I observe birds every day on my walk, on travel or just from my backyard. I have been doing the Backyard Count on the weekends. In the 4 years that I have been doing this, I have counted about 30 species of birds, visiting or just passing by my feeders. Once in a while, you see something you do not expect and have to be ready. This beautiful Pileated Woodpecker has learned that suet can be a supplement on her diet, and sometimes a male stop by.  Canon 5D Mark III, Lens 100-400 Canon.

Yesterday afternoon I went to a park near my neighborhood. I saw a goose there that seemed sick. At first I stayed away for a long time, then I stayed closer without disturbing him. Others birds came near but I didn't take any photo of them.

I have a regular sit spot on my back deck where I frequently photograph the birds who visit my feeders and the surrounding woods. Before and after visiting the feeders and/or the bath, they typically perch in nearby trees, bushes, brush piles, or the shepherd's hooks in my garden that hold hummingbird feeders in the spring and summer. As long as I stay seated and relatively still, the songbirds don't seem to mind my presence. Although, to be sure, I have had the easiest time gaining an audience with our neighborhood Red-shouldered Hawks. They visit my backyard frequently, and they appear rather indifferent to me, which has allowed me to get some great photographs. Of course, I still maintain a very reasonable and respectful distance, but I've found the Red-shouldered Hawks allow me to move around with greater ease and stay a bit more conspicuous than the other birds do.

I liked the idea of sticking around and watching bird behavior for 30 min.  The wintery cold made that a bit of a challenge, even though I had tried to dress with many layers.  While clearly not 30 min, I chose to watch a pied-billed grebe from a bridge.  It kept on diving for food and eventually popped up with a fish.

I've had some basic bird feeders in my yard for a couple of years and I learned pretty quickly where birds "hang out" in between trips to the feeders.  There are a couple of trees, the top of a fence, the roof of a shed next door that holds woody debris and leaves, and the roof of a storage shed in the yard.  It's these locations on which I focus for getting good photographs of the birds who use my feeders.  I also sit outside, in a chair on the back porch, about 8 m or so from the feeding and perching sites. I cradle my camera and lens, waiting until the birds become accustomed to me being close and begin moving from their perches to the feeders, feeding with earnestness and efficiency, then heading back to their perch for a break from feeding and to perhaps reassess the safety of the landscape.  The ground feeders have similar behavior.  I’ve noticed that while they’re at their perches, many of the birds are turned away from me but have their heads cocked and one eye on me.  My hunch is that they are turned away from me so that they’ll be able to fly away from me if necessary.  These sessions are always so satisfying, for the good photos obtained, and for just observing the birds and learning their behaviour, as well as just being with them.

Hello everyone, I visited an urban park near my house yesterday and sat for an hour. After the first 30 mins of waiting at a sit spot, I was finally able to see birds fly up close to me and I managed to get a few shots but being a beginner, the shots are not that great. I'll practice more and try to get better shots. Here are some of the pics I was able to get of Willy wagtail, New Holland Honeyeater with Red wattlebird and a bit of Rainbow lorikeet.  

From my yard. I often sit quietly in my back yard and am amazed who might show up even briefly! Northern Mockingbird, White-crowned Sparrow, Acorn Woodpecker.

Sitting still for 30 minutes is difficult for me. Coming into my neighborhood park, I was able to hear Pine Siskins zippering loudly in the pines above me. I saw a Townsend Warbler and heard the call of the Red-shouldered Hawk then saw it high ahead. Once I sat down, Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Dark-eyed Juncos, and Anna's Hummingbirds were not too far away. I watched an Anna's go to a branch close to where it nested a few years ago. After a while, I heard a Yellow-rumped Warbler and was able to see it right above me. I tried to get a shot of a nearby Townsend Warbler and Dark-eyed Junco but they stayed hidden in the shade of pine trees and I did not find one that came out well. A bit disappointed, I started writing and just then heard the chip of a Townsend Warbler just overhead and finally got a good shot (above). I heard a Ruby-crowned Kinglet call overhead and saw - it was too far away for a photo but got to see it's sweet eyes and round body. Just then, an Anna's darted super close to my head! It was so loud, it took my breath away. So awesome! At my feeder at home, I do have a maple tree nearby that is very pretty. Even in the winter, it affords a photogenic place for birds to rest. Here are a few pictures I've taken next to my feeder over the years.

I sit quietly on the swing on our porch near the feeders. After a while the juncos, house finches, and chickadees come around.  Sometimes I get to see the Anna's making his rounds.

Sparrows have never seemed very interesting compared to hummingbirds or exotic tropical birds. Also, I always assumed, incorrectly, that there was only one kind of sparrow, the House Sparrow. Since I started learning basic bird watching, I have learned that sparrows consist of many different types and some are quite exotic to my geographic area. Now I know that there is the White crowned, White throated, Fox, American Tree, Song, etc., etc. Lately I managed to photograph a very special northern sparrow, called the Harris's, which is entirely bred in Canada. It has very special markings and is larger than most other sparrows. The flow of northern sparrows during the fall migration usually marks the beginning of winter weather. And indeed the snow has now begun here. Pelicans, Swainson's hawks and warblers have left and my feeders are being visited by Blackcap chickadees, Redbreasted Nuthatches, Downy woodpeckers, Juncos, House Sparrows and some of northern sparrows. Using my camera with a 2500 shutter speed with them barely freezes their actions. There is a particular place in the local park where I know that there are different sparrows next to the lake, but with access to seeds and insects where I enjoy visiting.

I put a bird feeder on my balcony as my condo does not have a yard. I usually sit quietly on the balc0ny or by the sliding door to the balcony (inside the condo) in the morning and later afternoon with a cup of coffee and my camera. There is a pear tree about 3 stories high in front of the balcony, so this is a good staging area for the birds to observe the feeders and decide to visit.

At the senior residence in Oakland where I live, there is a small garden with a decorative fountain. I just sit in a comfortable chair and wait for the birds to come. A few days ago a Western Bluebird family, two adults and three juveniles came to bathe. The last to bathe was the male who ended his bath with this flourish.

From our back deck, we were excited to see a somewhat unusual visitor to our yard for this time of year (September), a Gray Flycatcher.  Sitting on a chair and waiting for it to appear, fly, reappear was productive.

I live near the Maitland River and have observed Great Blue Herons regularly downstream from the bridge. Yesterday I slowly walked along the riverbank toward where I often see them. I did not get that close, but one flew right overhead and I also saw Common Mergansers. More importantly, I noticed a couple of places where there was a lot of bird droppings below a dead branch. I think Belted Kingfishers use these branches as perches for hunting. I am planning to go back, on the opposite side of the river this am when the sun is to my back and see if I can capture one of these beautiful birds. Thank you for pointing out that birds are creatures of habit. :)

Well, my husband got a kick out of watching the bird watcher.  You can see my sit spot in the back yard.  In the summer months I would sit on the deck with my coffee while the sun rose which was lovely.  The hummingbirds would come right up to me!  Anyway, here are a few photos I took this evening.

Canon Canon PowerShot SX200 IS ƒ/5.31/32060 mmISO250

I sat on a low gardening stool to the side of both a suet feeder on the left and a wooded area to the right. I have found (and was surprised) that some of the smallest birds (chickadees, Carolina wrens) are more tolerant of my presence than a larger red-bellied woodpecker. A chickadee was flying from a moss bird house, hung in a tree quite near to my spot, and the feeder. At first I thought that it was preparing the house (building a nest inside?) but then saw that rather than pulling pieces of moss from the roof to add to the indoor preparations, it was actually placing seeds between the rows of moss. Since chickadees do store seeds in places like between the rows of bark on tree trunks or in tiny holes created by other birds or insects, it seemed reasonable to assume that it was doing the same here. It flew from a tree deeper in the wooded area to the feeder and then to the bird house. There is both an arbor and a trellis to the east of the suet feeder where many birds, especially Caroline wrens and cardinals, wait their turns at the feeder and the bird bath that sits on the deck rail just beyond the arbor. During the same period, a red-bellied woodpecker would fly to the feeder from a tree at the far edge of the wooded area. It took several tries before I could see him in a spot on the feeder to quickly snap an unblurred photo of him, whereas I was able to video the chickadee going about its work on the bird house without startling or chasing it away.

I normally "sneak" shots from my kitchen window.  This time I was able to hide on the stairs and blend into the background.  Was able to get a few shots.

Today it's snowing so going outside isn't the best plan.  I work from home, in my kitchen.  I have full view of my feeders and honestly feel like I'm "always" watching.  Recently, we had an unusual stretch of sub zero weather, which is very uncommon where I live.  I set out with purpose to watch for differences - noting mostly the fluffed feathers of the birds as well as sitting on their feet.   My camera sits on the counter by the window and I pick it up several times an hour it seems.  I do need to move slowly towards the window as the birds sense movement.  These are a few shots I got over those few days.  My feeders are surrounded by low bushes and the birds sit in the peripheral trees of the yard to wait for a turn to fly in.

I do a lot of observing from my dining room (faces the deck) and, invariably, the birds will come. I also have a cardinal pair (Mr. and Ma'am), as well as a lot of Woodpeckers - Downy, Red-Bellied, and Hairy. Most of the time, they pay little attention to me - as long as I keep the appropriate distance :) I also have a sit spot at one of the local parks where I can usually sit on a log, drink some coffee, and just let the birds adapt to my presence. I often monitor their chatter with Merlin so, when I finally look up for them, I know what I'm looking for. Here, I mostly hear songbirds, Cardinals, Flickers, and an occasional Brown-Headed Cowbird. Sometimes it's hard to be patient, so I avoid going to this sit spot if I have to be somewhere else.

I decided to try a sit spot in my back yard. When I first went out there was a Wood-House Scrub Jay calling from a nearby tree. Before too long I saw several House Sparrows and some Eurasian Collared Doves. But all of the species I saw kept their distance from me. At around 20 minutes it became difficult to sit still for such a long period of time.