Coming in for a landing

[Lee Schierer]

I have a game camera that I put in various locations on my property to see what is moving around. Chickadees seems to be attracted to the camera. No matter where I have it they seem to find it and get their picture taken, usually up close and personal and of course completely out of focus. Here is one exception that is a pretty dramatic shot.
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Now you know what a tree branch would see right before the bird lands on it.

[Ron Citerone]

Nice! I have a cottage on the Delaware Bay. Raised about 3 feet. All kinds of critters walk under it at night.

Do those game cameras have night time options?

[Lee Schierer]

Nice! I have a cottage on the Delaware Bay. Raised about 3 feet. All kinds of critters walk under it at night.

Do those game cameras have night time options?

Most new ones have an IR flash and will take photos at night. Distance is limited and the shutter speed is slow, so many photos blur.
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[Ron Citerone]

Thanks Lee!

[Marty Gulseth]

That’s a great capture! I had one out in the “west 40” (actually not that big, just a nominal acre lot) at our previous place. Deer pics were a dime a dozen, day or night. But several times I caught moose wandering through...

[Dave Zellers]

I agree that's a great shot. I was given a "Critter Cam" as a gift for Christmas. Still learning about it but so far just bunnies, squirrels and birds. I'm moving it around every night, and I'm sure I'll get some interesting pics and video. Rather rural here- we have all the usual suspects- deer, coyotes, turkeys and all the nightly creatures.

This could be a great thread- share your critter cam pics.

[michael langman]

Nice picture Lee! The chicadees are always the first to find anything we put out for them, or the other birds. They are the least afraid, and most inquisitive of all of the birds we have.

[Bill Carey]

Cool pic Lee. I take a lot of pictures and the best thing I ever bought for bird pics was a wireless remote shutter release. I've attached my Canon to trees where the owls hangout, next to the hummingbird feeder, etc so I can sit on the deck with my lemonade and a cigar and get some outstanding shots. And the remote I bought was all of 30 bucks. Great investment.

[Roger Feeley]

This made me think of a former coworker. She immigrated here from Russia and is one of the best computer programmers I have ever met. When she started with us, she barely spoke any English and always spoke with a very thick Russian accent. We all loved her.

one day, I was joking around with my boss and he bet me that I couldn’t get her to say, “Moose and Squirrel” as in Boris and Natasha on Rocky and Bullwinkle. The rule was that we had to get her to say it in the course of conversation and never mention the cartoon. We joked about the bet for nearly 10 years.

We were in an office park on the third floor which gave us a perfect view of the midwestern tree canopy. One year, a pair of red tail hawks nested and had two chicks right outside her window. There was some discussion about names but I prevailed. She would come int the bosses office and regale us with what Moose and Squirrel had done. Bet won.

Those were the good old days. I can’t say I miss the rat race but I do miss the rats.

[Brett Luna]

Nice shot on the wing. The chickadees completely ignore my game cam. I have mine set to capture video and I've gotten a couple-three nice ones (all YouTube):

Moose legs
Black bears
Flying squirrels

I have a couple of snowshoe hares that I need to edit but they're in summer color I'm holding out to capture one in winter coat.

[John K Jordan]

Lee, I LOVE bird picts - please post more if you have them. A most excellent shot of the bird in flight!

I've been disappointed with game cameras, other than discouraging people from stealing fruit from my peach trees. I usually take wildlife pictures myself which can try the patience.

I caught the carolina wren taking off from my deck railing carrying materials to build a nest in a motorcycle helmet in my carport.

Carolina_Wren_takeoff.jpg Carolina_Wren.jpg Carolina_Wren_nest.jpg

For these shots I set up a DSLR with on a tripod and used a remote control to trigger the camera. In a couple of pictures you can see me in the house window watching for the best moments. I stood there for hours and most of the shots were trash!

JKJ

[Lee Schierer]

I took this photo out the front door window. At first I thought I had discovered a new species of birds with whiskers.
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As I watched, what I discovered was the bird didn't have whiskers but was instead picking up individual hairs from my dog that were on the ground.

[John K Jordan]

...birds with whiskers.
...picking up individual hairs from my dog that were on the ground.

Hey, if you like birds, get some free scrap clippings from your local llama/alpaca farmer. We usually have a big bag of "seconds", not worth keeping for spinning or felt-making.

You can just spread them around, but s friend gathers honeysuckle vines and wraps them loosely around a big wad of fiber sheared from the animal. People hang them in trees and around their house and the birds come and pull out fibers to line their nests. She has sold a BUNCH of these for $5 each for her church fundraisers.

JKJ

[Rick Potter]

Thanks Lee,

I had never even seen a picture of a chickadee before. My only knowledge of them came from W.C.Fields.

[michael langman]

I nice way to clean your hair brushes id to set them outside and let the birds pick them clean. works like a charm.

My wife cuts my hair and we throw it on the ground for the birds too.