These guys hatched in our side yard a while ago. 12 originally, down to 9 a month on, so not bad.

We see this guy every day when we're out walking the dog morning and night







ETA - I have no idea why the last 2 are on their sides.....taken portrait, look OK on laptop, but can't see why they rotate on BE..

But this guy is still my favorite...childhood memories of Locke Park anyone?




Especially when he's doing his "do I look like a flamingo, do I, do I?" routine....to wifey's obvious embarrassment!

No idea what this one is - saw him in a bird park in Hong Kong

Ducks are funny birds, geese can be too...

Had a duck and goose as a pet growing up, was 5 when we got them, and the duck lived until I was around 17, and the goose was killed by a neighbours dog when I was 21, who knows how long the goose would have lived if not for that dog. Animal control deemed the dog a dangerous offender and put it down, the goose was the 3rd pet it had killed in the neighbourhood.

The good was the leader, and then followed by the duck, and trailing in the back was our goat, they were always together.

The goose could be a bit mean sometimes.



Our dog was attacked by a crow today, she was playing in my wife's mom's backyard and I guess there is a crow nest nearby as out of nowhere a crow flew down and pecked the dog....

Some contributions. I don't really chase them down, but if they're around I'll try and grab a photo. That means a lot of ravens and turkey vultures around here. Birds are tough subjects.

1. Juniper titmouse, Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks NM.
2. Red-tailed hawk, Nambé Badlands NM.
3. Turkey vulture, Thompson Ridge Fire, Valle Caldera NM.
4. Spotted towhee, Santa Fe NM.
5. Black-chinned hummingbird, Santa Fe NM.

1. White-winged dove, Santa Fe NM.
2. Black-chinned hummingbird, Santa Fe NM.
3. Raven, Taos NM.
4. Goldeneye, Rio Grande NM.
5. Giant rooster, Hooper CO.

I'll see your giant rooster and raise you (allegedly) the worlds largest roadrunner....Paisano Pete...



And one of his real life relatives...

Thanks! A couple of woodpeckers here too. The carolina wren has a call just like an alarm clock and loud as well!

All photos were shot through the our lounge window into our back yard.

Thats nice! We have pileated woodpeckers in a stand of trees about 200 yards down the road, but they never come in close to the house.

So, apart from the ones through the lounge window, what sort of telephoto are people using to get these shots. My biggest is 200mm and I'm not getting anywhere near as close up as some of you guys, although most of mine are taken with a manic hound hanging off my right wrist, scaring all the wildlife away when we get within half a mile......

These were in February, in NJ. All taken through windows from inside. I've not managed to get a good one of the Cardinal yet, although I've gone off them since last week I was woken at 5.15 by him singing like a car alarm, which then turned into a "who can sing louder than the Cardinal competition"...

I added a pic of 2 deer that wandered through last Friday night. They look like they may have lots of ticks

Those are fantastic. I know what I'm going to be doing in eventual retirement as a grumpy old codger...

Some moaaarrrrrr....

1. Turkey Vulture, San Antonio Mtn NM.
2. Canada Geese, Rio Grande del Norte NM.
3. Bald Eagle, Rio Grande del Norte NM. Heavily cropped. :-(
4. Common mergansers, Rio Grande del Norte NM.
5. Great blue heron, Carpinteria CA.

The photos I've posted have all been with a Canon T2i and either 100mm f/2.8, 70-200mm f/2.8 (with or without a 2x telephoto), or a 400mm f/5.6.

I have a Canon 7Dmk2 now which beats the T2i hands down on focusing, but so far I've only captured a few ravens with it.

The serious bird photographers around here are all using 500, 600, or 800mm lenses. All of those are currently $9k to $13k investments, whereas the 400mm f/5.6 is considered one of the last "affordable" telephotos at ~$1k.