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[OM] Re: olympus Digest V1 #137

Subject: [OM] Re: olympus Digest V1 #137
From: Stephen Scharf <scharfsj@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 12 Jun 2004 23:53:20 -0700
>
>
>Date: Sat, 12 Jun 2004 18:18:36 -0700 (PDT)
>From: Gary Edwards <zuikowarriors@xxxxxxxxx>
>Subject: [OM] Re: [OT] Need help identifying some birds-Any of you 
>guys "birder
>
>Stephen,
>
>Your tern might be an artic, or a roseate, or a common, but from the 
>location (Berkely, California?) my guess is a Forster's tern.  Jerry 
>Lyle can probably give us a definitive ID, if he is still on the 
>list.
>
>Nice shots, BTW.
>
>Gary Edwards
>
>Stephen Scharf <scharfsj@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>This is completely off-topic, but as it actually relates to
>photography, and not SUV's or guns, I thought one of you guys might
>be able to help me out. Ever since I saw "Winged Migration" last
>year, I have been fascinated seeing birds in flight, especially
>migratory birds.
>
>I went by the Berkeley Aquatic Park tonight to see if I could see my
>feathered friends and was rewarded with four different birds to
>photograph.
>
>I know the egret and black-crowned night heron that hang out there,
>but I noticed a small, *very* fast bird that was fishing by diving
>like a Stuka dive bomber. Here are some photos I shot. I apologize
>ahead of time for these photos-they're not great, I post them here
>only for identification purposes. The first one has poor framing,
>and for the most part, they are backlit; it was about 8:05 PM, hence
>the warm lighting. This guy was really fast, and as I was shooting at
>420 mm handheld with my D60, trying to get another egret shot when
>this guy came swooping by. With (only) three AF zones, I had a real
>hard time keeping up with him and just keeping him in the viewfinder
>with his speed and my very narrow angle of view. I was wondering if
>you guys could tell me what it is....my guess is it's an arctic tern
>that happened by while migrating, but as I 've have never seen one
>for real, I don't know.
>Here are the links....
>
>http://photos.imageevent.com/puma_cat/animals/websize/TernWeb1.jpg
>
>http://photos.imageevent.com/puma_cat/animals/TernWeb2.jpg
>
>http://photos.imageevent.com/puma_cat/animals/websize/TernWeb3.jpg
>
>http://photos.imageevent.com/puma_cat/animals/websize/TernWeb4.jpg
>
>I also saw another bird that I have no clue whatsoever what it
>is...it seemed like a cool bird, and had green feet and legs.
>
>Any clues?
>
>http://photos.imageevent.com/puma_cat/animals/websize/MysteryBird.jpg
>
>While I am at it, here is a shot of one of the black-crowned night
>herons. Nothing special, but I always like to see animal shots, so
>others might also.
>
>http://photos.imageevent.com/puma_cat/animals/websize/NightHeron.jpg
>
>Cheers,
>Stephen.
>
>
>
>--
>
>
>2001 CBR600F4i - Fantastic!
>
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>
>------------------------------
>
>Date: Sat, 12 Jun 2004 18:19:54 -0700 (PDT)
>From: Gary Edwards <zuikowarriors@xxxxxxxxx>
>Subject: [OM] Re: [OT] Need help identifying some birds-Any of you 
>guys "birder
>
>Stephen,
>
>Your tern might be an artic, or a roseate, or a common; but from the 
>location (Berkely, California?) my guess is a Forster's tern.  Jerry 
>Lyle can probably give us a definitive ID, if he is still on the 
>list.
>
>Nice shots, BTW.
>

Moose and Gary,
Thanks, guys! I figured somebody here would know...

Yeah, you guys might be right....it might not be an artic tern...I 
think they have the trailing edge of their wings trimmed in black, 
which this one does not. Shoot, I liked the thought of it being an 
arctic tern, and stopping by the Aquatic Park on it's migration. My 
understanding, though I may incorrect, is that many migratory birds 
stop at the same places each year on their migrations. Whatever, I 
think it's a beautiful bird, they have very sleek wings and tail 
feathers...they remind me of a little fighter jet.

Thanks for the info on the juvenile black-crowned night heron. It was 
a cool bird...I have some shots of him walking his way down from the 
succulent plants to the branch he was on...it was fun to watch him 
feel his way...he was putting one leg out, checking his balance, and 
then moving the other leg; he continued this way until he got where 
he wanted on the tree branch. They have the most interesting feet, 
very prehensile, and can really wrap their feet considerably around 
things and grab on. The egret that hangs out there is cool, too. The 
other night I was watching him scratch his head with one of his legs, 
just like a dog or cat would.

Whatever that tern was, he was sure fast; and he can sure fly! I was 
amazed to see him swoop  up, hover over the water for an instant, 
then dive bomb down, and then at the last second, pull a hard 90 deg. 
turn and go skimming out only a few inches above the water. Quite an 
athlete. Those guys can pull some G's!!! ;-)  Next time I will have 
to bring the 1D to snag him, if I see him again!

BTW, one of the shots I got last night was of this Great Egret. He's 
a regular, and I was disappointed when I drove up that he wasn't 
there. I was taking pictures of the Night Heron, and within a few 
moments of my arrival, he flew over and perched himself right in 
front of me. I got this shot of him, and today I worked it up in PS 
and printed i t out on Ilford Smooth Pearl on the 2200, and it looks 
absolutely gorgeous.

http://photos.imageevent.com/puma_cat/animals/GreatEgret.jpg

Thanks again!

-Stephen.



-- 


2001 CBR600F4i - Fantastic!

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