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Monthly Bird Photo Project 2020

Monthly Bird Photo Project 2020

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Steller's Jay

Steller’s Jay, 2016

About 10 years ago, I bought my first entry-level DLSR camera. I was interested in photography and focused on plants and objects with patterns or vibrant colors. Fast forward a few years, and I discovered my passion for birding. I blended the two interests and evolved into a very amateur “birder with a camera.” I mainly used my camera for ID shots to help me learn more about birds. Occasionally I would land an interesting shot that sparked an emotional response. I yearned to learn more about photography, and yet the technical challenges of the camera set me back. I tried reading photography books, but I found it hard to translate the concepts into the skills required to photograph quick-moving and distant birds. I was overwhelmed and simply stuck with ID shots.

2019 marked new beginnings with birding and photography. I upgraded my camera to a semi-professional model (Canon 7D mk II) and purchased a telephoto lens (100-400mm). I also read Mastering Bird Photography by Marie Read – finally a book written for my specific interests! She strikes a perfect balance of technical advice and guidance on composition that was inspiring and well-paced. It was a lot to absorb and I’ll certainly need to reread it multiple times to fully grasp the foundations, but it encouraged me to take that fear-inducing step of turning the dial to Manual Mode.

To encourage my development in bird photography, I’m going to do a bird photo New Year’s resolution. Each month, I’ll focus on a bird theme for practice. My goal isn’t to turn into a photographer per se, but rather to remain true to my birding roots while capturing images that bring emotion or awareness to birds. Let’s see if this goal helps with that. I’ll be sure to post the images each month.

Happy New Year!

New Year’s Resolution

New Year’s Resolution

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Western Bluebird

Western Bluebird, 2019

I enjoy making goals and checking them off my “To Do” list. It’s gratifying and I feel accomplished. The ultimate feat is to stick with a New Year’s resolution and master it for an entire year. What an accomplishment!

Except, it doesn’t always work out.

We strive to eat healthier, exercise, stop swearing, lay off the sweets, and so on. Yet, we are often back to our usual routine after a month, a week, or a few days. I remember one year I resolved to regularly exercise on my own. That resolution lasted one day. I did some isometric exercises on January 1 and then quit.

Over the past several years, I’ve largely stopped with the New Year’s resolutions knowing that it can be super difficult to maintain all year. However, I recently revisited the idea of making resolutions but with a new spin – birding! In 2018, I decided that I would try to submit a birding checklist to eBird every single day (spoiler alert – I met this goal). It was amazing! I learned so much from that experience. I now know that Oak Titmice are here in the Bay Area all year, it’s just that they go quiet during certain times of the year when I thought they had left. Cedar Waxwings stick around much longer than I thought. I found birds in unlikely places, like random gas stations in the middle of nowhere on a road trip, which I birded in a panic having forgotten to do my bird list for the day during the long drive.

Accomplishing this goal wasn’t easy. Some days I really had to force myself to do a list. Weather, emotions, rushing around all presented barriers, but it was worth carving out the 10 or 15 minutes to tune into the birds.

For 2019, I decided to continue the daily birding since it felt weird not submit a checklist for each day. I also added a resolution to participate in all the monthly eBird challenges. This ranged from submitting recordings of birds, submitting multiple checklists in a single day, or tracking my birding route on a mobile device. I also did long-term challenges that included submitting over 90 checklists with sound recordings over a period of several months. I keep hoping that I’ll win a pair of binoculars for participating in the challenges, but so far, no luck. Earlier this month, I completed the final eBird challenge for December – resolution met!

What will it be for 2020? Create a carbon-free lifer list? Patch birding? Photo Big Year? I haven’t decided. What are your birding goals?

Reflections

Reflections

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Mourning Dove

Mourning Dove, 2018

I started 2018 with an ambitious New Year’s Resolution: to submit a checklist of birds each day. Up to that point I was tracking the species I observed annually. Transforming this to a daily ritual changed my interaction with birds in a wonderful way. Suddenly, I was more aware of migration patterns, or lack thereof (I thought some birds were in the Bay Area for a short time only to find out that they hung out here all year). I paid more attention to sparrows as I took the time to count each one. Sometimes I was rewarded with a rare bird in the mix. My ID skills increased. I heard birds everywhere I went. I could be completely engrossed in a conversation with someone, but my attention could be quickly snatched away if I hear a bird call. That has led to some silly commentary once my discussion partner realizes that I have transformed into a statue listening intensely to bird calls.

Scarlet Tanager

Scarlet Tanager, Texas, 2018

I birded a lot this year. I often submitted more than one checklist each day. I went on trips just to go birding. The most memorable trip was a week-long excursion to Texas. I was so overwhelmed by the beauty of all the new birds that I will admit I shed a tear or two. I can’t wait to write about those adventures in a future post and visit the Lone Star again.

Then this year went sour.

I faced some new and difficult challenges. The birds faced life and death situations with the various wildfires throughout the summer and fall. My inbox overflowed with dire announcements of legislation negatively impacting birds. At times it felt so hard to stay positive.

Rock Wren

Rock Wren, Joshua Tree NP, 2018

But the birds pulled through. Keeping my daily checklist offered a positive event to look forward to. I could be present with nature for at least 15 minutes a day. It was calming and rewarding.

For almost an hour yesterday, I was hunched over looking through a scope at a rare Rough-legged Hawk. It was feeding on something in the middle of a vast field. The markings on the hawk were like nothing I have ever seen before. Streaks of brown dripped through its head and breast and met in a thick, chocolatey belly band. Its tail was white with a band along the end. I was mesmerized. I was reminded of how much I have to learn. I was appreciative.

 

Snowy Egret

Snowy Egret, SoCal, 2018

I have one more bird walk, one more checklist in order to complete my 2018 goal. That is 365 days of birding and over 600 checklists in one year. I have not made any goals for 2019 yet, but I’m sure it will involve birds.

Red-tailed Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk, Redwood RP, 2018