Tag: backyard bird photography

Bird Photography with Tamron’s 150-500 Ultra-Telephoto Zoom Lens

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Two birds perched on a branch. On the right, a male bluebird has food in its beak, ready to feed a juvenile bluebird, left, with its mouth open.
A male bluebird is bringing food to a juvenile bluebird. © Ken Hubbard

By Ken Hubbard

I recently took a road trip to Goshen’s Falconry Excursions in upstate New York. It’s an amazing place with all kinds of birds of prey—owls, eagles, hawks, falcons, and vultures, among others. The owner has set up one of the largest privately owned and operated raptor breeding programs in the country. On my camera for this birding adventure was the new Tamron 150-500mm F/5-6.7 Di III VC VXD (Model A057), an ultra-telephoto zoom that’s Tamron’s first model for Sony E-mount full-frame mirrorless cameras equipped with Vibration Compensation (VC) technology. It can also be used with APS-C cameras for that extra crop factor.

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Father’s Day Reflections of a Nature Photographer

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photo of young girl scanning the tree canopy for birds.
Scanning the tree canopy for birds.

Story and photos by Mark Hendricks

“Teakettle, teakettle, teakettle.”

Ah, the joyous song of a Carolina wren serenades me on my back deck. One of my favorite harbingers of spring, I find its song eloquent and welcoming.

On cue, the rhythmic tapping of footsteps pair to the song. “Tap-a-tap-a-tap.” “Teakettle, teakettle, teakettle.” “Tap-a-tap-a-tap.”

“Papa, pajarito (translation “little bird)!” exclaims my two-year-old daughter Liliana, who just absolutely adores birdsong, and continued to tap along to the avian symphony. Later a brilliant male cardinal arrived singing on a low-hanging branch of tulip poplar. Each time the cardinal sings Liliana hops to the sounds.

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Backyard Birdwatching in the Midst of the Pandemic

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The author photographing backyard birds from his dining room.
The author photographing backyard birds from his dining room.

Story & photos by Frank W. Baker

Here I am, in Columbia SC, where the weather has taken a turn toward Spring. The azaleas are blooming and the birds outside my windows are quite active.

I’m a big fan of shore and wading birds so, if you’re like me, you’re rather frustrated now that most of the coastline has been placed “off limits” to us as we shelter at home.

Many other bird watching sites are also closed. With nowhere to go, I’m spending more of my time at home. Perhaps, like me, you are taking time to review older images and post some online.

There’s only so much I can do before I need to spend some time away from the computer. A window in my dining room is the perfect spot now because of its unfettered view of my bird feeders.

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