Thank you! I suppose one is a photographer if one takes photos, but I've not bought any professional cameras or sold anything. Since DuBois bought me Canon Powershot S2 IS 12 X zoom and Olympus SP-550 18 X zoom point-and-shoot cameras I've taken photos but was disappointed in the picture quality, so Gail suggested I buy a DSLR. DuBois' mom sent Christmas money in 2007, so I did research and bought a Canon EOS 40-D camera and Canon EF 400mm f/5.6 L lens in Jan. 2008. It's taken a long time to get the hang of it, and even now, most of the photos have to be deleted-I'll typically take 300 photos and keep 13. At first I used tripods, but now just handhold or brace my arm against my knee. I still have to get VERY close for the photos to look like anything, so it's mostly about knowing the bird calls, habitat, habits, and trying to gain an advantage with height, lighting, etc I try to get close enough to use the auto-focus, but it only works well in strong light, with no surrounding branches. To compensate for my eyesight, I usually twist the manual focus back and forth as I shoot rapidly, in hopes that something will be in focus

Thanks! The Hooded Warbler male pulling on the cocoon happened just as I was getting up to shut down my camera and try somewhere else after an hour of waiting..typical! Two days ago when there was a break in the storms we drove up on Poppy Mnt at sunset and got a few pics from the car as we drove around 6-9-09, Poppy Mnt barn, adult male Barn Swallow, 6:15 p.m. Time for a stretch.. From 6-5-09, birds Then to the right.. From 6-5-09, birds ..flex those shoulders.. From 6-5-09, birds Much better! From 6-5-09, birds We drove to an access rd that overlooked a steep gully and saw several Yellow-billed Cuckoos flying around but they didn't come close enough for good photos. However, someone did 6-9-09, Poppy Mnt, male Red-eyed Vireo, 6:48 p.m. From 6-5-09, birds From 6-5-09, birds

Thanks! We've been going up there almost every day to pick blackberries and swim until I have piles of bird photos I've not even posted yet. Every day I get more, so I keep falling behind, but I suppose that's the way it is in summer. 7-24-09, Poppy Mnt, 1rst yr male Blue-winged Warbler From 7-6-09 Poppy Mnt, farm 7-25-09, Poppy Mnt pay lake, fledgling Green Heron From 7-6-09 Poppy Mnt, farm I'll have to get busy and post them because yesterday at the fish hatchery, we were already seeing migrants coming through! 7-26-09, Migrating Forster's Tern at fish hatchery From late summer birds, 2009

Thanks! Still behind; I have another web album of photos I've not yet posted. We camped in the yard last night as usual in our screen tent, and apparently the jaguar is back..the dogs suddenly went crazy and we heard the strangest, loudest noises. I went online and found some of what we heard on this link-scroll down to audio clip http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/jaguar.html Besides the wails, grunts, rumbles, it also kept making explosive snorts..like an alarmed deer, except MUCH louder, more explosive, lower down, and dragged on and on until my bones vibrated. It seemed the sound wrapped around the tent, and I didn't know where to point the huge spotlight we keep next to us. DuBois plant to take a tape recorder with us this time, in case it returns. I also plan to download jaguar sounds and play them next to my web cams on the hill to see if we can lure it in for a photo. We've not seen its tracks since this march..guess it has a huge territory. Our neighbor was approached by a half grown black jaguar while hunting on our property in the fall of 2006 so it should nearly mature now. Just this spring, another neighbor a few miles away spotted a black jaguar on his farm, so it's still alive. Photo of suspected jaguar track, click on "full screen" http://picasaweb.google.com/rachelbro3/BigFootTracksScat#5317982295991557506