My Colorado Trip Day 2 Part B

Down on the creek, I saw a family of American Dippers.  These are some of my favorite birds.  They actually walk under the water to look for food.  I have posted an entry about them before,  Here are some more pictures.

In town there was a flock of Brewer's Blackbirds walking down the street and hanging around on top of a building.  These were more lifers.

On my way back to the house I took the free gondola ride to the top of the ski mountain and walked down the mountain down the ski slopes and found these Three-toed Woodpeckers which I believe are an adult and a juvenile birds.  Note the yellow on the crown and obviously the three toes.

I saw several Western Wood Pewees throughout the day.  They are identical to the Eastern Wood Pewees I see at home.  The ID is made on the basis of the bird typically being larger than Empid Flycatchers, they do NOT flick their tails, and their longer wings.

That evening I went out later and saw both a Ruby-crowned Kinglet and a Golden-crowned Kinglet.  It was so late that my camera started extending the shutter speed and I did not get really good shots:

 Here is a slide show of the days birds:

8:31 PM - September 7, 2009 - post comment

Shutter speeds

Here's a tip for shooting in lower light conditions: If you're not setting the shutter speed manually, try turning down the exposure compensation instead (in addition to raising the ISO setting). Cameras always overcompensate for light conditions; setting the EV lower--especially in dark environments--helps the camera get back to normal and capture still scenes.

BTW, you're taking me with you on your next trip to Colorado, right? This looks like a real winner!

- jason
xenogere.com

Anonymous - 1:43 PM - September 13, 2009