29 replies to this topic

[MyrmecologyMaven]

Headed up to NYC yesterday to visit relatives. Stopped at Central Park at the end and got some absolute crisp flicks! The combo I used here was f-stop 5.6 and ISO 1250 for all shots (cloudy day)! I wanted to head up towards the reservoir, but only stayed briefly as I had to head back soon. I was able to get to the Great Lake otherwise where I got the duck shot. The best part about being around here is that the wildlife hardly shy’s away from everyone because of the constant influx and people and urbanization; allowing for amazing closeups! As a matter of fact, I got some of the honey roasted nuts over there and while passing by, a gray squirrel hopped right next to me demanding a nut, which I gave. Will continue to experiment with different combos though!
Following species:
1. Mallard [Domestic] (Male)
2. House Sparrow (Male)
3. Canada Goose (?)

Those house sparrow shots are great! The composition on the second house sparrow shot is quite impressive! It's always great when a bird lets you nab some nice shots. Parks are good birding spots because the birds are more used to humans so you can get much closer than usual. I still haven't gotten to go out and shoot with my new D7200. I have family visiting but might be able to get a quick birding session this Sunday at either Ballona Marsh or some local parks. I haven't managed to get out and bird in 2 weeks! I'm itching to go on a birding outing! I have some new nikon monarch m7 8x42's arriving either tomorrow or Sunday so I'll get to play around with them in the yard at the very least if Sunday doesn't work out.

[MyrmecologyMaven]

I managed to go out today! Family left early so I went hiking around Placerita Canyon Nature Center. The trail was very nice and full of wildlife. This is my Ebird checklist of everything I saw and the path I took https://ebird.org/checklist/S227667643

 

First of all I came across at least 12 Acorn Woodpeckers throughout the hike. You can see an acorn in the mouth of the bird in the first photo.

 

 

 

 

I saw this pretty Wilson's Warbler in a big oak tree. You can't see the black cap in this photo but I really liked the composition of it.

 

 

 

I photographed lots of insects. These are my favorite photos I took.

 

Vivid Dancer

 

 

California Sister

 

 

 

Reptiles were quite abundant. I didn't get to see any snakes sadly. 

 

Western Fence Lizard

 

 

Really nice detailed close up photo I managed to get.

 

 

Common Side-blotched Lizard

 

 

 

At the end when I was leaving I saw something out of the corner of my eye. An adorable Botta's Pocket Gopher looking at me! I was able to get some nice close up shots.

 

 

 

This was my first outing with my new Nikon D7200. The image quality difference is amazing! Well worth upgrading from my D300. I still  used the same lens I use don my D300. The 70-300mm is quite versatile but I wish I had a bit more reach. I may need to upgrade to a 150-600mm lens in the future.

[MyrmecologyMaven]

I just realized the “California Sister” is actually a Lorquin’s Admiral. My mistake.

[MyrmecologyMaven]

My Nikon Monarch m7 8x42 pair arrived a few days ago! They are amazing! Much less CA, crisper image, brighter, better build quality, very nice caps, and a very comfortable neck strap! I also much prefer 8x to my old 10x Vortex Crossfire HD's. I have spent the last few days enjoying them in the yard and have observed a lot of birds. I highly recommend anyone who is interested in birds to upgrade their bins! The comfort makes birding way more fun and gets me to bird more often. 

 

Nikon Monarch m7 8x42

 

My old pair of Vortex Crossfire HD 10x42

 

 

I also did a bit of experimenting with a spotting scope I bought off eBay for $180 a few months ago. I have it on a fotopro carbon fiber tripod. I think for the price it's an okay scope but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. It's not super bright, small field of view, and a whole lot of CA. It is usable at low magnification like 20x but I find it absolutely awful at anything above 40x. It works for shorebird identification and distance birdwatching. I just don't find the optics enjoyable to use. I have tested some high end scopes before and think they are wonderful. I may have to bite the bullet and get a better scope with ED glass.

 

Vortex Diamondback 20-60x60 spotting scope

 

The spotting scope on its tripod.

 

A video of a Black-headed Grosbeak I took with my phone through the scope. The video is shaky because it was very windy today.

https://youtube.com/...Y?feature=share

 

 

And a bit of good news to end this post. In early May I'm going down to San Diego to do some whale watching. I'm going with the company "Gone Whale Watching" for a 2.5 hour trip. I'm gonna bring my camera and try to get some photos. The founder of the company has a YouTube channel with a few excellent documentary videos on ocean life. This is the link to his channel if anyone is interested.

https://www.youtube....eCMLhbHq04gRQZQ

 

[MyrmecologyMaven]

I went down to Ballona Freshwater Marsh in the early morning on Sunday. I spent more time enjoying my new binoculars than doing photography because the lighting was bad but I still snapped some decent shots.

 

Snowy Egret

 

Great-tailed Grackle

 

An interesting Mallard silhouette shot I got that shows all the feathers.

 

A nicely composed shot of a Black Phoebe that let me get really close to it.

 

A nice full plumage mature male Ruddy Duck (the lighting was REALLY bad so excuse the dark shots).

 

Double-crested Cormorant 

 

House Finch

 

Black-crowned Night Heron

 

A male and female hiding in the plants

 

Allen's Hummingbird adult male

 

[Artisan_Ants]

Really nice pictures! Composition on the Snowy egret photo is brilliant! All other pics are really nice! Keep up the great work!

[MyrmecologyMaven]

Really nice pictures! Composition on the Snowy egret photo is brilliant! All other pics are really nice! Keep up the great work!

Thanks! the contrast of the white on the bird to the dark surrounding was very nice looking. The 300mm is a bit limiting. So many good shots came out badly just because the reach wasn't quite enough. I'm looking to upgrade my lens to a Tamron 100-400mm (600mm equivalent with the 1.5 crop sensor, or 780-840mm with a 1.3-1.4x crop in editing) for a bit more reach and better glass quality (I've also heard the autofocus is excellent).

[MyrmecologyMaven]

Earlier today I went whale watching for the first time at Mission Bay, San Diego. I went with the company "Gone Whale Watching" on a short 2.5 hour trip. This is my ebird checklist for all of the animals I saw https://ebird.org/checklist/S235237472

 

First of all let's see the marine mammals. I saw at least 3 humpback whales, possibly more (it's hard to tell them apart). 

 

I also saw a very uncommon elusive whale. The fin whale! It only surfaced twice for a few seconds then disappeared. 

 

I saw hundreds of Short-beaked common dolphins. Not an exaggerated number! They followed the boat and swam with the humpbacks! 

 

I saw some California Sea lions sleeping as well. Very cute mammals!

 

Next let's see some bird photos!

 

Brown Pelicans

 

Western Gull

 

Brant's Cormorant

 

Double-crested Cormorant

 

Osprey

 

Caspian Tern

 

Spotted Sandpiper. They do an adorable butt bobbing!

 

Black-crowned Night Heron

 

And last but not least, A cute Striped Shore Crab.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ANTdrew]

I saw American redstarts in my yard this morning.

[MyrmecologyMaven]

I photographed a Anna's Hummingbird female a few weeks ago. I thought the photos came out very well because I was able to get very close. My shutter speed could have been a bit higher and my focus was a bit off.