46 replies to this topic

[GOCAMPONOTUS]

when I use auto ISO my pictures turn out grainy. how do you deal with that?

[MyrmecologyMaven]

when I use auto ISO my pictures turn out grainy. how do you deal with that?

You could be using too high of an F-stop or you could be in shady conditions. What's your full camera setup? Lens lowest aperture? Seeing the photo would help.

[GOCAMPONOTUS]

honestly I just use the camera with lens out in the sun and nature, don't really have a base setup. And the problem is probably the fstop, so thank you for pointing that out,

Edited by GOCAMPONOTUS, December 8 2025 - 7:02 PM.

[rptraut]

Hello Everyone;

 

All winter we keep bird feeders with sunflower seeds and a mix of sunflower seeds and millet seeds - mixed bird seed.   This attracts a variety of birds including Chickadees, Red and White Breasted Nuthatches, Red Bellied Woodpeckers, Juncos, Blue Jays, Cardinals and various Sparrows.   All this bird activity also attracts birds like the female Coopers Hawk in the video below.   In one instance I was amazed as I watched a male Coopers Hawk fly through a tangle of branches on a nearby tree, without touching a single branch, and pick a sparrow off the top of the bird feeder.   I've also seen a Bald Eagle eating something in one of our trees out back, maybe a bird, but I really hope it was a squirrel!

 

 

https://youtube.com/shorts/vfBpfFPB-tY

 

 

 

RPT

[MyrmecologyMaven]

I wish I could feed the birds. I only feed the hummingbirds. Seeds attract a lot of rats that wreak havoc on my Conophytum collection. Especially with a new shipment of 11 new specimens of Conophytum, I decided it was best to put the feeder away for the year.

 

Anyways, I was hiking in the upper Las Virgenes Canyon in LA a little while back and got some decent images. 

 

California Valley Coyote, a very misunderstood endemic CA subspecies of the coyote

 

 

A Say's Phoebe, quite common but still a lovely bird

 

 

A very decent shot of a Lark Sparrow. Very nice looking Sparrow species

 

 

White-crowned Sparrow, common in the area, but always pleasant to view

[ANTdrew]

Native plants in your yard will feed birds naturally.

[MyrmecologyMaven]

Native plants in your yard will feed birds naturally.

I bet they would! I just don't have much space for large plants. I could do potted plants. I've been thinking of setting up some California Fuchsia pots out on my balcony to help out the hummingbirds.