As I close in on my goal number of 100 birds on my lifer list within the year, I want to start posting about all the birds I have added to my list so far. To go on my lifer list I like to not only see the bird but get a photograph of it. I first got my camera this year in February so that is where I will begin. Some of these photos will have been taken through a window and maybe not be the best and preferred quality but I wanted to keep it authentic of when I would have taken these photos. I was also very new at photography and had never used a camera before and I look forward to getting new and improved shots of some of these birds! These birds maybe not be exactly in order of very first to very last but I’m going to do my best to list in order. I’ll be doing birds in groups of five as we lead up to the big 100!
First up is the Dark-eyed Junco. These birds tend to migrate to the area for winter and love the snow. I had tons of them at my feeder almost every day through the winter this year.
Next up is one of my all time favorites, the Downy Woodpecker. Woodpeckers in general are my favorite birds, but the Downy is so little and cute. Males have a red patch on the head and females are just black and white. I get both pretty frequently at my feeder throughout all seasons and I love hearing their little peeps.
Another bird that is so much fun to photograph is the Canada Goose. They can be a little sassy and temperamental but make for such good pictures ! They are typically extremely easy to find in the late winter early spring time.
I never paid attention much to birds flying around until I started feeding and bird watching, but it seems after eight months of observation there are a surprising amount of Bald Eagles in the area where I live. I just happened to spot one right after I had just bought my camera and it was such a cool moment for me. This photo also made me realize what a problem chromatic aberration can be, with camera equipment that isn’t really built to deal with it. I have since learned how to edit this problem, but also have upgraded equipment that doesn’t really cause it to be an issue anymore.
And finally for bird five, we have the Blue Jay. These screaming delights seem to hang around a lot during the winter and spring and while they can be quick to take a peanut from the feeder and leave, I’ve been lucky to get some really great shots. They are noisy and sassy, but I love having them come to the feeder.
