Birding: First trip out

Today I decided is was just about time to go out and see what birds I could find.  There weren't many, at least nothing new.  In  my enthusiasm to get started on my  bird watching, I think I jumped the gun and went out too early.  The ponds at both parks are still frozen solid and I saw only a couple of geese and some cocky Blue Jays.  In my experience however, you never know what you might see when you least expect it so why not take the opportunity?

Besides I had to experiment and practice with my new equipment, and there really is no better way than just to go out and do it.  The video camera is going to take some getting used to and I'm going to have to learn to do a few new things on the computer to get the most out of it.   It has a thirty four times zoom, perfect for watching and capturing hawks in the sky, and so far it looks like it is going to be worth every penny, even though I will no doubt suffer some frustration in the process of learning how to use it.  It is a good thing  that  I enjoy learning  new things. The sooner that is done the better, since I really do want to share the video footage, which will also hopefully give me some good clear shots to use.

Blue Jay going up

So, this my first trip, out had a dual purpose.  My video footage this time will not be shared.  As far as beginning efforts go it was neither bad nor good.  However, I still need some additional equipment  ( just a cable) and learning to get to a point of sharing. The learning might take a while.

Across the pond

It was overcast and gloomy when I went out. This is not usually good for lighting conditions, depending on where you take the pictures of course. For example, all of my pictures at the one park I visited, which sits in a hollow, turned out too blue.  Still I got more out of my  trip  than I thought, as usual.  I experimented with the pictures, something I also enjoy doing but haven't done in a long time.   The results are the two images you see.  What do you think?

Susan