[ehrwien]

The Magic of Birdwatching in Ontario?s Algonquin Provincial Park - The New York Times

Rather short piece with a handful of great bird photos by Emily Fikkert-Boersma, but still a nice little ode to the hobby some of us have already learned to love, so I thougth I'd share it with you.

Am I wrong to assume that they are talking about the same park that @normhead frequents for his bird photos?

[cpk]

Am I wrong to assume that they are talking about the same park that @normhead frequents for his bird photos?

Your assumption is correct; that is @normhead's "hunting" ground.

[normhead]

I haven't been there much this year. But when I go, the place is busy. I love the description of the place. The birders there are quite helpful, I have introduced hundreds to feeding the Jays and photographing the Pine Martens. When I started going there, people helped me, it's definitely a pay it forward situation, and everyone seems concerned that other visitors make the best use of their time. If I had quarter for every time I've seen child's eye light up the first time small bird landed on their hand....

It's truly a communal effort. I can go or not go, knowing that other birders will be there to pick up the slack, if I'm not there. And every time I go I meet people , some like these guys go all over the world.


But they still come up from Southern Ontario every time they get the chance to hang out in the park. It's a birding experience, but it's also often a great social experience. There are a few forum members I try and hook up with when they come up. The visitors centre is a great "meet for a coffee" place, no charge to get in, and birds at the feeder hanging right outside the cafeteria windows. But usually we try and meet at the trail heads and hike for a bit together for the more unusual shots.

More of my "Friends for an afternoon."












Teenagers enthralled by Chickadees




Every now and then I even catch a Pentax shooter.


It's a"be there or be square" experience.

[luftfluss]

More of my "Friends for an afternoon."

Is that unoccupied camera your K-3 + Tamron 300/2.8?

Everybody else is shooting 500mm+.

[jgnfld]

Re. moose pic...I note you are hanging back a bit. You must know what a startled moose can do with its front hooves: They're not all that far from being like halberds. Some of the others appear not to know such.

Moose aren't evil that I've ever seen--and I've seen quite a few and still do now that I live in Newfoundland, but it's really not wise to make one feel closely cornered, confronted, or surrounded. As one example, my SAC line chief father once brought me down to the hanger to see the dents a moose made in a B-47 wing during a stop in Alaska as it was taxiing! (Rutting season, probably.)

[AstroDave]

Am I wrong to assume that they are talking about the same park that @normhead frequents for his bird photos?

Hey Norm,

I may be one of the few here on the Forum that has actually been to Algonquin Park - for a user visit to the radio telescope! Have you ever been there?

[joelbolden]

Brings back fond memories. When I was a kid, my two uncles, my brother and cousin would go up there. Long drive from Buffalo, but totally worth it.

[normhead]

Is that unoccupied camera your K-3 + Tamron 300/2.8?

Everybody else is shooting 500mm+.

The guy with the best images that day was shooting a Nikon 600 with a 1.4 converter. He had close up of a small bird from 30 meters away. That particular day, I couldn't find the bird I wanted in my viewfinder. Not having zoom can be a serious impediment. Some days it just isn't your day. Everyone's valiant efforts to help me out were in vain. I'm the guy who often shows everyone else where the subject is, I found it incredibly frustrating.

Oh, and, My Tamron 300 2.8 with the F 1.7x AF adapter on it is 500 plus..

No doubt the little adapter on the back end was too small to identify.

[normhead]

Hey Norm,

I may be one of the few here on the Forum that has actually been to Algonquin Park - for a user visit to the radio telescope! Have you ever been there?

All my canoeing buddies went there a few years ago without me. I had a paying trip come up and left them Normless. Unfortunately for them, the guy who does the tour had the flu and their appointment to see and use the telescope wasn't honoured. That made me even happier I didn't go.

If you want black sky... the north end of the park is the place to be.

Brings back fond memories. When I was a kid, my two uncles, my brother and cousin would go up there. Long drive from Buffalo, but totally worth it.

We know people from the U.S, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio who come up every year.