I have also been a serious amateur / semi-pro photographer since the early 1960's and like you, when I retired I decided to take up Wildlife & Nature photography as my retirement hobby primarily to gie myself an excuse to get out of the house regularly, but even more specifically because I suffer from C.O.P.D. and I find taking long nature hikes carrying a 30lb backpack of photo equipment very theraputic, as an example, one year ago I couldn't walk to the mailbox without carrying a portable oxygen tank but today I think nothing of 5 or 10 mile hikes and I have not even had the O2 equipemtn for the last 6 months. According to my book, Birds of Ohio, there are 413 species of birds native to the state of Ohio. To date I have photo documented 119 species either in my yard or within walking distance of my house. Bird photography presents a number of unique challenges and with experience you will find that your technique is every bit as important as your equipment. Most birds fly between 20 and 30mph while some of the hawks and raptors are capable of speeds in excess of 70mph. This means that while in flight most birds are moving 30 to 45ft/sec which makes it nearly impossible to focus on birds while in flight, therefore if we have any aspriaton of getting flight action shots we have to anticipate where the bird will be, then set our equipment up in advance and await an opportunity to take the shot. Obviously shooting birds when they are still is much easier, but keep in mind that birds are very elusive so we must provide some means to attract the bird to our viewing area. IN winter this is very easy, we simply put up bird feeders, then sit back and wait for the birds to come to us, but what do we do in summer? Birds are opporunists and for basically the same reason that people frequent fast food restaraunts, birds can easily be attracted by bird feeders, bird baths, small decorative ponds in your landscaping and selected flowers and shrubs that attract birds. If your into capturing images of birds in their wild habitat you could do as I do, don full camoflage and stake out a spot where you have full view of wild fruits, berries, corn fields etc. Oh yes, I realize that this may seem gross to some, but don't overlook the photo opporunity of staking out a vantage point where you can watch some road kill. You will be amazed how many birds are scaavengers. Although much more difficult to get a good viewing angle, you can get some very unique photos ir you can find a nesting site, but be careful here. If you repeatedly get too close to a nesting site the parents may abandon the young. Under no circumstances should you ever touch a nest becuse that would leave your scent and the parents will nearly always leave. Now to answer your original question, what lenses do you need? Let me begin by clarifying a point for you. Rgardless of what kind of camera we use, a normal lens has a focal length equal to the diagonal measurement of the negative format or the electronidc sensor. By example, a 35mm film camera produces a negative that is 24x36mm therefore the diagonal measurement is 43.2mm. (due to the physical space reqquirements of the multiple elements, aperture and focusing linkages the industry has accepted 43 to 55mm as the normal lens). Any lens which has a focal length longer than the Normal lens is said to be a Telephoto lens. Generally lenses up to 3x the normal focal length are defined as telephotos while lenses longer than 3x the normal focal length are defined as super telephotos. Lenses with a focal length that is shorter than the normal focal length are called "Wide Angle" lenses. Lenses with a fixed focal length are defined as "Prime lenses" while lenses with a variable focal lenght are said to be a "Zoom Lens" meaning that is can be zoomed from its minimum to its maximum focal lenght, thus you could have a zoom wide angle or a zoom telephoto. On cameras that have a fixed lens they often define the focal ength by a number, by example, they may say the camera has a 10x zoom. In this case the numbrer is multiplying the focal length of the normal lens for that format, thus while the normal format for a 35mm film camera is 43mm, a 10x zoom would equal a 430mm lens. For 35mm film cameras or DSLR's a 300mm lens is considered the longest lens that can consistantly be hand held and they should only be used in hand held mode when the shutter speed is 1/125 or greater. Lenses longer than 300mm or in situations where the shutter speed will be less than 1/125 it will require a monopod, tripod or other suitable means of support. The actual diameter of the lens aperture can be mathematically computed by dividing the lens focal length by the index number, by example, if you have a 50mm lens set at f-2 the actual diameter of the aperture opening is 50/2= 25mm while a 300mm @ f-2 would have an aperture opening of 300/2= 150mm however due to the difference in angle of view both lenses would produce the same light level at the film plane. If we then examine the complete f-stop scale we would find that the the indexes are such that increasing the index one stop will reduce the cross sectional area of the aperture to 1/2 the cross sectional are of the previous aperture opening. If you then examine the shutter speed scale you will note that each increment is approximately double the time of the next higher shutter speed. Exposure is a combinastion of time and light intensity, thus if we change the f-stop one stop we either double or halve the amount of light striking the film or sensor, and if we change the shutter speed on index figure we also either double or halve the light to the film. In this manner we can change the overall exposure one f-stop by either changing the aperture setting or the shutter speed one index. You could use a 200mm lense with a doubler as was siggested before, but when we attach a doubler the actaul apertue size remains constant while we double focal length so we instantly loose one f-stop. In addition, we generally loose another f-stop to the light loss through the glass lens in the doubler. As a result the actual insertion loss of a doubler is typically 2 f-stops and some cheaper after market doublers have an insertion loss of 3 f-stops. When i first begani my interset in photography a built in light meter was still a new feature and in those days we had to learn how to eyeball an exposure. (When using my old manual focus pre-set lenses I still put my camera in manual mode and eyeball the exposure for practice) ISO is the actual shutter speed required to produce a proper exposure at f-16 in mean daylight at noon at the equator. As you move north of shuth of the equator the angle of incidence of sunlight changes and we must compensate the exposure, thue in the USA in bright sunlight at noon in mid summer the proper expose shutter speed would be equal to the ISO number with the lens set at f-16 and we loose one f-stop for each two hours before or after noon. Keep in mind that birds are most active in early morning or late afternoon. Using the aabove formula, if we are shooting a picture at 4pm on a bright summer day in mid summer our we could set the shutter speed to the ISO speed and set the lens to f 5.6. Keeping in mind that we want a shutter speed of at least 250 to stop action we must then use ISO 400 and if its a cloudy day or in shade the exposure would be f-4 but our lens will only open to f 5.6 so we must then increase the ISO to 800. If we were to attach a doubler we would need to push the ISO two more stops to 3200 and risk a lot of image loss to noise. In my humble opinion the best economical lens for what you want to do would be a 70-300mm f 4-5.6 I would also strongly encourage you to get a good heavy duty tripod and a remote shutter release. Your Canon Rebel uses the Canon EF mount and although I am not familiar with your camera it may also use the Canon EFs mount. Out of curiosity I did a quick scan on Ebay and found 11 Canon 70-300mm f4-5.6 EF lenses listed with a "Buy Now" price ranging from $119 to $189 ( avg was $139). I also found a couple Sigma 70-300mm f4-5.6 with canon EF mounts for $129 and if you are willing to go through the bidding procedures I saw a couple that went as cheap as $65+S&H. I am attaching some photos that i took with my Pentax ist DL (6.2mp) DSLR with a Sigma 70=300mm f 4-5.6 manual focus lens.

Good Morning Lindsey and welcome to the photography forum. While you state that this is your first post in this forum we certainly hope that you will stick around and become a regular contributor. I was initially trained as a "Still Photography Specialist" while serving in the USAF in the 60's and if I have learned nothing else in my mere 40 years of photography, I have learned that only you can answer your question. Now don't think that I am trying to pass the buck or be a wise guy here. At best a camera is merely a tool through which you can express your personality, providing of course that you use it whereas while sitting on a shelf a camera is little more than an expensive ornament. The key to deciding which lenses or accessories you need is to first begin with what you have and use it often. Use it so often that instead of looking through the viewfinder to see what you can get, you begin to see an image in your mind and you use the camera to capture it. Once you are thoroughly familiar with both the capabilities and limitations of the lens you have you will then know what you want the camera to do and you will be able to determine what lens you need to achieve that goal. The human eye produces an image that has roughly a 90degree angle of view. Regardless of what camera we use, in order to produce an image with the same 90deg angle of view we must use a lens that has a focal length equal to the diagonal measurement of the negative or image format. Your camera uses a Type C image sensor and the "Normal" lens for that camera is approximately 30mm. If we then shorten the lens we get a wide angle view and if we lengthen the format we get a telephoto effect. Your 18-55mm lens is giving you a good beginning range from a modest wide angle to a short telephoto. That telephoto is also an excellent portrait lens. If you could provide some information on what you desire to shoot we may be able to help you decide what additional lenses you may need, but for the moment I would strongly encourage you to thoroughly explore the capabilities of that lens in regard to what you want to shoot. Having said that, there are a couple accessories that in my humble opinion are almost mandatory. Get a good tripod. You don't necessarily need a professional grade Bogen, but do not be lulled into those flimsy aluminum and plastic junky things in you local discount store either. I would look for an all metal tripod in the $45 to $75 range that will hold up to hard use under all conditions for years to come. Keep in mind that when shooting vibration is your worst enemy. The tripod you select must be able to hold you camera steady while outdoors in a mild breeze. Get a remote shutter release. Most modern digitals have provision to use a small infra red shutter release that works like a TV remote. With one of those you can set the camera on a tripod and shoot self portraits or family shots but even more important, when shooting on a tripod in dim light you can use the remote to release the shutter and you don't have to worry about vibration from your finger on the shutter button. My camera also has a small mini jack where I can plug in a hard wire remote shutter release button. If your camera has that feature I would strongly suggest you get the remote cord. (they are usually about $10 on ebay). If I can offer you no other advice allow me to say this. Quite often we see amateurs who have super fine cameras such as yours but in their zeal to amass a collection of lenses the opt for the cheap after market lenses from other companies such as Sigma or Tamron. I don't mean to imply that some of the lenses from Sigma or Tamron are not fair lenses, but they are not nearly as good as the OEM lenses that were designed and manufactured by your camera company for your camera. In the overall scheme of things you would be much better served to have one or two OEM lenses than a half dozen aftermarket ones. I personally shoot Pentax and I have amassed a collection of over 25 genuine Pentax lenses ranging from 16mm to a true 1,000mm prime that is 45" long and weighs 12lbs, not to mention a long list of after market ones, but it has taken me nearly 40 years to put this mess altogether and in the end, the lens I use most often is an 18-55mm.

Arlosmom - I hope it is not tacky to ask, but do you remember how much your liner tile cost? I have been thinking about it ever since I saw your pics. I also wonder how a black version would look. I hope it would be gray at the lighter parts and concentrated black in the crevices. I will be meeting with a tile person at a fancy schmancy tile store next week because they are the only ones who carry Mission Tile West near here, and they may carry Pratt & Larsen as well. Luckily, we had decided to splurge on the custom 2" figure 8 liner from them as our big extravagance and then later that day found out our builder is the neighbor of the manager and has done work for her. He called her and she told him he'd get a discount on the tiles, which he is passing on to me. This is a crude attempt to mock up our backsplash. The plan is to put a 1/2" plain black liner on each side of our custom ones (as seen in the mockup), but after seeing your tile, I wonder if yours as the 1/2" ones would be much better. The egg and dart may soften up our geometric edges a little. Or, we could do the style that has the top 2" cap with the egg and dart built in, therefore combining the 2 inch top planned with your liner. That would mean only doing 1 pricier upscale "line" instead of 2 (2 x a lower price may still be a higher total). In any case, the pattern is really cool and I am hoping to work it into my design somehow.

Here's a fun study in contrasts. 1st pic is of our kitchen, just before finishing. Wide aisles, at 48". Incredible, kitchen "quadrangle" for cooks. Taken by either me or my contractor. 2nd pic is of the whole room, from the kitchen, by a pro- wide lens, again pre-fnish- built in floating media cabinet on the TV wall, shelves on niches not yet added. Look how cavernous the 2nd pic looks. Looks like 7' between the main sink to the left (not visible in the photo, and the island. Lol. Also makes the cabinets appear reddish, when they aren't. I'm not sure that's good marketing, as it gives a false impression of the home- could turn some people off, or could lead to unrealistic expectations, even when they "know" the total square footage.