SEARCHING IMPRESSIONS OF LIFE: birds

It's in my blood.
Since I was given my first camera, when I was a little kid, I have always been fascinated by capturing in a shot what my eyes were seeing around me. The beauty of nature or the smile of a friend, an event or an emotion... Precious pearls to be framed in a photo. Whether freezing a movement or moving the stillness, looking at normality through a different angle or portraying the exceptional, I can choose different perspectives, I can catch reality. I think this passion is in my blood, I inherited it from my Grandpa and then from my Dad, and it has always had a great influence in my life. Come and follow me in my journey searching impressions of life.

Showing posts with label birds. Show all posts

Sunday, April 15, 2018

The Eggs Hatched!

With great joy we experienced the hatching of all 4 eggs! It happened when it was very dark, so it was difficult to see, and the mother was kind in the way, nonetheless we are happy we have now four little blackbirds.

They are blind, with enormous eyes but still closed, and practically without any plumes. They can't really hold their heads up, but just for a few seconds when they get food from their Mom. She brings worms and larvae and she's very careful in perfectly cleaning the nest. The little ones' droppings are immediately collected – sometimes as they come out of the little bodies – and... eaten... yes, I know, kind of disgusting for us, but not in nature. Also, she's sure all the parasites are immediately taken care of.

Well, this is exciting! Enjoy a couple of extracts from the webcam!

Check also these other posts relating to the past and current blackbird visits
http://searchimpressions-life.blogspot.it/2018/04/blackbird-nesting.html
http://searchimpressions-life.blogspot.it/2015/04/sad-news.html
http://searchimpressions-life.blogspot.it/2015/04/happy-easter.html

Saturday, April 14, 2018

Blackbird Nesting

For the third year in a row, blackbirds are nesting on our terrace. The first year they chose a pot, making the nest close to the root of the plant. The female laid three eggs and we were able to check the nest thanks to a small webcam. Unfortunately, a magpie came and stole the eggs, and the parents abandoned the nest. [you can see what happened here https://searchimpressions-life.blogspot.it/2015/04/sad-news.html]

Last year they (or another couple) made the nest in a safer spot, among the branches of our jasmine, in the corner against the wall, but again something went wrong, because the female abandoned the nest and two eggs, without a reason I could understand.

I left the nest there and this year she's back again, on the same nest. She's been brooding for at least a couple of weeks, so we should be almost there. She stays most of the time on the nest, sometimes turning the eggs with her beak. But once in a while she leaves... sometimes for ten minutes, sometimes more... It helps maintaining the correct temperature of the eggs, but every time we keep our breath: will she come back? So far she has always come back. We are crossing our fingers. Still a long way to go!

P.S.: Don't worry, the birds are not disturbed. The camera is very small and hidden, and remotely controlled. :)

Sunday, July 31, 2016

On the Black Grouse Lek - part 2

Three months... yes, three months! I can't believe I left so much time pass between part one and part two of this post! What a shame... :(

24mm f/5.0 1/100sec ISO800 +3.33

Anyway, I am going to show you now probably the most interesting part of the courtship, the actual fights.

While the mating display I told you about in the previous part continues for most of the time, once in a while a more serious action takes place, especially when females come to visit the lek.

560mm f/5.6 1/1250sec ISO800 +1.33

560mm f/5.6 1/500sec ISO3200 +0.67

400mm f/6.3 1/640sec ISO6400 +0.67

The confrontations go from just facing each other without really "attacking", to jumping towards the adversary trying to find an opening.

400mm f/5.6 1/1600sec ISO1250 +1.33

And then... ATTACK!

400mm f/5.6 1/640sec ISO640 +0.67

400mm f/5.0 1/400sec ISO3200 +0.67

400mm f/6.3 1/400sec ISO3200 +0.67

Everything is very fast and it's quite difficult to clearly see what's happening in those few seconds. Only when I look at the pictures, later, after coming back home, I can see the drama of the action, the fierce look and the strength the birds put in the fight. Feathers fly in the air and for a short but very intense time, the two birds fight in the air, almost as if they were dancing.

400mm f/6.3 1/1000sec ISO2000 +1

400mm f/5.6 1/1250sec ISO800 +1.33

400mm f/5.0 1/400sec ISO3200 +0.67

Shots have been taken throughout a period of four days, in different weather, as you can see from the colors and the light conditions.

400mm f/7.1 1/800sec ISO2500 +0.67

400mm f/5.6 1/800sec ISO2500 +0.67

And then, suddenly, everybody fly away... a small bird of prey arrived in the distance... better be far, you never know. It was almost time, anyway, for the birds to stop their mating activity for the day.

722mm f/8.0 1/320sec ISO6400 -0.67

The four days spent photographing these beautiful birds have been an awesome experience that I hope to repeat one day. If you enjoyed the shots, you might enjoy also the story I published on MAPTIA:

https://maptia.com/frazgu64/stories/fight-dance

Monday, March 28, 2016

Dinner with the Long-billed Curlew

Browsing through some of my folders, I found some photos taken a couple of years ago at the Bolsa Chica Wetland Preserve, in California.

That day, I went to the wetlands around sunset, hoping to take some good shots of the many birds that can be found there. Sunset is a beautiful moment because of the light, the colors and it looks like many birds fish at that time of the day.

During my previous visit, I only had a quick glimpse of the Long-billed curlew, and that was certainly one of the birds that I was hoping to see. And this time I was lucky enough to spend quite some time with this one bird.

560mm f/6.3 1/1250sec ISO640

560mm f/6.3 1/1600sec ISO640

560mm f/6.3 1/3200sec ISO1000 +0.33

560mm f/6.3 1/1250sec ISO640

560mm f/8.0 1/1600sec ISO800 +0.33

I had the opportunity to see it looking for food and capturing some crabs. The bird uses the very long and curved bill to probe the muddy ground close to the water to find crabs and small invertebrates. He also captures grasshoppers and other insects.

It was incredible to see the curlew turning its neck 180 degrees while trying to extract a crab from the mud, adjusting the proper curved side of the long bill to the situation: It really looked like a contortionist.

560mm f/6.3 1/1250sec ISO1000 +0.33

560mm f/8.0 1/800sec ISO800 +0.33

Here a funny shot when the crab realizes that it's been discovered... It looks like it's saying: "Don't think it's going to be easy, man! I am not going down without a fight!" It's almost like having two knights fighting in a duel... who is going to win?

560mm f/7.1 1/1000sec ISO640

But nothing could be easier for the long-billed curlew. Even though the crab is not a very small one, the long bill is a formidable weapon that the bird uses with incredible expertise.

560mm f/7.1 1/1000sec ISO640

With a one-two move, the crab is made harmless. And after capturing it, there was certainly the need of washing the food before eating it! I was surprised to see the bird going to the water and letting the crab fall into it, just to immediately capture it again to wash all the mud off of it. The curlew was incredibly skilled in "handling" the crab with the bill, making it jump in mid-air to get it again in the correct position.

560mm f/6.3 1/1600sec ISO640

560mm f/7.1 1/1250sec ISO640

560mm f/6.3 1/3200sec ISO1000 +0.33

560mm f/8.0 1/1250sec ISO800 +0.33

Well, no more crabs... dinner time was finished for the day.

560mm f/8.0 1/1250sec ISO800 +0.33

560mm f/6.3 1/2000sec ISO640

400mm f/8.0 1/1600sec ISO800 +0.33

400mm f/8.0 1/1250sec ISO800 +0.33

And after so much hard work, and a great dinner, finally some relaxation, getting ready to go to bed.

400mm f/8.0 1/1600sec ISO800 +0.33

Monday, February 15, 2016

Long-tailed Tits Visiting the Feeder

The morning didn't look too bright... was it cloudy? I could not understand very well... I was thinking of going down to the feeder to take some shots, but I was about to change my mind: with no light, results would not be too good.

But after some time, the sun was rising over the horizon and I could see patches of blue sky getting larger and larger, so I decided it would be worth a visit.

I had just set up the hide, that a small group of Long-tailed Tits arrived. I love these birds, they are very cute and not particularly afraid of man. As their name states, their tail is very long, much longer than all the other tits, with which you can often see them. From my experience, they tend to stay in group of 6-7 birds. They didn't stop for long, but I was able to take a couple of good shots.

560mm f/6.3 1/800sec ISO1250

560mm f/5.6 1/640sec ISO1600

I would like to share a basic trick to take shots of the birds coming to your feeder. What you want to do is to attract the birds with some food and photograph them, possibly without showing the structure. A way to do that is to prepare a perch birds will use to approach the feeder. They would not need that – and even when that is there, not all use it – but most of the birds coming for food, would stop briefly on the perch, before getting to the tray where you have prepared nuts or seeds.

The way I prepared the set up, allows to change the perch easily to introduce more variety in your shots. On each of the two sides of a classic "little-house" feeder, I attached two clamps which can easily fasten a branch or other supports the birds can use. That way you can replace old perches and change them with new ones, adjusting the setting and look of your shots.

There will usually be just one or two seconds to take the shot, because the birds usually proceed right away to the feeder, but sometimes they stop on the perch for a little longer. A smart composition in camera or a crop done later in post processing and you will be able to take good photos in your back-yard.

Monday, February 1, 2016

Beautiful Robin

Especially during the winter, I like to take pictures of this beautiful little bird that often visits our gardens and feeders. It's extremely cute when it's cold and it "becomes puffy" fluffing its feathers to keep itself warm... sometimes it looks like a little feather ball!

It's very easy to spot, with the extensive orange area on its chest. That is actually also the only common visual trait with its American cousin, which share the same name, but belongs to a totally different family – you can see a couple of shots here. When I heard for the first time the other bird being called "robin" I was surprised to see a much larger bird and with such different plumage. The European species is the Erithacus rubecula while the American robin is the Turdus migratorius.

I see the robin most of the times alone, moving quickly in the bushes or on low trees, like many of the small birds do. It seems it likes to feed on the ground, mostly insects, but sometimes it doesn't disdain also hanging feeders.

So far not too much snow around, so I am still missing one classic shot of the bird in the snow, such an iconic image, representing often the Holiday Season in book illustrations, but I hope to get to it... one day.

And talking about book illustrations, I would like to dedicate this post and its photos to a friend of mine, Anna, a children's book illustrator who loves robins and all the other little friends from the woods. Enjoy.