Mitch Loves These Birds

[ajosteve]

Posting these for Mitch, he just loves these little birds in his yard...Not sure what they are...steve

[tonylong]

Nice tight shots!

[jlcarnagey]

Nice shots. I'm no expert so not going to guess.

[chubri777]

House Sparrow on top and first winter plumaged White-Crowned Sparrow on bottom. Nice shots Steve

[ajosteve]

Nice tight shots!


Thanks for looking Tony...I don't shoot alot of sparrows..but they are kind of cute...steve

[ajosteve]

Nice shots. I'm no expert so not going to guess.

Thanks for the comment....I know they are sparrows, but no expert on alot of these birds either. Mitch will know for sure....steve

[ajosteve]

House Sparrow on top and first winter plumaged White-Crowned Sparrow on bottom. Nice shots Steve

Hey you know your sparrows...Ha, Ha....thanks for the ID...I have trouble with these guys myself. Thanks for the compliment....steve

[tom ryan]

These are fine looking Sparrows Steve. I learned a great deal about my XTI taking photos of them in my backyard. The House Sparrow is the most common bird in North America. I've only spotted the Crowned...no pics yet.
...tom

[HWP]

Great shot's Steve.. Especially the first one. Very nice.

Was this old lens or new?

Henry

[aligater]

I was expecting Bald Eagles, nice shots Steve.

[canonloader]

Nice shots Steve. I do love the native sparrows, just not the House Sparrow. The things breed like rodents and end up taking over, chasing away the finches, chickadees, Titmice, and constantly pestering the nuthatches and even the Downy's. I use to have tree sparrows and chipping sparrows here all the time, now, after the second brood of house sparrows this fall, they are all gone. That's why I have been hoping for a Hawk. :)

[ajosteve]

These are fine looking Sparrows Steve. I learned a great deal about my XTI taking photos of them in my backyard. The House Sparrow is the most common bird in North America. I've only spotted the Crowned...no pics yet.
...tom

Thanks Tom, they seem to be quite friendly posers, maybe I'll shoot more when I see them...If only to post for Mitch...steve

[ajosteve]

Great shot's Steve.. Especially the first one. Very nice.

Was this old lens or new?

Henry

Thanks Henry, this was the old cheap 70-300mm IS. Did a good job, now that I have the 300mm I will be getting some better shots....steve

[ajosteve]

Nice shots Steve. I do love the native sparrows, just not the House Sparrow. The things breed like rodents and end up taking over, chasing away the finches, chickadees, Titmice, and constantly pestering the nuthatches and even the Downy's. I use to have tree sparrows and chipping sparrows here all the time, now, after the second brood of house sparrows this fall, they are all gone. That's why I have been hoping for a Hawk. :)

Thanks Mitch, the house sparrow is a pest in large numbers...many times down in Ajo when they took over the yard, I thought about using the long Red Rider Lens on them..Ha,Ha...I would lay awake at night thinking of how to get rid of them. I just ended up moving....steve

[canonloader]

I've got the Daisy 17mm lens and have been thinking of using it, but I don't want the other birds to get the wrong idea. :)

I quit putting out the generic seed with cracked corn, and that helped. But I fell off the wagon, thinking I could put their seed at the other end of the yard and they would stay there. That works, until a big mob comes into the yard, then, again, they are all over, pestering the other birds, who also don't like them. :lol:

I haven't seen that Hawk again, unfortunately, but he must be around, cause every now and then, all the birds just disappear for awhile. I'd really like to see him flying away some afternoon, with a sparrow in each fist and one in his beak. :mrgreen:

[ajosteve]

I was expecting Bald Eagles, nice shots Steve.

Thanks, it was kind of a joke for Mitch...I wish I could see Bald Eagles, but for now have to be satisfied with looking in the mirror...not much left on top at my age...steve

[ajosteve]

I've got the Daisy 17mm lens and have been thinking of using it, but I don't want the other birds to get the wrong idea. :)

I quit putting out the generic seed with cracked corn, and that helped. But I fell off the wagon, thinking I could put their seed at the other end of the yard and they would stay there. That works, until a big mob comes into the yard, then, again, they are all over, pestering the other birds, who also don't like them. :lol:

I haven't seen that Hawk again, unfortunately, but he must be around, cause every now and then, all the birds just disappear for awhile. I'd really like to see him flying away some afternoon, with a sparrow in each fist and one in his beak. :mrgreen:

Now, I'd like to see a picture of that!!! I would get some satisfaction from seeing a shot like that. Because of my experience with these gangs of birds, I ended up getting a pecker block and put it inside the wire cage it came with. The little buggers can't get to it with their short beaks, but other birds were coming around and getting some feed. I will post what it looks like, I'm sure you've seen them. Really good for birds with long beaks, and it takes some time for them to work it down. I tried seed bells, and the thrashers chop them to pieces in just 2 days, and the whole thing falls on the ground...steve

[canonloader]

I wish I could see Bald Eagles, but for now have to be satisfied with looking in the mirror
If you'd like to come up here and enjoy our brisk winter weather for a few days, I'll show you some eagles. :lol:

[pttenn]

Nice shots Steve. I do love the native sparrows, just not the House Sparrow. The things breed like rodents and end up taking over, chasing away the finches, chickadees, Titmice, and constantly pestering the nuthatches and even the Downy's. I use to have tree sparrows and chipping sparrows here all the time, now, after the second brood of house sparrows this fall, they are all gone. That's why I have been hoping for a Hawk. :)

Mitch, the hawks are as thick as sparrows down here. Come on down and get a few! :)
Karen

[canonloader]

I went to the wetlands today and actually saw another Coopers down ther swoop through the area of those feeders I go to. It didn't stay around though. Landed in a tree for a few seconds, then went looking somewhere else.

We have them here, I just can't rationalize burning the gas it takes to drive around and find them. :)

[hTr]

Damn Steve those are beautiful!!!

[Ephily]

Great shots! The first is the non-native, invasive male House Sparrow. The second is a juvenile White-crowned Sparrow, they exchange their juvenile plumage for a striking black and white crown pattern after the first year.

[ajosteve]

Thanks Gary and Ephily, I only wanted to make Mitch happy to see there are sparrows over here too. I would like to see the white crown adult sometime....steve

[ajosteve]

If you'd like to come up here and enjoy our brisk winter weather for a few days, I'll show you some eagles. :lol:

Thanks for the offer but I think I'll stay down in the desert this winter where it's warm. Maybe next year I could do it. Until then, I'll be looking forward to your Eagle shots....steve