Red-shouldered Hawk

[gjtoth]

I managed to clear this up a bit from the photo in the "Lenses" forum. Lesson learned: You get what you pay for.

I may as well have taken the $25 I spent on this thing the manufacturer wants to call a telephoto lens and thrown it in a fire. I may as well have taken this shot with full digital zoom and no tripod! NEVER buy a Digital Concepts lens!

Hopefully, this guy will be back so I can do him justice!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2147/2095733626_73b15b8e9b_b.jpg

[Snappers]

It's a shame it turned out the way it did Garry as that would have been a brilliant pic of the Hawk. I hope he decides to return for you.

[gjtoth]

It's a shame it turned out the way it did Garry as that would have been a brilliant pic of the Hawk. I hope he decides to return for you.

No worries there, Andy. Seems he has a taste for mourning doves/mice both of which are plentiful around the feeders. Actually, I would have had a GREAT shot of him if I had been faster in getting my camera. He landed on a railing about 7 feet from the door! Of course, by the time I returned with the camera... gone. :mad:

He'll be back. :cool:

[LensBaby]

I have bird feeders everywhere. I only get Blue Jays and Cardinals, robins and starlings. I have never caught a hummingbird even near the hummingbird feeder. Someone told us they love the color red, and to plant a red flowering tree by it. We did. Didnt work! Give me some ideas

[gjtoth]

I have bird feeders everywhere. I only get Blue Jays and Cardinals, robins and starlings. I have never caught a hummingbird even near the hummingbird feeder. Someone told us they love the color red, and to plant a red flowering tree by it. We did. Didnt work! Give me some ideas

Here's a few to get ya going:

http://www.rubythroat.org/FeedingHintsMain.html
http://kern.audubon.org/hummer_feeding.htm
http://www.birdwatchers.com/debtips.html

Pay close attention to the FEEDER. I picked up one like that in the first link. It's called a, "Hummzinger". It eliminated the wasps (Andy's pals :)), bees and ants. Wasp and bee stings can be fatal to hummers. And, location, location, location! heheheh There are TONS of hummer websites out there. Google for "feeding hummingbirds" and you'll be educated beyond belief!

I've put up a couple of bat houses (matter of fact, the hawk is sitting on one!) and hope to catch some bats in flight this spring/summer. I know, I know... "bats carry rabies", "they get tangled up in your hair". Crap. I used to listen to those old wives tales too until I did my OWN research on the web. Did you know they can almost eliminate a mosquito problem and are VERY beneficial in insect control? Only about .0005% of the bat population (I think that's world-wide but, don't quote me) has any form of rabies. And, the only way a bat is going anywhere NEAR your hair is if there is a hovering mosquito or other insect it wants for dinner. Virtually ALL the negative things said of bats is based on myth! Really!

There. Bats 101 concluded. heh.

[LensBaby]

Yeah you have a better chance of contracting rabies from a human than a bat. This is true, and if someone throws lets say a ball at your head, then from the radar yeah they might land in your hair. I DOUBT IT THOUGH. I like bats. I think they are cool. Scary looking for sure, but cool.

[gjtoth]

I have bird feeders everywhere. I only get Blue Jays and Cardinals, robins and starlings. I have never caught a hummingbird even near the hummingbird feeder. Someone told us they love the color red, and to plant a red flowering tree by it. We did. Didnt work! Give me some ideas

I just noticed something about this. "Only get..."?! I waited for a MONTH before I got my first shot at a bluejay and almost 2 months for a cardinal. Fall and winter plummage on a starling is spectacular. I'm still waiting to get a good shot of a robin. They are mainly ground feeders and I can never get a good angle on 'em. All those little birds I lumped together as "just sparrows"? Wow! Was *I* wrong! My eyes were opened up when I went to a local store here call, "Wild Birds, Unlimited" to get that Hummzinger. The guy asked me what kind of birds I had in my yard. I told him, "I only get trash birds like bluejays, cardinals, robins and starlings." I wanted to attract cool birds like hummers, gold finches and such. He pointed me to this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Birds-Ohio-Field-Guide-Second/dp/159193060X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&

Only for Kentucky...

When ya see birds through max zoom on your camera, you SEE birds. You pick up all the little nuances in their feathering color, the alertness in their posture, the mischief in a bluejay's eyes, the "stars" in the fall plummage of a starling, ALL the colors of a cardinal. Then, put a name to 'em. Use that book. It's GREAT. Take a few tight shots of the birds you mentioned then, come back here and tell me you don't see them in a fresh light. heheh I dare ya. :) BTW, the hummers and the finches? Well, it's winter (like you didn't know) and they've migrated. The gold finches aren't gold but a dirty brown. But, those starlings, bluejays, and cardinals? Their fall/winter plummage is brilliant! Don't take my word for it... zoom in on 'em for yourself. :)

[LensBaby]

Yeah I will do that. We have a woodpecker, but I cannot get a good look at him though. He is so high up in the tree. He is very loud though. Thanks for the book info. I have a birds of ohio book. I was amazed to find out that Ohio has a 16 inch tall woodpecker. That would be kinda scary.

[gjtoth]

Yeah I will do that. We have a woodpecker, but I cannot get a good look at him though. He is so high up in the tree. He is very loud though. Thanks for the book info. I have a birds of ohio book. I was amazed to find out that Ohio has a 16 inch tall woodpecker. That would be kinda scary.

Welp.... seeing as you can attach a telescope to that camera (or vice-versa), distance shouldn't be a problem :D If you know what kind of interface it requires, I'd be checking out the used/refurbished telescopes -- the ULTIMATE telephoto lens!! heheh

[LensBaby]

Yeah that would be great. I am not very technical when it comes to something like that though. I will have to look into it.

[gjtoth]

Yeah that would be great. I am not very technical when it comes to something like that though. I will have to look into it.

There SHOULD be something regarding the thread size (normally in millimeters) and the interface necessary to pull it off. Maybe something as far as telescope brand recommendations. I sure wish I had that capability! I'd be all over it. I might with my new camera... wouldn't THAT be something?!?!? A set up like that would be great for lunar shots and ultra high aircraft shots, too! ooooooooooooooo Mommy!! I WANT ONE!! :D

[Snappers]

The only birds we get in our back yard are Seaguls! There are that many cats in our area that anything smaller would not have much of a chance.

[Snappers]

It eliminated the wasps (Andy's pals :)), bees and ants. Wasp and bee stings can be fatal to hummers. .
Fatal to humans too!!!!! Or at least Thats the way they make me feel. If someone has an reaction to the wasp sting it could kill them though.

[LensBaby]

Yeah and the sad thing is that even if you have been stung before and never had a reaction you can still have one down the road. So its like playing the lottery! I on the other hand am not afraid of wasps or bees, but talk about snakes and thats another thing. When I was much much younger (before all of my schooling) I worked at a pet shop and was never afraid of snakes either UNTIl the owner was bite by a yellow rat snake. It looked like a HUGE DOG did that to him. I have been terrified ever since. Spiders Don't care for them.

[Snappers]

Hmmm, Never really given Snakes much thought as we don't really have them here in the UK. Spiders I dont mind but the wife runs a mile, I think they are brilliant creatures, I love looking at their webs and I could stand there ages watching them building them, they are intreging. However I dont like it when they have built a big one right across my yard and when I come in from work in the morning, I walk straight into it.:eek:

As far back as I can remember, I have always been afraid of wasps and bees, I remember once, when I was on holiday, I was sick and confined to my bed, I had moved into my parents room and my room was over run with wasps! on the same holiday, a girl was stung quite a number of times by I think Bees, and had to be taken to hospital, perhaps that is where my fear of them comes from.

You can buy like a tennis racket type thing here in the uk now which is electric, you sort of wave it at the fly's or wasps etc and it zaps them when they touch the strings, I think I am going have to get myself one of those.
:D:D

[LensBaby]

Wow I need to get one of those. So the UK doesn't really have snakes? Agh so lucky. I hate them! If you think about it though everything in nature has its own place for some reason so its very interesting and cool, but as long as snakes are not by me they are cool.

[Snappers]

Yeh, we have snakes but usually they are tucked up in someones bedroom in a glass show case or a zoo etc, we have a few species that roam in the wild but nothing like what you have over there, at least I've never come across them anyway, I've never even seen a grass snake over here!

[LensBaby]

I had one that snuck in my basement (our house is VERY old..it is a cottage that was built by hand with trees that were on the lot.) Needless to say its not perfect, and I went down to do laundry one night and AAAAAGGGGHHHHHH it was right by my foot. I screamed and screamed. My husband came running down stairs, and all he could do was laugh. He still thinks that its funny. I on the other hand DONT ...they HISS like a cat.

[Snappers]

I can imagine you hit him following that.