Snow Buntings Not In The Snow

[canonloader]

My first lifer of the day, the second being the Harris's Sparrow. Saw these in the grass and almost drove by, til I realized what they were. They even let me back up and stop to shoot out the window of the truck.

http://www.flashbax.com/slide_shows/snow_bunting/gallery/album1/large/snowbunting-db3b8064-102807.jpg

http://www.flashbax.com/slide_shows/snow_bunting/gallery/album1/large/snowbunting-db3b8129-102807.jpg

http://www.flashbax.com/slide_shows/snow_bunting/gallery/album1/large/snowbunting-db3b8133-102807.jpg

http://www.flashbax.com/slide_shows/snow_bunting/gallery/album1/large/snowbunting-db3b8135-102807.jpg

http://www.flashbax.com/slide_shows/snow_bunting/gallery/album1/large/snowbunting-db3b8140-102807.jpg

http://www.flashbax.com/slide_shows/snow_bunting/gallery/album1/large/snowbunting-db3b8175-102807.jpg

http://www.flashbax.com/slide_shows/snow_bunting/gallery/album1/large/snowbunting-db3b8203-102807.jpg

[hTr]

Congrats on a First and Great capture Mitch!!!

[canonloader]

Thanks Gary. From seeing all the pics those Candians post of this bird, I knew what it was right away. He's pretty small though, and not as skittish as I suspected. Also, these are about 120% crops from the 1D, handheld, both stacked TC's for 630mm. I'm really happy with the results. ;)

[rw2]

I've only seen them in the spring along the highway. Never this close up. Nice captures.

[bromm]

Nicely done Mitch, I got my first captures of these guys last winter, they are beautifull birds.

[canonloader]

Thanks RW and Trevor. Is this their winter plumeage? I thought they got more white on them in winter. :)

[Ed Rotberg]

Cool Mitch. I've never seen these guys before either. Very nice!

= Ed =

[canonloader]

Thanks Ed. They are cool looking birds. I'm still stoked over finding them. And thanks to being in the forum so much, I knew right away what they were. :)

[memorex88]

Well a big congratulations on (your second lifer of the day) this DARN HARD bird to approach! I only see them in the winter AND only on farm roads where they see you coming from far. I hope this winter I can get a decent picture of one.

Well done Mitch and I hope the sun keeps shining your way. :D

[Peepaw]

Nicely done Mitch, cute little guys.

[canonloader]

Thanks Marco and Scott. These guys are little, and cute. :)

I thought they were very easy to approach, I drove right by them, then stopped when I realized what they were. They even let me get out, put up the tripod and get to within 20 feet or so. But then, it was a nice calm sunny day. :)

[memorex88]

Not for me Mitch. I see them on the road in the winter, maybe the salt? *shrug* but they are usually in flocks of 20 to 50. I'll stop the car 40 yards from them and grab the camera and start hanging out the window, that when they take off. I've tried approaching real slow, same thing.
Maybe your guys are used to the feeders on that island, and the people?
But what I see is straight from the Arctic and in no mood to let me get close.
I'll try again this year but with seeds.

[BradM]

For stacked tc's the image quality is surprisingly good, though the bokeh does suffer a bit but grasses usually aren't very cooperative when it comes to smooth background. Very nice captures, I love those; Oh my did I just see moments and find I did, good for you!

[tote]

That's such a neat looking bird. Congrats! :)

[canonloader]

Marco, they were feeding on something in the grass. Seeds I guess, but not bird feed, natural stuff. There's only one feeder int he wole island, and it's a mile from where I shot these. They were pretty busy and ignored me. :)

Thanks Brad, I have used the stacked TC's here in the yard, and the IQ is very respectable if you don't have to crop. These are huge crops, way more than I normally would have. In Raw, I set the size up from 4.1Mpx to 6.3 and published the jpgs at the bigger size. It works pretty good if you only go one size up. And I still had to crop over 100%. But this is a great test for this winter when the eagles come back. :)

Thanks Tote. They are very cool birds. And smaller than they look. :)

[Candyd]

I have never seen one before, what a neat looking bird, and great shots!

[canonloader]

Thanks Candy, it's a new one for me too. Always a thrill to add a new bird to the files. :)

[guitarman3]

Those are real beauties, Mitch. Amazing how birds just hang around for you! You have the touch!

[ajosteve]

Congratulations on these birds Mitch, very nice shots of a cute bird..I have never seen one before...so many birds, so little time...steve

[EdV]

Congrats, Mitch. These are beautiful birds. They are around here. And we have never seen them. :( Maybe this year! :)

[canonloader]

Thanks Dennis, Steve and Ed. Dennis, my theory is, by the time I see the bird, I have already been going about my normal routine, whatever it might be at the time. To stop and stare and go into stealth mode when I'm right out in the open is going to spook anything watching me, put them on alert. Once birds are on alert, flying away is so easy for them that a blade of grass or a leaf moving in the wind is enough to send them flying. So I figure, if they didn't fly when I was just passing by paying them no mind, they won't fly if I just act normal and bring the camera up and pop off some shots. It's just something I've been doing naturally around animals since growing up on the farm. :)

Ed, I'd look for them in open spaces, around grassy areas, and they are small, but the white stands out. There aren't any other small white birds around. :)

[Gary Fairhead]

Nice series on this great little bird here...I have yet to see them in a non white environment. I keep hearing ( too late) that they show up in an area I shoot in frequently but by the time I get there they have moved on. Hopefully I get a chance this year otherwise...they will be in the snow covered fields at -30 for that all white enviro:cry:

[canonloader]

I hear ya Gary. I was a bit surprised to even see them here at all, let alone out on a mowed grassy area of a park. But, because of past posted shots by you and some of the other guys from the tundra, I knew exactly what they were before I put my foot on the brakes. I was a bit surprised too, that they didn't just fly out of range right away. :)

[Sindri Skulason]

Congratulations on the new lifer. :-)

[canonloader]

Thanks Sindri. It's always nice to get a new bird. :)

[MDoc]

Those are wonderful, especially the boken on number 6

[canonloader]

Thanks Doc. I don't always think about composition though, as I shoot. Something I have to work on. :)

[gymell]

They are cute little birds. I'd never seen one myself before a few weeks ago. It was eating grass. Birds on the ground are definitely hard to shoot.

[canonloader]

I wasn't sure what they would be eating in the grass at first, then I saw they were eating the seeds off the grass. :)

[dpastern]

Not for me Mitch. I see them on the road in the winter, maybe the salt? *shrug* but they are usually in flocks of 20 to 50. I'll stop the car 40 yards from them and grab the camera and start hanging out the window, that when they take off. I've tried approaching real slow, same thing.
Maybe your guys are used to the feeders on that island, and the people?
But what I see is straight from the Arctic and in no mood to let me get close.
I'll try again this year but with seeds.

Good shots Mitch & congrats on the lifer (2 in one day, you're on a roll!).

memorex - my suggestion is to ditch the tripod, get a nice beanbag and snake it on your belly. If you approach at ground level, most animals don't seem to be as easily scared from my experience - and yes, this works with butterflies and dragonflies, two notoriously difficult subjects to shoot as a general rule. Artie Morris has a saying - if you ain't gonna get dirty, you won't get the shot. From my very limited experience, he's right.

Dave

[canonloader]

As a followup, after I got these shots, I drove down to the feeder in the park, where I got the second lifer, the Harris's Sparrow. There was a friend already there so I told him about the Snow Buntings. He went back up there, but couldn't find them.

So the next day, he was down there again. The Harris's had moved on, but he found these Snow Buntings were still there in the same place and had added a few numbers to the herd. He has a small car and just drove around, following them when they flew, and got some good pics. :)

Me, and my buddy, we're to old to be snaking it. We might not make it back to our feet again. But I have found no better mobile blind than shooting from a car window. ;)

[IraRunyan]

Nice capture of a very attractive little bird.

[canonloader]

Thanks Ira, and the keyword here is little. They are very small, shaped differntly but about the size of a small sparrow. :)