Apology

It’s a good thing that both my son-in-law and I post at AKA Bird Nerd. Sorry I’ve been negligent at processing and posting photos. I haven’t even been out birding much in the last several months. I moved my Dad up from California and you wouldn’t believe how much time I spend helping him with everything. We’ve also been working through some health issues that have frankly drained the desire to process photos and go birding right out of me. I just wanted to let you know that I’m still managing the blog and have no intention of dropping it.

Black-headed Grossbeak – Pheucticus melanocephalus

745
Vaughn Bay, Washington
June 15, 2008

A family or two of these birds nested near our house and were regular visitors to our feeders during spring and summer.

Here are a few photos of these pretty birds.

Nikon D80, Tamron 200-500 zoom

This young bird is looking down at the feeder to see if it’s safe to jump down to it.

Purple Finch – Carpodacus purpureus

744
Vaughn Bay, Washington
June 15, 2008

Here is a set of Purple Finch photos taken in my back yard. Whoops! The third photo of a juvenile Dark-eyed Junco fooled me. Thanks, Shawn, for pointing this out. This is what I get for taking so long to process my photos.

Nikon D80, Tamron 200-500 zoom lens

Sharp-shinned Hawk – Accipiter striatus

Photo By Shawn Weigelt
April 9, 2009
Carmel, Maine

As I sat down at my dining room table for breakfast recently, I caught movement at by backyard bird feeders and looked up to see this magnificent adult female Sharp-shinned Hawk alighting on one of the shepherd hooks!  Those of you who know me and understand what a raptor nut I am can probably imagine me running to my bedroom to retrieve the camera.  I have probably posted more photos than necessary, but I wanted to illustrate a few poses of this little, “sharpie,” who was a very cooperative subject!

Nikon D80 70-300mm VR hand held
1)  at 240mm, 1/320sec, ISO 200, f/5.6
2)  at 240mm, 1/125sec, ISO 100, f/5.6
3&4)  at 200mm, 1/400sec, ISO 200, f/5.3

Going poop prior to departure!