April 2012 Theme: Backyard Birds

Submit your own photographs of nature & wildlife by following the instructions in the stickied topics in this forum.

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This forum is for original photographs only. If you submit a photograph that is not yours, you may receive a warning or be banned from the forums. Read the Rules for Nature & Wildlife Photography, then follow the instructions in that topic to have your photo(s) reviewed and posted.
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Rikkuzilla
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April 2012 Theme: Backyard Birds

Post by Rikkuzilla » Tue Apr 03, 2012 7:59 pm

This month's photography topic is Backyard Birds. Send us some pictures of local bird species in your backyard or neighborhood. Do you know what kind it is? Take a moment to try and identify it and do a little research on these birds!

Remember, all submissions will be posted on the first post of the thread, so you'll want to check back often for new additions! Community members can comment and compare photos, discuss photography tips, etc.

If you'd like to submit a photo, please be sure to review the rules first! :]
http://wolfquest.org/bb/viewtopic.php?f=76&t=65921

Go out there, take some pictures, and have FUN!

Image
Picture Taken By: ForgottenDreams
Note from ForgottenDreams: Three Galah's enjoying the warm breeze outside my house. They're very common here, and oh my, so beautiful! The quality is not the best however, as I had to zoom in with the camera quite a lot so not to scare them off. Still, cute picture.

Image
Picture Taken By: lupin_blackwolf
Note from lupin_blackwolf: This is a Common Mockingbird in the backyard. Hes around here often with a few others and we are hoping for a future nest from them. i had to shrink it down so it fit under the 2MB limit, so the quality is not as good as it should be. I was using a Canon 20D (kinda out of date, but it still works well!) camera and a 300mm lens. These guys are easily recognized for their gray colour and white wing bars, as well as their golden amber eye colour. Not the most colourful, but still wonderful birds in my opinion. Copyright to me, so PLEASE dont use it.

Image
Picture Taken By: lupin_blackwolf
Note from lupin_blackwolf: A Black Capped Chickadee that i only just caught in the photo as it took off. These guys are very common around here and they don't mind coming close to people at all. i had to shrink it down so it fit under the 2MB limit, so the quality is not as good as it should be. I was using a Canon 20D (not the newest, but it works!) camera and a 300mm lens. Cute little birds, these are. Copyright to me, so PLEASE dont use it.

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Picture Taken By: lupin_blackwolf
Note from lupin_blackwolf: A Red Tailed Hawk soaring over the yard. Red Tails are very common around here and we see at least one everyday. I've yet to get a very great shot of one, but i think this one is quite good for a far away flying shot. i had to shrink it down so it fit under the 2MB limit, so the quality is not as good as it should be, and for this photo, most of the detail is now gone.... I was using a Canon 20D (older, but it still works well!) camera and a 300mm lens. Beautiful birds of prey and very cool to watch as they fly so easily through the air. Copyright to me, so PLEASE dont use it.

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Picture Taken By: Kivia
Note from Kivia: One of the few Barred Owls that live in the forest behind my neighborhood. This was the closest shot I could get, as she was a good distance away. Her throat is swollen because she was responding to my calls and to the calls of the two other Barred Owls that were there (which sadly, I couldn't get a photo of all three of them together).

Image
Picture Taken by: Jewelz
Note from Jewelz: This is a Laughing Kookaburra I see in my area quite often, who I've learned to recognise by the arrangement of the blue markings on her wings. I've hand fed her before and gotten some pretty good close-ups in the process, but I thought it'd be better to submit a photo showing her whole body. Anyway, here she can be seen sitting in a eucalyptus (or 'gum') tree just in a crown land area just past my back fence.

Image
Picture Taken by: Jewelz
Note from Jewelz: Here we have a youngish Pied Currawong just standing in a tree on one leg. It let me get right underneath it to take a couple of photos, despite the fact that it was already sitting in one of the lowest parts of the tree. Not much else to say here, I guess.

Image
Picture Taken by: Jewelz
Note from Jewelz: This photo wasn't exactly taken in my neighbourhood (it was at the snow), but it's still a local bird species that I see everyday! (If that's okay) Anyway, here we have an Australian Raven sitting in another type of Australian tree. Its eyes were simply beautiful and I just had to get at least 20 photos of it (which I sort of did), including another just as good close-up photo of it looking directly at me.

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Picture Taken by: Steeps
Note from Steeps: This was taken over March Break 2012 at Whistler Blackcomb in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada with my GoPro HD Camera helmet mount. So this photo wasn't necessarily captured in my backyard: it was Whistler's! I hope thats OK. Anyway, Brief internet research revels the birds were Whiskey Jacks. In light of internet saftey, I had to cut out of the shot the heads of my family members and others in the ski lift line. Which is too bad; they added some nice color to the shot. The birds would fly low and land on your pole if you held it straight in the air. My brother caught two on his pole, as the shot shows. They would also land on your hand if they saw you had food in it. As you can see, the one bird has a nut in its beak that someone in the line gave it. It was a special moment to see, especially since we had been standing in that line for almost half an hour, and saw little action! You could tell the birds had grown very used to people feeding them; they looked almost fat.

Image
Picture Taken By: shadowwolf2234
Note from shadowwolf2234: I took this picture of a young osprey I rescued when she and her brother fell from their nest after it was destroyed during a bad storm. They both were soaking wet, frightened, and dehydrated. Luckily they had no serious injuries, and after two weeks at the Autobahn Society, they were released back into my yard, and flew away unscathed.
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Re: April 2012 Theme: Backyard Birds

Post by paperpaws » Wed Apr 04, 2012 1:53 am

Ahh, this sounds like so much fun, I wish I had a proper camera! (I do have one, but that thing dies down every three seconds...)

I'm looking forward to seeing the entries. Great idea. :D

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Re: April 2012 Theme: Backyard Birds

Post by Rikkuzilla » Wed Apr 04, 2012 6:43 am

Remember it has nothing to do how fancy of a camera you have -- this isn't a contest, it's just for fun and sort of a little activity. If you want to take a picture with your phone and send it in, that's perfectly fine too! Just as long as it relates to the theme and...well, we can at least tell that it's a bird. I wouldn't recommend taking a picture of a bird in flight waaaay above your head with your in other words. (^_-)
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Re: April 2012 Theme: Backyard Birds

Post by BlackWarrior » Wed Apr 04, 2012 7:53 am

This sounds like tons of fun! I will definetly be sending in some photos if I capture any moments. ^^
I don't have a fancy high-tech camera, although it should do the job.

Great idea you guys! Hopefully we see some photos submitted!
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Re: April 2012 Theme: Backyard Birds

Post by paperpaws » Wed Apr 04, 2012 7:56 am

Haha, the problem is I own a camera that can't survive for longer than one minute anymore so I'll most likely fail to take a photo of anything before it decides to black out, and my phone has a terrible reaction speed.

I'll see if I can borrow my dad's camera if I happen to see some nice birds in the garden. That would be nice :D

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Re: April 2012 Theme: Backyard Birds

Post by BlackWarrior » Wed Apr 04, 2012 8:05 am

Haha, sometimes you have to be quick with birds anyway, so maybe in that one minute will will capture the flash of it flying away? ;D No, no, I'm sure you can find a way to capture a picture or two, even if it is with your dad's camera.

I can't even go outside to take pictures.. it's about to blizzard here.. xD
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Re: April 2012 Theme: Backyard Birds

Post by Kivia » Wed Apr 04, 2012 8:19 am

Yeah, the birds in my neighborhood can't stay in place for 5 seconds. At least there are a lot of birds that fly around, so I'm sure eventually I'll be able to capture one. ;D

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Re: April 2012 Theme: Backyard Birds

Post by BlackWarrior » Wed Apr 04, 2012 8:24 am

At some point, maybe I can justsohappen to see an owl with my camera in hand.
If so, I will send in the photo with you in mind Kivia. ;) Although we don't get many owls close to the yard, perhaps I can venture into our back woodland area.
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Re: April 2012 Theme: Backyard Birds

Post by Kivia » Wed Apr 04, 2012 8:29 am

='D If you can find an owl, then that would be amazing! <3
I have a lot of owl pictures (mostly from zoos), but I do know where I can find owls in the woods near my neighborhood. It's too bad it's the nesting season when most of them are away. Perhaps I can find one of the males though. ;D

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Re: April 2012 Theme: Backyard Birds

Post by Alpha Female » Wed Apr 04, 2012 4:59 pm

Glad to see this up and running!
I'll have to see if I can get a picture of some of the robins or crows around my house. x3
I adore your picture of the galah's ForgottenDreams; great job!
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Re: April 2012 Theme: Backyard Birds

Post by Kivia » Wed Apr 04, 2012 5:39 pm

Galahs! <3
I love how diverse the community is in terms of where everyone lives at- here in the states, I've only seen galahs in zoos. But in other parts of the world, they're considered a backyard bird. It's really cool when you think about it~
Very nice photo, Forgotten!

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Re: April 2012 Theme: Backyard Birds

Post by BlackWarrior » Wed Apr 04, 2012 6:06 pm

What a pretty picture Dreamer! ^^
While those birds are totally tropical looking to me, at my house the common back-yard birds are the crows, robins, owls, hawks, and chickadees. :) Nothing too amazing, but I suppose if you capture at a good time, they could have some entertainment. xD
Again I love the photo. Well done. ^^
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Re: April 2012 Theme: Backyard Birds

Post by ForgottenDreams » Wed Apr 04, 2012 9:36 pm

First off, I'd like to say thank you for posting the photo I submitted! Secondly, I know this is not a competition although I felt like adding in the note about the quality of the picture, just because I felt it was necessary. :L
I'm quite a 'bird guru' so when I heard WolfQuest's theme for the month was Backyard Birds I was so excited. Originally I thought of putting up a photo of my parrot, but it didn't follow the rules for he was not in his natural habitat outside. Hahaha.

flower - Thanks so much.

Kivia - Wow, Galah's at the zoo? I find that funny to hear since it's typical to see them munching on food just out the front of a house, but then again Australia is renown for it's colourful birds - the first thing tourists do when they come here is go bird-watching, I swear! e.e

Night - Cheers! I appreciate your comment.
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Re: April 2012 Theme: Backyard Birds

Post by paperpaws » Thu Apr 05, 2012 3:41 am

Oh, that's such a nice picture! Never heard of those birds before. Very interesting to see. Glad to see there's already people sending in pictures, this is going to be such a neat topic.

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Re: April 2012 Theme: Backyard Birds

Post by failwolf56 » Thu Apr 05, 2012 5:30 pm

Great picture ForgottenDreams! I've never seen those birds before, it's interesting how they're backyards birds to you, but exotic to me. x3

There's this nutty woodpecker who flies around a tree near my house. I am now set on taking a picture of him. It's too bad this wasn't in the winter, sometimes if I'm lucky I can find a snowy owl in the woods.
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