Ruby-throated Hummingbirds

July 3, 2011 by Bob Zeller

Happy July4th everybody!!!

On July 1st I posted photos of the Black-chinned Hummingbirds. Today I will show you some of my images of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris).

After publishing that post, Cindy Kilpatrick commented about the sharpness of my photos at such high ISOs. I use a noise-reduction software called DeNoise, made by Topaz Labs. It reduces noise without any loss of detail. It sells for 79.95 and it is some of best money I ever spent. I also use, in conjunction with that, another software called Focus Magic. Between the two, I get these great results.

Click on any image to see a beautiful enlargement. Enjoy.

: Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Canon EOS 40D
Canon 500mm lens with 1.4 teleconverter – tripod mounted
1/500 sec. @ f7.1
ISO 800
Lens focal distance 700mm
Metering – center weighted average
Aperture priority

: Ruby -throated Hummingbird

Canon EOS 20D
Canon 100-400mm zoom lens – hand-held
1/60 sec. @ f5.6
ISO 400
Lens focal distance 400mm
Aperture priority
Metering – not recorded
Ruby-throated Hummingbird at feeder

Canon EOS 40D
Canon 500mm lens with 1.4 tele-converter – tripod mounted
1/200 sec. @ f5.6
ISO 800
Lens focal distance 700mm
Metering – Center weighted average
Aperture priority

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Canon EOS 40D
Canon 500mm lens with 1.4 tele-conerter – tripod mounted
1/250 @f5.6
ISO 800
Lens focal distance 700mm
Metering – Center weighted average
Aperture priority

Tale of the Take: Great Blue Heron II

June 3, 2011 by Bob Zeller

We were at Spring Lake Park yesterday morning with our friends Suzanne and Sid Johnson, who drove in from Eldorado. As we drove slowly by this little lagoon, I spotted a Great Blue Heron wading along, searching the water for prey. I had my camera on my lap and decided to get a photograph. Just as I got the camera to my eye, I saw him tense, and I knew he was going to fly. I immediately pressed the shutter and held it at approximately 8 frames per sec and got a series of photos. Here are three of the resulting images.

The EXIF exposure data for these images is as follows:

Canon EOS 7D
Canon 100-400mm lens – hand-held
1/2500 sec. @ f5.6 – minus 1/3 EV
ISO 400
Lens focal distance – 260mm
Shutter priority
Partial metering

I might mention one of my habits. I prefer to adjust my EV by minus -1/3 most of the time, as I like how that slight under-exposure renders the tonal values. Of course, if the whites are still extra bright, I go another 1/3. And then, of course, there are my “senior moments” where I have forgotten to make the proper EV adjustments and have had to correct in Photoshop or Photoshop Elements. I use both, depending on……….heck, I don’t know. I just do this stuff by feel, meaning I use whatever I feel like at the time. 🙂

It really makes me chuckle. My work flow is so confusing and maybe “cluttered”, I sometimes wonder how I manage to produce the good work that I do. If two people asked me how I did something, I would probably give two different answers. But, for me, the fun is getting the job done with a great result, not how I accomplished it. 🙂

So, I hope you enjoyed the above images. You can click on any of them to see some enlargements. You can still vote for me at this link, People’s Choice Award. I appreciate your votes.

The beautiful Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

May 23, 2011 by Bob Zeller

One of my favorite birds of this area is the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. They be seen frequently in great numbers now that warm weather is here. This is one that I photographed yesterday afternoon.

They are a hybridized kingbird. National Wildlife Federation‘s field guide to Birds of North America describes it as “the very signature of the southern Great Plains. It is a breathtaking bird: a soft pearl gray above, a pink wash on the belly, and often brilliantly rose-pink underwing coverts”.

Click on the image to see an enlargement.

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

Canon 7D
Canon 500mm IS lens w/1.4 tele-converter – hand-held
1/1250 sec. @ f13 – minus 1/3 EV
ISO 640
Lens focal length – 700mm
Aperture Priority
Partial metering

Birding Eldorado Water Treatment Ponds

May 13, 2011 by Bob Zeller

It started out to be a day to search for a reported eagle’s nest. One had been reported on Hwy 67 between Rowena and Miles. We took off yesterday morning to have a look, but couldn’t locate it. Perhaps it is at another location, and we will check into it further.

So, we decided to detour to the south and visit the water treatment ponds at Eldorado. There are usually some surprises to be found there and again, we were not disappointed. Here are some photos that I managed to capture. I will put a complete list of our sightings at the end of this post. Also, you will find my camera data below each image. Click on any of them to see enlargements.

Bonaparte’s Gull
Canon 7D
Canon 500mm lens w/1.4 tele-converter – hand-held
Shutter priority
1/2500 sec. @ f5.6 – EV – 1/3 – ISO 200
Partial metering

Bonaparte’s Gull in flight
Canon 7D
Canon 100-400mm zoom lens
Shutter priority
1/2500 sec. @ f5.6 – ISO 160
Partial metering

White-faced Ibis
Canon 7D
Canon 500mm lens w/1.4 tele-converter – hand-held
Shutter priority
1/2500 sec. @ f5/6 – EV-1/3 – ISO 640
Partial metering

White-faced Ibis in flight
Canon 7D
Canon 100-400mm zoom lens
1/2500 sec. @ f4.5 – EV-1/3 – SO 250
Shutter priority
Partial metering

Baird’s Sandpiper
Canon 7D
Canon 100-400mm zoom lens
Shutter priority
1/2500 sec. @ f5.6 – ISO 400
Partial metering

I hope you enjoyed the photos and the addition of the camera settings, etc. Now here is a list of the sightings for the day. Again, those water ponds produced another fun day of birding.

Red-tailed Hawk
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Western Kingbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
White-winged Dove
Mockingbird
Field Sparrow
Turkey Vulture
Wild Turkey
Greater Roadrunner
Barn Swallow
Double-crested Cormorant
Egyptian Goose
Wilson’s Phalarope
Bonaparte’s Gull
Savanah Sparrow
White-faced Ibis
Upland Sandpiper
Spotted Sandpiper
Killdeer
Eastern Phoebe
Greater Yellowlegs
Painted Bunting
American Pipit
Least Sandpiper
Common Grackle
Chipping Sparrow
European Starling

Three birds and a rabbit

May 10, 2011 by Bob Zeller

As any photographer has a habit of doing, I always shoot many images when I am in the field. Sometimes it takes me a long time to go back and peruse all of them to see what I have. Here I have four that I have chosen for this post. I have included pertinent exposure info under each photograph.

Northern Bobwhite – female
Canon 7D
Canon 100-400mm lens – hand-held
Shutter Priority
1/1000 @ f5.6 EV +.3
ISO 500
Partial metering

Common Nighthawk
Canon 7D
Canon 100-400mm lens – hand-held
Shutter priority
1/2500 @ f6.3
ISO 320
Partial metering

Canyon Towhee
Canon 7D
Canon 100-400mm lens – hand-held
Aperture priority
1/500 @ f13
ISO 2000
Partial metering

Cottontail Rabbit
Canon 7D
Canon 100-400mm lens – hand-held
Program mode
1/320 sec @ f9
ISO 250

Click on any image to see an enlargement. Enjoy.

Tale of The Take – Great Blue Heron

May 5, 2011 by Bob Zeller

Some of you readers that have been with me a long time, maybe remember this photo of a Great Blue Heron. This image shows the heron maneuvering his catch so he can swallow it down head first. I was fortunate enough to come up with an exposure that seemingly suspends the catfish in mid-air.

Great Blue Heron - about to swallow catfish

We were below the Lake Nasworthy Dam, in San Angelo, Texas, back in September of 2009. There were several pools between the rocks in the water, and the Blue Heron was doing a little fishing there. He seemed oblivious to Ann and I, so I was able to take the time to set up my camera and tripod only about 30 feet away. I watched him fish a bit, and tried to time his spearing so I could get a shot, as I did this one below.

Great Blue Heron catchng a catfish

Not bad for a practice shot. I tried several more series of shots. I had set my camera on high-speed multiple shots, and was able to shoot at about 5 frames per second. As the heron’s head hit the water, I held the shutter down and produced several more shots. Two of them are below.

Great Blue Heron with captured catfish

This bottom photo is the one that I selected to produce the cropped image that you see at the top of this post. The heron was quite hungry that morning as we watched him catch and devour at least four little catfish.

Camera vital information:

Canon 40D SLR
Canon 500mm f4 IS telephoto lens
Aperture Priority
Partial Metering
Exposure 1/4000 sec at f6.3
ISO 400
Bogen-Manfrotto tripod
Wimberley II gimbal head

Click on any image to see an enlargement.

Tale of The Take – Ruddy Ground Dove

April 30, 2011 by Bob Zeller

I have had a lot of people ask me all along about how I got some of my photos. I got to thinking that there is a story behind almost all of my images, so what better than to relate to you, my readers, these tales. So today I start the series, “The Tale of the Take”. Catchy name, don’t ya think? 🙂

First up will be my exciting narration of how I was able to obtain this image of a very rare Ruddy Ground Dove. As with a lot of my photos, a lot of luck was involved.

Ruddy Ground Dove

On Sunday afternoon, February 10, 2009, I got an e-mail forwarded from a local birder. It was from Don and Linda Burt who live on property at Dove Creek, near here. They gave a phone number and invited anyone to call or come see a rare Ruddy Ground Dove on their place.

Of course, since I am the consumate “have camera, will travel” guy, I gave them a call. Sure, they said, c’mon out. I loaded my equipment into our Mercury mini-van, and Ann and I headed out.

Now, at that time, I was pretty new at this past-time of birding. I absolutely had no idea what a Ruddy Ground Dove looked like. I didn’t even have the sense to look for pictures of one. Fortunately, upon arrival, we found half of the Abilene chapter of the Audubon Society already there looking for it. They thought they saw it in some trees, but couldn’t say for sure.

This was about 2:30PM or so. Don Burt called me aside and told me to be patient. He pointed to a fence gate about 30 yards away. Just wait, he said, because at about 4:00 a flock of Inca Doves would gather near that fence, and the Ruddy Ground Dove would be among them.

I went ahead and got my Canon 40D, my current camera then, out of the car. I attached my Canon 500mm super-tele with a 1.4 teleconverter. I mounted the rig onto my Bogen-Manfrotto tripod with a Wimberley gimbal head. I got it into position for a possible shot, then sat in the shade and waited. So did the group from Abilene.

Sure enough, right on time, a bunch of Inca Doves flew in and started feeding near that fence. The Audubon people pointed out to me the Ruddy Ground Dove. I sure was happy that I wasn’t alone or I probably wouldn’t have recognized it. I found it in my viewfinder and was able to get several shots. Pertinent photo data: Canon 40D SLR. Shot at f5.6 for 1/1600 second. ISO 400 in Aperture Priority.

The Ruddy Ground Dove is very rare in the United States, but sightings are on the increase, as they move up from Mexico. As you can see, except for the markings, it could have been easily mistaken for a Mourning Dove by a novice like me.

Watch for my next thrilling, exciting, Tale of the Take.

More about X-Bar Ranch Nature Retreat

April 25, 2011 by Bob Zeller

Sunrise at X-Bar Ranch Nature Retreat

Click here for X-Bar Ranch Nature Retreat information. Ann and I made a visit last week and spent a few days birding and photographing. I had told you about it briefly in a post last week. Here are some photos that I promised you.

We spent most of our time around the lodge area, about 50 feet from the cabin that we stayed in. It was amazing how many bird species that we saw in that tiny area. We could have driven around the ranch on our own, but we will do that on another visit, as we were afraid of missing a new bird.

We were the only guests there, so we had the entire place to our own. Stan Meador, the general manager, welcomed us and saw to our needs, then basically just left us alone. Stan returned on Tuesday morning, and took us in his pickup truck for a tour of the ranch.

Besides the birding opportunities, there is hunting, hiking, biking, and camping. As a matter of fact, Eddie Salter, a national champion turkey hunter and guide from Hunter’s Specialties had just finished filming a hunt to be shown in January 2012 on the Outdoor Channel.

At the bottom of this post I have listed the total species that we saw there. Click on any photograph to see an enlargement.

Painted Bunting

: Golden-fronted Woodpecker

: Northern Mockingbird

: Chipping Sparrow

: Western Scrub Jay

: House Finch in flight

: Rufous-crowned Sparrow

: Canyon Towhee

: Northern Bobwhite

Happy Birding!!

Location:     X-Bar Ranch
Observation date:     4/18/11
Notes:     These are our observations at the Lodge April 18, 19, & 20th.<br>from
the north & south ends of the porch!
Number of species:     37

Northern Bobwhite 8

Wild Turkey     4
Turkey Vulture     6
American Kestrel     1
Eurasian Collared-Dove     2
White-winged Dove     6
Mourning Dove     10
Black-chinned Hummingbird     4
Golden-fronted Woodpecker     1
Eastern Phoebe     1
Eastern Kingbird     1
Western Scrub-Jay     7
Barn Swallow     2
Black-crested Titmouse     4
Bewick’s Wren     2
Hermit Thrush     2
Northern Mockingbird     6
Orange-crowned Warbler     2
Nashville Warbler     1
Yellow Warbler     2
Yellow-rumped Warbler     3
Spotted/Eastern Towhee     5
Rufous-crowned Sparrow     2
Canyon Towhee     2
Chipping Sparrow     6
Lark Sparrow     2
Savannah Sparrow     2
White-crowned Sparrow     2
Summer Tanager     3
Northern Cardinal     6
Pyrrhuloxia     1
Blue Grosbeak     1
Painted Bunting     4
Great-tailed Grackle     2
Brown-headed Cowbird     1
Scott’s Oriole     2
House Finch     10
House Sparrow     2

X-Bar Ranch Birding

April 21, 2011 by Bob Zeller

As most of you know, Ann and I just returned from spending three days at the X-Bar Ranch Nature Retreat, near Eldorato, Texas. We had a fantastic time. Since we are in the midst of the migration, we were able to see quite a number of birds. The best part, all we had to do was to sit in an area about 50 feet from our cabin. There was a small group of trees with a bubbling bird bath near by.

I set my Canon 7D on my tripod with a 500mm lens attached. I kept my other 7D with a 100-400mm lens at my side. So, between the two, I was pretty well equiped. From the birding aspect, we saw 35 different species, all in that one little area. A list is at the bottom of this post.

During our stay, one of the owners, Stan Meador, took us on a tour of the ranch. He showed us a few other areas that could make good birding and photography areas.

Here are a few images that I captured. I still have a large number of photographs to go through so there will be more posted in a few days.

: Scrub Jay

: Blue Grosbeak

: Hermit Thrush

: Summer Tanager

Location:     X-Bar Ranch
Observation date:     4/18/11
Notes:     These are our observations at the Lodge April 18, 19, & 20th.<br>from
the north & south ends of the porch!
Number of species:     37

Northern Bobwhite     8
Wild Turkey     4
Turkey Vulture     6
American Kestrel     1
Eurasian Collared-Dove     2
White-winged Dove     6
Mourning Dove     10
Black-chinned Hummingbird     4
Golden-fronted Woodpecker     1
Eastern Phoebe     1
Eastern Kingbird     1
Western Scrub-Jay     7
Barn Swallow     2
Black-crested Titmouse     4
Bewick’s Wren     2
Hermit Thrush     2
Northern Mockingbird     6
Orange-crowned Warbler     2
Nashville Warbler     1
Yellow Warbler     2
Yellow-rumped Warbler     3
Spotted/Eastern Towhee     5
Rufous-crowned Sparrow     2
Canyon Towhee     2
Chipping Sparrow     6
Lark Sparrow     2
Savannah Sparrow     2
White-crowned Sparrow     2
Summer Tanager     3
Northern Cardinal     6
Pyrrhuloxia     1
Blue Grosbeak     1
Painted Bunting     4
Great-tailed Grackle     2
Brown-headed Cowbird     1
Scott’s Oriole     2
House Finch     10
House Sparrow     2

Scissor-tailed Flycatchers – Spring is here

April 15, 2011 by Bob Zeller

The Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, (Tyrannus forficatus), is one of the first birds to arrive in the spring in our area. Their arrival took place here only about a week ago.

They are found only in the southern Great Plains and marginally into northeastern Mexico. A gorgeous bird, soft pearl gray above, a pinkish belly and bright rose-pink underwing coverts.

To celebrate the occasion I decided to share a few of my favorite images of them.