tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5791077723521794200.post4037277601139454946..comments2023-09-16T04:08:25.750-07:00Comments on Butler's Birds: King of the West: Western KingbirdLaurence Butlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14766876797454283812noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5791077723521794200.post-56595479701034379982012-05-21T23:00:13.021-07:002012-05-21T23:00:13.021-07:00I don't think anybody's shots would count ...I don't think anybody's shots would count anywhere!Laurence Butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14766876797454283812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5791077723521794200.post-40662269565702897922012-05-21T21:36:07.246-07:002012-05-21T21:36:07.246-07:00I hope not!!! Then all my discoveries at the Swee...I hope not!!! Then all my discoveries at the Sweetwater facility wouldn't count!!:)Rohrerbothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02136631378931478644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5791077723521794200.post-81627593593124147342012-05-21T17:21:57.069-07:002012-05-21T17:21:57.069-07:00Thank you Debbie. Watching him eat fire ants was.....Thank you Debbie. Watching him eat fire ants was...shall we say a particularly satisfying experience.Laurence Butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14766876797454283812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5791077723521794200.post-64535428284026956862012-05-21T17:00:02.050-07:002012-05-21T17:00:02.050-07:00Cleverly written post! Ant on mighty Kingbird! Awe...Cleverly written post! Ant on mighty Kingbird! Awesome shots of the bird and his victims.Debbie Miller @HooootOwlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13580580317271895694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5791077723521794200.post-84705051821163333792012-05-20T16:44:47.759-07:002012-05-20T16:44:47.759-07:00Yikes Mia! Stay clear of those six-legged red mons...Yikes Mia! Stay clear of those six-legged red monsters! Or, bring a Kingbird bodyguard with you whenever possible.<br /><br />I know what you mean about the silver and shiny stuff--it's way distracting and off-putting in an image. But I also agree that the older stuff, or things like fence posts and barbed wire, which are themselves a part of the story of a landscape and its creatures, can add a lot to a photo.Laurence Butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14766876797454283812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5791077723521794200.post-79984984366503529672012-05-20T16:42:18.459-07:002012-05-20T16:42:18.459-07:00Thanks Seagull. I guess the oversized ants in Texa...Thanks Seagull. I guess the oversized ants in Texas make it worth their while. This guy had a pretty sweet set up too. Perched just above the opening to the ant hill, he had an unlimited food supply.Laurence Butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14766876797454283812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5791077723521794200.post-7337607720787327812012-05-20T14:21:08.793-07:002012-05-20T14:21:08.793-07:00Any bird that eats Fire Ants deserves a Royal Coro...Any bird that eats Fire Ants deserves a Royal Coronation and a Crown! I am so allergic to fire ants that just three bites nearly put me into the hospital. <br /><br />I don't mind the hand of man in my images but I prefer things like rusty wires, barbed wire, old wood and things that have tons of character. Usually if something is new or shiny the image gets dumped.Mia McPhersonhttp://www.onthewingphotography.com/wingsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5791077723521794200.post-46275387524498076032012-05-20T13:17:03.695-07:002012-05-20T13:17:03.695-07:00Kingbirds eat fire ants? I had no idea...great obs...Kingbirds eat fire ants? I had no idea...great observation, and sick close ups.Seagull Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01851438505719552645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5791077723521794200.post-66595411383246083252012-05-20T10:16:51.116-07:002012-05-20T10:16:51.116-07:00Oh sushOh sushLaurence Butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14766876797454283812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5791077723521794200.post-23888197340353262922012-05-20T10:05:45.676-07:002012-05-20T10:05:45.676-07:00Haha You linked to a crappy photographer!Haha You linked to a crappy photographer!Moehttp://www.iowavoice.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5791077723521794200.post-35532901254001460342012-05-20T09:58:40.537-07:002012-05-20T09:58:40.537-07:00You haven't seen Kingbirds ice skate and speak...You haven't seen Kingbirds ice skate and speak too? You need to get out in the field more Moe. I'll concede the point about 'snufalufagus'. I guess I just always found that fuzzy elephantine creature to be a little bit creepy.<br /><br />I must admit, I don't worry about the "Hand of Man" so much in my photos. If the aesthetic works, I'll let it go. I've always found it a bit odd that some photographers insist there has to be nothing unnatural in the photo at all at all (especially when we have birds named Barn Swallow, Barn Owl, Roadrunner, Kitchen-Aid Cuckoo, American Goldminefinch, Spotted Towtruck, etc.) while firing away with their $15,000 camera rig (hardly a product of nature). <br /><br />Perhaps some day I'll have the luxury of photographing totally al naturale, but in the mean time no, I don't think that taking a picture of a free bird perched on a fence is the same as photographing birds in a cage at the zoo. The bird on the fence is still free to leave and behave as it normally would. now, luring them in to a feeder is a little bit different, but still fun.<br /><br />Here are some links to another photographer's work to reinforce my side:<br /><br />http://www.iowavoice.com/2008/03/05/belted-kingfisher/<br />http://www.iowavoice.com/2007/01/05/american-kestrel/<br />http://www.iowavoice.com/2007/06/23/barn-swallow/<br /><br />Is it cheating to photograph ducks on a man-made lake? Birds in a manicured nature preserve?Laurence Butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14766876797454283812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5791077723521794200.post-85122407849851242782012-05-20T09:33:01.045-07:002012-05-20T09:33:01.045-07:00I bet Big Bird has a better singing voice. And I&#...I bet Big Bird has a better singing voice. And I've seen Big Bird ice skate and speak actual words. And he's smart enough to have a heating blanket in his nest for those cold winter nights. And he's friends with a Snufalupagus, or however you spell it (yes, I realize I'm on the internet if I am here leaving a comment, and I could easily "Google" the word "Snufalupagus" and discern the proper spelling, but that takes too much time - although probably less time than it took to type this explanation in the parentheses, which I now realize has become a giant waste of time).<br /><br />Great photos, though (although you lose points for taking pictures of him on an iron cable and not in a truly "natural" habitat - that's kinda like photographing animals at the zoo, isn't it? That doesn't count.).Moehttp://www.iowavoice.comnoreply@blogger.com