[woodywesty]

As recommended by others... visit your local Audubon Society, and/or search eBird

eBird access is by subscription, but I discovered that my area Library provides access to all patrons.... FREE! (well, not quite... resident tax dollars support the library which, in turn, provides blanket access to the service for any patron wishing to use the feature.) Anyway, yours might do the same.... It's worth checking out. Once you gain access, you can search recent/old sightings by date & time, critter of interest (Barn Owl/etc), geographic location, birder, etc.

Recent Owl sightings in an area suggest future sightings in the same area, as well. Every birder knows, the first step towards getting a 'keeper' is being there...

Cheers... M

---------- Post added 02-03-17 at 10:20 AM ----------

K-1+DA*300/4+HD 1.4TC, handheld, native lighting, close crop, LR(CC)+NIK...



Cactus Wren

Cheers... M

Love that picture!!

[luftfluss]

I get the sense that, in my area, many owls and other "charismatic" birds are not posted by birders, to avoid pressure from photographers. I came across a Bald Eagle once, in a tree half surrounded by an encampment of about 15 photographers who seemed to be there for the afternoon. The Snowy Owl I posted last Nov/December was attended by a couple of photographers who didn't know I was behind them and began trying to flush it, presumably to get flight shots. While most photographers give the birds space, in a lot of cases there's one or two individuals who try to get much too close. It's hard for us to know how much impact we're having (preventing them from sleeping or hunting, forcing them out into the open to be harassed by crows?) but I prefer to be cautious.

This. I never tell others where I see the more "charismatic" animals, because I'm afraid. I've seen animals that have suffered physically due to human interaction. And I know of people who want to kill eagles, bucks, bears for "trophies".

[jacamar]

Love that picture!!

Me too - whenever I think of Cactus Wren I get an earworm of the "chuff, chuff, chuff" sound they make that seems to go on for ever.

[woodywesty]

Me too - whenever I think of Cactus Wren I get an earworm of the "chuff, chuff, chuff" sound they make that seems to go on for ever.

That and we also have an image of sunshine and warmth not so common were we live... ;-)

[Kameko]

Phenomenal!
Still yet to encounter ANY owl in the field...

Jealous...

What a great capture and sooo sharp! Please tell me you were using a tripod... ;-)

Thanks Logan and Bob. Yes I was using a tripod, I've come to rely on it now. Your best bet for finding owls is to "get in" with the birding crowd. Many people don't report on eBird because of the sensitive nature of owls. Now, if you're just out walking in the forest, keep an eye open for bird urates at the base of trees. That's always a good sign that an owl may be nearby

[jacamar]

From yesterday's walk

Black-capped Chickadee, upset that I'm not carrying a pocket full of sunflower seeds



I don't think the field guides help us much in telling Scaup apart. On this one the barring on the sides suggests Lesser, the larger nail on the bill suggests Greater, and the head shape isn't telling me anything.



Red-breasted Merganser pair

0

K-3 and DA*300mm with 1.4x HD TC

[UserAccessDenied]

I don't think the field guides help us much in telling Scaup apart. On this one the barring on the sides suggests Lesser, the larger nail on the bill suggests Greater, and the head shape isn't telling me anything.

That's a tough one!
I'd go with Greater based on the nail of the bill.

[ccc_]

another alternative is to start here
Birding News | @ABA
choose the area you are interested in

some groups are better at updating than others

also ebird has significant mapping and search capabilities

[pete-tarmigan]

A frosty feathered Bluebird tries to thaw out just after sunrise at Mather Point Grand Canyon NP.

K-1 and Sigma 100-300 f4.

Nice composition.

It's hard to tell from that angle, but the bird's grey face might make it a Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay (Western Scrub-Jay was recently split into two species: the other species resulting from the split is California Scrub-Jay).

[Kameko]

Here's another from yesterday. A Shortie's backside in the late afternoon sunset

[ccc_]

American Crow is not considered a pest species. They are a migratory species but don't require a Federal Migratory Bird stamp to hunt. There is a regular season in most states. In NY it is Sept. 1st to March 31st (Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday only). That is for Upstate NY and Nassau & Suffolk counties. NY City has no hunting for migratory species...American Woodcock, Snipe, Rail & Gallinule have similar regulations.

House Sparrow, European Starling and Rock Pigeons are all invasive...

I have a thing about the invasive tag

you can't slaughter ringneck pheasants, brown trout or carp anywhere, rainbows in the east
or the most damaging invasive...man

none are native
however they are here to stay

[ccc_]

Great idea.
I just attended a birding event last weekend.
Three days in a row, met some great people with great tips and tricks.

One guy could imitate a thrush and attract warblers.
Another guy used owl calls to attract song birds.

They were adamant about ethical usage, ie: not using recordings during breeding/nesting season, duration of the call usage etc.

I'll definitely check with them on owl locations.
Been trying to track down the snowy owl in our area the last few years and always miss it!

I personally detest using recordings anytime
but to each his own

learn to pish

learn barred owl and crow calls, mouse squeaks and rabbit screams
turkey gobbles, yelps and prrts work all year long
I've used calls for predators
raptors come in as well

I've attached an image from a few mornings ago
I called a flock of about a dozen without a regular call
started with a hoo hoo a hoooo
finished up with a gobble and got the shot

you can camo up or learn to be still
in the end it all works

[Pentaxians]

Luis, these are wonderful pictures of a spectacular bird. When looking at your flicker EXIF it says the shots were taken with your Sigma 500, 4.5 shot at f9 and at 13th of a second!!! Was the camera and lens embedded in concrete? I'm just amazed and challenged at the same time. I've tried to just get duck shots with my K3 and Sigma 500, 4.5 that are reasonably in focus and only get mediocre results at 500th of a second at f4.5. I am just amazed at these beautiful pictures that are tack sharp and have so much depth of field. Please keep the pictures coming as they give me hope! ;-)
Bob

Thanks and great that the my pictures works for you Bob. Same here and I'm using a tripod (Sirui N3204X) most of the time.

I got total 4 lifers (Little Spiderhunter, Stripe-throated bulbul, Java Sparrow and Dusky Munia) during the recent trip. Will be sharing here after I'd done the PP.

Sharing two of the Blue-tailed bee-eater taken at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

[Weevil]

Here's another from yesterday. A Shortie's backside in the late afternoon sunset

Wow this one has a special "je ne sais quoi" !

[WPRESTO]

Wow this one has a special "je ne sais quoi" !

Agreed! A totally different image of a raptor, full of mood and character.