What did you see in your binoculars today? (3 Viewers)

[Thotmosis]

Im sorry it’s not a good foto but this morning i spotted a common kingfisher in the forest, had my Leitz Trinovid 7x35B with me and made use of the 150 m FOV to see this remarkable bird in flight. Nice colors.

 

[Richard D]

My first Whitethroat of the year (Kent).

 

[Belumat]

This morning a short-toed Eagle passed over my house and I was able to observe it with my Aurora. It is the twelfth species of raptor I have seen from my garden

 

[Lerxst]

Yesterday, a totally eclipsed sun filtered through Texas clouds was in my bins.

 

[Scott98]

Male and female Wood Ducks landed in the tiny vernal pool behind my house! Very exciting. Never seen any bird in there before, not even a Mallard.

 

[Maljunulo]

I once had a pair come to inspect a maple tree on my property.

They rejected it, and I never saw them again.

 

[jafritten]

I used my UV 7x42 in the garden this morning. Apart from a few buzzards in the sky there were some very interesting insects in my garden. I don't usually watch insects through binoculars, so it was the first time for me to think that the close focus of the UV could be a bit better. Watching bumblebees and dragonflies through the UV was very nice, though. I didn't have my telephoto at hand, so I snapped a photo with my 45 yo Leica Summicron. Here is a female broad-bodied chaser.

 

[Maljunulo]

Very nice photo of a difficult subject.

 

[PatR]

It's harvest time as the farmers cut and turn the grass ready to be chopped for sillage.

This attracts the Buzzards and Red Kites searching for any lost and confused mice and other little creatures. This gorgeous Buzzard was resting in between snacks.

Watched through the superb Meopta B1 8x56's and shot with a Lumix S5 II and a Sigma 150-600mm lens.

 

[StephenHampshire]

An eel! Only the third I've seen in 35 years of living close to the river Arle. This one was 200m from the Eel House, once used to trap 10's if not 100s of eels

 

[Thotmosis]

This big proud soon to be mother of four let me watch her from close distance through my Nikon 6x15 for a minute and then i felt like an intruder so I let her be.

First i became very angry about the plastic around her but then…shame on me…i start thinking about how big of a omelette you could make of one of this eggs🙊

 

[Ignatius]

Took my new-to-me 1957 CZJ Silvarem for a spin. Single-layer T-coatings made in GDR . Ca. 80% transmission. Very nice tack sharp image and a large sweet spot. Smoooth CF, although maybe a tad light. CW to infinity. All it needs is a rainguard.

It showed me some skittish deer which took off even though no way could they have seen the dog behind the wheat field.

 

[jafritten]

A few days ago my son and I set off in order to find (and photograph) a Great Black Woodpecker which he had heard and seen numerous times when we were playing in woods. On that day it wouldn't present itself. But we spotted a cuckoo and a few Great Spotted Woodpeckers. I used my ELs (8.5x) to study its behaviour before I was ready for this shot:


I've been trying to locate this long-eared owl by its calls for a bit and tracked it down this morning.

 

[PatR]

A few days ago my son and I set off in order to find (and photograph) a Great Black Woodpecker which he had heard and seen numerous times when we were playing in woods. On that day it wouldn't present itself. But we spotted a cuckoo and a few Great Spotted Woodpeckers. I used my ELs (8.5x) to study its behaviour before I was ready for this shot:
View attachment 1581931

I've been trying to locate this long-eared owl by its calls for a bit and tracked it down this morning.
View attachment 1581932

The owl is superb! How blessed to see such a stunning bird.

Woodpeckers are so fast and nervous, we have one visit our house for sunflower seeds but flies off into our wood when he senses movement. Luckily its just 50m away.

 

[quincy88]

This is one of my favorite threads. Thank you all so much for the lovely photos.
Today I had the pleasure of watching Bald Eagles diving and grabbing clawfulls of small fish - maybe herring or baby salmon. They would come up with a few in each claw. It was pretty neat, and something that I had never seen before.
Also, I watched a group of ten Harlequins calmly fishing and milling about. They were pretty relaxed and I was pretty close. It was awesome. Charming little ducks.
Oh! And my first Lincoln's Sparrow of the year.

 

[Maljunulo]

What did the eagles do with the fish?

 

[AlphaFan]

As our spring warbler migration is winding down I annually head to the nearby mountains where they are still plentiful. Over this past Memorial Day Weekend I had the pleasure of testing out a new lens and looking for a few of my favorites.


Kentucky Warbler


Mourning Warbler


Blackburnian Warbler


Golden Winged Warbler

And was treated to a pair of Mississippi Kites

 

[Scott98]

Where are you guys? Is anyone else wondering? The eagles and Harlequins must be somewhere cold and near the ocean I'm guessing? And the warlbers in the mountains - which ones? Just curious. Those are amazing photos, people around here go nuts over Mourning or Golden-Winged

 

[AlphaFan]

The Mourning Warbler was found at Reddish Knob — one of the highest points in the Shenandoah Mountains on the Virginia / West Virginia border.

The Golden-winged Warbler was found at Mountain Lake Road Overlook near Blacksburg, VA.

Neither is a common species in VA. However, both of these spots are known locations for these species.

Another not so common VA bird - Red Crossbill.

 

[quincy88]

What did the eagles do with the fish?

I didn't see. But I assumed they ate them.