YardCrap BIRDS

King of His wOrLd

Am I the king of my tiny world?  Nope, the critters are.

My new camera lens is working out OK.  It is 300mm, but 4/3, so effectively 600mm.   With a sideline pass, could do Clemson Football games.  Until I get one, will sit on the porch and use it on my critter photos.

It don't do close up(?), but as I get used to it, quite good across the yard.

I was sitting here and noticed a frog in a tiny bird bath.  The bath is small and mounted on a porch rail support.  How the hell did he hop in there?

(This is just 4 foot from my feet.  I switched the lens to manual, and it did good.  The field of view is of course small, but the focus is OK).

Apparently the tiny frog is "king" of this tiny puddle.  He sat in there waiting on bugs to show as I played music too loud.
Maybe it is the same one I posted earlier about sitting on a hummingbird feeder waiting on food to arrive. 

This is a smart frog!
Here he is leaving:

Damned good looking frog !!
I guess he climbs better than he hops?  You can use the screw head as reference to see how small he is.

Sitting on the porch is never ending fun! I am the King on the porch, or at least a court jester.

White-throated Sparrow

In now from Canada:

My first White-throated Sparrow has been spotted.  I generally have a few of these arrive to spent the Winter.  They mix in with the Song Sparrows, and Juncos as my main ground birds.  They grab some leaves and scrape back to hunt for bugs.  They all eat millet at my feeders.

From a distance, this bird will go unnoticed, but put your binoculars on him and he "pops".  The yellow eyebrows shine like beacons.  It is a very striking bird.  I really need him around for Winter entertainment. 

The Best Binocular

Saw a thing on a news site about the 10 best binoculars for hunting.  It was interesting, but WTF?
I have had a bino in my hand every day for decades.  There is no "best".

Any bino is better than no bino, much better.  One cannot really do much bird watching without one.
One place to start might be to decide how much you are willing to spend.  There are very good binos in many price ranges.  The truth is that today a "cheap" bino might excel beyond what one costing much more would have ten years back.  To that end, don't over look store brands.

The place to begin is to go to a store and look through as many as possible.  Have some fun, then come home and search the web for the best price.

A bino good for one is not as good for another person.  We have different needs, different hands, different opinions.  I have a few pair, and all are quite different in size and price.  I use them all, can't think of one I could give away -- in fact would like to have more.  I have a pair handy in every room, keep a pair out here on the porch, and of course in my Jeep.  If you don't have a pair, your first pair should fit many situations.  Figure out what that is to buy the "best" for you.

The ones I use on the porch are excellent, but I prefer a much smaller pair when walking in the woods.  I use a different pair when on my boat.

Here is the deal:
- weight can be important.  A pair too heavy will not be fun.  I am a big guy, but prefer small when on the move.  Here on the porch, use a heavier pair as I am seated and can brace my elbows against my body.  A small "quality" 10X32 can be amazing.  My porch pair is 12X50 and just shames the view coming from my high end HD television.

- way back when waterproof and rugged was good, but now most of them are that.  I like a rubber coating, but that is not a deal breaker.  They should feel good in your hands, and today most are designed with that goal.  Handle them.  Don't buy what does not please as to feel.

- focus range is important.  All focus to ~, but I am talking how close they will focus.  Closer focus generally runs the price up some.  A bino can also be a sort of microscope for looking at butterflys on a flower or a bird who has landed on your foot.  I would say go for at least ten foot.  My porch pair do only that, and it is a trade off for the 50 foot view,  but I would prefer 5 ft.

- power is what many look at first, but maybe should not.  Binos are marked 'powerXobjective lens size' (8x32, 10X42, etc). The first number deals most with magnification and the second with ability to gather light.  A larger objective lens lets in more light. The truth is the quality of the lens is the important thing as to power and light gathering.
Most 'experts' say birders should go 8 power.  That is because the higher the power, the harder to hold still for a good view.  Mine are all 10 or 12 power and I have no problem. 

- quality lens is the deal for bird watching.  The goal is to look at the bird and see detail. You must give to get.  To that end, figure what the bino will be needed for most  (close up, far away, low light, portability, etc).  The biggest difference in the view you get from a bino is the quality of the lens.  Like in all areas of life, there is a breaking point where you pay a lot more for smaller and smaller increments of improvement.

So what should you by?
Decide what you will use them for, then go to a store and play with all the ones in that category.  A safe way if that option is not available to you is to go with the major brands.  I find binos are one item where ebay does not work as well.  I like to buy used crap, but most people with an excellent bino do not sell them, even when they upgrade.  Still you might find a deal there from an estate sale.  My first pair was $20 from a pawn shop, and I was hooked.   My last pair cost - "ha ha" not going there as my Bride might read this.

A good place to shop is Eagle Optics
The service from these guys is unmatched.  Their house brand "Ranger" is a best buy.

The important thing is to get your self some binos so you can see the birds.

Blue-headed Viero

My "safe space" was invaded by my Bride. As I am not of a generation who gives a crap or even understands "safe spaces", I just rolled with it.  Being happy for the company, I insisted she sit in the 'Catbird chair'.  I even gave her my camera and after showing her which button to push, saw a Goldfinch land in the Azalea bush behind the frog pond.  Her first two photos were of that.  She got dialed in some, and as the birds came in, had some fun (and got a few good photos).

I loaded her photos in to computer (keep one here on the porch) and WTF!!
The distant Goldfinch of her first two photos turned out to be a new bird for the yard.
It is a Blue-headed Viero, and bird sighting #124 for my (our?) yard.

It does not seem right that I am in the game for years, and her first photo is a new bird.
No matter, I am very excited as to it all.

From the web:
"The Blue-headed Vireo is a common and vocal bird of northeastern forests. Formerly lumped as a "Solitary Vireo" with the more western Plumbeous and Cassin's vireos, it is now considered a separate species."

Most breed in Canada and Winter in in the deep South.  Some are scattered over the Blue Ridge, so I guess I might see one any time of year (but I never have).  They are bug eaters and not feeder birds.  This one dropped by for water.  I keep harping on water as a yard attractant.  It is a big deal if you want to see more birds.

Maybe the Bride is "good luck"?  I hope she visits again in a couple years.

Mockingbird

Raise your hand if a Mockingbird lives in your yard.
My hand is not up.

My yard is bird friendly, but in my many years here, never had a Mockingbird move in.  They do live nearby and visit.

I don't see often see them in Summer, but come Winter, constantly as my berry bushes are to much to resist.  It escapes me why they have not become a suet visitor, or why none have nested here.
Here is one today dropping in to check on Holly berries and steal some water from the branch.

When I was 6, Pop gave me a Daisy BB gun.  He told me not to shoot at his Mockingbird.  As that bird was a favorite of Pop's, I hold it in high esteem.

The official name is 'Northern Mockingbird', but all I have seen in my yard are 'Southern Mockingbirds'.  This guy eats bugs and berries.  As I have a lot of both, he is drawn here daily in Winter.
This is one of the more intelligent birds.  He is able to recognize individual humans.  Crows can do that, maybe my Catbirds?.

His song is whatever he wants it to be as he is an excellent mimic. It would be cool if he started to repeat notes from 'FourPlay' which I have playing too loud out here right now.

Gold Finch

The American Goldfinch is my most numerous bird except in Winter when the Chipping Sparrows arrive.
Most feeder birds like Sunflower, and this is the bird that eats most of what I put out.
Goldfinch breed late and while never missing from my yard, are just starting to return as a group.  The plumage is getting toward Winter mode, but again with Spring, males will become brilliant.

This is a fun, fiesty little bird.  Male and female are great parents.  The diet even for the young is mostly vegan.
I believe they are one reason my yard attracts other birds.  Birds see these guys at the feeder all day and investigate.

I have some great photos of Goldfinch in all stages of plumage, but this is the one snapped today at 50 foot.

Least Flycatcher ?

 

Looked out the window and a bird was under my roof overhang. I snapped this poor photo just as he flew.  It was just luck to get this.

This is the same window where a week or so back got a photo of an Eastern Peewee. The Least Flycatcher and the Peewee are similiar. I think I have two diferent birds.
The photos of both are poor (quick snaps out the window).
One main difference in the two is the eye ring (or lack there of).
Here are the two heads:

The photo does not show it, but ithe bird was quite dark on top and light below with wing bars.

All observations and thoughts are welcome.

Dirty Bird

A bath can be good, but sometimes we want to shower:

Winter Friends (snowbirds)

Finally some migrants who will hang with me over Winter are arriving.
Yesterday a Ruby-crowned Kinglet arrived, no photo yet, but soon.  The trees are still full with leaves.  I always have a few Ruby and Golden Kinglets to entertain me over Winter.  They are tiny birds that skim tree branches for bugs.  They are exrmely active.

Also, at least one Red-breasted Nuthatch came in.  This is a rare treat, have not seen one here for maybe 5 years.  He is on the Sunflower, suet, and today the peanut pieces.  He will become tame if he hangs around. I have the wrong lens on for close in, but this is OK: 

Also this Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is on my tree.  He will put holes in all my trees and shrubs until Spring.  I'll be able to get good photos of him as the leaves fall away.  All those dark holes in the tree are old damage from past years.

More Migrants

I had one male Grosebeak stop by.  The juveniles have been around for about a week now (see earlier post).  That seems to be normal for my yard every year, lots of females and kids, few males.