflies he mimics. :-)

Thanks again. I need to work on my butterfly identification.

Thanks for sharing.