Pelikans with the Lumix FZ1000

On Mon, 05 Jan 2015 21:10:59 -0500, PeterN wrote:


Thanks.
One of my friends told me it was a red shouldered hawk. I have a deep
knowledge of bitds. To me they are all chickens.


A very good on-line reference is the Cornell All About Birds site:
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/search

You can search by various means. One very nice feature is most of the
species pages have photos of "similar species" on then if you get
close but it's no cigar.

On 1/12/2015 7:42 PM, me wrote:
On Mon, 05 Jan 2015 21:10:59 -0500, PeterN wrote:


Thanks.
One of my friends told me it was a red shouldered hawk. I have a deep
knowledge of bitds. To me they are all chickens.


A very good on-line reference is the Cornell All About Birds site:
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/search

You can search by various means. One very nice feature is most of the
species pages have photos of "similar species" on then if you get
close but it's no cigar.


location can also be a helpful factor in identification.


--
PeterN

On Mon, 12 Jan 2015 20:38:09 -0500, PeterN wrote:

On 1/12/2015 7:42 PM, me wrote:
On Mon, 05 Jan 2015 21:10:59 -0500, PeterN wrote:


Thanks.
One of my friends told me it was a red shouldered hawk. I have a deep
knowledge of bitds. To me they are all chickens.


A very good on-line reference is the Cornell All About Birds site:
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/search

You can search by various means. One very nice feature is most of the
species pages have photos of "similar species" on then if you get
close but it's no cigar.


location can also be a helpful factor in identification.

Yes they also have maps breeding/nonbreeding but given climate change
they can be misleading this days. Recently I had a shot of a bird in
the front yard that was similar to a goldfinch. Turned out to be a
yellow throated vireo according to my familial bird expert in
Brooklyn.

On 1/12/2015 8:44 PM, me wrote:
On Mon, 12 Jan 2015 20:38:09 -0500, PeterN wrote:

On 1/12/2015 7:42 PM, me wrote:
On Mon, 05 Jan 2015 21:10:59 -0500, PeterN wrote:


Thanks.
One of my friends told me it was a red shouldered hawk. I have a deep
knowledge of bitds. To me they are all chickens.


A very good on-line reference is the Cornell All About Birds site:
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/search

You can search by various means. One very nice feature is most of the
species pages have photos of "similar species" on then if you get
close but it's no cigar.


location can also be a helpful factor in identification.

Yes they also have maps breeding/nonbreeding but given climate change
they can be misleading this days. Recently I had a shot of a bird in
the front yard that was similar to a goldfinch. Turned out to be a
yellow throated vireo according to my familial bird expert in
Brooklyn.


To my way of thinking one of the reasons for knowing whaat species is to
help anticipate. For example, I saw this reddish heron, and kenw he
would start to act like this, so I waited and:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/97242118/_Red%20Heron.jpg

I saw this guy playing in a tree, so I moved to get between him and his
nest. The result:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/97242118/anhinga%20the%20next%20buildeer.jpg

--
PeterN

On 2015-01-13 01:38:09 +0000, PeterN said:

On 1/12/2015 7:42 PM, me wrote:
On Mon, 05 Jan 2015 21:10:59 -0500, PeterN wrote:


Thanks.
One of my friends told me it was a red shouldered hawk. I have a deep
knowledge of bitds. To me they are all chickens.


A very good on-line reference is the Cornell All About Birds site:
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/search

You can search by various means. One very nice feature is most of the
species pages have photos of "similar species" on then if you get
close but it's no cigar.


location can also be a helpful factor in identification.

Yup!
I have several paperback field guides, and some iOS field guides and I
also refer to the Cornell Labs site from time to time.
Range maps for seasonal populations and transient migrating birds can
be a big help in pinning down a diagnostic ID, and eliminating false
positives.

I got into birding seriously because of my wife. When she was still
active she played a big part in the Audubon Society Breeding Bird
tracking program for mapping birds breeding in a particular region. In
our case she was a contributor for the San Luis Obispo County, Audubon
Society Breeding Bird Atlas. She was also an active participant in the
Cornell Labs Project FeederWatch. Unfortunately she was bed ridden for
the last 18 months of her life and was not able to do much of anything
in that period.
--
Regards,

Savageduck

On 1/12/2015 9:14 PM, Savageduck wrote:
On 2015-01-13 01:38:09 +0000, PeterN said:

On 1/12/2015 7:42 PM, me wrote:
On Mon, 05 Jan 2015 21:10:59 -0500, PeterN wrote:


Thanks.
One of my friends told me it was a red shouldered hawk. I have a deep
knowledge of bitds. To me they are all chickens.


A very good on-line reference is the Cornell All About Birds site:
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/search

You can search by various means. One very nice feature is most of the
species pages have photos of "similar species" on then if you get
close but it's no cigar.


location can also be a helpful factor in identification.

Yup!
I have several paperback field guides, and some iOS field guides and I
also refer to the Cornell Labs site from time to time.
Range maps for seasonal populations and transient migrating birds can be
a big help in pinning down a diagnostic ID, and eliminating false
positives.

I got into birding seriously because of my wife. When she was still
active she played a big part in the Audubon Society Breeding Bird
tracking program for mapping birds breeding in a particular region. In
our case she was a contributor for the San Luis Obispo County, Audubon
Society Breeding Bird Atlas. She was also an active participant in the
Cornell Labs Project FeederWatch. Unfortunately she was bed ridden for
the last 18 months of her life and was not able to do much of anything
in that period.

It seems that just when we have the time and fiscal ability to enjoy
life, we lose the physical ability.

--
PeterN

On 2015-01-13 01:44:41 +0000, me said:

On Mon, 12 Jan 2015 20:38:09 -0500, PeterN wrote:

On 1/12/2015 7:42 PM, me wrote:
On Mon, 05 Jan 2015 21:10:59 -0500, PeterN wrote:


Thanks.
One of my friends told me it was a red shouldered hawk. I have a deep
knowledge of bitds. To me they are all chickens.


A very good on-line reference is the Cornell All About Birds site:
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/search

You can search by various means. One very nice feature is most of the
species pages have photos of "similar species" on then if you get
close but it's no cigar.


location can also be a helpful factor in identification.

Yes they also have maps breeding/nonbreeding but given climate change
they can be misleading this days. Recently I had a shot of a bird in
the front yard that was similar to a goldfinch. Turned out to be a
yellow throated vireo according to my familial bird expert in
Brooklyn.

There are so many similarities in the various sparrows, wrens, and
finches it can be tough to pin down an immediate ID. I cases like that
it is best to check for diagnostic markings around eyes, head stripes,
wing and tail banding, and then refer to a field guide to confirm.

Then there can be irregular,nomadic, irruptive populations & flocks
such as Pine Siskins, and Cedar Waxwings. These have ranges covering
all of North America, but might not be found in the same location two
years in a row, and sometimes will show up for several years before
taking to a different location, perhaps within a mile or two of
previous sightings for a year or two.

--
Regards,

Savageduck

On 2015-01-13 02:27:19 +0000, PeterN said:

On 1/12/2015 9:14 PM, Savageduck wrote:
On 2015-01-13 01:38:09 +0000, PeterN said:

On 1/12/2015 7:42 PM, me wrote:
On Mon, 05 Jan 2015 21:10:59 -0500, PeterN wrote:


Thanks.
One of my friends told me it was a red shouldered hawk. I have a deep
knowledge of bitds. To me they are all chickens.


A very good on-line reference is the Cornell All About Birds site:
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/search

You can search by various means. One very nice feature is most of the
species pages have photos of "similar species" on then if you get
close but it's no cigar.


location can also be a helpful factor in identification.

Yup!
I have several paperback field guides, and some iOS field guides and I
also refer to the Cornell Labs site from time to time.
Range maps for seasonal populations and transient migrating birds can be
a big help in pinning down a diagnostic ID, and eliminating false
positives.

I got into birding seriously because of my wife. When she was still
active she played a big part in the Audubon Society Breeding Bird
tracking program for mapping birds breeding in a particular region. In
our case she was a contributor for the San Luis Obispo County, Audubon
Society Breeding Bird Atlas. She was also an active participant in the
Cornell Labs Project FeederWatch. Unfortunately she was bed ridden for
the last 18 months of her life and was not able to do much of anything
in that period.

It seems that just when we have the time and fiscal ability to enjoy
life, we lose the physical ability.

BTW: For your iPhone I still highly recommend *iBird Ultimate*.
It is simple to make up regional list, and a local list, along with a
Life list for sightings.

This is a great iPhone birder's field guide app.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ibird-ultimate-guide-to-birds/id872771050?mt=8


--


Regards,

Savageduck

In article , PeterN
wrote:

To my way of thinking one of the reasons for knowing whaat species is to
help anticipate. For example, I saw this reddish heron, and kenw he
would start to act like this, so I waited and:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/97242118/_Red%20Heron.jpg

I saw this guy playing in a tree, so I moved to get between him and his
nest. The result:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/97242118/anhinga%20the%20next%20buildeer.jpg


Nice captures, but they appear a bit oversharpened.

--
m-m
http://www.mhmyers.com

On 1/13/2015 12:37 AM, M-M wrote:
In article , PeterN
wrote:

To my way of thinking one of the reasons for knowing whaat species is to
help anticipate. For example, I saw this reddish heron, and kenw he
would start to act like this, so I waited and:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/97242118/_Red%20Heron.jpg

I saw this guy playing in a tree, so I moved to get between him and his
nest. The result:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/97242118/anhinga%20the%20next%20buildeer.jpg


Nice captures, but they appear a bit oversharpened.


Thanks for your comment. I am fighting my tendency to oversharpen.

--
PeterN