Rose-breasted Grosbeak – Pheucticus ludovicianus

Photo By Shawn Weigelt
May 25, 2008
Carmel, Maine

I can’t help it…every time I see one of these beauties I want to take a picture! This female was initially at my feeders but flew briefly to the deck to check out the suet. A Hairy Woodpecker was on it at the time and soon let the grosbeak know that the suet was his turf! She flew off just after I took this shot.

Nikon D80 70-300mm VR at 300mm.

Mourning Dove – Zenaida macroura

Photo By Shawn Weigelt
May 24, 2008
Carmel, Maine

This is a juvenile Mourning Dove. I was initially surprised to see it thinking that it was too soon to see a young bird fledged already. I did a little research, however, and learned that juveniles can be seen nearly year round. I see Mourning Doves all the time so they are kind of, “ho-hum,” for me, but I was struck by the beautiful scalloping effect caused by the feathers on this young bird. The second picture is a cropped portrait taken from the same shot.

Nikon D80 70-300mm VR at 220mm.

New Category – Weigelt Photos

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.

Hairy Woodpecker – Picodes villosus

Photo by Shawn Weigelt
May 24, 2008
Carmel, Maine

Here is a shot of a Hairy Woodpecker that I took. Not as good as Malia’s.

Nikon D80 70-300mm VR at 300mm hand held.

Brown Thrasher – Toxostoma rufum

Photo by Shawn Weigelt
May 24, 2008
Carmel, Maine

I consider myself very fortunate to be able to see these beautiful birds on a daily basis in our yard. Getting a decent photograph, however, has proven to be quite challenging.

Nikon D80 70-300mm VR at 300mm hand held.

Hairy Woodpecker – Picoides villosus

Photo by Malia Weigelt
May 23, 2008
Carmel, Maine

This is the angriest looking Hairy Woodpecker I have ever seen! Actually he was in mid blink when my wife snapped this exceptional shot. Great job, Malia! By the way…the orange was put out for Baltimore Orioles on what happens to be a favorite perch for the resident woodpeckers. Maybe he’s mad that the orange is in his spot!

Nikon D80 70-300mm VR at 300mm hand held.

White-crowned Sparrow – Zonotrichia leucophrys

420
Vaughn Bay, Washington
April 14, 2007

Photographed in our backyard.

Nikon D80, Tamron 200-500 zoom at 300mm, 1/125 sec, Manfrotto tripod

Common Loon – Gavia immer

419
Vaughn Bay, Washington
April 10, 2007

This photo was shot in low light, but I wanted to try to capture a loon that had changed into breeding colors. Most of the loons had gone by this time.

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

White-tailed Kite – Elanus leucurus

418
Elkhorn Slough, California
April 5, 2007

We first saw this bird on top of a pole, some distance away. I took some photos, but I knew they wouldn’t be good. As we continued up the trail, he flew into a tree – the type of tree that you love birds to fly into. I creeped up closer and closer until he finally flew away.

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

Northern Harrier – Circus cyaneus

417
Elkhorn Slough, California
April 5, 2007

During our brief stay at this wonderful bird preserve, we saw a lot of Northern Harriers flying around. This one came close enough for an aerial shot.

Niklon D80, Tamron 200-500 zoom at 500mm, 1/400 sec, handheld