Pine Warbler, a lifer…….

For you who may be unfamiliar to the birding vernacular, a lifer is a bird that an individual sees for the very first time, then adds it to his or her’s ‘life list’.  Currently, my life list is at 285. That is the total that I have compiled since I got into birding about six years ago.  Since there are nearly 800 species in the state of Texas alone, it certainly is nothing to brag about.  I would like, though, to eventually get to 300.  At my age, that is a manageable goal.  So, in that vein, I can tell you that I got my 285th yesterday.

Having had a successful little tour of Spring Creek Park, seeing several species and getting some photos, we ventured over to Middle Concho Park to see what might be there.  As we drove through, we saw an area where many small birds were darting through the Live Oak and Mesquite trees. Titmice, Vermilion Flycatchers, and American Goldfinches.  All of a sudden a yellowish bird caught my eye.  I knew instantly that it was not a goldfinch that I was looking at.  Then I remembered that a couple of other birders had mentioned that a Pine Warbler was running with a bunch of goldfinches.  After getting several shots off with my Canon 7D Mk II and Tamron 150-600mm lens, I looked at the images on the back of the camera and compared them to my Stokes Guide.  Lo and behold, a Pine Warbler.

A Pine Warbler is very, very rare to the Concho Valley and Tom Green County, so this was an exciting find.  This image is one of about seventy-five that I tried to get.  The bird is quick and fast, and I didn’t get very many usable photos.

Pine Warbler

After getting that photo, I got a shot of this very cooperative Yellow-rumped Warbler.

Yellow-rumped Warbler

As I mentioned above, previously we had been to Spring Creek Park.  Here are a few photographs from there.

This White-breasted Nuthatch is the first that I have seen in this park in a couple of years, although I know they are present.  Just not always visible.

White-breasted Nuthatch

In the same area this Bewick’s Wren was flitting among the brush……..

Bewick’s Wren

……..along with this beautiful Eastern Phoebe.

Eastern Phoebe

So, all in all, a pretty fun day, when I can come away with a few acceptable images to post here.

On another note, this is the time of the year when there are various Christmas Bird Counts going on.  This link to the Lost Pines was sent to my by Garth Beyer.  Check it out, it may be something you may be interested in.  It sounds like fun.  http://www.visitlostpines.com/hyatt-lost-pines/activities/christmas-bird-count.aspx.  I probably won’t participate.  I am at that age that I would rather stay by the fire with liquid refreshment on those upcoming cooler days.

 

 

Post Processing? or Not?

A lot has been said about post processing.  In the old days of film, you took a roll of film to your local camera store or a WallyWorld to get it developed.  (Or if you had a darkroom, you could do it yourself.)   That in itself is a kind of post processing.  Depending on how good the individual was at his job, you got back a set of decent 3×5 prints.  Sometimes the color was off on one of them due to batch processing.  Then you could take that one negative back and have him or her custom print it.  In other words, adjust the color, or brightness, or whatever was needed to get the print right.  Post processing.

Now in the 21st century we are in the digital age.  We take photos with our digital camera.  Again we can take the memory card to your favorite “developer” and have them do the prints for you.  Or, again, you can do the processing yourself.  Regardless of how good the camera is, it can never get the absolute picture that you saw with your naked eye.  But most individuals are satisfied with what comes out of the camera.  They are good enough to show their friends and relatives, or post to a popular social media.  Or to sell.

Some people say, “get it right in the camera, and there is no need for post processing.”   An image from the camera does look ‘right’.  Or does it?  Look at the following photos of mine.  The images from the camera do look right.  I would probably would be able to sell them the way they are.  But, when I do my post processing, or digital darkroom work, as I like to call it, all of a sudden the photos look more like what I saw before I took the picture.

Click on the photos and examine each one and you will know what I am talking about.

Cassin’s Kingbird from the camera.

Cassin’s Kingbird after post processing.

Another.

White-breasted Nuthatch from camera

White-breasted Nuthatch after post processing.

In no way do either of these photo look “tricked up” or faked in anyway.  The changes are subtle, but noticeable enough to give more naturalism to the images.

It is very, very rare for me to NOT to post process, or at least check the images out to see if any edits need to be made.  Not that my photos don’t look good from the camera;  it is just that I know that the camera just can’t record all the minute details, or see as well into the shadows as well as my human eye.  So as you can see, it doesn’t hurt to do a bit of post processing, or editing, then you know for sure your result is closer to what you saw in the viewfinder before you clicked the shutter.

For the record, I use PhotoShop along with a couple of choice plug-in programs.  “An old family recipe ‘that was handed down………..”,  just kidding.. 🙂

Jerry, over at Quiet Solo Pursuits, talks more about this at the end of his current post.  Click on the link to see his take on it.

 

Fort Davis abreviated visit.

Once again, my medical problems intervened with our anniversary trip to the Davis Mountains.  But not to worry, as I write this I am feeling fine again.

We arrived late in the afternoon on Sunday, and this is what greeted us just a few miles before we were to arrive in Fort Davis.

Gathering storm over the Davis Mountains of west Texas.

We were in luck as the rains held off until later that evening.  As we were unloading, this Say’s Phoebe hopped along a concrete curb.  That was a bird that we could add to our 2014 Texas Big Year list.  A nice start to our weekend.

Say’s Phoebe

We were staying at the Davis Mountains Inn, a very nice bed-n-breakfast.  Our room was huge with king-sized bed, flat-screen TV, jacuzzi, walk-in showers, and a walk-in closet that was big enough to use as a spare bedroom.

We were early enough so after checking in and putting our stuff away, we decided to make a quick run to the bird viewing area at Davis Mountains State Park.  Immediately, we were able to see and photograph a White-breasted Nuthatch.

White-breasted Nuthatch

A Rufous Hummingbird lit on a nearby feeder.  I had only a few seconds to get a shot.  I rattled off a few, but unfortunately all of the images caught him as he was dipping his head to get that nectar.

Adult Rufous Hummingbird at the feed trough.

We left after that to get some dinner then head back to our room to get some sleep, looking forward to a full next day of birding and getting some photographs.

The next morning, Monday, Annette Huffaker cooked us a very excellent breakfast of scrambled eggs, tasty sausage and a creation of hers, french toast casserole.  Breakfast was served at 8:00, but as Ann and I rise much earlier, we were there drinking coffee and sitting on the porch, watching the sunrise, and a few butterflies.

Queen Butterfly

After eating, we headed back to the state park.  Going straight to the bird viewing area, we were then quickly rewarded with a female Black-headed Grosbeak,

female Black-headed Grosbeak

a male Black-headed Grosbeak,

male Black-headed Grosbeak

then a male Summer Tanager.

Summer Tanager

We saw several other species there, but the above photos were some of the highlights.  Traveling between the park and our inn, I was able to photograph a Cassin’s Kingbird.  It wasn’t a new bird for me, but it was the first time I was able to get a good photograph of one.  The Cassin’s is a rare kingbird around our home in San Angelo, but here in the Davis Mountains, they are seen quite regularly.

Cassin’s Kingbird

It was about then that I experienced some medical problems, and I ended up spending the rest of the day resting in our room.  But we were happy with what we saw for the three or four hours that we were able to spend.  We saw 32 species and we added four new one to our 2014 Texas Big Year list.  We are now at 178, with our goal of 200 well in sight.

We hope to come back to the Davis Mountains soon, but we also want to visit Bob Shackleford down in Uvalde, Texas so see some great birds, and also make another trip to the Big Bend National Park area.  So if my health holds out we still have an exciting fall and winter coming up.

I hope you enjoyed this post and and the photographs.  Click on any of them to see enlargements.

 

White-breasted Nuthatch

Going through older photographs, I came across this image of a White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis).  It is not a bird that you will see very often locally here in the Concho Valley.  We were spending a few days at Davis Mountains State Park in July of 2010.  We were at their bird viewing area spending some time.  After awhile I looked across the street where there is a open picnic area.  I noticed that there was a post in the ground with a spigot on it.  It was dripping water and there were several birds around it.  I picked up my tripod and 500mm lens and traipsed on over there.  Not very soon after setting up my equipment, this nutchatche showed up and I was able to get some nice photos.

White-breasted Nuthatch

Sibley’s describes it as our largest nuthatch. This species is found in open woods with mature trees, most often oak and pine trees, where it’s nasal calls are heard frequently.

Friday, January 7, 2011.   27 species

Northern Shoveler     12
American White Pelican     30
Great Blue Heron     3
Northern Harrier     1
Cooper’s Hawk     1
Red-tailed Hawk     1
American Kestrel     1
Killdeer     2
Greater Yellowlegs     6
Least Sandpiper     20
Ring-billed Gull     100
White-winged Dove     4
Mourning Dove     2
Blue Jay     1
Black-crested Titmouse     3
Bewick’s Wren     1
Northern Mockingbird     12
Curve-billed Thrasher     1
Spotted Towhee     1
Canyon Towhee     1
White-crowned Sparrow     12
Northern Cardinal     8
Pyrrhuloxia     8
Red-winged Blackbird     100
Western Meadowlark     4
House Finch     12
House Sparrow     6

Happy Birding!!