Images in the Backcountry Blog » Dark-eyed Junco

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Mike Matenkosky — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 04:44:27 +0000

I made some changes to my backyard pond this afternoon. Didn’t get any visitors by the shore though. I’ve been seeing a pair of Yellow-rumped Warblers in the trees these last few days. This evening I got one to land in the grass for one photo. Hopefully the next few days they’ll come closer and longer so I can capture a few more photos.

Got another Oregon Junco this afternoon.

Scared by a Robin?

Mike Matenkosky — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 03:34:42 +0000

Yep, it’s true. I’m so used to seeing the smaller songbirds in my backyard blind that I got startled by a Robin! This is my first Robbin of the season and I wasn’t used to seeing them. Needless to say I missed that shot…so what else is new.

Saw this poor White-crowned Sparrow with an apparent broken or injured leg. He seems to be well-fed for now, so hopefully he’ll survive.

My backyard pond is working out great!!

Got a Dark-eyed Junco as the sun went down.

Merced NWR with Dave

Mike Matenkosky — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 19:01:05 +0000

This post is a bit late, but that night I started to get chills/sick, so I went to bed. Anyway, I’m still ‘kicking’, other than a nagging cough (again). Dave Miller wanted to visit the Merced NWR and since I practically live there, well maybe just once a week, I was the unofficial guide for the day. We met at Denny’s in Atwater under a blanket of fog….go figure. We drove out to the refuge and I hopped in to his car and made the loop. The conditions could be better, so as we ended the loop we made another loop, this time I drove. By that time the fog was starting to burn off and we got some better photos, at least he did. We decided to not drive over to the San Luis NWR so we parted. I went back home and set up my ‘Matenkosky NWR’ and Dave drove the loop again!

Dave

Black-necked Stilt

Cooper’s Hawk – My first!

Back at the ‘Matenkosky NWR’ – Dark-eyed Junco

White-crowned Sparrow

A Nuttall’s Woodpecker and More

Mike Matenkosky — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 05:43:54 +0000

Went out to my studio this afternoon even though the skies threatened rain. It never did and I got a few photos of a Nuttall’s Woodpecker, Dark-eyed Junco in my new waterfall, a juvenile White-crowned Sparrow and a male House Finch.

If it doesn’t rain tomorrow, I plan on making a new photography blind. Stay tuned!

Nuttall’s Woodpecker

Dark-eyed Junco

White-crowned Sparrow

House Finch

My New Backyard Pond

Mike Matenkosky — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 21:27:17 +0000

I decided to add a small pond to my backyard studio yesterday. It’s a work in progress, so I’m not going to post any of the details. When I’m finished with the construction, I’ll post a new blog with pictures and details.

Within 2 minutes I had my first visitor, a young male American Goldfinch.

Noticed that my pond was too small, so I increased the size by a foot. Now I don’t have to worry about grass in view.

While watching the water, I saw this male Lesser Goldfinch in my Orange Tree…

My first Dark-eyed Junco of the season. He loves our old Christmas Tree…

Dark-eyed “Oregon” Junco Today

Mike Matenkosky — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 08:47:02 +0000

Went out to the backyard this afternoon and I was able to get a few pictures of the Dark-eyed Junco A.K.A “Oregon Junco”…my favorite little birds!

I usually set-up my camera in my “studio”….nice green grass and perch. As I was sitting here, I saw this gal in the grape vines…so I quickly swung around and got this shot. I think it’s a female…

Here’s a male on a log…

A female in the weeds…

A male in the weeds…

DIY Photography Blind

Mike Matenkosky — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 09:27:30 +0000

I wanted to make a photography blind that didn’t cost a fortune. Originally I was going to make it out of PVC and fabric. One afternoon I saw my kid’s old plastic playhouse and I thought, “I can use this and it’s free”!

I selected a spot near the back fence…

I bought a $2.99 shower liner from Target to cover the top and part of the window…

Using an old towel and two heavy-duty clamps from the local hardware store, I fastened the towel and shower liner together creating the blind…

Add my Manfrotto 3011BN tripod, 488 ballhead to attach my 300mm f/4L IS and 1.4x II extender…

Its a little cramped, but it does the job! I added my cushion from my wheelchair for comfort…

Here’s the business end. You can see my DIY bird bath, feeder (stump) and stick…

Within 5 minutes I had visitor. This was the first time that I was able to photograph a Lesser Goldfinch, so I was pretty happy with the results. Took less then 5 minutes and about $10!

Here’s a male House Finch…

An Dark-eyed Junco AKA ‘Oregon’…

A White-crowned Sparrow

I hope I’ve given you some ideas to build your own backyard blind!

UPDATE: A photo of my improved set-up.