Backyard Wildlife

Sunday Vibes – Keep Calm and Chirp On

/ Donna Robinson Photography / 4 Comments

Happy Sunday, everyone! I’m still hanging out back with the bird feeders this week. There’s always lots of activity around them which makes for great photography opportunities.

Today, I’m featuring this cute fella which is a Tufted Titmouse. He’s a charming little songbird that belongs to the Chic-a-dee family.

According to Cornell Labs it can be found in the Eastern forests and is also a frequent visitor to bird feeders. An interesting fact about them, is they can’t excavate their own nest cavities. Instead, they are dependent on natural holes left by woodpeckers. I guess you could say this is a great example of “one man’s (um, bird’s) trash is another man’s treasure?!”

Hmmm. It looks like they’re also talented in gathering their food upside down. I really don’t know what this was about, but, hey it seemed to work for him. Who am I to argue?

I hope everyone has a great week!

Until next time, “keep calm and chirp on.”

~donna

Sunday Vibes – Dine and Dash

/ Donna Robinson Photography / 2 Comments

“I asked a bird for advice. It said to just wing it.”

There was a group of finches hanging out at the feeder the other day. They all seemed to be having a good time, except for the middle one.

He was either uncomfortable with the company or was in a hurry to get to another feeder, because he never really settled in to eat, except for just a few bites.

As quickly as he arrived, he was taking off.

Oh well, nothing wrong with a little “dining and dashing.”

Until next time,

~donna

Sunday Vibes – Love is in the Air

/ Donna Robinson Photography / 6 Comments

“A House Finch sings of joy, resilience, and the beauty of community — a reminder to stay hopeful, connect deeply, and express your truth.” – unknown

Until next time,

~donna

Hide and Seek – American Goldfinch

/ Donna Robinson Photography / Leave a comment

I don’t know if he was intentionally trying to hide from the other birds or not, but this little guy sure did give it a good try. So much so, I had a really hard time keeping the lens focused on him. You can tell because these photos aren’t as sharp as I would like.

This is one (1) of three (3) American Goldfinches we have visiting our yard this year.

Field Notes: F Stop 1/3200, AV 5.6, ISO 5000

Did you know the American Goldfinch is the state bird of Iowa, New Jersey and Washington?

Field Notes: F Stop 1/3200, AV 5.6, ISO 5000

They are also strict vegetarians in the bird world, eating an entirely vegetable diet albeit swallowing an occasional insect.

Field Notes: F Stop 1/3200, AV 5.6, ISO 5000

A breeding male Goldfinch can be identified by their bright yellow and black foreheads, black wings and white markings. They also breed later than most North American birds and wait to nest until June or July. This is the optimal time when milkweed, thistle, and other plants have produced their fibrous seeds, which goldfinches build into their nests and to feed their young.

Field Notes: F Stop 1/3200, AV 5.6, ISO 5000

I’m hoping to capture more of these little birds this summer. They always brighten my day.

Until next time,

~donna

Species Information Source: Cornell Lab – All About Birds

Shall we Dance?

/ Donna Robinson Photography / 4 Comments

Spring is finally here and time to begin the afternoon birdwatching. Our backyard is full of all kinds of birds, especially house finches and we’ve made it very attractive for them with our new bird feeders.

I started to caption this “dinner for 2,” but they looked more like they were dancing (probably more like fighting) for their space at the dinner table.

Until next time,

~donna

31 Days of July Photography Challenge – Day 10

/ Donna Robinson Photography / 1 Comment

Day 10 – We have a new visitor at the birdfeeder today, an Eastern Female Downy Woodpecker. According to All About Birds “Downy Woodpeckers are small versions of the classic woodpecker body plan. They have a straight, chisel-like bill, blocky head, wide shoulders, and straight-backed posture as they lean away from tree limbs and onto their tail feathers. The bill tends to look smaller for the bird’s size than in other woodpeckers.”

Editing Notes: I applied a haze removal before cropping and made some minor level adjustments to the lighting before applying a final vignette for accent.

Field Notes: 170mm; Exposure: 1/100 sec, f/9, ISO 1250

Until next time,

~donna

31 Days of July – Photography Challenge Day 9

/ Donna Robinson Photography / 7 Comments

Day 9 – House Hen Finch. This little bird was having way too much fun at the feeder today, but I was lucky enough to get a shot of him staring at me. His face is not quite as crisp as I would have liked, but it’s nature and sometimes you just go with what you get. I’m also linking this to Becky’s Simply Red Squares Challenge.

Editing Notes: Today, I applied the normal haze removal, level adjustments (lighting) and some sharpness adjustments followed with the usual cropping and vignette application.

Field Notes: Focal Length: 400mm; Exposure 1/125 sec, f/9, ISO 1250

Until next time.

~donna

31 Days of July – Photography Challenge Day 8

/ Donna Robinson Photography / 3 Comments

Day 8 – What was I thinking when I started a personal photography challenge in July, in Georgia? The temps are hot, and the humidity is worse. But here I am doing the best I can shooting photos from inside the house. Hopefully, this heat will break soon, and I’ll be able to venture out to find more interesting subjects. So, bear with me on this journey, you may be seeing a few more bird, squirrels or macro photos.😉

Today’s photo is of one our frequent mourning dove visitors. At any given time, there could be one, two or upwards to five of them hanging out around the bird feeders or on this limb waiting their turn. The complexity of this shot came from shooting it through a window screen. Fortunately, the bird didn’t move too much, and with an ISO of 1250 I was able to maintain focus and achieve somewhat of a crisp photo. Editing comprised of cropping and level adjustments in both lighting and color to achieve the depth and detail. I also applied a vignette outline.

Field Notes: Focal Length: 400mm; Exposure: 1/125 sec, f/9 ISO 1250

Until next time,

~donna

31 Days of July – Photography Challenge – Day 7

/ Donna Robinson Photography / 3 Comments

Day 7 – Back to the birds. This was a little challenging to shoot. The birds are very skittish and can see me pick up my camera through the back door. The second obstacle is the door is double pane window and casts a reflection if you’re not positioned correctly (hence why the image isn’t as sharp as I would like it to be). Nonetheless, here is the shot for Day 7 – Chipping Sparrow. Apologies for the dirty feeder…….the birds can be quite messy.

Field Notes: Focal Length – 390mm; Exposure – 1/100 sec, f7.1, ISO 1250

Until next time,

~donna