duckkkks

I have been enjoying shooting(photographing) ducks this winter. Bufflehead ducks are every where but I have yet to get a good picture, up to my standard. I found a redhead duck which is pretty rare around where I live. I really want to get a shot of a Pintail duck, which has been hanging around at the same park. Last weekend I went to point lookout in Long island and got lifer Harlequin and black scoters, great looking ducks. I want to go to Barnegat lighthouse, which is famous for its Harlequin ducks. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

400mm fun!!!

Hey everyone. Sorry for the lack in posting. School had been rediculously hard this year. I did get my 400mm though and use it as much as possible. The weather has been great the weekends when I have to to shoot but I have gotten some nice pictures. I got good pictures of red tail, red shoulder hawk, and redhead ducks. I guess its a red thing? Well I will start off with the red tail. Two days after i got my lens, I went to the local croton point park, where I had a close encounter with a red tail last year. Well Again I had a good encounter. I think he likes me :) I still wasnt used to the 400mm but I was getting better holding it, and focusing. well I got so close to this hawk which was sitting on a pole in the field. I litterally had to move back to get the whole hawk in the frame. Here are some shots!!! Can you see the difference in these pictures compared to my old ones, because of the new crazy expensive lens?

Countdown begins!!!!

This is probably the most exciting post I have made so far.In my recent posts I have talked a bunch about wanting a 400mm f5.6 canon lens. Well Bird-Boy has made a financial plan and is a week away from shootting with a 400mm lens. Hopefully my picture level will increase and I will get some awesome results. I will treat it like a baby.My friend let me use his 400mm f5.6 on my body and it worked awesome:pictures below.

Wish me Luck!

Long--Tailed Duck !!!!!!!!!

The feeling is great when you find a rare bird. I went to croton point park and got this magnificent duck. They are mainly found in salt water, but this guy prefers brackish water. Everything played out perfectly. Its a male which is a big plus, and it was close. Most ducks are boring but these and harlequin ducks are my favorite. It was fun watching my dive and swim under water. And again with a converter or 400mm i would have had this duck at the perfect distance.

here is the duck submerging

Here you can see him underwater...kinda :)

Green Heron

This summer I took a trip to ocean side marine park. It is pretty much a heron heaven. There are numerous black crowned night herons, green herons, and yellow crowned night herons. I got pictures of all three. The immature black crowned herons are ugly. I got some awesome flight shots of them but they are hideous haha. The green herons are good looking birds. I am thinking of upgrading my camera setup, to maybe a 400mm lens. These shots are taken with canon xsi and 300mm.

blackpoll warbler-lifer

I got a lifer this past weekend. A blackpoll warbler! Although it isnt the pretty spring molt, its a good bird. He must have been tired from a long night trip, because he sat on the ground and let me get really close. Heres some pictures :)

Peregrines-fire island

Birdboy does have some luck sometimes. I have been to fire 4 times in the past 3 years, and have hit 3 amazing days. Well saturday was another amazing day. The winds were north west so i left my house at 6 30 to get down there. We got there at 8 and the birds started moving. At the end of the day we had a total of 65 peregrines!!!!!! that is the second most peregrines that ever flew by the hawk site. Not jut peregrines but a total of 160 merlins. It was a lot of fun to see these birds. I didnt get amazing photos to post as it never got sunny, but maybe thats why the birds moved.. who knows. But friday night i knew i had to be there. I had a feeling god wanted me to be there. Thanks bud! My soccer practice got cancelled, I found a ride by some birders, it was all looking good! Well the next two weeks are when the adult male merlins move. They call them blue jacks, with there beautiful blue backs. Well here are some of my shots!

We had a good assortment of adult and immature birds. Below are some audlts hsot followed by adults

Below is a picture my Friend James Vellozzi took at fire island last year. This is a blue jack, the back is a nice gray blue. James takes some awesome raptor photos, and teaches me a lot. His website is jamesvellozzinaturephotography.com