Capturing Moments

[Ragged Robin]

Cohan, these particular photos were captured screen shots of video running in preview on my Mac then taken into Photoshop to apply levels only.  Not good images but representative of this bird in action from different angles the whole thing over in seconds    

You can also freeze frame in iMovie or any video editing programme but I find that using the page arrows in preview to see each frame is OK and there might only be one frame per action worth making into a still - I suppose the main thing is one captures the spirit of the image rather than a perfectly lit portrait of the subject.

[cohan]

thanks, robin, i'll have to try sometime, not sure what i have on this computer for video editing;
on a positive note, i've got the photo editing sorted out--the interface for saving photos from the camera to computer in windows 7 actually works really well (it can be set to divide the photos into folders by day as they download, saving me a step later) and we found a good shareware editing software- photoscape-which so far is working really well, and has good editing and batch editing, so its doing what i was using 2 programs for before..

[Ragged Robin]

Although there is still snow on the ground there is a Spring feeling in the air on sunny days in the Swiss Alps.  Riding on the larch twigs and feeding on the ground the Siskins have a happy bird day 

This is dedicated to Lesley who loves these beautiful little birds.

[mark smyth]

Robin do the sanitize the ground where you feed your birds? Greenfinches are in trouble because of a parasite that lives in bird droppings

[Ragged Robin]

We've only just started feeding birds in this area but clean the areas/feeders regularly though not with disinfectant or anything like that.  There are a pair of greenfinches that have been coming and also another one - I'll post a photo

[Ragged Robin]

Here it is -

What do you use Mark?  Is Jeyes fluid OK?

[Lesley Cox]

Thank you so much Robin, for the delightful little siskins. A very generous swap for a couple of little bulbs. I'll watch it again next Thurday and have a happy bird day.

[Lesley Cox]

That's interesting about the parasites in droppings affecting greenfinches, because it was found many years ago that domestic hens when kept too clean, i.e. when their premises were cleaned out regularly and all the droppings disposed off, the birds didn't thrive and needed some bacteria or something that was present in the droppings. Any comments about that?

[mark smyth]

It's a chaffinch.

I use weak Jeyes Fluid

[ashley]

Interesting what you say about gut bacteria in hens Lesley; I hadn't heard that before.  It's a protozoan parasite (Trichomonas gallinae) that greenfinches and other birds pick up in food contaminated with droppings and which eventually kills them (e.g. see here or here).  Fortunately it's not the same species causing the STD in humans

It's interesting too that greenfinches, like many birds, apparently use brighter plumage to signal to prospective mates their greater resistance to parasites & hence better reproductive fitness.

[Ragged Robin]

Glad you enjoyed the Siskins, Lesley - it was a pleasure to compose it 

Also it is good that the little video has drawn attention to how important it is to not only feed birds but keep areas clean and safe for them when they come to feeding areas. In all the years that we have had birds coming here I have never noticed any sick birds but perhaps you have spotted something Mark in the birds that caused concern and I would be grateful if you could specify anything untoward.

We only feed birds during the winter until end of March say and I see from the links that one of the main times of contamination is during breeding.  Most of our feeders are off the ground but inevitably seed falls.  We have one area for ground birds.

[cohan]

Interesting what you say about gut bacteria in hens Lesley; I hadn't heard that before.  It's a protozoan parasite (Trichomonas gallinae) that greenfinches and other birds pick up in food contaminated with droppings and which eventually kills them (e.g. see here or here).  Fortunately it's not the same species causing the STD in humans

It's interesting too that greenfinches, like many birds, apparently use brighter plumage to signal to prospective mates their greater resistance to parasites & hence better reproductive fitness.

this was all a bit alarming, so i did a quick check on the situation here-nothing quite as worrisome--the main disease of birds mentioned here is salmonellosis, and it is thought this may be as likely to spread among social birds in the wild as at feeders...
http://www.srd.alberta.ca/BioDiversityStewardship/WildlifeDiseases/documents/Avian_salm.pdf
another link about bird feeding in north america:
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/Publications/Birdscope/Spring2003/In_Defense.html

however, i think i will remove the debris below more often (i only feed over cold months, and there tends to be regular snow anyway), plus relocating the feeders occasionally..but perhaps the biggest difference i can make might be to have two separate feeding areas--one with only sunflower seed for the chickadees-who don't eat much if any of the smaller stuff in mixed seeds (and kick it all to the ground digging out the sunflower seeds), and another with small stuff for the redpolls who do a lot of ground feeding...

[Lesley Cox]

I'm pretty sure I read about the hens needing something in the floor rubbish, in an American book whose name I can't remember and I can't locate it right now in the general debris of my home. I have around 4000 books here, ostensibly in bookcases but those long ago overflowerd and I have no room for more. The book was by a man who had bought a couple of rather wild acres in the east somewhere I think, and setting about becoming self-sustaining. It could have been vitamin B the hens obtained from the floor litter. That rings a small bell. The book was hilarious and there was a chapter called "The great Tomato Race" about a competition with his neighbour. Wish I could find it and re-read it.

[chasw]

Thought that I would just try and add this,as we sat in the lounge looking out,the sun was starting to set and it looked stormy,and the last sun rays on the magnolia seemed to turn it red
I just had to try and capture it
 

[Ragged Robin]

Wow Chas, you were quick off the mark to capture that!  Fantastic image of your Magnolia reddened by the sunset - just what this thread needs