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Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Nice Bird Identification photos

Check out these bird identification images:

Surprise birds!
bird identification

Image by scpetrel
I was actually taking a photo of the two ibises (one juvenile, one adult) and noticed the anhinga posturing behind in the viewfinder. I only noticed the other bird (left) when I got home. Thanks to the Bird Identification Help Group for confirming that it’s a green heron.

Using Your Camera for Bird ID Even If You Can’t Get a Decent Photo
bird identification

Image by Madison Guy
This duck was just a back-lighted silhouette offshore when we were walking around Stricker’s Pond yesterday and M noticed that it had an unusually large beak. We couldn’t see any markings at all, just a shape in the water. It was too far away for a good photo, but I zoomed out to 200mm and took a photo anyhow. Later, I cropped in ruthlessly, selected the duck and boosted brightness and contrast. Not much of a shot by any means — but enough to identify the duck as a Northern Shoveler, with the aid of Stan Tekiela’s easy-to-use-for-total-amateurs Birds of Wisconsin Field Guide, which says it swims "low in water with large bill always pointed towards water as if it’s too heavy to lift."

And even if you don’t have a bird book handy, you can post your photo in the Bird Identification Help Group on Flickr. Usually someone identifies it within minutes in the comments, even from photos shot from too far away in bad light. Usually the habitat, the bird’s shape and posture, and the slightest indication of markings and color will let an experienced birder make the ID from even a bad photo. I think this group is one of the coolest features of the Flickr community.



Tags:bird, Identification, Nice, photos

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