[Itsed65]

Originally Posted by dcstep

Due, any day now. I'll be looking for fawns again next weekend.

Great harrier shot. I haven't seen one in months.

Neither have I. This shot is a few months old I just got around to posting

I did go out to see the baby Osprey today and actually caught a white-tailed kite as well.

[Itsed65]

Attack Mode by lennycarl08, on Flickr

[dcstep]

I wish that we had kites around here. Beautiful bird.

[Itsed65]

One more shot from messing around at the house. I ran out of Rosé last year by July, so I went out a couple of weeks ago in search of more varieties to try and stock up on. All of these are dry and NOT super sweet (defiantly not like White Zin, Yuk!). They are a bit lower in alcohol than a lot of other wines too, so they make a great wine for summer get togethers. Several different grapes in use here as you can see by the colors. Kokomo is my favorite, but they put a limit on how much you can buy as they always sell out quickly.

Gathering the Rosé by lennycarl08, on Flickr

[Itsed65]

Originally Posted by dcstep

I wish that we had kites around here. Beautiful bird.

They are fascinating to watch. The way they do this silent dive is amazing.

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by Itsed65

They are fascinating to watch. The way they do this silent dive is amazing.

I shouldn't complain. Here's an American kestrel that hovered for me yesterday. They have a similar dive, but the blackbirds came and chased this one away.

Hovering Kestrel by David Stephens, on Flickr

[Itsed65]

Nice shot of a notoriously tricky little bugger to capture well

[Terry989]

Back from a Memorial Day weekend in Sonoma - - - now on to more Costa Rica. Young Howler Monkey spotted on a walk to the beach. From our hotel room, you could hear and see them daily.

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by Terry989

Back from a Memorial Day weekend in Sonoma - - - now on to more Costa Rica. Young Howler Monkey spotted on a walk to the beach. From our hotel room, you could hear see them daily.

Did you shoot any birds while in CR? I'm thinking about a trip there to focus on hummingbirds.

I hope that the monkeys don't throw things at you.

Dave

[Itsed65]

Originally Posted by Terry989

Back from a Memorial Day weekend in Sonoma - - - now on to more Costa Rica. Young Howler Monkey spotted on a walk to the beach. From our hotel room, you could hear see them daily.

Nice shot in tough light. I remember hearing the Howlers when I lived in Panama and would go fishing.

I was up Sonoma way myself over the holiday.

A Taste Of Mounts by lennycarl08, on Flickr

[Terry989]

Originally Posted by dcstep

Did you shoot any birds while in CR? I'm thinking about a trip there to focus on hummingbirds.

I hope that the monkeys don't throw things at you.

Dave

If you want to shoot birds of any kind, there are few places better than Coata Rica for it's diversity, micro climates and shear number of species that can be found within a 2 - 3 hour drive of almost anywhere in Costa Rica.

I took a few photos of birds, but not as many as I would have liked to. I traveled light with a f/4 70-200MM, f/2.8 90mm Macro (on the camera most of the time), and a f/2 25mm for landscape. Besides the Black Vulture, I took some successful photos of a Great Kiskadee, Hoffman’s Woodpecker, Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks, and surprisingly (or not), a Great-tailed Grackle!

Of course some not so successful photos of a White-throated magpie-jay, Blue-crowned Motmot, Ani and many others! Probably the most interesting bird I saw, standing along the road while driving to a town for dinner, a Crested Caracara. Then there was the Great Curassow, or Costa Rica Turkey - - - who knew?

Fortunately, these weren't throwing monkeys! During the day, they were usually resting in two tall trees. If you didn't know they were there, you would probably miss them. If however you lingered a little too long (like when taking some photo's), they would begin to pee and poop, showing their displeasure and getting you moving again.

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by Terry989

If you want to shoot birds of any kind, there are few places better than Coata Rica for it's diversity, micro climates and shear number of species that can be found within a 2 - 3 hour drive of almost anywhere in Costa Rica.

I took a few photos of birds, but not as many as I would have liked to. I traveled light with a f/4 70-200MM, f/2.8 90mm Macro (on the camera most of the time), and a f/2 25mm for landscape. Besides the Black Vulture, I took some successful photos of a Great Kiskadee, Hoffman’s Woodpecker, Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks, and surprisingly (or not), a Great-tailed Grackle!

Of course some not so successful photos of a White-throated magpie-jay, Blue-crowned Motmot, Ani and many others! Probably the most interesting bird I saw, standing along the road while driving to a town for dinner, a Crested Caracara. Then there was the Great Curassow, or Costa Rica Turkey - - - who knew?

Fortunately, these weren't throwing monkeys! During the day, they were usually resting in two tall trees. If you didn't know they were there, you would probably miss them. If however you lingered a little too long (like when taking some photo's), they would begin to pee and poop, showing their displeasure and getting you moving again.

Given your perspective, I was concerned about peeing and pooping monkeys.

So, did you go out looking for specific birds, or was that list what you ran across without trying. I'm thinking about booking a hummingbird specific photographic guided trip. (I know better than to try shooting with "birders" that aren't photographers).

[Terry989]

Originally Posted by dcstep

Given your perspective, I was concerned about peeing and pooping monkeys.

So, did you go out looking for specific birds, or was that list what you ran across without trying. I'm thinking about booking a hummingbird specific photographic guided trip. (I know better than to try shooting with "birders" that aren't photographers).

I wasn't looking for any specific birds, just keeping an eye out for nature - - - which I have a knack for spotting. Where we stayed was about 25 miles to the nearest town, so I also got to see but not photograph many different bird species on our evening 50+ mile round trip drives. If you specifically want to photograph humming birds, a guided trip would be worth it. They will take you to areas that have the correct food sources or with feeders in the area to attract them.

[Itsed65]

Osprey #49 by lennycarl08, on Flickr

[Terry989]

Black-bellied whistling ducks - Costa Rica.

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by Terry989

Black-bellied whistling ducks - Costa Rica.

Great birds, great shot.

[gary88]

Picked up a 6D as a second body and a 100 f/2.8L IS macro, loving this combo


Julianne by Gary Hebding Jr., on Flickr

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by gary88

Picked up a 6D as a second body and a 100 f/2.8L IS macro, loving this combo

Nice shot, Gary.

That should be a great rig for that type of shooting.

[Terry989]

One evening after dark, my wife wanted to go for a walk around the pool area on a trail that leads down to the beach. We get down to the last of the stone paved section, and in the beam of the flashlight, I see something well camouflaged move from under her foot - - - my first tailless whip scorpion! She decided she had seen enough at that point, so we start walking back up the trail towards the hotel, and and we see a young coral snake crossing the path in front of us.

That was the last walk she wanted to do with me after dark - - - but I was now on a new mission to photograph a tailless whip scorpion. I found a total of five different individuals on this trip, but was only able to photograph the one below. If you have never seen one before, check out this YouTube video, you will either be fascinated, frightened or both - - - Tailless Whip Scorpion

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by Terry989

One evening after dark, my wife wanted to go for a walk around the pool area on a trail that leads down to the beach. We get down to the last of the stone paved section, and in the beam of the flashlight, I see something well camouflaged move from under her foot - - - my first tailless whip scorpion! She decided she had seen enough at that point, so we start walking back up the trail towards the hotel, and and we see a young coral snake crossing the path in front of us.

That was the last walk she wanted to do with me after dark - - - but I was now on a new mission to photograph a tailless whip scorpion. I found a total of five different individuals on this trip, but was only able to photograph the one below. If you have never seen one before, check out this YouTube video, you will either be fascinated, frightened or both - - -

Terry, great story and great shot.

[Itsed65]

White-tailed Kite #64 by lennycarl08, on Flickr

[M_Six]

After many trips to the city over the years, I finally made it to the Flatiron District today. Should have come here way before this. The Flatiron Building is fascinating to behold. Such superb architecture. I'd love to see the inside of some of the offices.


New York City 2017 by Mark Johnson, on Flickr