lonestranger

How do we know this egret thinks he's Paul and not one of the other three?....Swing batter batter swing

That's the same connection I made when I saw the photo. The close up shot must have left John, George, and Ringo out of the frame.

I've got one of those, and I managed to find it quickly too.

I should have added that the Nikon P1000 can be rented for under $70 a week, which would be my recommendation if you were considering a superzoom at one point. While the P&S cameras have some short comings, the zoom capabilities on my P900 exceeds anything I could achieve with a DSLR setup. Sometimes, quite often actually, that zoom will allow me to get past obstructing branches and focus on birds I would otherwise never be able to capture. If you've never tried a superzoom, renting one might convince you to invest in one permanently, or rule it out if it's not the right fit for you. Unfortunately when you buy camera gear, there's always trade offs to be made. Sensor size which affects magnification of the lens and image quality is just one of those trade offs that has to be decided on. Full frame sensors provide the best quality but your focal length is not magnified, P&S sensors are much smaller and can't capture as much detail but they provide the most magnification or longest focal length in 35mm equivalents, crop body sensors are in the middle. I still can't decide between the reach of a superzoom, the quality of a full frame DSLR, or the compromise of a crop body camera... so I bought, and use, all three.

@Charlie Spencer makes a good point, @blackburnian, knowing what shortcomings your current setup has can help you decide where/what to upgrade. If it's image quality in low light situations that you're looking to improve, a full frame camera might be the right fix. If it's better in flight photos you're looking for, a new camera with more focal points might be the solution. If you're losing image quality because you're doing a lot of cropping, maybe a longer lens or an extender is needed. If you're frustrated that the birds are always too far away, maybe a super zoom as a second camera is in order. Knowing what you're hoping to improve upon is a good place to start when looking to upgrade. In case you weren't aware, there are reputable rental sites that allow you to rent camera gear so you can try before you buy. If you're not sure what's going to be the right fit for you, you can try a few options to help you decide before laying out big bucks and hoping that it's going to suit your needs. For a few hundred dollars you can rent a camera and lens for a week and if it's not right for you, you're only out a few hundred bucks. Here's a few rental sites if you're interested in try before you buy. https://www.lensrentals.com https://www.adoramarentals.com https://www.borrowlenses.com

Is that version 1 or 2? I never used the first version but I loved the second version while I had it. Being able to zoom to 400mm and focus on something only 3 feet away was/is a real attractive feature for me. Adding the 1.4 extender to the lens on the 7Dii made for a nice setup, a setup I hope to repeat soon, I now have another 7Dii and the 1.4 extender but haven't pulled the trigger on purchasing another lens yet. I believe Canon discontinued the 7Dii and replaced it with the 90D but as others have mentioned, it might be time to consider mirrorless, especially if you can use your existing lens with an adapter.

I was going through some older photos and found this sunrise from Dec 2020, nothing stellar but I like it.

Are you providing a new hedge trimming service?

I believe the sighting was in October, does that qualify as winter to Willets?

A Blue Jay that tricked me into looking past my coffee by squawking like a hawk.

A Bald Eagle in the neighbours tree is a big favourite of the year for me.

Evening Grosbeak, a seldom seen favourite.

Replying to his own posts gives him a chance to post another link to his website.

Well, you know what they say about opinions, @Charlie Spencer...no, not the one about everyone having a certain body part...the one that says your opinion doesn't count...LOL

I heard a story about Cranes dying by the thousands and a quick search for Avian Flu found this story. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-59808888 That story is about Israel so I did a second search for Scotland Avian Flu and found this article, and others. https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/third-case-bird-flu-detected-25662394 I'm not sure what opinions @jennifercherian was hoping to discuss other than the sadness at all the death, both from cullings and disease.

I know there are many Bald Eagle Nest Cams this time of year, and I recommend checking them all out, but new born chicks at this nest make it news worth checking out. The two new chicks are currently being fed. https://dickpritchettrealestate.com

The fact that you think this is a sane bastion of the internet, shows just how insane the internet really is. Merry Christmas everyone.

I have to use my P900 for landscapes since I currently don't have a wide angle lens for my DSLRs so I usually just use the camera's 'Landscape' setting. I won't get into the compositional aspects because that's subjective but basic composition rules/suggestions like the 'rule of thirds' still apply.

This photo just cracks me up. https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/380778141

And some crazy bomber will probably bomb the reuploaded photo too. Photo bombing is going to happen, don't get upset over a few idiots that are just out to frustrate you. Yeah it might be annoying, but the internet is full of annoying things/people, get used to it.

Just from comparing the two maps you posted to @Aidan B's map, I'd guess the second of the two starting points.

There's some stellar photos in the years top rated that are worth browsing through. https://search.macaulaylibrary.org/catalog?yr=YCUSTOM&mediaType=p&sort=rating_rank_desc&by=2021&__hstc=60209138.91bdf21e15d1a798e4ec29b097042c77.1489150536917.1640284868357.1640304048971.308&__hssc=60209138.1.1640304048971&__hsfp=3726619940

Feeling a little threatened for territory?

https://www.birdwatchingdaily.com/news/species-profiles/burrowing-owl-named-abas-2022-bird-of-the-year/

Yep.