It's Thayer's Gull WEEK on the blog!!! Aren't you excited!?

My favourite thing to photograph on an average gull-watching day --- Thayer's Gulls! 

I enjoy them so much, I'm dedicating an entire week to them. And if you don't like it, too bad. Get your own blog and write something more useful. But until you do... Until you do... It's Thayer's Gulls for EVERYONE 

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6 photos of a beauty Thayer's Gull (juvenile) from mid Feb:

(had a bum leg) 

A solid "middle of the road" juv. Thayer's Gull in my opinion. They seem to fade fast throughout the winter, and this bird has all the right stuff.  Lots of dark in the wings/tail/secondaries, nice brown wash to the underparts, fairly large...

I'm so excited, I hardly know what to do with myself. 

Here's two photos (posted last week) of a different bird... Although it was already posted, this individual was truly the inspiration for all of these Thayer's Gull photos that will be presented this week. Thank you, feathered friend: 

Aren't they a thing of beauty? Be sure to check back for "new" birds every day this week!

A gull background for your computer

I have been really happy with the current background on my computer, and felt the urge to share. A Lesser Black-backed Gull (adult) having a slight disagreement with a juv. Thayer's Gull... Click on the image below to view the full-sized (1400 pixel) image. You're welcome to download it onto your computer for use as the background (if you want) !

(5 gull species in here!) 

Normally I would add some sort of disclaimer saying "not for any use other than a personal background etc" - but I would probably find it pretty hilarious if someone found some sort of way to make money from a gull pic.....



Onto some regular updates:



Some more pics I've added to the "gull pages" on picasa (link on sidebar menu):

Kumlien's/Thayer's additions:

Pale Juv Kumlien's (early Feb near Dunnville)

Dark Juv Thayer's from Niagara in early Jan: 

very pale "Kumlien's" adult: Mid Feb (prly has some glaucoides in it) :

 Dark-ish Kumlien's from mid Feb:

Juv Kumlien's from mid feb:

Lesser Black-backed Gull additions:


A possible "4th basic" (4th winter) Lesser Black-backed Gull (4 pics):

 A very sharp adult (definitive basic) LBBG:

Nature Photography 104: Part 5: why do things always have to be so dramatic?

To make a very long story short, I keep finding myself annoyed with nature photography. I was very worked up a few days ago, when I became quite confident that the winner of a fairly large photo contest must have edited/doctored the photo... I then look at said persons website, and found some very blatant editing along with large amounts of shameless self-promotion as a truly expert photographer. 

This really wasn't anything new, but I learned something from it: People can do whatever the heck they want, and I shouldn't care about it. If it bothers me, I can just focus on how I conduct myself and my photography! And with that said, I had the idea to reveal some of the work done on my own photos on my personal website. 

Are you ready for a look at everything you may or may not already know about nature photography? I'll post the website version first, followed by the totally un-edited original.

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Nature Photography 104: Part 5: Why do things always have to be so dramatic?


From: http://www.peregrineprints.com/zz_ANHI.htm

Here’s an example from the height of my “colour” phase. For some reason, I felt like this image really handled the boost of contrast and colour. It’s important to remember that the “original” shown here is actually duller than real life.. And in reality, there was the dark side of a thunderhead behind the bird, but I’ve obviously pushed it a bit further.....

Sort of bears the question, why does everything have to be so dramatic? In my experiences, these images are often more popular on photography forums (and among photographers and birders too)... I think, when viewed alone, they really do stand out compared to other photos the viewer has seen of the same species.  But when I end up with a website full of “dramatic” images, it starts to give me the “over-dramatic” feeling...

The first image is probably one of the bigger culprits on my site, but hopefully I’ll have more to expose in the future!  I've sort of reached a point where I'm not longer happy with some of these images, (and think I could do a much better job if I did a re-edit), but just don't have the motivation to do them. Especially when I have new photos to work with! 

Hope you enjoyed this installment! If you found it a bit dull, never fear, the next 2 are on owls... 

Week in review

This fancy 2nd winter Glaucous Gull in a parking lot presents my week in review (random stuff I saw).

Coyotes in the mist 

I've looked at WAY too many bluebirds this winter... where's my mountain? 

Goose-zilla

the what?

The trend continues. I checked the popular snowy owl spot (Metz) and only found a single bird. For some reason, they are behaving abnormally in this "invasion". 

And the undisputed star of my week:

A stunning baby Golden Eagle. Surely one of the most spectacular birds in the world - eating deer parts in a corn field. Flew to a woodlot, then soared around and waited for us to leave (presumably so it could continue feeding).

I even had the chance to take a video:

Another week down... These are the times that get us ready for spring-migration madness in late April/May...

I'll finish this off with some good random weather network stuff:

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I enjoy a good Hoary Redpoll:

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/your_weather/details/1920/5682078/60/upload/0?ref=ugc_yourweather_search

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/your_weather/details/1920/5678590/150/upload/0?ref=ugc_yourweather_search

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/your_weather/details/1920/4004459/Hoary/upload/0?ref=ugc_yourweather_search

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/your_weather/details/1920/4197797/Hoary/upload/0?ref=ugc_yourweather_search

a few Hornemann's in there...

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The power of teh interwebs

Remember this bird? That I posted at 9:53pm last night?

Well it turns out that "Orange with black letters" is Newfoundland territory when it comes to banding gulls. Bruce Mactavish was all over it, like a gull to bread, and had the following information in my inbox at 9:26am ~ (less than 12 hours later! Which is even more impressive considering we slept for most of it.. Or at least, I did). 

Here's the skinny:

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Hi Bruce,

Very interesting...

Definitely ours, band number, 1166-00967. Banded on 30 September as a hatch year bird at Petty Harbour. So presumably a post-fledge juvenile, probably from a relatively local colony. Dave Fifield captured that bird, along with a bunch of others - it was a good day for catching apparently.

Love to know where and when it was seen, and feel free to send the capture details to the post (or put me in contact with the finder) - whatever works for you.

This is the first Ontario record we've had with the orange bands. Tons from New England, but nothing from Ontario until now.

thanks!

Greg

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Petty Harbour, Newfoundland!

Direct line of flight is roughly 2200km back to Waterloo!  And on an interesting WSW angle too.

birding without labels

No this isn't some new radical approach to birding. It's gull talk 101! 

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Had the chance to photograph some spectacular gulls, that are either Kumlien's Iceland Gulls (dark end of the spectrum) or very pale Thayer's Gulls. And that's the beauty of these birds! For those unfamiliar, the two "species" provide constant headaches for listers and gull fanatics alike. Out west, where Kumlien's is the rarity, there is no way in heck you could consider these two birds (pics below) anything but Thayer's Gulls. Yet in Newfoundland, (where Thayer's is the rarity) these birds would be run-of-the-mill Kumlien's Iceland Gulls. 

Have a look at the first pics: 

Lots of blackish markings in the primaries (fairly extensive in the outer primaries (P10-6) yet P5 has no markings. A sizeable bird, with deep pink legs, and a pale eye. 

Bird #2 - 

A paler bird in the wingtips, being both grayer and less extensive in the outer primaries, yet it also has a sizable mark on P5, unlike the above bird. Paler legs, bill, eye than the first bird as well. 

-- and isn't that the beauty of seeing these birds in Ontario? Where we really don't have to call them anything. I think we are the best situated "gullers" in the world to explore this ID problem, since both species are regular in the province. In locations where one "species" is a mega-rarity, too many intermediate birds are lumped as "Just an odd Kumlien's or Thayer's" in their respective zones. 

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I'm of the mind that bird #1 probably has a bit more Thayer's genetics in it, while the bottom bird probably has a bit more Kumlien's. But do we really know?

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Also had this banded Herring Gull. Already sent the info to the bird banding office:

http://www.ec.gc.ca/bbo/default.asp?lang=En&n=AA9C96BC-1

First time I've done it by email. Will update the blog when I hear more about it, unless someone here knows ?!?!

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I'm going to apologize in advance to any frequent blog readers who don't enjoy postings about gulls........ 

Book review: Avian Architecture

Book review time!

Disclaimer: Princeton Publishing provided a copy for review

Book review: Avian Architecture   How birds design, engineer & build

The skinny: I decided to go out on a limb and take a look at this book. I don't really think it is the style of publication that readers of the blog here will dive into, but it was still fun to read. 

Price: listed on the back as $27.95

~160 pages

The Good stuff: There is a lot of cool information in this book. If you like nests, I'm sure it would be very exciting. I've never been much of a nest searcher, but I still found it fun to flip through the pages. There's some nice photos scattered around as well (as shown above). 

The bad stuff:  there really isn't anything "bad" about the book.... Good/bad doesn't really apply here. Maybe it's time for a new category in the book reviews.

The X Factor:   I'm not sure if "X Factor" is right either... But here's the low-down... The whole 9 yards? ....... 

I get the strong impression that this book was written for kids. Maybe I'm wrong and that's very insulting, but it gave me flashbacks to my youth in elementary school,, flipping through the teachers collection of books. Some of the drawings, while very accurate, look like they're down by kids themselves. 

It's not a bad thing, but I don't think you're looking for a book like this if you're reading my blog. 

Who gets this book? :

1. Schools, Libraries, etc. --- a great book to have in the classroom, a school library, public library, maybe make it available for a young-naturalists program at your local organisation. If a kid has an interest in this type of natural history, I'm sure they would love it. Having it available at these locations would help get it into their hands. 

2. - Gifts? -- maybe a nice complementary Christmas present to a youngster who loves nature. I don't think there's any guarantee that they'll wear it out reading it so often, but you never know. 

3. People who love books.  --- if you really like books, it IS under $30... Really not a bad price for a book these days, and it does have a lot of fun information and photographs. Why not give it a try?

Ebird'er of the month: Mike Burrell

Check out the main page on ebird:

http://ebird.org/content/ebird/


That happy fellow is none other than Ontario's Mike Burrell... Make sure you read the whole article!

http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/m201102



If you're not following Mikes' blog, you should! It is filled with good stuff (including lots of ebird information).

http://mikeburrell.blogspot.com/

As always, if you're not using ebird, you should be!


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I don't have much else to write about at the moment. Here's a Snow Goose from work last week. I've "found" Snow Geese at least 10 times already this year, yet no "rare" geese.

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Only one thing left to say. Happy Valentines Day to my darling girlfriend Jenn, and my Mom! 

Last weeks "real" photography... again

Remember a few days ago when I said I actually brought my real camera gear into the field? And actually took some pictures?

Well here is two more that I've uploaded to my site (edited etc).

I do not expect any calls from National Geographic anytime soon, but I'm still enjoying "going against the grain" with my photos. (main thing here is "birds small in the frame"). 

I guess they may not look that much different than the other photos I often post (eg./ the Thayers Gull from Saturday). But there's a big difference on my end, with the above photos greatly reduced down from the 45mb / 14 megapixel originals that I get to see.. The shots on my website are 0.5 megapixels...

Hope you like them 

More random stuff - I just can't get enough!

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher from 2010 on Manitoulin Island??:

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/your_weather/details/1920/3404685/flycatcher/upload/0?ref=ugc_yourweather_search


I don't think this was reported to ontbirds/ebird/obrc.. anyone??

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A bird that looks great for "Iceland" Iceland Gull, all the way in Duluth, MN:

http://www.pbase.com/karlbardon/icelandgullnominate

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I'm hooked on weather network stuff:

Bearded Seal in NL;
http://www.theweathernetwork.com/your_weather/details/1920/5581539/60/upload/0?ref=ugc_yourweather_search

Green Morph Pine Siskin (low flying bird):

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/your_weather/details/1920/5583648/20/upload/0?ref=ugc_yourweather_search

Winter chat in NS:

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/your_weather/details/1920/5607272/140/upload/0?ref=ugc_yourweather_search

Pigeons:

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/your_weather/details/1920/5600162/224/upload/1

Lynx:

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/your_weather/details/1920/5595484/290/upload/0?ref=ugc_yourweather_search

Winter weasel:

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/your_weather/details/1920/5593586/340/upload/0?ref=ugc_yourweather_search

Ladykiller:

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/your_weather/details/1920/5594647/320/upload/0?ref=ugc_yourweather_search

Hoary Redpoll:

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/your_weather/details/1920/5665504/260/upload/0?ref=ugc_yourweather_search





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A cool story on super continents:

http://www.kxly.com/news/30409556/detail.html

-- I like the part that says mammalian species tend to only last 2 million years... With all the stuff we've done in the last 100 to the earth, it's hard to imagine us sticking around for any significant length of time as a species


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How to flush a Snowy Owl:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=E0_gzY2k7P0

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Merciless!!! That owl shows none. Especially towards pet store feeder mice released by photographers!

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/your_weather/details/1920/5673752/140/upload/0?ref=ugc_yourweather_search

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Another pet-store feeder mouse.. But this one was "brought to the surface by the sun" apparently:

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/your_weather/details/1920/5672705/160/upload/0?ref=ugc_yourweather_search

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Painful memories:

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/your_weather/details/1920/1563740/rare/upload/0?ref=ugc_yourweather_search


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All I can say is "wow" --

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/your_weather/details/1920/1929872/rare/upload/0?ref=ugc_yourweather_search

Gulls in all their glory

My darling Jenn and I went to the Ira Needles area in Waterloo to search for some gulls this morning, after seeing Peeter Musta's spectacular photos and reports.

Check out his great photos from the area here: http://mustap.smugmug.com/Nature/Birding-in-Ontario/WaterlooDump/11045791_NVtdpr#!i=1707162570&k=H8wtnPn


We found our target bird, a spectacularly dark juvenile Thayer's Gull (one of 2) that Peeter had photographed in the area yesterday. We hung around for quite a while, but "record shots" were the best I could do:

Another highlight was a sweet adult Herring X Great Black-backed Gull Hybrid:

A very fun chance to get some gull photos, considering there was only a few hundred gulls present!