There's no place like home.

[Loupey]

Ironic that after logging nearly 1000 miles driving back and forth to Magee Marsh to get shots of warblers, we start seeing them in our own backyard. Most likely they always came but we didn't know what to look/listen for.

In any event, over the weekend we saw, from the comfort of our deck:

Yellow warbler (below)
Magnolia warbler
American redstart
Black-and-white warbler
Cedar waxwing
Common nighthawk (below)

There was another warbler we couldn't ID as well as a flycatcher/phoebe in addition to the usual suspects around the feeder.

Granted I can't get as close and as clean of shots that I could up at the Marsh, but man is it nice to sit on the deck with a cup of coffee shooting in PJ's!

Although for the nighthawk (my first btw), I did have to run upstairs and shoot out of my daughter's window for that one

[victorhuang20]

omgosh!!!!! the second photo is cute....just a fat bird napping hehe

[mn shutterbug]

A couple more nice ones. I shot a yellow warbler yesterday, but seeing as I had my AF setting screwed up on my camera, I'm not going to post it.

[Loupey]

Mike - thanks. Curious - how did you screw up your AF?

Victor - that's what I thought at first. That tiny bill must be for catching tiny bugs I figured. But then it spoke and I thought "yikes!"


Still cute?!

[mn shutterbug]

Loupey, somehow I accidentally set the AF to automatic, instead of spot. In auto, the camera guesses what parts of the subject to focus on. Otherwise, I normally always lock focus on the eyes.

[Loupey]

As convenient as it is to shoot from one's own deck, it is agonizingly inconsistent.

Knowing they're around, I found quite a population of nice birds at a major metro-park literally down the street (about 3 miles). So I guess I had to get dressed.

Stalked these - not easy to get by any means except for the robin. I don't have any quality images yet of what I had found there - orioles (both Baltimore and orchard), indigo buntings, bluebirds, and summer tanager. Stalking is the only way as they move around too much in search of food. However, I have located several nests/hangouts now so I hope to get some of the target species.


Yellow warbler
Robin
Eastern Kingbird
Eastern Wood-Pewee (I believe)

[SmartWombat]

Oh yes, looks like a Nightjar.

Teriffic camouflage, and that huge gape is great for insect catching.
Does it have the bristles around the mouth, and the comb on the feet for cleaning them like the Nightjar?

[victorhuang20]

i like the last one the best, great composition

[AmberC]

More great pictures :thumbsup:

[scott-devon]

Great series Loupey and the shot of the nighthawk is tres cool! Definitely a bird I never expect to get a shot of, and wow...what a yawn!

[paulnj]

hahaha.... wood pewees and nighthawks migrated up last week..... seems you got them too ;)

I love that nighthawk image with the mouth open.

Side note, I found chucks and whips down in southern NJ a few weeks ago calling, but couldn't find them..... sniff sniff