Bird feeding
- Thread starter Sean de Silva
- Start date
Sean de Silva
Well-Known Member
Would be nice if you could share your pics
Great work Sean. I generally try and water the trees in our society since summers are very hot. I cannot water all of them but try to do what ever I can.
Few years back we got together and planted some Ashoka, rain trees and Gulmohar in our society which have grown big now and have attracted a lot of different birds. Really hate to see trees getting chopped mindlessly unless absolutely necessary and posing any danger.
Bird feeders are next on the list and will try to get one if available. Thanks for bringing this up Sean. You and other FM's are doing a great job and are inspiring me too
.
Best regards,
Nitin
Few years back we got together and planted some Ashoka, rain trees and Gulmohar in our society which have grown big now and have attracted a lot of different birds. Really hate to see trees getting chopped mindlessly unless absolutely necessary and posing any danger.
Bird feeders are next on the list and will try to get one if available. Thanks for bringing this up Sean. You and other FM's are doing a great job and are inspiring me too
.Best regards,
Nitin
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Sean de Silva
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the kind words and encouragement ! OT but during the first week of 2020 lockdown since our gardener couldn't show up I took on the task of watering the trees and plants in our compound for 6 days on the trot until I unknowingly stepped backwards on a 5 inch broken piece of glass which cut right through my shoe and into my foot lol. After that no more watering the trees and luckily our gardener showed up in the nick of time haha. I love it when anyone plants saplings and increases our green cover. I have planted coconut saplings and watched them grow over 14 years into full-grown trees. There is no dearth of those psychos who hate greenery.Great work Sean. I generally try and water the trees in our society since summers are very hot. I cannot water all of them but try to do what ever I can.
Few years back we got together and planted some Ashoka, rain trees and Gulmohar in our society which have grown big now and have attracted a lot of different birds. Really hate to see trees getting chopped mindlessly unless absolutely necessary and posing any danger.
Bird feeders are next on the list and will try to get one if available. Thanks for bringing this up Sean. You and other FM's are doing a great job and are inspiring me too
Best regards,
Nitin
Most welcome and hope your leg has healed. We too had planted coconut saplings which yield really big coconuts as the trees have grown big. But it becomes an issue in the society if there is car parking nearby and especially when the branches fall. Hence we stopped at that.
There are people who are averse to greenery and on the other hand we have some like minded people who do their bit in spreading greenery in our society itself. The joy is to see a sapling grown into a big tree which you have nurtured.
Infact we have a whatsapp green group of society members pertaining to trees and birds started by a doctor.
Nothing dramatic here, but did not have any choice.
On how it started, they Nationalised! one of my pots.
Proud mamma ( She literally moved back to show the kids!, then back to duty )
Its cooler here, on daily Test flights and rest.
Quality time at breakfast.
Naughty boy is back after breaking his beak.( trying times, this guy had difficulty taking water)
A surprise visit by a new pair, hunting for a new home, I guess.
The feeder trays are still in the same place , currently serving few squirrels too.
But now with a New family of 6!
Their daily routing - leave work at 7 am.
Back home by 6.30 on dot.
On how it started, they Nationalised! one of my pots.
Proud mamma ( She literally moved back to show the kids!, then back to duty )
Its cooler here, on daily Test flights and rest.
Quality time at breakfast.
Naughty boy is back after breaking his beak.( trying times, this guy had difficulty taking water)
A surprise visit by a new pair, hunting for a new home, I guess.
The feeder trays are still in the same place , currently serving few squirrels too.
But now with a New family of 6!
Their daily routing - leave work at 7 am.
Back home by 6.30 on dot.
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Sean de Silva
Well-Known Member
Sean de Silva
Well-Known Member
Added a couple of water feeders. Fingers crossed those little sparrows will reappear soon. The tiny tailorbird is my all-time favourite with its cute distinctive 'tweee tweee' chirp.
sanjivnayak
Well-Known Member
It looks so attractive that birds will love to come and drink even if there is a lake nearby.
Shivam
Well-Known Member
Feeders can be very harmful for the birds in general. Be very careful.
Here's something I wrote on this some time back - https://maini.live/2020/03/29/bird-photography-the-ethical-way/
(For Mods: I am not sure if inserting a link to own site is permitted or not. Please let me know if this is wrong).
Here's something I wrote on this some time back - https://maini.live/2020/03/29/bird-photography-the-ethical-way/
(For Mods: I am not sure if inserting a link to own site is permitted or not. Please let me know if this is wrong).
sanjivnayak
Well-Known Member
Dr. Shivan. Excellent write up and good bird photography as well. As I understand high ISO is chosen for a faster shutter speed as the object may not be static in her position. To compensate with available light you may go for f/4 or f/5.6 aperture for which no flash light may be required. And how a flash will help in a tele lens. But you have used f/11 for Green backed tit bird.
Shivam
Well-Known Member
Great observation.
I used that f/11 to compensate for my own focusing errors and for the quality of my inexpensive lens that is very soft. A noisy but focused image is better than a non-focused one.
High ISO was needed to make up for the low light (combined with the high shutter speed - mandated by the moving subject and also the long tele lens - to avoid any shaky hands) and also to make up for the f/11 aperture.
The flash statement was a general statement for any kind of wildlife (macro and IR trigger based included). Here in that particular photograph also, I was at about 2-3 meters away from that small bird and any decent flash works in that range. In fact, some photographers I know, swear by a flash for such photographs since it adds a punch to the colors and a 'catch light' in the eyes.
Thanks for your comment and for reading that article of mine.
sanjivnayak
Well-Known Member
Very good point. I would like you to post some photographs here whenever you are free. True that flash light damages the colour and adds some glares. Thanks for clearing my doubts.
Shivam
Well-Known Member
Will DM you to discuss these in detail. Flash makes the photographs look good but it's bad for the wildlife. More in message to you!
Should we stop feeding wild birds?
Not at all. This is a noble activity— Most of our motivation is human motivation—we want to feel good about it. That’s fine. As long as we also do it with the birds’ well-being in mind. It would be dreadful if we found out that an activity that we get so much enjoyment out of was actually harming birds in any way, so that’s why we have to utterly minimize the risk of disease. We just have to accept the responsibility for what we’re doing and continue to enjoy it.
These are species, typically, that are used to having ephemeral food sources. I like to point out that there is no reliable food source for most birds so they’re used to flying around trying to seek food knowing that they can’t ever really count on anything. Birds know how to plan for that. The way to think about feeders is really that it’s a supplement.
While feeding the birds brings backyard birders many benefits, it also benefits the birds by replacing food sources that have been destroyed by development. When homes are built and landscaped, birds lose nesting spots, shelter, and natural food sources, but proper feeding and bird-friendly landscaping can help replace those resources so the birds and birders can live together in harmony.
Photographers with an interest in nature subjects can also enjoy a proliferation of poses right outside their windows when they feed the birds.
...
Sean de Silva
Well-Known Member
For decades I've observed cute acrobatic ring-necked parrots flocking to the tamarind trees screeching away to glory pecking the fruit. They have a fixed feeding pattern around dawn and dusk. But as you rightly pointed out, natural food sources are fast disappearing. Hence bird feeders compensate as a good supplement.
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