Kasey
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Viewing 2 posts - 1 through 2 (of 2 total)
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My goals are fairly simple. I bought myself a DSLR with two lenses (one up to 50mm, the other up to 700mm) last year and I am pretty intimidated to use it. I want to transition away from taking quick snaps on my cell phone of birds you can barely see, to "real" photographs. I want to learn the patience needed to take deliberate shots with the right focus and light so that other people can see what I see.
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Discussion on "Practice Understanding Birds for Better Photos": Did your sightings surprise you? How do you think the research you did might help inform your photography?
Black turnstones, sited January 26, 2021.
I hadn't yet chosen which bird I wanted to study when I came across this group of about 10-15 black turnstones while walking on the Monterey Bay Coastal Trail in central California. As I stopped to watch them, I realized they are a species I don't know much about, so researching a little bit about their lives was a treat. They're wintering here now, as they do all along the Pacific coast, from southeastern Alaska to Baja California, but by spring they'll head up north to breed in Alaska. They prefer grass to rock for their ground nests, but while they're overwintering here, they'll stick to the rocky coastline. They prefer a variety of aquatic invertebrates to eat, as is the case with a lot of shorebirds in this area, but the turnstones have a unique adaptation: their bill is short and slightly upturned, and they use it to turn over small rocks and debris to find food underneath (hence the name "turnstone"). This group was hunkered down on the rocks to avoid a particularly strong storm swell and high surf, so I didn't get to observe this behavior. Guess I'll have to come back at low tide one day and see if I spot them again!
Discussion on "Practice Understanding Birds for Better Photos": Did your sightings surprise you? How do you think the research you did might help inform your photography?
Black turnstones, sited January 26, 2021.
I hadn't yet chosen which bird I wanted to study when I came across this group of about 10-15 black turnstones while walking on the Monterey Bay Coastal Trail in central California. As I stopped to watch them, I realized they are a species I don't know much about, so researching a little bit about their lives was a treat. They're wintering here now, as they do all along the Pacific coast, from southeastern Alaska to Baja California, but by spring they'll head up north to breed in Alaska. They prefer grass to rock for their ground nests, but while they're overwintering here, they'll stick to the rocky coastline. They prefer a variety of aquatic invertebrates to eat, as is the case with a lot of shorebirds in this area, but the turnstones have a unique adaptation: their bill is short and slightly upturned, and they use it to turn over small rocks and debris to find food underneath (hence the name "turnstone"). This group was hunkered down on the rocks to avoid a particularly strong storm swell and high surf, so I didn't get to observe this behavior. Guess I'll have to come back at low tide one day and see if I spot them again! Viewing 2 posts - 1 through 2 (of 2 total)