klmcallum - RAW files basically save more information that a JPEG. You can sometimes retrieve stuff off of a RAW file that you couldn't get off a JPEG. The drawbacks are that RAW files take more space on your memory card and computer, and fill the buffer of your camera faster when shooting action scenes. That means your camera slows down until the buffer empties and has room again. Plus, if you don't like the editing software that came with your camera, whatever software you buy has to be compatible with your camera's version of RAW.
Hazel - I really like your pictures of the titmouse it looks like a tiny gray jay. Is it as small as the pictures make it seem or is it closer to blue jay size? (I've neer seen one and I'm curious.)

They're quite small, obc--a little larger than a chickadee but not as big as a cardinal by far! A chickadee runs about 4.5 inches, a tuftie about 5 inches and a cardinal just shy of 8 inches. Blue jays are another 2 inches longer than a cardinal. So tufties are pretty small.

[QUOTE=hazelrunpack;1005694]I'd love to have a little flock of light pink finches around, but sadly they stand out like sore thumbs among the other birds. I think this guy might've gotten nailed by the hawk yesterday. :( I haven't seen him today and there was a small clump of suspiciously white feathers down by the fence this morning. :yell:[/QUOTE]

Well, the one I had the picture of either is still around or has a very similar brother--I saw him again this afternoon after an absence of a couple days :highfive: Not sure what the white feathers were from, but Pink Bird is very definitely still around :thumbs up

Hazel,I am happy to read that,maybe we'll get some more pics:cat:

One year,I had this beautiful green and gold bird,about the size of a Cardinal,I admired him every day,until one day a Kestrel got him,I was honestly crying looking at the greenish feathers left behind..

Feeder cleaning question....
 

I would like to clean out my winter feeder but not sure which is the best approach. :shrug:

Should I bring it inside and soak in hot water then rinse or just hose it down with a jet pressure from the hose?

I'm assuming I shouldn't use any kind of detergents but could I use a ratio of bleach with water? :shrug:

What kind of feeder, klm? And what's it made from?

For regular cleaning, I'll soak feeders for about 5 minutes in a weak solution of bleach (maybe a TBSP to a gallon of water), then rinse thoroughly. If it's a wood feeder, I'll soak it in fresh water for another 5 minutes as the 'rinse cycle'; if it's plastic/metal, I just make sure I've rinsed all the surfaces well under the tap. Some of my feeders can be dismantled, so I soak the individual pieces in the bleach solution, then rinse, dry and reassemble.

If the feeders were really groaty, I'll soak in the bleach solution, rinse, use a bottle brush or toothbrush to clean off the grunge, then soak in the bleach solution one more time before the final rinse.

Thank you Hazel! :)

My feeder is all plastic but it is kinda groaty. :o

I just brought it in from the rain :yell: so I'l clean, soak and let it dry inside over night then fill with food in the morning. :thumbs up

Hazel I went to a large plant sale today here at our Botanical Gardens and was so pleased when I walked up to a large crowd of people. The area was cordoned off and there was a big sign saying nesting bird! I walked over and had never seen this type before. It was a killdear and she nested right on the gravel road. At 8am this morning 2 chicks hatched. She was just sitting there with hundreds and hundreds of people around! I didnt have my camrea but here is what she looked like...nice looking bird! :thumbs up

Oh, wow, I went to a plant sale, too--at a local nature reserve. Not many birds moving there, either, but I did see a chestnut-sided warbler, a palm warbler, some yellow-rumped warblers and a northern waterthrush on the grounds! :thumbs up

I love killdeer!!! And the babies are just adorable! They look like they're made from pom-poms! :flirt:

Wow I had never seen one before. Didnt even know they were in this area? Babies were like pom poms! now that you say that!

Plant sale was huge! Hazel did you get anything good? I bought some different stuff a mini Shasta Daisy, Sugae Blue Iris, Strawberry Candy Day Lily, Edge of Darkness Daylily, and Jack and the Pulput.

I got two swamp milkweeds, two wild blue indigo and a hoary vervain. I have a whole whack of seed to plant this year, though, so I just kept it to those 5.

Then I came home and saw a red-headed woodpecker on one of the dead popple trees by the easement :thumbs up Haven't seen one of those in ages!

Hazel they look cool! I had to google them cause I dont know names very well...one looks like an Echinecha :thumbs up

We have a red-headed woodpecker in the neighborhood!!! :highfive: I hope there's two and they stick around for a nest :fingerscr If the yellow-bellied sapsuckers do, too, we'll have 6 species of woodpeckers nesting here this year! :eek: :thumbs up

We have Killdears all around the industrial park where I work. If you walk too close to their nest which are always on paved/gravel parking lots, the Momma will pretend she's injured to lure you away from the nest.

We normally don't disturb them and have never ventured close enough to a nest. They are a very interesting species. :cloud9:

What a pretty bird,I've never seen one before,it's a good thing the store let them be and put up a sign.:thumbs up

Saturday I saw a new (to me) bird. It was a black-throated blue warbler. Really pretty blue colour on top, black face and throat white bars on the wings and white belly. :lovestruck: About the same size as the chickadees it was foraging near.

We used to see those up north, obc! They're beautiful!!!!! Lucky you! :D

I have a whole whack 'o' bird pics ready, but only time to post one tonight.

Here's a better pic of Mr Pink Finch, the leucistic purple finch, who was obliging enough to come pose while I was in the blind this afternoon :lovestruck:

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Here's a male purple finch with normal coloration for comparison

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Indigo bunting

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American goldfinch

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American robin

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Baltimore oriole

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Yellow-rumped (myrtle variety) warbler

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Magnolia warbler

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White-throated sparrow

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A couple of bad pics of a scarlet tanager--I'd never had one come down out of the trees and get close enough to take a pic of and I got so excited, I blew the focus... *sigh*

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Ruby-throated hummingbird

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Rose-breasted grosbeak
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This fella almost escaped off-frame, but I liked the way the pic showed the underwing pattern so I kept it. :)

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Wow, Hazel, those are nice pictures! You get a lot of species. Focusing in amongst the branches isn't easy. Autofocus always picks the branch instead of the bird and by the time you convince it that YES, I do want to focus on the bird, the bird is gone :(