Wonderful Woodpeckers

If you have been following my photoblog for any length of time you probably have noticed that I like to use alliterations in the titles. Of course that has nothing to do with today's photoblog but I felt like mentioning it. Right now the Acorn Woodpeckers have taken over my bird feeders out in the Little Lake Valley. Because they are a communal species they protect their food sources from many other birds. When they come into feed everyone else takes off or keeps a respectful distance. Surprisingly smaller birds don't seem to rile them up much. If a Steller's Jay or a Western Scrub Jay come into feed they are right on it dive bombing it and pursuing it away from the feeders. When the woodpeckers are away the jays will come in but they will keep a low profile often feeding on the ground below the feeders. Deciding which woodpecker images to share is difficult because I have been taking quite a few. Here is a selection from Thursday. God's love and blessings to all, chris All images created with a Canon 7D and a Tamron 150-600mm lens on a Manfrotto 055 XPROB tripod. Camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 800, F 8.0 the shutter speed varied. #Bringit #TeamCanon Spring is a great time to get started learning to photograph birds as they are in breeding colors making for some beautiful image. If you are interested in learning how to photograph birds in your backyard please check out my new book, Secrets of Backyard Bird Photography. It is available from most major online book sellers and it is available in both hardbound and E book editions. http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Backyard-Photography-Chris-Hansen/dp/1937538559

Beautiful Collection of Birds

Whenever I spend a lot of time in the photoblind there is quite a bit of editing to do. I was up late last night and part of this morning going through images from the past couple of days. The results show that I had a very successful time. I came away with some really good bird images. Enjoy the images and have a blessed day, chrisAll images created with a Canon 7D and a Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD Lens. Camera was in AV mode, ISO 800 exposures varied. Camera was on a Manfrotto 190 PROB tripod with a Bogen 3055 ballhead.

Birds in Joe's Backyard

My friend Joe Benoit is an excellent photographer.Our tripods have been planted side by side photographing many subjects over the years. The past few mornings I have been using my photoblind in his backyard to photograph birds.Thanks Joe. I was trying to capture some images of some Eurasion Collared Doves. I got a few images of them but they weren't that great.I'll try again sometime soon. I did get some excellent California Valley Quail,Spotted Towhee,Golden Crowned Sparrow and Western Scrub Jay. I really like the quail images.You can capture some awesome bird images in the backyard with a little bit of effort! Gods love and blessings to all, chris

Hidden Gems in Plain Sight

This morning I went photographing birds in my friend Joe's backyard. It was much better than last time. Right after entering the photoblind the birds started coming in and the action was almost non stop.He has a lot of Golden Crowned Sparrows! But my favorite image of the day was of a very common bird. It was a Western Scrub Jay. Far too often we overlook these beautiful birds.Partly because we do see them all of the time. We need to look past their raspy call and pushy behavior. Close up they have great markings and are a gorgeous bird.I think I know a few people like that. I need to look past their gruff behavior at the hidden beauty inside. God's blessings to all, chris

A Few Birds

I went out to the Burris Ranch this morning for a short session with the birds. The birds were a little slow in waking up this morning as I had very few birds come to the feeders between seven-thirty until about eight-thirty. Things really started picking up around nine thirty when I had to leave. I still managed to get a few images. An Acorn Woodpecker, Western Scrub Jay and a California Valley Quail on the fence rail. A Lazuli Bunting made a few brief showings though never anywhere I

could photograph it from the blind. God's love and blessings to all, chris

Birds

I spent three days last week photographing birds out at the Burris Ranch.

Here are a few of my favorites from those three sessions. It was some of the best bird photography I had had in awhile. God's love and blessings to everyone, chris

Mug Shots

I have been spending a lot of time in the photo blind this week. For some reason there seems to be a lot of jays out at the ranch. Both Western Scrub Jay's and Steller's Jays sometimes even at the same time.Steller's Jays prefer a mountainous habitat with coniferous forests while scrub Jay's tastes run to oak woodlands and riparian habitats. The habitat where my blind is at is a transition between mountain and the riparian and pastureland habitats of the valley.It is a perfect overlap that's suited to the two species.

The bully boys have been taking over the feeder forcing the smaller birds to flee when they arrive. The jays take over for only a short time but it takes awhile for the small birds to become comfortable enough to return. Here are a couple of mug shots of some of the neighborhood bullies.

God's love and blessings to everyone,

chris