Hey, there! Log in / Register

At this rate, I should probably get a bird book

By adamg on Sat, 05/30/2009 - 7:50pm
What?

We went to Echo Bridge in Newton today, and it really is amazing - you can basically whisper and hear your voice echo back from the other side of the Charles (so you can imagine what it was like when an exuberant kidlet decided to yell). Up river, near the old mill, we spotted the above large bird (so for those of you who know the distance, yes, it pays to have a zoom lens). Anybody know what it is?

Neighborhoods: 
Newton
Topics: 
Photos
Free tagging: 
Charles River
Wildlife
Echo Bridge
Birds


Ad:


Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

Comments

By NotWhitey on Sat, 05/30/2009 - 7:57pm.

Black-Crowned Night Heron. Not uncommon - they can nest in large numbers in rookeries.

up
Voting closed 0

By SwirlyGrrl on Sat, 05/30/2009 - 8:01pm.

I took some pics of a group of these along the Mystic River by Rt. 16 and the Meadow Glenn Mall and had to e-mail them to the Audubon folks to identify them (there were juveniles involved, and they have different coloring).

up
Voting closed 0

By johnmcboston on Sat, 05/30/2009 - 8:10pm.

7 minutes. that a new record? :)

up
Voting closed 0

By Proper Bostonian on Sat, 05/30/2009 - 8:19pm.

Next time, I hope you give away a prize for the correct answer...

up
Voting closed 0

By SwirlyGrrl on Sat, 05/30/2009 - 9:30pm.

Detail from the Mystic River Mural, near the Shore Point area of Somerville on McGrath/O'Brien Highway:
IMAGE(http://www.davidfichter.com/images/m/Mystic-River-Mural-05.jpg)

up
Voting closed 0

By fenwayguy on Sun, 05/31/2009 - 1:38am.

It's scrollable!

The Mystic River Mural ranges in height from 3 to 10 feet, with decorative cutouts above the rectangular panels, and is over 350 feet in length and growing each year.

There's SO much that's not widely known about Somerville...

up
Voting closed 0

By Ron Newman on Sun, 05/31/2009 - 1:59am.

It is not on McGrath Highway. It is on Mystic Avenue (Route 38) on both sides of the intersection with Shore Drive.

I have never heard anyone refer to this part of Somerville as 'Shore Point' before. If you're looking at the mural, the area immediately behind you is the Mystic View housing project. The residential area ahead of you, on the other side of I-93, is called Ten Hills.

up
Voting closed 0

By neilv on Sat, 05/30/2009 - 9:58pm.

In this case, noise, blowout, fringing, chromatic aberration, low background separation.

http://www.neilvandyke.org/weblog/2008/11/#2008-11-16
vs.
http://www.neilvandyke.org/weblog/2008/07/#2008-07-04

up
Voting closed 0

By adamg on Sat, 05/30/2009 - 10:06pm.

But they are cheaper :-).

In this case, a polarization filter might also have helped, given all the glare off the water. Even still, the photo came out well enough so that somebody could quickly ID the bird (thanks, NotWhitey!). I've found the full zoom on the camera (a Canon SX-10) is very nice for zooming in on relatively close objects but is really hit or miss for things far away - unless you happen to have a handy railing to perch it on (which in this case, I did).

up
Voting closed 0

By neilv on Sat, 05/30/2009 - 10:39pm.

...except that the little girly-man camera can't afford the loss of a stop. :)

(Just teasing. All I have myself right now is a Canon SD880 toy.)

One can actually put together a starter DSLR kit for just slightly more than the SX-10. Takes lots of research, to figure out which used bodies and glass to buy, it won't be as featureful or convenient as a compact.

I recently did many hours of research to find a long zoom lens for a friend in Russia (doctoral graduation gift), who somehow acquired a bottom-end Nikon DSLR and has a good eye and sensibility. I couldn't afford a decent-quality new lens, but she's learned manual control, so I found a Nikon lens from 20 years ago, which was a price-performance gem even in its time, for 1/10 of what a comparable new lens (with AF) would cost.

There are also price-performance gems among the newer, autofocus lenses, though I only know those for Canon.

Still, most people would be happier with a compact do-everything camera.

up
Voting closed 0

By adamg on Sat, 05/30/2009 - 10:46pm.

I don't do a lot of it, but I like having the option. Aside from that camera that Demi Moore's boy toy advertises, there aren't any DSLRs that do video (and that one is a lot more expensive than your basic entry-level DSLR).

up
Voting closed 0

By Jay Levitt on Sun, 05/31/2009 - 2:52pm.

I have an old Windows CD-ROM set called "Yardbirds"; it lets you ID birds by their color patterns (wing, wingtip, crown, tail, etc). It takes a bit of guessing - do they call that light brown or tan? - but it's actually pretty good. I think it even has audio files for their birdsongs.

I don't use it anymore, so e-mail me if you want it; I haven't figured out how to hang a bird-feeder in a hi-rise.

up
Voting closed 0