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Capture that perfect bird photo with these 5 tips!
- Location, location, location...Return to a spot where you've seen birds or where birds are comfortable around people, ask other birders about good locations, visit local wildlife areas and go to Find the Birds on WildBirds.com.
- If you build it, they will come...Heading into cold weather offers tremendous opportunity to photograph birds. Get your feeders up now. Winter food is scarce and what's even harder for birds to find? Ice-free water! Plan on installing a birdbath de-icer or a heated bath this year. There are thermostatically controlled models that kick on at 35 degrees automatically. With your camera at hand you'll get great shots while staying warm and toasty indoors.
- Flight, Fight or Feed...Go for the action and drama for that great bird shot! Check out our photo contest winner in the World division. Hummingbird feeders and suet feeders are great action locations. Be sure to stabilze your camera with a tripod strong enough to support your camera's weight. Be patient and wait for something to happen. It may be your best shot ever!
- Learn from the masters...Learn the necessary basics as well as the professional techniques from fellow photographers. See what the OnlineNatureMall.com experts recommend on Bird Photography.
- Practice, Practice, Practice...Experts agree, whether it's a song bird at your feeder, a migrant passing through or a rare Harpy Eagle in South America, don't leave home without your camera!
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Pete Up Close and Personal
Really see the difference side-by-side!
Downy vs. Hairy Woodpecker
Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers will often come to suet feeders in your yard. When they appear one at a time, it is difficult to tell them apart, as the side-by-side comparison below demonstrates.
When they both attack the same suet feeder at the same time, things become a LOT easier, since the Hairy Woodpecker is much larger.
Both species are found throughout the United States and Canada in wooded habitat.
(Side-by-side comparison photos below are courtesy of Thayer Birding Software's Guide to Birds of North America. Everything you need for birding fun!)
 Downy Woodpecker (top) and Hairy Woodpecker (bottom)
 Downy (left) and Hairy (right) Woodpeckers
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Downy is smaller than Hairy
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Downy has relatively smaller bill
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Downy voice is higher pitch
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Downy forages on smaller twigs and limbs
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Downy is not as shy as Hairy Woodpecker
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Downy has black bars on white outer tail feathers |
Get Ready for Fall:
1. Voices of the Night - From Cornell Lab of Ornithology--All you need to recognize those mysterious voices calling in the night.
3. Thousand Mile Song - Whales are on the move as well. Open their underwater world of sonic music. Audio CD included.
Don't clean out that birdhouse!
That's why it's called "Spring Cleaning"!
Now is NOT the time to clean out those birdhouses! The common practice has been to clean out birdhouses annually, usually in the fall. However, this may not only be unnecessary but inadvisable as well.
Birds will make the nest their own if they want to use a house. If you feel you must clean your birdhouses, do it in early spring and leave the nesting materials in the box over the cold winter months. This may help reduce bird ectoparasites by permitting their own naturally resistant, parasitic enemies to develop.
Leaving the material in the house also encourages nesting of screech owls and woodpeckers, two of the species which do not gather nesting materials of their own. |
Good birding!
Pete Thayer & The Wildbirds.com Team!
WildBirds.com
809 Walkerbilt Rd.
Suite 4 Naples, Florida 34110
800-865-2473
Join Peter Dunne at the Snow Goose Festival!
February 26 to 28, 2010
See below... | |
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Get Inspired! |
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170 Stunning photos.Tips on the best equipment (including digital) and even what to do when you're driving on a busy road and a magnificent winged thing soars into view.
Plush Toy - The smallest woodpecker in N.A. Likes feeders with suet & peanut butter.
 High Energy Suet
attracts woodpeckers, nuthatches, jays, titmice and chickadees. Get ready for fall with this Sunflower Wreath! A great source of enegy, hang it from a tree and watch the birds flock.
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Photo Contest |
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World Winner
Violet Sabrewing Hummingbird
by Doug Sonerholm, Costa Rica
North America Winner
Wilson's Warbler by Russ Ergen, St. Cloud, MN
To enter the photo contest, you must be able to identify the bird, it must be a wild bird that is alive and your photo must be electronically transmitted.
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New! |
Guide to Trees is the all-new, beautifully illustrated guide book to trees -- from America's #1 best-selling nature author, David Sibley.
Monumental in scope but small enough to take into the field. |
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Beautiful Songs |
Which bird has the most beautiful song? Many would argue it's the Hermit Thrush.
These cuddly plush toys have authentic songs from the renowned Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
And others would say it's the complex trills and warbles of the winter wren. These deluxe notecards are exquisitely illustrated by Jeffrey Fisher. |
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