Tied To Nature

Get Outside!

Intro

All of the images I post are original and unedited unless posted otherwise. When I do edit a picture I try to keep edits under 30 seconds and only try to make the image look like what I saw. I hope you enjoy the photos I have taken, and please leave any comments including critiques or corrections. Thanks for visiting.

Friday, April 29, 2011

3 ponds 3 hours 04-29-2011

I got a tip about a couple of ponds in the area that have some birds hanging out that I had not seen before or seen this year. Going and checking them out sure paid off, one pond I had to get permission from the owner before I could go down and look around but it was worth it. 

Everyday that I go out and look at birds I become even more amazed about how many different species there are and how different each one is.  I am also amazed at how each one acts so differently. For example a Great Blue heron spots me a hundred yards off and it is gone. Whereas I am on the shore of a pond and a Common Loon will swim right by me.  I am starting to notice and learn different ways to observe birds based on what I know they will do and always giving them plenty of room. Most of shots are taken with a 500mm lens so I can creep up on them from behind a tree.

Here are a couple of Mourning doves trying to soak up what ever sun they can after a few inches of snow fell last night.

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Mourning Dove, 04-29-2011, Rexburg, ID. Canon 60D, 500mm.

Here is one of my lifers from today an Eared Greebe another one of those birds that could careless if you hung around for a little bit.

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Eared Greebe, 04-29-2011, Rexburg, ID. Canon 60D, 500mm.

I have been able to see a lot of Greater and Lesser Scaups but never close enough to get a good picture. While I was at one of the ponds today hiding behind some willows these two floated right on pass.

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Greater Scaup, 04-29-2011, Rexburg, ID. Canon 60D, 500mm.

The pond was covered in different swallows hovering over the water feasting on whatever insects were there to take advantage of.

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Swallow, 04-29-2011, Rexburg, ID. Canon 60D, 500mm.

Killdeer were all over the place trying to lead me away from where they wanted to be.

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Killdeer, 04-29-2011, Rexburg, ID. Canon 60D, 500mm.

My favorite bird that I saw today that is a lifer and one of the type of birds that I can remember wanting to see for half of my life.  I lived for a while close to a lake in the Sierra Nevada's called Loon lake and I been heard about the loons in the area but never saw them that I can remember.

Something that I thought that was interesting is I could hear a loon calling in the distance and it looked like this one was answering. But I was pretty close ad it would open its mouth and no sound would follow.

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Common Loon, 04-29-2011, Rexburg, ID. Canon 60D, 500mm.

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Common Loon, 04-29-2011, Rexburg, ID. Canon 60D, 500mm.

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Common Loon, 04-29-2011, Rexburg, ID. Canon 60D, 500mm.

One of the birds that is most elusive when ever I find one in the perfect pose for a picture. I have tried everything to circle back and get a picture and they are always to fast and I miss the shot.

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Great Blue Heron, 04-29-2011, Rexburg, ID. Canon 60D, 500mm.

Todays List

Common Loon, Eared Greebe, Forster's Tern, Ruddy Duck, Greater Scaup, Bald Eagle, American Pipit, Gray Partridge, Western Grebe, Hooded Merganser, American Avocet, American Coot, Black-crowned Night Heron, Great Blue Heron, Mallards, Red-breasted Merganser, Common Merganser, Sand piper, Mourning Dove, Lesser Yellowlegs, Western Meadow Lark, Swainson's hawk, and Double Crested Cormorant.

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