More Images from My Back Porch during the Snowstorms

Northern Cardinal

Finally, thanks to Dell, my computer is back working.  Between Microsoft and Dell.  It took over four days get the computer back online.  Because of all the snow we've been having, which is still continuing today.  I've missed going out and photographing.  However, again, my feet are on the back porch has kept me entertained.  Like I have written in previous blogs, observing the interactions between the birds is very interesting.  There is definitely a hierarchy among each species.  I've seen juncos feeding when another jungle will just fly in and the juncos that were feeding leave.  The mourning doves are somewhat better, although I have seen a number of fights, where one mourning Dove will even pick feathers out of another morning, dove head.  Although I did not see it.  I believe I had a hawk capture a bird because they were bloodstains on the deck.  This is nature and how the world turns.

Black-capped Chickadee

Blue Jay

Black-capped Chickadee

Eastern Gray Squirrel

Northern Cardinal in the Snow

Mourning Dove

Mourning Dove With Its Wings Raised

Mourning Dove Flying in the Snow

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Home Set up for Photographing Birds and Other Creatures

Black-capped Chickadee on Branch

I have continued to do some photography around my condominium complex and have set up on my back porch perches, so that I could photograph birds coming to eat the sunflower seeds.  I have utilized ideas from Alan Murphy, who I wrote about in October about his two excellent e-books on attracting and photographing birds http://photobee1.blogspot.com/2012/10/new-ebook-on-attacting-bird-for.html.

The first things that we did, was attach a small feeding tray to the railing and fill it every day with sunflower seed.  The birds have gotten used to coming for the food, along with squirrels and a chipmunk.  The chickadees even tolerate us when was sitting on the porch.  The next thing we did, is attached branches to the railing for the birds to land on.  I utilized Gorilla Tape, rather than regular duct tape, to attach the branches, since the gorilla tape is tougher than ordinary duck tape.  I have my camera with my 500 mm lens on a tripod set up in my dining room with the curtains held around the the lens.  Because the distance to the perches, is at the lowest focusing distance of the lens, I added a short extension tube to give me closer focusing distance.Also, distance to the trees in the background is far enough so that when I am shooting at F/4, or lower my background is a nice green blur.

The next part of the project is instead of using the curtains the hide camera and me, I am going to make a camouflage curtain to make it easier for me to see the birds and keep them from seeing me.  After that I am going to get a tree trunk and place it in a Christmas tree stand, drill holes on the back side and fill it with peanut butter to attract woodpeckers and nuthatches.

It's nice sitting comfortably in a chair, watching all the activity, photographing the birds and mammals, and having a drink of whatever you like right at hand.

From the dining room looking outside

Set Up

Looking Toward the Camera and Lens

Eastern Gray Squirrel

Mourning Dove

Tufted Titmouse

Tufted Titmouse

Other Birds Seen on the Cape

Red-breasted Merganser-Male

During our birding trip on Thursday we also saw other species of birds in Provincetown harbor besides the gulls and the thick-billed murre. There were red-breasted mergansers and common eiders swimming and feeding.

Red-breasted Merganser-Female

Common Eider-Male

Common Eider-Female

After we had left Race Point we stopped at the Beech Forest, where the usual common passerines hang out. In fact, if you bring some sunflower seeds and put them in your palm Black-capped-Chickadees and tufted titmouse is will come down and feed right out of your hand. The birds are very used to people since feeding them by hand has been going on for many years and families will bring their children there and let the child feed the birds. A great way for children to learn about and enjoying nature.

Tufted Titmouse Feeding from Hand

Black-capped Chickadee Feeding from Hand

Other birds present at the Beech Forest, included red-breasted woodpeckers (unable to photograph) white-breasted nuthatch, white-throated sparrow and Blue Jays.

White-throated Sparrow

White-breasted Nuthatch

Blue Jay

The last interesting bird was a nice close-up of a juvenile Horned Grebe in Wellfleet Harbor.

Horned Grebe

Passerines at Wellfleet Bay

While I was at Wellfleet Bay Audubon Sanctuary, I also spent time at the two feeders that are on either side of the path leading down into the main sanctuary.  I set up my tripod and camera on the side so I had a good view, and once the birds got used to me had no problems photographing them.  There were some difficulty, the first was when other visitors would walked down the path, the birds would scatter, but, they would return in a short period of time.  The other problem, was that the birds would fly in, grab some seeds and fly away to eat the seeds..  What I would love to have done, utilizing the techniques that Alan Murphy describes in his e-books, is set up perches, so the bird with land on it before going down and grabbing the seeds.  However, I made do with what was available.  At least some of the birds with land on branches and stay there long enough so I could obtain photographs.

American Goldfinch in winter plumage

Black-capped Chickadee

Blue Jay

Downy Woodpecker

House Sparrow

Northern Cardinal

Pine Siskin

Pine Siskin

Birding Cape Cod

I spent Thursday, March 7 birding quit my good friend Doug. We were finally able to get together to enjoy a day of birding. We started out at Race Point Beach in the Cape Cod National Seashore located in Provincetown Massachusetts. There was a large number of northern gannets flying by plus scooters, eiders and red-breasted mergansers. There was even a humpback whale visible.

Northern Gannett

From Race Point Beach we went to Herring Cove Beach where there were the usual gulls- Herring, ring bill, and great black backed. Seaward there were the same birds present.

flight of see ducks

ring-billed gull

Next we went down to the Beech Forest Trail, where we had a great look at a fox sparrow right at the entrance to the trail. The chickadees and titmouse's kept following us looking for a handout, in fact, when Doug stuck out his hand to point at a bird a chickadee landed on his finger. This is because many people come to the Beech Forest Trail and feed the birds from their hands. Is this a good idea on not you will have to answer for yourself but it does make the birds less afraid.

Black-capped chickadee feeding out of the hand

downy woodpecker

tufted titmouse

fox sparrow

When we completed the Beech Forest Trail, it was getting onto lunch time so we traveled down to the parking lot at McMillan pier in Provincetown. Beside the usual gulls and rock pigeons that are present around the pier, in the water of the harbor were eiders, red-breasted mergansers and long-tailed ducks. Finally I was able to obtain photographs of a male long-tailed duck. The only problem was while I was photographing the long-tailed ducks, Doug identified a rarity, a King Eider, and I missed out in photographing it because it took off and headed out. However, I did also identify it.

Long-tailed duck mail

pair of long-tailed ducks

female red-breasted merganser

After lunch of delicious lobster rolls we traveled down to the Wellfleet Massachusetts Audubon Sanctuary, we bird it mainly around Goose Pond. The interesting finding in the pond was four red-breasted mergansers. Usually these birds are found in salt water but this group was swimming up and down the pond. On the trail there was an eastern chipmunk stuffing its face.

eastern chipmunk with its mouth pouches full

Goose Pond

read-breasted mergansers in a row

So finished another enjoyable day. I am now starting to pack for my trip to Florida to visit with a good friend of mine, who was my roommate on St. Paul Island in the Pribilofs.