It is frigid again here this morning, and not expected to get above 40 degrees with winds up to 25mph. Possible snow flurries forecasted over the weekend, but not expected to stay on the ground very long. Stay tuned on that. Maybe San Angelo will have a white Christmas. If so, maybe I can get out and get some snowy photos.
Anyway, yesterday was beautiful, got into the 60s, so Ann and I took advantage and went to Middle Concho Park to do a little birding. We saw 28 species this time. (see list below). A few that were new, that we hadn’t seen for a long time. Here are some photo highlights. EXIF data will be at the bottom of this page.
Western Meadowlark
Vermilion Flycatcher - female
Eastern Bluebird - with attitude
Some of these photos are not up to my standards, but they are passable. For some reason, I wasn’t on my A-game. I was making exposure mistakes, accidentally moving my settings and not discovering them until it was too late, then had to try to fix the errors in Photoshop. I guess I was enjoying the weather too much and not paying attention. We sure saw a lot of birds though, and here is that list.
- Mockingbird 8
- Black Vulture 2
- American Coot 100+
- Gadwall 25+
- House Finch 50+
- Pied-billed Grebe 14
- Great Egret 3
- Yellow-rumped Warbler 75+
- Golden-fronted Woodpecker 8
- Western Meadowlark 35
- Ladder-backed Woodpecker 1
- American Goldfinch 15
- Lesser Goldfinch 6
- Eastern Bluebirds 75+
- Northern Shovelers 24
- Double-crested Cormorants 10
- Great Blue Heron 2
- White-crowned Sparrow 24
- White-winged Dove 50+
- Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
- Red-tailed Hawk 1
- Great-tailed Grackle 20
- Marsh Wren 1
- Vermilion Flycatcher 4
- Bewick’s Wren 1
- Ring-billed Gull 20
- Red-winged Blackbird 24
- Mute Swan 3
About the photos: All photos were taken with my Canon 7D and 500mm lens with a 1.4 tele-converter. Aperture priority and partial metering. Handheld from the window of my car.
Western Meadowlark. 1/640 sec. @ f6.3 ISO 400
Vermilion Flycatcher. 1/4000 sec. @ f6.3, +0.3 EV, ISO 400 Distance 50 feet.
Eastern Bluebird 1/5000 sec. @f5.6 ISO 400 Distance 30 feet.
Texas Tweeties by Bob Zeller 
Really like the Bluebird….I use to see them around here a lot in the summer months, but none in the last 3-4 years…not sure when they went.
Raven
Thanks, Raven, I appreciate it. 🙂
Great shots! I especially like the bluebird with “attitude”. Happy Holidays, Bob!
Thanks so much, Karen. I always appreciate your comments. Have a great holiday yourself. 🙂
It’s funny, what you consider frigid weather down there is mild winter weather here. Love the photos, even if you don’t think you were on your “A” game!
Yes, I guess you are right about the weather. Thanks for the kind words on the photos. 🙂
Love the Bluebird with the attitude…we had a pair of Stellar Jays yesterday at the feeder with the same attitude..the other photos are awesome..
Thanks, Syl. I have never seen a Stellar Jay. I need to get around more. 🙂
Merry Christmas to you, Syl.
Bob,
Great shots. Let us know if you ever have one that you would like to do a write-up on for our site.
Have a great day,
Tom
http://www.PhotoBotos.com
Thanks, Tom, I’ll think about it.
The bluebird’s my fave!
Mike
Hey, Mike, great to hear from you. Thanks for the comment. Merry Christmas to you and Jan. 🙂
That was a rather productive day Bob…amazing list and photos too!!! Merry Christmas to you and your family!!!
Yes, David, it was a fun day. Thank you very much. Merry Christmas to you and yours, too. 🙂
Glad even the pros have off streaks. I thought I got a lot of great photos today while the birds were frozen still…must have been a hawk around. I knew it was too good to be true and sure enough I had messed up my settings.
Your “frigid” cracks me up too. Today it is 35, but sunny and no one in Michigan is wearing a coat and saying “balmy”. lol It looks like we won’t be having a white Christmas either. ):
I don’t think it will make to 40, as it is 36 right now as I speak (write). No sun and the wind makes it feel like 25, an it (the wind) whistles throught my pants. 🙂 Not pretty.
Glad I could give you a chuckle, Melissa. Now git out there and get a picture of that hawk. 🙂
It seems as if lately I just can’t take a clear hand held photo, but yours are lovely as always! Maybe Santa will bring me a tripod for Christmas… 😉
I believe that the call of the Meadowlark my just be my favorite bird song, and I’m loving that Eastern Bluebird’s Attitude. ~ Lynda
Thank you very much, Lynda. My lenses have Image Stablization so that really helps. But a tripod is really a big help. I used to be too lazy to get mine out of the car, but now I use it quite extensively, if I am not shooting from my car window. Even then, I use a bean-bag or a foam-type support to rest on the window sill.
I love the bluebird too! Looks like my kids attitude. I love that you capture out of your car window.
Thank you very much, Martina. I appreciate your comment. 🙂
Beautiful shots, Bob. I love th colors of the bluebird! 🙂
Thanks, Ted. That sure is a brilliant blue.
Nice shots Bob! Just drive with care if you go out while snowing. OK?
Thanks, H.J. I’ll take care. 🙂
Beautiful pictures. 🙂
As if the Eastern Blue bird is yelling – “Why did you take my food?!!” Hahha. 😀
Thank you so much, Nandina. I really appreciate your comment. I agree with you, there were other birds nearby. 🙂