Sharon - You're right, I would rather have the moisture - but I am getting impatient to get out there in the dirt. A1 - You must be familiar with the species in that lounging picture :-) If you look closely just behind the head of the furry one you will see one of these: I think you are right about the nuthatch and thanks for the link to that website. I grew up not far from Glenmore park and my parents still live in the area. My dad walks there in the Weaslehead a few times a week. We have photos of him hand feeding chickadees down there (or are they nuthatches?). Susan

Kenn gets beautiful photos with his Canon S3-IS, so it can be done if you are close enough and the light is right. I used a Canon Powershot S2-IS since 2005 and got some fair photos, then thought I was upgrading when George bought me an Olympus SP-550 18 X zoom for my birthday in 2007. But the lens aperture on point-and-shoots is too small to let in enough light for fast shutter speeds unless conditions are perfect, or you use a flash. I made sure the light was low, coming from behind me, and spent most of my energy getting as close to the subject as possible. July 2007, Canon Powershot S2-IS, Pied-billed Grebe Aril 2007, Canon Powershot S2-IS, side-lit Rose-breasted Grosbeak 10-13-07, Olympus SP-550 18 X zoom, hand-held photo in woods, Yellow-rumped Warbler From 10-13-07, 10-20-07; George climbing L. R., Yellow-rumps, trapped Great Blue Heron 10-6-07, Olympus SP-550 18 X zoom, hand-held photo in woods, Male Cape May Warbler From 10-02-07 to 10-12-07, Poppy, fish hatchery birds, Boren visit, dogs 11-28-07, Olympus SP-550 18 X zoom, hand-held, auto ISO with overexposure, juvenile Red-tailed Hawk From 10-21-07, to 11-28-07; Fall leaves, Poppy Mnt pics, Vet hospital, Oxygen therapy, hawk I was disappointed by the lack of detail compared to forum DSLR photos even in the best of the photos. Gail said I was asking too much of my point and shoots and suggested I buy a used DSLR camera and lenses. The best DSLR camera at the time was a Canon 40D, but I couldn't afford it. However, once I decided what I wanted, George's mom suddenly sent him a hefty Christmas check and he bought me one last year. Even with my Canon EOS 40D and Canon 400mm lens I wouldn't try for a small bird photo at 70 yards, though! I do the same as I did with the point-and-shoot; I get as close as I can to the bird, now use a filler flash night or day, and make sure the sun is low and from behind me, even if I have to circle the subject. 10-18-08, Canon 40D photo taken without flash, against the light, female Yellow-rumped Warbler, 12:36 p.m. From Kentucky birds, critters 10-18-08, Canon 40D, pop-up flash, female Golden-Crowned Kinglet, hand-held photo, 10:46 a.m. From Kentucky birds, critters On this photo I used a tripod and Corel editing From 3-9-08, Chispa visit I couldn't tell the difference in photo quality using different ISO and shutter speed settings compared with auto settings on the 40D, except in shadowy woods, but then, my photos aren't as good as dedicated photographers who take classes and know what they are doing! Many people edit their photos; sharpening, intensifying color, etc. I use the free Picasa 3 editing software because it is fast and easy to use, but I also bought used Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo XI software that works well, if I take the time to use it. Mostly I treat my heavy Canon 40D/400mm lens combo like a point and shoot-carrying it everywhere and doing quick hand-held photos when opportunities appear. Laziness and technophobia tendencies delayed my buying a DSLR, and even now I barely use its capabilites. Still, I'm waiting to see if Canon can come up with a much lighter, user-friendlier Canon 1D Mark IV, or a Canon 60D that can automatically adjust lighting in shadowy woods, focus in the dark, and lock onto a moving target in the brush. With my eyesight, it will have to be automatic, and with fast-moving warblers, it will have to be very fast..having extremely high ISO Once they develop the camera I want, I just have to wait until they come out with something better, then I can buy the barely-used last year versions for a song on Amazon.com

Thanks for your kind words Donna, we're glad you enjoyed the slideshow. I can't encourage anyone enuf to take photos of their yardbirds. It adds a great additional pleasure to birdwatching, and helps us observe their beauty in ways we can't see with our eyes alone. We are amateur photographers, and our Canon S3 is a very mode$t point and shoot model which anyone could learn to use. Getting close to your birds is really the key. To do this, you need a camera with a fair bit of zoom. The S3 has a very good 12x zoom lens built-in, and we also add a 1.7x teleconverter for many shots. The S3 model has been superceded now by Canon's S5 (for about the same price). This might be a good choice, but I've seen a lot of really good sharp photos taken with a variety of similar low-cost cameras. Check dpreview.com for more info than you'll ever need to know about digital cameras of every kind and price. I hope this helps, and that you can get started photographing your birds soon. best luck, Kenn

I've got the Canon Power Shot S2 IS. The price on this one has fallen to under $500 since the S3 is out. If you see and S1 for sale, don't bother - the later models are much better. I like the camera with exceptions; It has a lot of good features and a couple of bad ones. It does not have an optical viewfinder, but I don't think you'll find a long zoom digital with an optical view finder - Its too difficult to make an effective (range finder type) view finder for telephoto more than 3X. (Of course, if you go above the $500 price barrier, there are Single Lens Reflex Digital cameras that gives through the lens viewing. In general, the sensor area is larger permitting improved picture quality, but will have a hit on zoom range. Typical zoom ranges are 3 to 1 because the lense has to cover a much larger sensor. Also, dust getting on the sensor is a problem for SLRs.) The Canon Photo Shot S2 IS has an electronic viewer only. This is fine for mid to low level lighting, but fails in bright sunny out-of-doors. The camera brightnes the image to an amazing degree in low light right down to where picture taking is ineffective for this camera. But the view darkens as the scene increases in brightness. They didn't know when to quit and made the viewer too dim in bright light - an oversight that seems unfathomable for such a nice camera. Examime this feature before buying. It may have been fixed in the S3. The second problem was that its default settings cause burnout of highlights in situations that other cameras handle with ease. It took a series of test shots for me to home in on what worked for me. I found that boosting the ASA from 80 to 100, and reducing the exposure by 1/3 f-stop worked wonders in eliminating the burnout problem. I get decent pictures with these settings without sacrificing other picture elements. I recommend that you look at the Panasonic FZ and compare. According to tests made 2 years ago, the Panasonic made a little better picture, but the adjustment and available buttons on the Canon were better. Starting with the Canon S2 IS, a new fast processor was installed. Time from on to ready for snapping a picture is very fast. Some magazine reviews may complain that there is a 2 sec wait between shots, but this is a default setting to allow you to view the shot you just made so that you can decide if you need to re-shoot. This delay is adjustable. You won't need to carry a bag full of lenses with the Canon's 12X zoom. Anything more than 3X zoom requires high shutter speeds or a camera support. The Canon S2 IS has maximum aperature of f/2.7 at the wide angle end and an amazing f/3.5 at the long end of the zoom. I would have liked it if the Canon had started at a bit wider angle and sacrificed the long end for it. I have been in plenty of situations where the wide end wasn't quite enough.