Blogs

Photos by Susan Collins

Susan loves visiting the Green Cay Nature Center which is one of the newest nature centers in Palm Beach County and overlooks 100 acres of constructed wetlands.   The wetlands include emergent marshes, deep zones, alligator holes, cypress swamps and Seminole Chickee huts. The 1.5 mile elevated boardwalk takes the visitor through journey through a typical Florida wetland providing a great opportunity to learn about wildlife that live there. 

Susan, who is also a regular reader of Wild Bird Talking ezine has taken many magnificent shots of the birds that live in the wetlands and we are delighted to feature some them below.

An American Coot (above) ponders on the reflections in the water

Coots are well known for their "show and tell" ways where they use their body postures, white undertail coverts, the degree to which they arch their wings their backs as well as the angle of their neck feathers to communicate their intentions. While these displays are often used to intimidate intruders, that is not their sole purpose.  Coots also use them to issue warning signals from predators like hawks or dangers like planes.  A healthy Coot populations symbolises healthy marshlands and places where the coot population is in decline indicates that many more vulnerable species are also endangered as their habitats rapidly disappear.

On our recent trip to the Bunya Mountains (native rainforest in Queensland) we were delighted to find the famous bower of the Satin Bowerbirds.  the male (blue satin coloured bird below) had adorned the nest with blue objects that match his sweetheart's eyes.  He was attempting to woo her and impress her with his bower building abilities.

by Gabrielle Friebe from Bats Qld

batsqld.org.au

Batavia is a bat creche recently constructed at Woodford, on the way to the Sunshine Coast on Queensland.  2010/2011 bat season has certainly presented us with a few challenges with babies, flooding, extreme weather conditions and more.

 
Challenges were fairly well to be expected when we think about the delay in getting the release aviary up and running due to weather with still a lot of necessary features ‘undone’. We had to fishing net the whole aviary inside, install more noodles and cover them as well of course for soft landings.

It's mating time for Satin Bowerbirds.  On our recent trip to the magnificent Bunya Mountains (my very special place) Ron was  delighted to spot an eligible male bowerbird trying to impress a lady with his craft at building bowers, decorating them with blue jewels to match her eyes and his singing.  He will have to improve his act it seems.  You can read more about them at http://wingedhearts.org/bowerbirds and the I Love Bunya Mountains facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/pages/I-Love-Bunya-Mountains/175650352477322 . You can find out more about the Bunya Mountains at http://www.bunyamountains.com

by Jerry Liguori (Author and Bird Photographer)

 Equipment Advances:

Camera equipment has advanced in many ways in recent years, the biggest advancement has been in digital photography. Yes, film cameras can take beautiful photos, especially medium and large format landscapes and the like, but for overall image quality and usefulness regarding bird photography, particularly in-flight, digital equipment is far superior (see images on left). One of the most valuable features of digital photography is the ability to review images on-the-spot through the rear viewfinder. I remember having to wait at least 2 weeks to get a roll of slides back, only to be disappointed with the results. Nowadays, you can review your images instantly to get a feel for the exposure, contrast, sharpness, or composition. The ability to adjust tone, contrast, saturation, and sharpness on-the-spot as conditions change is another valuable option offered by the newer digital cameras. However, overdoing certain adjustments may result in a negative effect. High quality digital cameras also perform better in low light and at high ISO settings than film. Manufacturers try to make improvements each year regarding the precision of the auto-focus and other functions, and this is evident when comparing older model film or digital cameras to new models. Another advantage of digital images is that they are much easier to store and archive than are prints or slides. Some digital cameras offer video recording, and I'm sure most or all will in the future.

Just a note about shooting JPEG vs. RAW. The image size and resolution of JPEG (high quality setting) and RAW photos are the same (but the file size of a JPEG image is smaller). There are advantages to both settings, but the overall advantage of shooting JPEG is greater. This issue can be argued to death, as opinions differ, and alone is worthy of an entire article, which I don't have the energy or time for...but I have tested both settings and compared the results. On most cameras, there is an option to shoot both JPEG and RAW simultaneously, but there are drawbacks in doing so. I just don't prescribe to the theory of shooting RAW "just in case" because a strong enough case has not been made.