Just in time for Christmas and Coynezaa week, Colin Franks is back with some beautiful bird photos having a holiday theme. (Colin’s website his here, his Facebook page here [well worth subscribing, as there are superb bird pictures every day], and his Instagram page is here.)
He’s left out the species names in this batch, so readers should try to identify the birds. And click on the photos to enlarge them.
Colin’s note:
It’s been a tough year for most, so I’ve gone through my collection of bird images and pulled out some with a “festive” or “seasonal” feel, in the hopes that it will bring some cheer to your viewers.
Gorgeous!
Wonderful photos Colin! It looks like you have fruit trees/bushes to provide birds with winter food.
Out neighbors have crab apple trees and they are great for attracting/feeding the winter birds.
Outstanding photography! I enjoyed seeing the beautiful photos on your webpage.
Beautiful artistic captures!
Wow
Fantastic! Pretty much the gold standard in bird photography going on here.
These are just stunning. I have been fourth-rate amateur nature photographer for many years and I am soooo jealous.
Wonderful photos of birds with natural food sources! The backgrounds are complimentary too which can be difficult to manage.
SO beautiful!
Beautiful images, great for the holidays. Here are the species ID’s:
1) Bushtit male (Psaltriparus minimus)
2) White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)
3) Varied Thrush (Ixorcus naevius)
4) Hawk Owl ( Surnia ulula)
5) Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)
6) Spotted Dove (Streptopelia chinensis)
7) Boreal Chickadee (Poecile hudsonica)
8) more Bushtits (male below, female above)
9) Townsend’s Warbler female (Dendroica townsendi)
10) and 11) House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus)
12 Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus)
13) another Bushtit male
14) Bewick’s Wren (Thryomanes bewickiii)
15) another Dark-eyed Junco
Based on this interesting mix of species, I’m also guessing that your home base may be on Canada’s West Coast or southern Alaska (?)
He is from Victoria BC.
I believe 6. is Band-tailed Pigeon (Patagioenas fasciata) and 7. is Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens), common birds on Canada’s west coast.
As Mark Sturtevant so aptly said, this is the gold standard in bird photography.
I stand corrected on those two species!
John, I can’t believe it! You misidentified two birds? I have to lie down. . .
“Northern” Hawk Owl.
Actually, I’m more than happy to shed any possible aura of omniscience, regarding birds or anything else!
Incredible!
Excellent work.
Thanks for these beautiful photos. They indeed gave me cheer.
Absolutely delightful 😗
Beautiful photography. Wonderful use of background/DoF.
Although a lot more credit surely has to go to the photographer than to his equipment in getting these gorgeous shots, I would still like to know what equipment he uses …
I just use my smartphone – LOL.
I’ve used numerous bodies & lenses from Canon, Nikon and Sony.
I mentioned to my wife over supper that I would really like to get a good camera kit for bird photos. She responded that cell phones take really good photos these days …
Like me, she’s part comedian. Smartphones generally have a fixed focal length, and it is a wide angle lens, completely useless for birds. I use a 600mm f/4 lens, and have 1.4 and 2X extenders which I can pop on for added reach, and often 1200mm is not enough.
The answer to the oft-times asked question of “what camera should I get?” ultimately boils down to how much one is willing to spend.
Amazing photos, Colin. They do chase the gloom away … nature restoreth.