Speaking for myself only here and not directed at anybody reading this... I personally make it about the birds when I go out. I like to go look at birds, and well, really any sort of wildlife, from tiny insects to White-tailed Deer (largest animals in the area). And I love to take photos. If I get a great shot, wonderful! If not, I am happy I had a great outing, with some great sightings, and I share my pics with friends anyways to show them what is around us if they open their eyes and ears and keep their mouths shut.
The bird photo corner shouldn`t be about egos and who is taking the best photos of all within it`s members. I am sure many of us cannot afford the best equipment available. And not all of us grasp all the intricate settings on a digital camera. And most of us take photos for fun. We all want a great shot but skill levels, equipment and the simple fact that our subjects aren`t always a co-operative bunch; but that`s part of the challenge and fun. We learn as we go along and we improve through different situations such as weather and lighting, moving subjects, etc.
But it`s cool to share pics. If anything, if it`s a great sighting, take the shot, even as proof. And share it with the board here. You may not get tons of replies like the pros here but some of us appreciate them anyways. Just make it interesting, something unique, have a story to it.
I went and saw the Whitby Snowy Owl last Monday and it was a great morning. The skies were dark, the Snowy was far off as we all know and my 250mm lens sure couldn`t capture her all that good but I met a friend out there for a short visit which is always nice. In my travels of the area I happened to run into a member from the board here that I have had a few message exchanges with over the last 6 months, so it was great to put a face to the name, and we walked a trail together, talked a short while and parted ways.
Here is what I saw, cropped to heck pics, bad lighting at times, and a rush job working them through Photobucket; but man, it was one of the best outings I had recently...
First off, the main reason I drove out to Whitby
The Owl wasn`t there at first, so I walked along the shores heading east and found this guy... a Snow Bunting, and watched him for many minutes. A lifer for me!
I have seen captive Snow Geese but here was a wild one amongst probably 1,000+ Canada Geese in a field. Another lifer to me (I don`t count seeing captive anything as lifers).
I was hand feeding dozens of Chickadees when this guy flew in hoping for a snack of his own.
Since I was in the area, I had a visit at Thickson Woods and saw the resident Great Horned. Sure we have all seen him but since this area is 40 minutes drive for me on a good day, it was nice to see him. Great Horns just don`t pop out at me everywhere I go.
I saw a Northern Shrike at Salem and Hwy 401 while waiting at a stop light.
And who doesn`t like sitting at another stop light and seeing a Red-tail out their driver`s window?
It definitely wasn`t a quality picture taking morning but the best outing in recent weeks and I have pics for me as proof and reminder another day I look at older photos on the computer.
