Off topic — 2016 Audubon Photography Contest winners

[Mike Nolan]

This is way off topic, but I'm starting to get into photography (with a new Canon T6i), but I know there are several BC-ers (not all of whom are active here--yet) who are into photography as well.

Anyway, if you're into pictures of birds, the 2016 Audubon Society photography contest winners are out, and there's also a gallery of another 100 photographs entered that didn't win a prize but are pretty amazing anyway.

2016 winners: 2016 winners (I especially like that they gave details on what type of camera, lens, settings, etc.)

Gallery: gallery

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[S_Wirth]

Those are all amazing pics! Thanks for sharing them, Mike...I put the links on our birding forum for many others to enjoy. We have some outstanding photographers on the forum and some of their cameras are very expensive. Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology has a page of participants' photos and they are so beautiful. Wish I had such a camera as some of them use.

Here is a link to a story this week from Audubon on a huge survival project:

http://www.audubon.org/magazine/summer-2016/behind-scenes-connecticuts-biggest-baby-bird

[Mike Nolan]

In a few weeks we'll start to see the annual southward migration of the ruby-throated hummingbirds. I'm hoping to be able to get some good photographs of them. We know from past experience that once they start arriving in mid to late August, we'll see them until late September. And they have no fear of humans (or cats), they'll come to within a few inches of us if we're sitting on the back deck.

[S_Wirth]

A local birding expert told my husband a few years ago the male ruby-throats head south in late July. The females follow a bit later. A birding forum lady in west central WI puts out 10 hummer feeders and she says the same thing about late July for the males. She says it gets so lonely after all the activity slows down to a crawl after such a huge amount of visitors. She puts short videos on Facebook showing the huge amount of activity.

I don't put out hummer feeders as we have honey bees and yellow jackets and it is a constant battle for the hummers with all the stinging critters at the sugar water. The hummers love our mimosa trees and fight each other like there is little food for them when there are thousands of blooms. They squeal and dive at each other something awful.

The WI lady takes such gorgeous hummer pics and she has one male that comes back each year...she knows because has a little white ear patch.

[Mike Nolan]

We seldom see the ruby-throats until around August 15th, but we're pretty much on the western edge of their range. They don't stay long on their northward migration in the spring compared to when they're heading back south. The most we've ever seen at one time was somewhere around 15 (trying to get an exact count on hummingbirds is challenging), and that was in mid-September a few years back.

They're incredible competitive, we've seen one defend three feeders for an hour or longer against a half dozen other hummers.

[S_Wirth]

I found this short video of the WI lady's hummers...she has 10 feeders, so can you imagine how many she gets?...her sugar bill is large!

https://www.facebook.com/hazelrunpack/videos/vb.100001429051073/1137656766291948/?type=3

• This reply was modified 8 years, 4 months ago by S_Wirth.

[BakerAunt]

We also have ruby-throated hummingbirds in northern Indiana. They like our lakefront, as my husband has been putting in native plants--not something the neighbors understand, and the other day one asked pointedly when we will "landscape." There appear to be lots of little insects for them. My husband noted that they seem to be trying to build a nest in a back tree, which concerns him because it is not protected from the winds we sometimes get here.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 4 months ago by BakerAunt.

[S_Wirth]

Cornell finally got their West Texas Hummingbird cam up and running...Fort Davis, TX.

They'll have 12 species traveling thru their set-up during fall migration. Just below the bird cam there is a species information tab that tells of the ones that frequent their feeders. There is also info there on the elevation and number of feeders the group has out come fall migration.

http://cams.allaboutbirds.org/channel/50/West_Texas_Hummingbirds/#_ga=1.17411897.1267964400.1443135372

Also, notice the new style hummer feeder top right on the cam screen.

And, here is the camera info two of the birding forum folks use...$ 1500.00 when new:

the camera is a nikon d90, the lens that I used is the nikon: AF-S NIKKOR 28-300mm 1:35-5.6G ED.

Their pictures are calendar quality. The lens is very long and very heavy to handle.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 4 months ago by S_Wirth.

[Mike Nolan]

So far I'm pleased with my new Canon T6i, but I haven't bought a telephoto lens yet. (Lenses are where photography can get really expensive. The Nikkor telephoto lens Sarah mentioned is a $950 lens, which is more than what I paid for my camera body.)

• This reply was modified 8 years, 4 months ago by Mike Nolan.

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