A few different birds

[Steve Cavigliano]

Hello all,
Got to sneak out early again yesterday :rolleyes Talking to Andy on the phone yesterday convinced me to go shoot the Baylands again. Like I needed much convincing...lol

Anyhow, I know some of us may be getting tired of egret heron shots (hard as that may be to believe). So I tried to get a few other species.

I met someone I had shot with before at the Baylands. His name is Adam and I invited him to come over to Dgrin for a looksee :thumb If you see him, please make him feel at home :D

We were shooting BIF's between the rookery and the reeds. As usual I was over-zooming.....lol But, it did give me a couple of kewl looks.
http://freezeframephotography.smugmug.com/photos/20118619-L.jpg

As we were shooting BIF's I noticed something colorful darting between cars in the Duck Pond parking area. We went over to check it out and sure enough, it was the male pheasant who resides in the park.

http://freezeframephotography.smugmug.com/photos/20119693-L.jpg

We decided to go to the Park Center and walk out on the walkway. We had been seeing lots of swallows, but they are just too small and too fast to nail in the air. As we were walking around PC building, we noticed lots of droppings on the ground. We looked up and saw this.
http://freezeframephotography.smugmug.com/photos/20118627-L.jpg

Swallows building nests for their coming chicks :D In another week or two, they will be hovering with insects and feeding the chicks who will occupy most of the nest. Gonna be some good photo ops :thumb These guys are sooooo pretty too. Here's a pic of one that was sitting on the walkway railing.
http://freezeframephotography.smugmug.com/photos/20118613-L.jpg

We also got some poorly exposed terns and pintails (well at least mine were poorly exposed.....lol) One last shot at the Pond before heading home. Some sweet lighting on a snowy.
http://freezeframephotography.smugmug.com/photos/20118616-L.jpg

As always, I had a ball. I hope you enjoy viewing some of the pics I came back with :):


Thanks for looking,
Steve

[ginger_55]

I love your swallows in the ceiling shot. I am thinking of all sorts of things, one being patterns for the Challenge, I looked at that and thought, "hey that is a cool pattern, I wonder what it is". Love it.

Yes, I can't wait for these babies, you mean others are going to have shots of babies, too. Darn!

ginger

[Andy]

http://freezeframephotography.smugmug.com/photos/20118627-Ti.jpg



lovely - this one is *mint*

[MuskyDude]

Excellent series Steve! I love the barn swallow(s), and the pheasant. Terrific!:thumb


AJ

[Harryb]

Hey Steve,

Excellent shots and I was glad to see you sneak in one egret. I mean, like who could ever get tired of heron and egret shots. :huh

[bfjr]

Excellent series Steve :thumb
you saved the best for last, of course :lol3

[Steve Cavigliano]

I love your swallows in the ceiling shot. I am thinking of all sorts of things, one being patterns for the Challenge, I looked at that and thought, "hey that is a cool pattern, I wonder what it is". Love it.

Yes, I can't wait for these babies, you mean others are going to have shots of babies, too. Darn!

ginger
Thanks Ginger :D

Yeah, I just love those little swallows. I was telling Andy, when we were shooting by the Santa Cruz Lighthouse, that they used to build nests right under the light. This year, they painted the area with paint that doesn't allow mud to stick :uhoh So no swallow nests at the Lighthouse anymore :cry I was surprised and happy to see that I'll have another location to shoot baby swallows in a few weeks :clap I liked the beam pattern of the overhang also. Maybe I should have tilted the camera a bit :dunno

Thanks for taking the time to look,
Steve

[Steve Cavigliano]

lovely - this one is *mint*
Thanks Andy :D

There may still be chicks here during your next visit :wink Maybe we take Gus to the Baylands before heading to Yosemite? Or, maybe a pre-work morning visit?


See ya in a few weeks :thumb

Steve

[Steve Cavigliano]

Excellent series Steve! I love the barn swallow(s), and the pheasant. Terrific!:thumb


AJ
Thanks AJ :D

We were watching these cute little guys whizzing past us when we were shooting larger birds. They were really lit up nicely by the late afternoon light. Unfortunately, they fly too fast to get an AF lock on them :rolleyes I was very happy to see the nests, so at least I knew some of them would be sitting still.....lol

Thanks for taking the time to comment,
Steve

[Dee]

I'll have to look for the swallow nesting site!

Great shot of the pheasant.... I've never seen him in the parking lot.

I'm carless until my daughter gets hers up and running, maybe I can hit the baylands tomorrow though.

I have an appointment in Sunnyvale at 11, should be done by noon, a little lunch and off to shoot some birds!

[Phil U.]

Steve - boy that pheasant sure has some colors! Super sharp to boot - nice detail! The egret shot is perfect of course.

I'd kinda like to see a closer shot on one or two of the swallow nests.

[Steve Cavigliano]

Steve - boy that pheasant sure has some colors! Super sharp to boot - nice detail! The egret shot is perfect of course.

I'd kinda like to see a closer shot on one or two of the swallow nests.
Thanks Phil :D

Here's a crop of one swallow applying a bit of mud to the nest. The white ghost is another swallow who got caught in the flash....lol I could have done better with another lens (I had the Bigma attached) and with my 580EX versus the internal flash :rolleyes But, this should give you some idea of what the nests look like.

http://www.pbase.com/image/42348166.jpg

Steve

[Steve Cavigliano]

Hey Steve,

Excellent shots and I was glad to see you sneak in one egret. I mean, like who could ever get tired of heron and egret shots. :huh
LOL Thanks Harry :D

Yep, those egrets and herons hold a near and dear place in my heart. But, I can see how some folks may be tired of the SOS :rolleyes Not you or I, of course, but some of those "other folks" :huh Even Baldy is taking potshots :uhoh

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=9968

Although, I think Baldy's account may have been hijacked by Fish :lol3


Thanks for the comments buddy :clap

Steve

[Steve Cavigliano]

Excellent series Steve :thumb
you saved the best for last, of course :lol3
Thanks Ben :D

You're right!! Everyone loves Egrets, don't they? :rofl


Thanks for looking,
Steve

[Phil U.]

Thanks Phil :D

Here's a crop of one swallow applying a bit of mud to the nest. The white ghost is another swallow who got caught in the flash....lol I could have done better with another lens (I had the Bigma attached) and with my 580EX versus the internal flash :rolleyes But, this should give you some idea of what the nests look like.

Steve

Ha! That other bird did wanna help you with your plans. The nest building is a pretty cool thing to see.

[Steve Cavigliano]

I'll have to look for the swallow nesting site!

Great shot of the pheasant.... I've never seen him in the parking lot.

I'm carless until my daughter gets hers up and running, maybe I can hit the baylands tomorrow though.

I have an appointment in Sunnyvale at 11, should be done by noon, a little lunch and off to shoot some birds!
Hiya Dee and thanks :D

I've been to the Baylands maybe 2 dozen times and I've only seen the male pheasant 3 times. Twice in the back parking lot (by the marsh and kitty corner to the Park Center building) and once in the Eastern most lot abutting the Duck Pond (which was yesterday). I'd love to get him taking off one day :lust

Hope you got to shoot some swallows today. Hopefully, you didn't have much trouble finding them (just follow your nose......LOL).


Thanks for taking the time to comment,
Steve

[John Mueller]

Wonderful series Steve.:thumb
Let Andy keep convincing you to leave early:D

[ginger_55]

People may be tired of egrets, but have you all seen the posting count on this thread. Beats the other threads times over. I didn't look to see if it covered the time period when landscapes were in here, but this is still one of the most popular threads going.

I love those little swallows, you are going to have the cutest babies.

I am going to have to make up a list of questions to ask the nature photographer who does the seminar. I guess the first question could be about a local presence of birds besides egrets.

Right now egrets love egrets.:lust This is my first bird year, I have no idea what happens after the babies are born, etc.

You got great shots, Steve, and thanks,

ginger

[Kirwin]

Nice series... especially the Night Heron. Tack sharp eyes on a BIF not easy to do at all (at least for me).:clap

[Steve Cavigliano]

Wonderful series Steve.:thumb
Let Andy keep convincing you to leave early:D
Thanks John :D

As I wrote, it doesn't take much of a nudge to get me outta here early......lol


Thanks for looking,
Steve

[4labs]

Excellent set Steve and of course you commentary always makes your pictures more interesting. I love the first one so keep over zooming away.

[Steve Cavigliano]

People may be tired of egrets, but have you all seen the posting count on this thread. Beats the other threads times over. I didn't look to see if it covered the time period when landscapes were in here, but this is still one of the most popular threads going.

I love those little swallows, you are going to have the cutest babies.

I am going to have to make up a list of questions to ask the nature photographer who does the seminar. I guess the first question could be about a local presence of birds besides egrets.

Right now egrets love egrets.:lust This is my first bird year, I have no idea what happens after the babies are born, etc.

You got great shots, Steve, and thanks,

gingerThanks Ginger :D

Good idea about pumping the nature Pro about what birds are available where :thumb When I was shooting with Hawkman last week, we were discussing how to get really good BIF's. Especially, of raptors. I think we agreed that it isn't so much the reach of the lens as it is the lighting and being in the right place at the right time. This time of year there are so many big birds around here, it's almost impossible to not be at the right place at the right time. But after breeding season, they will scatter and become scarce again. A snowy here, travel 10 miles to the next spot and maybe get a look at one GBH :dunno

Wherever you got those Ospreys would be worth more visits :clap Nests are a really good sign that there will be activity. Yep, it may try your patience waiting for a shot to materialize, but that's part of the dues we pay :rolleyes I've sat focused on a hawk sitting on a pole for 20 minutes, waiting for him to take off. Sometimes they take off, sometimes your arms get so tired, you walk away. But it's all good :):

I'm sure you guys have barn swallows down there, so maybe someone will point you to where they are nesting and you can get some swallow chicks too :D The undersides of bridges are one of their favorite nesting locales. Especially rarely used bridges. They need fresh mud to build with, so a nearby water source is also a must.

Thanks for the kind words and keep up the good work :thumb

Steve

[Steve Cavigliano]

Nice series... especially the Night Heron. Tack sharp eyes on a BIF not easy to do at all (at least for me).:clap
Thanks Kirwin :D

As far as the tack sharp focus on BIF's. it was a long road for me too :dunno First, I had to get used to the 20D's AF and AI Servo mode and to be able to get sharp eyes when the AF wants to focus on a big body Then I had to really work on learning to hold the lens steady. Finally, I had to improve my panning technique and adapt it for different birds. It only took me about 3000 shots to get it close to right :lol3 Good thing the film's free eh?....lol

Thanks for taking the time to comment,
Steve

[Steve Cavigliano]

Excellent set Steve and of course you commentary always makes your pictures more interesting. I love the first one so keep over zooming away.
Thanks 4labs :D

I'm glad you like those tight shots. I think you will see more "overzooms" from me :rolleyes I'm working on correcting this, but I'm not making very good progress....LOL As for the commentary, thanks and you're lucky you don't shoot with me cuz I comment a lot while shooting too........ :lol


Thanks for taking the time to respond,
Steve

[Andy]

blah blah blaa...

and you're lucky you don't shoot with me cuz I comment a lot while shooting too........ :lol



he ain't kiddin' folks :uhoh

[Ric Grupe]

...is too cool!

http://freezeframephotography.smugmug.com/photos/20118627-M.jpg

All the shots are super, but this one really tickled me.:giggle

[Steve Cavigliano]

he ain't kiddin' folks :uhoh
At least I talk about subjects other than food :bad Even though food talk does seem to dominate our conversations :lol

And BTW, you're no slouch when it comes to shooting the breeze with the other photogs we meet either :rolleyes I have to admit, I'm really bad about this one :uhoh But, but, I'm just out recruiting.....lol

Steve

[Steve Cavigliano]

...is too cool!

http://freezeframephotography.smugmug.com/photos/20118627-M.jpg

All the shots are super, but this one really tickled me.:giggle
Thanks Ric :D

I'm going to head back there next week and try this again with a better lens/flash combo. These nests are really a sight to see and they're only around for a short period of time. I just have to make sure I don't stand directly underneath them :splat :lol4


Thanks for taking the time to comment,
Steve

[4labs]

Thanks 4labs :D

I'm glad you like those tight shots. I think you will see more "overzooms" from me :rolleyes I'm working on correcting this, but I'm not making very good progress....LOL As for the commentary, thanks and you're lucky you don't shoot with me cuz I comment a lot while shooting too........ :lol


Thanks for taking the time to respond,
SteveSteve if you know anything about Jewish Mom's than you will know I can handle the best of chatter boxes.My mother is Lucille Ball reincarnated there was no such thing as silence in my house.

[Khaos]

Very nice Steve.:thumb :thumb

[davev]

All the pics are good, but I like the pheasant pic best.
good job.

dave