Now is the time to get your hummingbird feeder ready for the season. The ruby-throated hummingbirds have begun their migration into the United States. The first reported sighting on hummingbirds.net was on February 25, 2010 in the Florida panhandle.
There are many details of the hummingbird migration that are not known. Relatively few are banded each year and even fewer are recaptured to provide some information of that bird’s activity. Until the technology will allow very small, lightweight transmitters it is unlikely that enough data can be collected to fill in the unknowns.
What is known is that the ruby-throated hummingbirds that spend their winter in southern Mexico or western Panama have begun their northward migration. To successfully migrate the birds must double their weight to fuel the long journey ahead. Some of the birds will be migrating up to 2500 miles including a 500 mile, 20 hour trip across the Gulf of Mexico. Some ruby-throated hummingbirds will choose the longer, but less difficult, trip along Eastern Mexico into Texas and then migrate up the United States from there.
The males begin the migration first with the females following approximately a week and a half behind. Their migration is spread over two or three months.
After they arrive in Eastern Texas or southern Florida they travel as far north as Nova Scotia, Labrador, New Brunswick or as far west as Minnesota into Manitoba , Saskatchewan and Alberta. They may move up to 20 miles per day, depending on the weather and availability of insects and plant nectar. There is evidence that an individual hummingbird will take the same migration route and return to the same place each year.
You can watch the migration and report the first sighting at your bird feeder here: http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html
Technorati Tags: Birds, hummingbird, Hummingbird Feeder, hummingbird migration, hummingbirds, ruby-throated hummingbird, ruby-throated hummingbirds, Your Bird Feeder
Is your neck sore from the rubbing of your binoculars at the end of a great day of bird watching? Are you tired of your binoculars swinging freely around your neck narrowly missing trees and rocks? Are you afraid of damaging your binoculars? If you have answered “yes” to these questions, then consider a binocular harness system.
A good binocular harness system eliminates the annoyances that you have been dealing with when bird watching and hiking. The harness will hold the bird watching binoculars securely against your body eliminating any swinging or twisting. A good harness will protect your binoculars from any damage that may be caused from swinging into trees or other hard surfaces. And, no more missing those fast moving birds, because your binoculars are in a waiting position for you to grab and aim. This enables you to see many more birds while hiking and bird watching. Another important benefit of the harness is that your binoculars will be held in place while you are using your camera to photograph birds.
The binocular harness takes the weight of the binoculars off your neck. It distributes it evenly to your back and shoulders. Imagine hiking and birdwatching without the binoculars rubbing your neck all day. Your day will be a walk in the park.
The harness can be easily adjusted and used for people of any weight and height. The level of tightness of your binocular harness can be modified to suit your movement. You will move more comfortably, more freely and more quickly, which will make your day more enjoyable.
A binocular harness system will keep your binoculars safe and will keep you more comfortable. Choose the best binocular harness system available because your equipment is valuable and should be protected.
Technorati Tags: binocular harness, binocular harness system, bird watcher, bird watching, Bird Watching Binoculars, Birds, Photographing Birds
Canon will soon be releasing the new Canon EOS Rebel T2i EF-S Digital SLR Camera. It is the latest in the Rebel line of DSLR cameras, which are excellent for photographing birds. Canon retains the classic features that photographers have come to count on. The Rebel T2i EF-S Digital SLR Camera is an excellent choice for the more advanced beginner up to the professional photographer.
Canon EOS Rebel T2i Camera
The new Canon Rebel T2i EF-S is a lightweight and easy to use camera that incorporates many professional EOS features including:
- 18.0 Megapixel CMOS Image Sensor and DIGIC 4 Image Processor
- Captures images with exceptional clarity to provide more than enough resolution for crops and enlargements. The DIGIC 4 Image Processor speeds up the EOS Rebel T2i’s operations and offers improvement in fine detail and natural color reproduction.
- ISO 100-6400 (expandable to 12800)
- Allows shooting from bright to dim light.
- An advanced HD Movie mode for Full HD movies
- HD video at 1920×1080 resolution with selectable frame rates of 24, 25 or 30 frame rates per second. Movies are saved as MOV files. Other recording sizes include HD at 1280 x 720 or SD/VGA at 640 x 480. Full manual exposure control. An external microphone can be used for stereo sound quality.
- Enhanced iFCL 63-zone, Dual-layer metering system
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- The new system delivers a very high level of accuracy by not only measuring the amount of light but color and luminosity as well. It supplies intelligent scene analysis for perfect exposure.
- Up to 3.7 frames per second continuous shooting
- The Canon EOS Rebel T2i can shoot up to 3.7 frames per second (fps) for up to approximately 6 consecutive RAW files or approximately 34 full-resolution JPEGs. Shooting at speeds of up to 1/4000 sec., the EOS Rebel T2i camera can capture even rapidly-unfolding scenes with ease.
- A new wide LCD monitor
- Wide 3.0 inch (3:2 aspect ratio) Clear View LCD monitor (1.04 million dots/VGA) for improved viewing. An anti-reflective and water-repellent coating provides a clearer and more smudge-resistant surface.
- Quick Control Screen Button
- New Quick Control Screen button for easy access to frequently used settings. The Canon EOS Rebel T2i’s refined button layout makes it simple to navigate among any number of settings.
- Dedicated Live View/Movie shooting button
- Quick and smooth transition between still and movie mode. No need to navigate through menus-just a simple press of a button.
- New compatibility with SDXC memory cards
- The Canon EOS Rebel T2i camera is compatible with both SDXC memory cards for greater storage capacity and with Eye-Fi SD cards. An Eye-Fi card enables wireless uploading of your images directly from the camera.
- Compatible with the full line of Canon EF and EF-S lenses
- The Canon EOS Rebel T2i is compatible with all Canon lenses in the EF lineup, from compact and lightweight lenses to ultra-wide angle and super telephoto lenses. The Canon image stabilizer, available in some lenses, minimizes the effect of camera shake. A very good feature when photographing birds.
Here are a few of the new features that the Canon EOS Rebel T2i camera provides that will make every bird watchers’ pictures stand-out. The new expanded ISO range makes it easy to shoot from dim to bright light, eliminating one of the biggest concerns that bird watchers have when photographing birds. The wider LCD monitor furnishes a clearer view and the anti-reflective coating makes it easy to see the subject even in bright light. Go from still pictures to video with one quick press of a button, no fumbling with menu screens or carrying an additional video camera around all day. Shooting at shutter speeds of up to 1/4000 will surely enhance your success when photographing birds. As you can see, the new Canon EOS Rebel T2i provides many beneficial features for taking pictures and will be a valuable piece of equipment while bird watching.
Canon feels that the EOS Rebel T2i camera is the best Rebel they have developed, providing some of the most advanced components of any digital SLR camera. This camera is due out in early March. I will keep you posted on the release date.
Click here for more information or to pre-order your Canon EOS Rebel T2i Camera.
Canon EOS Rebel T2i Camera
Technorati Tags: bird watcher, bird watching, Camera, Canon, Canon camera, canon digital camera, Canon EOS Rebel T2i, Canon EOS Rebel T2i Camera, Canon Rebel, digital camera, digital slr, DSLR camera, Photographing Birds
