Bird Spotting -- Vivitar (Tokina) 400mm 6.3

[David]

Now that I'm able to walk again, as part of my surgery recovery I'm taking hour-long hikes at lunch in the local Lime Ridge open space. I'll share photos I've been getting on my walks, and will provide info where it's okay to and still protect the birds. Today (not in this post), I photographed a Northern Burrowing Owl -- a very rare species in the county -- in a place it had not previously been documented. So, hopefully some of these photos can also help the local conservation district check on the open space's general health.

I'll provide the bird's species, too. I've been having a great deal of fun researching the birds. My goal this week was to photograph the golden eagles which have taken residence in the open space. I managed that on Monday. Here are some photos from that hike on Monday.

1

Golden Eagle. Two of these were flying on the wind currents in the open space. They were enormous -- the only birds casting shadows and, using the distance scale on my lens as a guide, this bird was well over 250 feet above me when I took this shot. It may have been closer to 400 feet.

2

Red-tailed Hawk

3

Great Egret. This bird really does NOT like me. When I approached it today, as soon as I was about 400 feet away, it took off and flew way north. It came back after I left, but when I walked past the pond to get to m car, it kept a very close eye on me.

4

Anna's Hummingbird. I got a number of better shots today that I'll post when I finish processing the 900 photos I took on my walk today.

5

White-tailed Kite

6

White-tailed Kite. This is actually a major crop -- only about 30% of the total frame. So, it's a bit soft.

7

A Mallard-domestic Cross

[pepes]

#4 is perfect