A rare capture of a common bird: the Carolina wren

While I can almost always count on hearing a Carolina wren on my visits to the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm, it’s a rare day when I see one and even rarer when I’m able to get a photo. I routinely hear and see these tubby little birds at home. I have several photos of themContinue reading “A rare capture of a common bird: the Carolina wren”

The early bird gets the berries

While I had trouble the other day getting a clear shot of a yellow-rumped warbler eating berries, I was able to get one this morning at the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm. I can’t say whether it was one of the birds I saw Sunday, but it was the same tree that the bird was onContinue reading “The early bird gets the berries”

So close: a day of ‘almost’ shots

Take a look at the yellow-rumped warbler topping this post. The bird is in profile high up in a tree, eying a cluster of berries. A moment later, the bird would have one of those berries in its beak, but that shot was blurred. Another frame shows the bird with its beak plunged into theContinue reading “So close: a day of ‘almost’ shots”

Giving my new Canon R7 a workout

I took today off from work in anticipation of great fall weather to give my new Canon EOS R7 camera a second-day workout. I’d taken the camera out to the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm on Thursday morning. With the high-speed auto advance blazing, I shot 162 frames — maybe 10 of which were in focus.Continue reading “Giving my new Canon R7 a workout”

A new Canon R7. Bring on the birds!

Well, it’s a start. The American robin topping this post was the first bird photo I was able to snap with my new Canon EOS R7 camera that arrived Monday. What followed was a series of unfortunate events. The first was that the adapter I need to mount my older-generation lenses was delayed a dayContinue reading “A new Canon R7. Bring on the birds!”

My old camera comes out of retirement

With my Canon SL2 acting up (or rather, shutting down), I put my old Canon Rebel XT into service today. It did a creditable job, at least as long as the battery lasted. Topping this post is a shot of a yellow-rumped/myrtle warbler that settled in a tree at the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm. FullyContinue reading “My old camera comes out of retirement”

An Eastern meadowlark amid fall color

I follow a number of blogs that are short on text and long on images. So for a change to my usual chatty m.o., here’s a photo of an Eastern Meadowlark that I spotted at the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm on Saturday morning. I am pleased with it, and I hope you like it, too.

Surviving a scare with my camera

The camera I use on my birding outings, a Canon SL2, is getting on in years, and I’ve had a few cases of the shutter failing to fire in recent months. None was so alarming as what I experienced this morning while visiting the Reed-Bryan Farm side of Mercer Meadows. The camera wouldn’t even turnContinue reading “Surviving a scare with my camera”

Catch a kinglet if you can!

My birding friend Nancy and I had a nice stroll trough the main trails of the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm this morning. Noticing little action as we made our way up the central dirt path, we had better luck once we reached the woods and the area near the old AT&T Building One site. TheContinue reading “Catch a kinglet if you can!”

Backyard bluebirds = joy

While I’m fortunate to see Eastern bluebirds during much of the year on my birding outings, it’s rare to see them at home. Two of them surprised my wife and me a few mornings back as we were eating breakfast at the kitchen table. One perched briefly on our suet feeder while another hung outContinue reading “Backyard bluebirds = joy”