Point-and-Shoot Nature Photography by Ethan Winning : Birds

P&S Nature Photography by Ethan Winning

Birds Galleries

Blackbirds, Cowbirds, Starlings : Red-winged and other blackbirds, crows, jays, starlings, and the orange blackbird, the oriole...they're all related at least in my own mind. Red-winged are best viewed in X2. Well, they all are.

Blackbirds, Cowbirds, Starlings

Bullock's Orioles :

Bullock's Orioles

California Quail : So far, just California Quail and it may well stay that way.

California Quail

Ducks & Geese : Ducks, geese, and other things with feet that sometimes float and/or dive except cormorants which are under shorebirds ('cause that's where I find them). Since this is over a 3-5 year period - and I'm getting better - the groupings may be oddly interspersed. That's life.

Finches : Here you'll find sparrows, finches, yellow-rumped warblers, and one Pipet, Solitaire, and Indigo Bunting.

Gulls : What can I tell you? I like gulls. The first two photos might explain part of the reason. They may be raucous, but they're also beautiful fliers, Okay, so they steal periodically. It's the economy.

Herons and Egrets : I've finally got this down from over 100 photos, but I can't help it. If it's a snowy egret shoveling up food with its yellow feet, I've got to take its picture. If it's a Great Blue Heron and he doesn't look completely like a slob, I'll take it. Much as I say I won't take another photo of the black-crowned night heron, well that only works until I see another one hunting. And who can resist the odd looking green heron chicks, especially when they're catching dragonflies just three weeks out of the egg?

Herons and Egrets

Hummingbirds : Until I get a couple in flight (written in 2009), this may be the quietest gallery, but once I find the right time, flower, and possibility, I'm not giving up. And here's something to think about: male hummers like the highest point on a tree for a lookout. What was within the range of my P&S last year is now 12 feet further away. Not fair.

Jays : Steller's, Western and Coastal Scrub, Grey Jays

Kinglets and Juncos : Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Dark-eyed Juncos are here.

Kinglets and Juncos

Mockingbirds and Towhees : Still looking for a decent shot at a Spotted Towhee, and they're about the same size as the Mockingbird. Beaks are entirely different, but they're both beautiful bland birds, and the mockingbird is a real favorite.

Mockingbirds and Towhees

Nuthatches : The nuthatch which took three years to get one good shot of finally came out of the woodwork (so to speak) this year, so it seemed appropriate to give it its own gallery.

One Each: Pipit, Kingfisher, Meadowlark... : Birds that don't quite fit into other bird galleries

One Each: Pipit, Kingfisher, Meadowlark...

Raptors : It started with an American Ketrel, then a Northern Harrier. I thought, this should be a snap. Well, I make no excuses for my point-and-shoot, but these have been toughest finds and shots of ALMOST any type of bird. March 2008

Shorebirds : If I find them on the shore, in the shore, around the shore, sitting on a stick in the waves, they're shorebirds. That's why the belted kingfisher is here.

Sparrows : Savannah, Golden-crowned, Lark, White-crowned, Rufous-crowned, and House Sparrows

Swallows, Flycatchers, Phoebes : So far, just tree and barn swallows and one violet-green being shot out of an oak titmouse home.

Swallows, Flycatchers, Phoebes

Tits and Chickadees : Oak Titmice, Bushtits, Wrentits and the Chestnut-backed Chickadee (a member of the Tit family). I used to think that tits were the toughest birds to photograph, but persistence and knowing their habits has certainly helped. Still, the Chestnut-backed Chickadee and Wrentits are problematic.

Tits and Chickadees

Thrushes : Thrushes other than Western Bluebird: Robins, Hermit Thrush, Townsend's Solitaire, etc. See Western Bluebird in separate gallery.

Warblers : MacGillvray's, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-rumped, etc.

Waxwings, Doves, and more : Cedar waxwings, robins, doves - anything about that size that sits in trees and eats berries excluding my grandson.

Waxwings, Doves, and more

Western Bluebirds : So far, I've only gotten the Western Bluebird. I've only seen one Mountain Bluebird and that was 20 years ago. Therefore, you're pretty much going to see the Western ... and an indigo bunting if ever I'm so lucky.

Western Bluebirds

Woodpeckers: Downey & Nuttall's : Mostly Downy and Nuttall's, though pay particular attention to the Nuttall's Morph. Plus there are photos from May 2013 showing two Nuttall's chicks emerging from a nest "excavated" 16 months earlier. A full gallery of Acorn Woodpeckers, one of my favorite birds because of their behavior as much as beauty is also on site. And there is a separate gallery for Northern Red- and Yellow-shafted Flickers.

Woodpeckers: Downey & Nuttall's

Woodpeckers: Northern Flickers : Northern Yellow- and Red-shafted Flickers

After three years of picking up a few red-and yellow-shafted flickers, I finally got lucky and got a dozen shots of a courtship ritual. What's funny about that is that, though they showed red-shafted feathers while flying a foot in the air, I still couldn't get a decent shot of those feathers that distinguish the two species. It's a beautiful wookpecker that continues to defy my point-and-shoot (which really should be called a stalk-run-point-and-shoot) efforts. But for you, enjoy.

Woodpeckers: Northern Flickers

Woodpeckers: Acorn Woodpeckers : Why a separate gallery of Acorn Woodpeckers? Well, for some people penguins hold some fascination. Witness the success of "Happy Feet." For me, Acorn Woodpeckers hold the same fascination. They're the parrots of the woodpecker family. Gregarious, often raucous, and can be found hopping, flying in beautiful undulating patterns or a beeline when they have purpose. The hang upside down on old or dead trees and hammer acorns into the trunks. Their mating display is awfully pretty. In fact, they are pretty with red caps, black eyes encircled with white and black, with a white streaked breast, white flight feathers, and don't forget the one thing that isn't mentioned in any of my numerous books ... they have a yellow spot on their throats and often a yellow bib, sometimes on females, with a red dot in the yellow bib. I found communal stashes - or caches if you prefer - at three sites in the Walnut Creek Open Space, and one on Mount Diablo. It's not unusual to see 6 or 8 birds all hammering away or squabbling, not over territory, but more regarding placement. Anyway, here's one of my top three favorite birds with due apologies to those who have had them use your gutters and downspouts as drums.

Woodpeckers: Acorn Woodpeckers

Wrens : House Wrens, Bewick's Wrens, Rock Wrens, Marsh Wrens

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