AKA BIRD NERD

I lost a few recent photos here, but I’ll re-post them on the new blog. I’m using a new WordPress theme and organizing my photos in a different way. Right now I’m trying to put up about 1500 photos on the new blog, and trying to figure out how to not only share photos but the information that explains the situation in which the photo was taken.

If I were smart I would just start posting new photos on the new blog, but I’m not smart. I always do things the hard way. I won’t be deleting this blog address in case the new blog doesn’t meet my expectations. I wasn’t going to let you know how to access the new blog until I was pretty much finished, but this is going to take awhile so if you want to suffer through the construction project, feel free to check it out. I’ll be working on past photos first, and then I’ll start posting new stuff.

Present blog is at – akabirdnerd.com/birds

New blog is at – akabirdnerd.com

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As I re-work the blog, I would appreciate any feedback concerning links that are no longer working, errors in spelling or grammar, or parts of the blog that are too confusing and need a makeover.

Since the old man, ME, is the retired technology teacher, the design of the blog, puzzles, and that sort of thing is all my fault.

Shawn, my son-in-law, is our resident identification expert. I tease him by calling him Mr. Wikipedia. He has a knack for detail and is very good at IDing birds, plants, critters, etc. We occasionally have to consult other birders, but that’s part of the fun of being a bird nerd.

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A new year in well underway, and I’m into my 4th month of retirement and I thought it might be good to do a little house cleaning here at AKA Bird Nerd.

I started this blog as an experiment. I had been designing websites for several years, but I wanted to see what all this blog buzz was about. I’m now a true blog convert, and I think it’s time to go strictly with the blog rather than try to tie it into my bird website (designed as flash movies). Creating the flash website is so much more work. I haven’t updated anything over there for months (maybe years) and it’s time to let it go.

I will be editing the blog to carve out any references to the non-blog part of my website, at least as far as photos are concerned. I will continue to support things like bird puzzles that work under a Flash engine and other things that are best presented within a traditional website structure, but all photos that Shawn and I upload will strictly be within the blog structure.

I’m also celebrating retirement by changing some of my photo equipment. I will now be using a Nikon D7000 and a Tamron 70-300 image stabilized zoom lens as my everyday equipment. On occasion I will use my Nikon Fieldscope with digiscoping setup and Nikon P4 point and shoot on my tripod.

I wanted to get out from under having to use a tripod with a heavy non-image stabilized zoom and I wanted to be able to bump up my ISO in low light situations. I hope this gives me a bit more flexibility, and an opportunity to work on my flight shot skills. Please be patient as I learn to use the new equipment. I, no doubt, will make plenty of mistakes for a while.

Just a moment of silence as I put my D80 and Tamron 200-500 into retirement.

Tags: News by David Dilworth
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In the right sidebar you have a calendar. The days that are yellow are days that a posting was made. You may click on a yellow date to see all the posting made on that day.

Beneath the calendar is a Category listing. To see the photos taken by David Dilworth, click on Gallery. To see photos taken by my son-in-law, Shawn Weigelt or my daughter Malia Weigelt, click on Weigelt Photos.

If you don’t click on a Category link, you will see all postings made on the blog – in order of last posted to older posts.

I haven’t done a lot of work on the blog for some time – field guide is not finished, adding more puzzles and photos from guest photographers, etc. I hope to have more time in retirement to do some of this.

Enjoy, and remember you may comment on any of the photos or send a message to us by using Contact in the menu bar at the top of the page. Your feedback is always appreciated.

Tags: News by David Dilworth
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I just wanted to wish the founder of our blog (and my father-in-law) a very happy birthday!  Reaching 162 years old is quite an accomplishment! =)

Tags: News by Shawn Weigelt
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651
Fir Island, Washington
February 17, 2008

I believe the first swan is a Tundra. Most of the swans I think were Trumpeters with a few Tundras mixed in. The Tundra is supposed to have a yellow spot on the bill near the eye. They were noisy birds. Most photos were digiscoped.

Nikon P4, Nikon Fieldscope 82mm ED, 30x WA eyepiece, Manfrotto tripod

Tags: Gallery, News by David Dilworth
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521
Fisherman’s Wharf – San Francisco, California
July 12, 2007

This was a lifer sighting for me. The gulls on the beach looked a bit scruffy. Notice some of them have been banded. There are 4 in this set and 4 in the next set.

Nikon D80, Tamron 200-500 zoom at 165mm, 1/640 sec, Manfrotto tripod

Tags: Gallery, News by David Dilworth
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First the Dump – I deleted the DUH Gallery plugin. It just took toooooooo long to load. I really like the photo gallery plugin I’m using for Field Guide Photos, and will one day use it to put my own gallery photos in as an alternative viewing option.

The Addition – I added the category Field Trip.

Categories are extremely important to a blog. They are useful for finding certain types of related postings in a hurry. Our current categories are Bird Photo, Field Guide Photo, Field Trip, Gallery, General, Links, News, Weigelt Photos.

The categories are listed in the sidebar. Click on one to access it. Here is a reminder of what is included in these categories.

Bird Photo – a photo from any user other than myself

Field Guide Photo – photos from guest photographers that can help you identify birds you sight

Field Trip – this new category includes accountings/photos of my bird hikes – organized by the location and date of the hike

Gallery – my photos posted from number 1 to present – Each number represents a species and may contain one photo, a series of photos, and even scenery, flowers, non-bird animals/insects. As of today I have 465 sets posted out of 577 (and many more photos yet to be processed). I am trying to post 5 sets a day until I catch up – since I started the blog this last Feb 4 but have been taking bird pictures since 2006. Recent photos are being posted as quickly as I can – I will add their set number later.

General – observations, show and tell, poems, tips, stories, birding site info – all related to birds (sort of)

Links – Know a good bird site not listed in my Birding Links or Blogroll? Post it in this category.

News – to keep AKA Bird Nerd visitors and regular users informed of changes and features of the blog

Weigelt Photos – photos posted by my daughter and son-in-law

IMPORTANT – You can navigate the blog in many ways. Searching is one of the best, but don’t overlook the calendar. You can click on any yellow calendar date to see what was posted on that date – all the way back to Feb 4 when the blog was created.

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My daughter and son-in-law are now posting their bird photos on AKA Bird Nerd. It is only fair that Shawn be a more visible part of this blog – since he was the one that converted me into a bird nerd. I’ve given them their own category in the side bar and you can click on it to see their photographs just like you can click on Gallery to see mine. You can also search for Malia Weigelt, Shawn Weigelt or Weigelt to get their stuff. It is best to use the category link because the photos are automatically shown.

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This is the latest scoop about what is happening on AKA Bird Nerd right now. I continue to make 5 posts a day to get my archived photos into the blog database. That will go on until I get caught up to my latest photos. I haven’t even posted my Christmas trip to Maine yet. I’m trying to post current photos right away – to get away from that long lag time of unprocessed photos piling up. Click on Gallery in the Category side bar and all of my photos will come up – sorted from most recent to older.

A big welcome to my son-in-law, Shawn Weigelt, who has started to post photos from the other side of the country – Maine. He just got his Nikon D80 and I’m sure we’ll be seeing great things from him. Also, my daughter Malia is quite good with a camera, so you’ll see some of her shots as well.

Now and then I’ll throw in some shots from my buddies, Doug Parrott and Bob Lund. They are also Puget Sound photographers. They are too timid to post their own photos on the blog, so I’ll share their excellent work on occasion. To see photos posted by photographers other than me, do a search for the person’s name or click on Bird Photo in the side bar under Categories.

Finally, under the Category – Field Guide – you will find photos from Guest Photographers. Most all the photos come from a bird photo user’s group I belong too, and are posted with the photographer’s permission. The main reason for these photos is to help you learn to ID birds correctly – me too!

The Field Guide is far from finished and there will be many more fun puzzles coming in the future. All of this takes time! My goal is to post something new every day to encourage you to become a regular visitor. Don’t let me down!

That’s the latest info. Hope you are enjoying the blog. Please feel free to get involved by leaving comments or registering and posting a photo of your own!

Tags: News by David Dilworth
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