Birding in Maine» hi-def

Video of the Day: Sharp-shinned Hawk Enjoying Breakfast

John Briggs — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 15:36:45 +0000

Sharon and I were watching a pair of first year Bald Eagles harassing ducks from our picture window Saturday morning. Suddenly, all of the birds in our backyard took off in a frenzy. A Sharp-shinned Hawk came from seemingly nowhere and snatched a Mourning Dove. Feathers floated everywhere as the hawk flew off with its prize.

We thought the hawk had left the area. Upon further investigation from our deck, Sharon spied it under a spruce tree and motioned for me to come outside to check it out. I grabbed my camera rig and went out onto the deck and there it was, ripping feathers from the fresh kill. I followed one of the paths, that I shoveled clear of snow, to one of the birds feeders and took the following video.

Simply click the photo below. When the new window opens for the video, open window to full size to see the larger HD version.

Dimension: 560×480 | Video bit rate: 1000Kbps | Length: 36 sec.
Click photo to watch video | Broadband Connection Recommended
Video: Sharp-shinned Hawk | ©2011 John Briggs Photography
Video will open in a new window. Playback is at my SmugMug site.

Happy birding!

Hummingbird Preening

John Briggs — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 12:59:56 +0000

This little jewel loves to perch on the very tip of one of our feeder branches and sits there looking pretty. She is only 6″ from a fresh supply of nectar. With the Hummingbird activity around our feeders this past week, she gets harassed on occasion. I was able to capture this female Ruby-throated Hummingbird preening during a break in the activity.

Once the video has started, clicking on the video will take you to You Tube where the video is hosted. Once on the You Tube site, clicking the HD icon will place the video in HD widescreen mode, which is the best playback.

Dimension: 520×390 | Video length: 1:17
Playback: Click Play Button | Broadband Connection Recommended
Streaming HD Video of Hummingbird Preening | ©2009 birdingmaine.com

Happy birding!

Common Redpolls – Video

John Briggs — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 16:29:31 +0000

During the recent snowstorm, our feeders were very busy. Take for instance:

Along with the regular yard birds, 35 Pine Siskins trying to find room on the feeders.
40+ Common Redpolls vying for precious space.
2 male Red-winged Blackbirds who were more than happy to find a ground feeder during the tempest.
Not a feeder bird but 3 Bald Eagles; 1 Adult and 2 second year were standing on an ice ridge in the cove just off our yard.
1 Harbor Seal laid up on the ice edge were our cove meets the Kennebec River.

Needless to say, the bird activity emptied nearly every feeder! We kept up with the birds, assuring that no one went hungry.

Today, the skies are blue again, but it is cold. Looking through the rest of the week, it is to stay cold with only a chance of snow showers Friday night. With the fresh snow pack, we will see temps near zero at night over the next several days. I heard a few meteorologists mention that the cold spell will last into the foreseeable future. I wonder if the Red-winged Blackbirds wished they had waited awhile before coming to this latitude?

I shot some video of the Common Redpoll activity during the snow storm.

Dimension: 520×420 | Video bit rate: 1000Kbps | File Size: 11.6mb
Playback: Click Play Button | Broadband Connection Recommended
Streaming Video of Common Redpolls | ©2009 birdingmaine.com

If only the Redpolls would come like this when the sun is shining. Their raspberry color is vivid when the sun is out, but the colors seem a little washed in this video taken during the snowstorm.

Happy birding!

Winter birds videos

John Briggs — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 19:19:41 +0000

During the month of December, we have had a crippling ice storm, a blizzard, temperatures ranging from -5° to 50° F. and a plethora of snow, rain and sleet. This kind of weather is hard on birds. Now, more than at any other time of the year, birds can use our help when deep snow packs makes it hard to for them to find food.

I shovel a patch down to bare ground under our feeding stations and sprinkle bird food on the area for the ground feeding birds. We also keep fresh water available and clean the snow and ice off of all feeders. The birds really appreciate it!

We took the following hi-def videos just before the blizzard struck on last Sunday morning. Fair warning: large file size, broadband connection recommended!

Dimension: 500×375 | Video bit rate: 1000Kbps | File Size: 20.0 mb
Playback: Click Play Button | Broadband Connection Recommended
Streaming Video of Downy Woodpecker | ©2008 birdingmaine.com

This next hi-def video shows the many Sparrows and Junco’s that visited when the snow started to fall. Broadband connection recommended! Half the file size of the above video.

Dimension: 500×375 | Video bit rate: 1000Kbps | File Size: 10.6 mb
Playback: Click Play Button | Broadband Connection Recommended
Streaming Video of Sparrows & Junco’s | ©2008 birdingmaine.com

We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas. Here’s wishing all of you a happy and prosperous New Year.

Happy birding!

Hi-Def Birding Videos

John Briggs — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 23:23:28 +0000

Streaming video has come to Birding In Maine! After many, many hours of finding a way to bring our visitors birding videos, I have found a solution. Great resolution, small file size and birds in all their glory!

After making a video with our Sony High Definition camcorder, I convert the movie to Windows HD WMV format. I then use the SoThink Video Encoder for Adobe Flash to further convert the clip, without degrading the end result.

You must have a flash enabled browser to view the videos. (most browsers are flash enabled) If you see a link to get Adobe Flash, then your browser is not flash enabled. Simply click the link to go to Adobe’s site to get the player. It is completely safe.

The videos can be seen by selecting “Videos” in the menu bar at the top of any page on this site. Once on the page, you will see the player. Simply click the black area of the player to begin the video. Immediately below the player, you will see the play list. Select a clip to play by clicking the title. There is a small scroll bar to the right of the play list to scroll through the available videos.

As of the time this post was written, I have five videos available. From a Gray Catbird enjoying some suet, to a Snowy Egret feeding on fish. I even have a clip of female Common Eiders watching over chicks learning how to dive for food. More birding videos will be forthcoming!

Your feedback on this new feature will be greatly appreciated.

Happy birding!