How many of you are bird watchers?

[Ajax88]

Wow @Ajax88 - over 1000 species? I am creeping up on 400 for North America!

Huge birding adventure yesterday. Was invited to join a group tour! Got four bird lifers: Canada Jay, Pine Grosbeak, Red-necked Phalarope, and Mountain Bluebird.

https://ebird.org/tripreport/263450


other vertebrates of interest:
Mule Deer
American Red Squirrel
Uinta Chipmunk (mammal lifer)
Snowshoe Hare (mammal lifer)
Coyote
Desert Cottontail
Common Side-blotched Lizard

Yeah, 1030 worldwide, sitting at 679 in the USA! Taking a trip to Alaska soon so that number should go up a bit!

[bmathison1972]

I was in Madison, Wisconsin for work this weekend and got some birding in. Got 44 species, including two lifers, the Broad-winged Hawk and Willow Flycatcher:

https://ebird.org/tripreport/266140

Mammals observed included eastern chipmunk, eastern grey squirrel, white-tailed deer, and raccoon.

[bmathison1972]

I haven't been keeping up with this thread!

In early September I went to a good Fall Migration spot in the area, Salt Lake International Center, and picked up a lifer (Swainson's Hawk) and got my first Utah record for the Nashville Warber:

https://ebird.org/checklist/S193732424


Then later in September I went to Rochester, MN for a week for work. No lifers, but got my first Peregrine Falcon of the year:

https://ebird.org/tripreport/278606


Shortly after I got home, I was riding my bike to work before dawn and flushed out a local rarity, the Common Poorwill:

https://ebird.org/checklist/S197995309


And lastly, last night I got home from a quick work trip to Virginia Beach, VA. No lifers and no year birds, but 31 species in a new state, so I can't complain:

https://ebird.org/tripreport/285269

[Torvosaurus]

I've been watching birds for years, though not hardcore like B @bmathison1972 Usually it is just birds I see around the yard, on road trips or while hunting or fishing.

This year I added two new birds to my list, brown thrasher and Bullock's oriole. My landscaping is finally maturing and new birds are passing through fairly often now.

It's interesting how different people see birds based on where they live. For example, Mr. Mathison saw his first Swainson's hawk recently, but it is something I see fairly often when fishing and my first sighting was when I was a teen, some 40 years ago.

Torvo

[bmathison1972]

I've been watching birds for years, though not hardcore like B @bmathison1972 Usually it is just birds I see around the yard, on road trips or while hunting or fishing.

This year I added two new birds to my list, brown thrasher and Bullock's oriole. My landscaping is finally maturing and new birds are passing through fairly often now.

It's interesting how different people see birds based on where they live. For example, Mr. Mathison saw his first Swainson's hawk recently, but it is something I see fairly often when fishing and my first sighting was when I was a teen, some 40 years ago.

Torvo

It is interesting how local faunas affect what is routine for most but rare for others. I only started birding four years ago, and the Swainson's hawk isn't rare here, I just haven't yet explored the best habitats to get it.

In a similar scenario, a hard-core birding friend of mine in Arizona is still trying to get a Golden Eagle which is essentially a backyard bird around here (well, in the canyon behind my neighborhood) and Black-billed Magpie, which is a 'parking lot' bird where I live.

It's cool Torvo you live in an area that attracts both Bullock's Oriole and Brown Thrasher? Must be an interesting transition zone? I get Bullock's Oriole here in Utah during Spring Migration but have only gotten Brown Thrasher when I bird back east.

[Torvosaurus]

I live in southeastern Wyoming, and it is actually quite the transition zone. I live on a rural residential area between the Great Plains to the east and the foothills of the Laramie Range about 10 miles west. We're right on the edge of the Baltimore oriole/Bullock's oriole hybridization range, and we get a fair amount of species that normally use the Mississippi flyway. I live about a half mile from a canyon and about three miles from Crow Creek.

We have canyon and rock wrens living here year round. It's out of the canyon wren's usual range and rock wrens should migrate out of here, but they don't. We have a flock of white-crowned sparrows year round that mixes with the house finches and house sparrows. We tend to see gold finches most winters. I am horrible at identifying the warblers that come through in the fall, but don't usually see them in spring. Anyways, as a place to live, it is a good place for birding and we get different birds fairly often.

Torvo

[EmperorDinobot]

Hey there bird-watchers! I need to get a bird-watcher a nice, not too expensive, not too complex, yet somewhat professional camera and have no idea where to start. Any ideas?

[bmathison1972]

Unfortunately I don't photograph them, just document them (photography is another hobby, and an expensive one, I don't need to add to my current list of hobbies lol)

[triceratops83]

Hey there bird-watchers! I need to get a bird-watcher a nice, not too expensive, not too complex, yet somewhat professional camera and have no idea where to start. Any ideas?

I use a Nikon Coolpix L830, which is an older model, (which replaced a more simple Coolpix point and shoot) but the Coolpix range is very easy to use and not too expensive. I'm certainly no professional photographer but the Nikon Coolpix has worked out very well for me. The more recent camera I was looking at was the Nikon Cooolpix P950. Look for my photos in the most recent posts in the Nature Photography thread. Here's an example -

[EmperorDinobot]

That is a very good image @triceratops83, I'll look into it. So far, everyone has recommended a Nikon. I admit I know very little about the subject. 

[Ajax88]

I am a prolific bird photographer, and have beenusing a Nikon D7200 for many years. They can be bought for around $500 nowdays, and are n excellent DSLR for bird photography. If your aiming cheaper, the nikon single lens
superzooms are all very good too.

[Ajax88]

Some recent favorite photos taken with my D7200.

[EmperorDinobot]

I was just looking at it, A @ajax , thanks. Impressive shots. There is a spot, not far from where I live, that gets bee-like dinosaurs to flock over some flowers every early summer. I hope to see them next year with my mum. But the usual year long fare are just robins and those who hunt them. They say it will be a rough winter this year, so maybe we can get some shots sooner.

[ceratopsian]

I use the Nikon bridge camera P950.  Not going to give quite the professional results of a DSLR but it is simpler to use and less heavy.  The zoom is excellent in range, though blurry at the highest magnification.  Using a tripod would give better results but it's all kit to carry (and I have arm problems.)

[Torvosaurus]

@Ajax88 First is a grey owl and the third is a turqoise browed motmot, so what are the hummingbirds? The fourth picture looks like one of the mountaingems, but the second pic has me totally stumped.

Do you get to Costa Rica often or was it simply a vacation?

Torvo

[Ajax88]

@Ajax88 First is a grey owl and the third is a turqoise browed motmot, so what are the hummingbirds? The fourth picture looks like one of the mountaingems, but the second pic has me totally stumped.

Do you get to Costa Rica often or was it simply a vacation?

Torvo

It was a vacation to celebrate my 30th and my engagement. Wish I could get there more often, its an amazing place. The hummers are a White Throated Mountaingem and a Firey-throated Hummingbird.

[Torvosaurus]

@Ajax88 Thanks, I'd like to go there myself. And congrats on the engagement. I'm coming up on 30 years married myself, and you being 30 and engaged kind of brought up some old, good memories. 🙂

Torvo

[Ajax88]

@Ajax88 Thanks, I'd like to go there myself. And congrats on the engagement. I'm coming up on 30 years married myself, and you being 30 and engaged kind of brought up some old, good memories. 🙂

Torvo

Costa Rica is well, well, worth it. Very easy to get around, pretty cheap hotels, and wildlife out the wazoo. I saw something like 300 bird species there and ~25 reptiles and amphibians. It was a blast!

[bmathison1972]

I was in Chicago (well, Oak Brook) for two days for a quick work trip but managed to pickup a lifer in the American Tree Sparrow:

https://ebird.org/checklist/S201713452

@Halichoeres - it dawned on me too late I should have told you I was coming. Oh well, if all goes well, I will be in Chicago (proper) next July for work.

[GnastyGnorc]

Another bird watcher here although I would also consider myself to be fairly casual. I think overall I have a stronger interest in herping but I consider myself just as a generic naturalist. Lol I will focus on birds for awhile then suddenly switch to herps for a few months, then back to birds, and now I am thinking about doing some snorkeling and possibly getting scuba certified. So I am all over the place.