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Post by stephan on Oct 20, 2018 22:01:28 GMT -5
Today (20 October, 2018) was Open House for the California Raptor Center (a biannual event -- usually in April and October). This opens up the center for education, publicity, fund-raising and socializing. The Raptor Center is dedicated to rescuing injured raptors. Those that can be successfully rehabbed are released. Some birds, however, have injuries that are too extensive, have imprinted on humans, or have other reasons they cannot be released. these become permanent residents. If they can be socialized to humans, they become teaching birds at the Open Houses, or a school presentations. See below for medium-sized versions of the pics. If you click through, they are available at higher res. Didn't want to take up too much room.  California Raptor Center Open House Collage_2 by Stephan Telm, on Flickr  DSC_1912_Elana by Stephan Telm, on Flickr  DSC_1919_Ember by Stephan Telm, on Flickr  DSC_1924_Phoenix by Stephan Telm, on Flickr  DSC_1929_Whistler by Stephan Telm, on Flickr  DSC_1949_Whistler by Stephan Telm, on Flickr  DSC_1958_Ember by Stephan Telm, on Flickr  DSC_1977_Jack by Stephan Telm, on Flickr  DSC_2010_Jack by Stephan Telm, on Flickr  DSC_2197_Luna or Forest by Stephan Telm, on Flickr  DSC_2201_Ember by Stephan Telm, on Flickr  DSC_2113_Jack by Stephan Telm, on Flickr  DSC_2112_Sullivan by Stephan Telm, on Flickr  DSC_2097_Eliza The younger white-tailed kite by Stephan Telm, on Flickr |
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Post by vegasjames on Oct 20, 2018 22:59:35 GMT -5
That would be something I would go to see.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Oct 21, 2018 1:49:53 GMT -5
How cool! I'd love the chance to get to photograph all those awesome birds. Great pics! Thanks for sharing this.
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Post by MsAli on Oct 21, 2018 4:47:46 GMT -5
Thank you for sharing! They are all incredible birds.
I love the White Tail Kite. Thier eyes have always freaked me out.
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Post by orrum on Oct 21, 2018 5:41:49 GMT -5
Fantastic place and I love the picturrs!
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Post by parfive on Oct 21, 2018 16:46:39 GMT -5
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Post by aDave on Oct 21, 2018 17:15:58 GMT -5
For those interested, and Rick touched on the place, it looks like the Ojai (CA) Raptor Center's open house is November 4 from 12:00 - 4:00. Maybe I'll have to take a drive up there, as we're not too far away. www.ojairaptorcenter.org/new-events/ |
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Post by stephan on Oct 21, 2018 20:30:43 GMT -5
Thank you for sharing! They are all incredible birds. I love the White Tail Kite. Thier eyes have always freaked me out. Then you probably already know what i just learned yesterday: Thy are born with yellow eyes that gradually get a little redder over time, until the bird gets to be about 5 years old. They have two kites... and that is how I tell them apart. One is a little older and has redder eyes. |
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Post by stephan on Oct 21, 2018 20:35:54 GMT -5
Glad to know there's one in SoCal, too. So many birds, when they come in, are essentially going to the ER. They probably wouldn't make the trip if they had to traverse half the state (and few people would be inclined to make the trip, I imagine). I'm not surprised Mel volunteered there, given his avatar. He appears to be quite knowledgeable about raptors as well as rocks. |
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Post by MsAli on Oct 21, 2018 21:30:33 GMT -5
Thank you for sharing! They are all incredible birds. I love the White Tail Kite. Thier eyes have always freaked me out. Then you probably already know what i just learned yesterday: Thy are born with yellow eyes that gradually get a little redder over time, until the bird gets to be about 5 years old. They have two kites... and that is how I tell them apart. One is a little older and has redder eyes. They go from a yellow, to amber, to the bright red. Most northern American kites have a shade of red eyes. I've been fascinated with Raptors every since I was little. They are suppose to be in the Sierras and central valley but I've never seen one |
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Post by stephan on Oct 21, 2018 22:21:36 GMT -5
Then you probably already know what i just learned yesterday: Thy are born with yellow eyes that gradually get a little redder over time, until the bird gets to be about 5 years old. They have two kites... and that is how I tell them apart. One is a little older and has redder eyes. They go from a yellow, to amber, to the bright red. Most northern American kites have a shade of red eyes. I've been fascinated with Raptors every since I was little. They are suppose to be in the Sierras and central valley but I've never seen one White-tailed kites tend to be coastal, with a few exceptions. Sacramento is about as far inland as they go in large numbers. I see them mainly by the Yolo Bypass. Good hunting there I guess. One of our neighbors has a nest in their tree. I hear the kids more than I see them, and they have not posed for any photos. <Sigh>
I have been into raptors (and snakes) ever since I was a kid, too. It was really amplified in Jr. High, when my Bio teacher, who was a falconer, brought in his red-tailed hawk, Peregrine falcon and gyrfalcon, and then took us on a field trip to watch them hunt. Amazing birds, all.
He also had boas and pythons, as well as racing pigeons. I always wondered if the peregrine was used to help select the pigeon flock for speed. :-)
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Post by MsAli on Oct 22, 2018 8:05:08 GMT -5
They go from a yellow, to amber, to the bright red. Most northern American kites have a shade of red eyes. I've been fascinated with Raptors every since I was little. They are suppose to be in the Sierras and central valley but I've never seen one White-tailed kites tend to be coastal, with a few exceptions. Sacramento is about as far inland as they go in large numbers. I see them mainly by the Yolo Bypass. Good hunting there I guess. One of our neighbors has a nest in their tree. I hear the kids more than I see them, and they have not posed for any photos. <Sigh>
I have been into raptors (and snakes) ever since I was a kid, too. It was really amplified in Jr. High, when my Bio teacher, who was a falconer, brought in his red-tailed hawk, Peregrine falcon and gyrfalcon, and then took us on a field trip to watch them hunt. Amazing birds, all.
He also had boas and pythons, as well as racing pigeons. I always wondered if the peregrine was used to help select the pigeon flock for speed. :-)
You ever watch a Peregrine take a bird? It's one of the coolest things to watch. I have one that hunts around here and when he comes in all the birds disappear Yesterday my Goshawk came back but he wasnt very photogenic and kept himself pretty well hidden in the tree |
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Post by aDave on Oct 22, 2018 12:32:16 GMT -5
stephan, how close were you able to get to the birds? I see you used a 70-300 lens. What focal length do you think you were shooting at for the close up shots? Just curious, although I will probably take everything with me so I can choose which lens when I get there. Mel Sabre52 how does Ojai run its open house? Will it be a good opportunity for photos like stephan's?
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Post by stephan on Oct 22, 2018 13:05:38 GMT -5
I was able to get probably as close as 4-5 feet to some (it depends on the temperament of the bird). Some shots (mostly not uploaded yet), I used an 18-35mm lens. I wasn't paying attention to focal length, really, since I got various shots of each bird, some full-body, some close-up. If you click through to the Flickr pages, they will show the the focal length and other EXIF data for each shot.
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Post by aDave on Oct 22, 2018 13:20:34 GMT -5
I was able to get probably as close as 4-5 feet to some (it depends on the temperament of the bird). Some shots (mostly not uploaded yet), I used an 18-35mm lens. I wasn't paying attention to focal length, really, since I got various shots of each bird, some full-body, some close-up. If you click through to the Flickr pages, they will show the the focal length and other EXIF data for each shot. Thanks. I saw your lens data, I must have missed the actual focal length for each photo. I was just curious as to how much of that zoom range you might have been using. Seeing I have one lens that was close to your 70-300, I was thinking I might be able to get away with mostly using that. No biggie, though, as all of my lenses will probably be making the trip.  |
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Post by stephan on Oct 22, 2018 13:53:15 GMT -5
I was able to get probably as close as 4-5 feet to some (it depends on the temperament of the bird). Some shots (mostly not uploaded yet), I used an 18-35mm lens. I wasn't paying attention to focal length, really, since I got various shots of each bird, some full-body, some close-up. If you click through to the Flickr pages, they will show the the focal length and other EXIF data for each shot. Thanks. I saw your lens data, I must have missed the actual focal length for each photo. I was just curious as to how much of that zoom range you might have been using. Seeing I have one lens that was close to your 70-300, I was thinking I might be able to get away with mostly using that. No biggie, though, as all of my lenses will probably be making the trip. For the most part, I would suspect the 70-300 would do quite well, especially if you are interested in close-ups of their faces. Birds have the coolest eyes. Taking all lenses is probably wise. I usually regret it if I fail to bring both. |
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Post by stephan on Oct 22, 2018 13:56:09 GMT -5
White-tailed kites tend to be coastal, with a few exceptions. Sacramento is about as far inland as they go in large numbers. I see them mainly by the Yolo Bypass. Good hunting there I guess. One of our neighbors has a nest in their tree. I hear the kids more than I see them, and they have not posed for any photos. <Sigh>
I have been into raptors (and snakes) ever since I was a kid, too. It was really amplified in Jr. High, when my Bio teacher, who was a falconer, brought in his red-tailed hawk, Peregrine falcon and gyrfalcon, and then took us on a field trip to watch them hunt. Amazing birds, all.
He also had boas and pythons, as well as racing pigeons. I always wondered if the peregrine was used to help select the pigeon flock for speed. :-)
You ever watch a Peregrine take a bird? It's one of the coolest things to watch. I have one that hunts around here and when he comes in all the birds disappear Yesterday my Goshawk came back but he wasnt very photogenic and kept himself pretty well hidden in the tree I haven't, since Jr. High, when our Bio teacher took us on that trip, and that was fro quite the distance.
And, yes, "my" birds are always feeling in the mood to pose either. Especially those kites at the neighbor's house. Their nest is deep inside a redwood tree (now don't get me started on coastal redwoods in the Central Valley, but that's a whole other matter).
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Post by aDave on Oct 22, 2018 14:03:31 GMT -5
Thanks. I saw your lens data, I must have missed the actual focal length for each photo. I was just curious as to how much of that zoom range you might have been using. Seeing I have one lens that was close to your 70-300, I was thinking I might be able to get away with mostly using that. No biggie, though, as all of my lenses will probably be making the trip. For the most part, I would suspect the 70-300 would do quite well, especially if you are interested in close-ups of their faces. Birds have the coolest eyes. Taking all lenses is probably wise. I usually regret it if I fail to bring both. I'm cursed and blessed to have a few zoom lenses to choose from, and they all overlap to a degree. 16-35, 24-105, 70-300, 100-400. The 24-105 stays on the camera most of the time, and I change to the others if need be. I may start with that and just carry the 70-300 along to use as needed, leaving the others in the car. Thanks for all of the info. You've given me some good ideas, and I'll be looking at your exif data as well.  |
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller 
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,504
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Post by Sabre52 on Oct 22, 2018 22:17:52 GMT -5
Yeah photobucket aholes screwed me on thousands of pics all right.
Great bird pics here. I do miss my years at the Ojai Raptor Center, especially my favorite birdies Rosie the Redtail Hawk and Horus the Peregrine. Normally there are lots of photo ops with the educational birds at the open houses. Not supposed to bother the rehab birds in the big flights but they might let you see the setup at the old honor farm jail. Handlers usually have the educational birds out on their gauntlets so you can get up close and personal as long as you don't touch. Some species are more flighty than others. Some are downright hams for the camera. Very fun event to attend.....Mel
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Oct 23, 2018 9:49:23 GMT -5
I love birds, especially the raptors. I wish I was close enough to go to this open house.
Stephen, your picture are outstanding! Thanks for sharing them with us.
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