My Experiment With Telephoto Lens

I rented a 500 mm Sigma telephoto lens. So, here are some pictures. Please click on each photo to see the larger version. The lens is so heavy, weighs as much as I am :-P, and the camera really shakes. Very fast shutter speed is the key if taking pictures without a tripod; however that can make the pictures appear dark. All these are taken without a tripod and the subjects are really far away, more than 200 feet away. My neck, hand and shoulder were aching from trying to hold the camera and steadily. All these pictures are taken of all the birds that appear in our backyard, bird-feeder. This post is linking with Rambling Wood's Nature Post. If anyone not seen her blog, please go and visit it -- her blog is a treat with beautiful pictures and information about nature. I am also linking it with Hootin Annie's I'd rather be birding .

The female and male cardinals. The male and female can be distinguished from the color of their feathers -- the males look gorgeous with beautiful orangish red feathers. The females do not have that color but grayish yellow with some reddish streak. The song of the male bird, at least to my ears, is absolutely beautiful. They sit perched on tree tops and sing, signalling the coming of spring.
Some kind of finch or sparrow in the first picture. Sparrows in the second and third picture. It seems that there are lots of different kinds of sparrows in the US. I do not know which kind these are.
The above three pictures are not taken with the telephoto lens. Thus, they are not that clear. All the various kinds of birds -- juncos, chickadees, sparrows, finch, titmouse, nuthatch, bluejays, cardinals, sterling and woodpeckers -- that come to our feeder throughout the day. In the second and third picture, one sees the Red-Bellied Woodpecker.

Nuthatch in the first and second picture. I think these birds spend upside-down throughout their lives. Whenever I have observed them in nature, they are always upside down. Tufted titmouse in the third picture in the first row. Chickadees in the first and second picture in the second row. Junco in the the last picture -- these are migratory birds. They are seen in NJ only during winter. They will go away with the coming of spring. Apparently they come from farther north in the US and Canada.

Happy Arbor Day

Today, April 26, is Arbor Day in NJ. Every year about 60,000 square kilometers (about 14, 826.3 acres) of  forest are destroyed. So, arbor days are celebrated across the USA and even in other countries to raise awareness about conservation and reforestation. Over ten million trees are planted on every arbor day. I didn't have any trees to plant; but luck struck me and my order of five blueberry plants arrived today. Now, you might say that blueberry plants are not trees but I will beg to differ :-). First of all, blueberries are native plants. Secondly, they are excellent source of food for wildlife (I will be competing fiercely with infinite numbers of squirrels, birds, groundhogs, deer, rabbits, raccoon that exist here). Except one, all my five blueberry plants will grow to about six feet in height and will form bushes. So, they will provide a little shelter, places to play around, sit, sing and fly away for birds. Thus, I declare my blueberry plants as trees :-).

Here are the varieties that I received:

Blueray: very sweet, light blue fruits resist cracking. Ripen in July and the harvest goes on for weeks. Plant with at least two other blueberry varieties to ensure adequate cross-pollination. The 5-6' tall bushes become a blaze of crimson in the fall, so they are ideal arranged as an informal hedge.

Blueberry Top Hat: Hats off to a perfectly delectable and beauteous blueberry. Give this ornamental blueberry a prime spot on your patio. Come spring it produces beautiful white blossoms; in fall, the foliage turns a pretty glowing orange. Top Hat is a compact 2-ft plant that produces firm, dusky blue fruit that ripens in late season and is ideal for baking.

Herbert: Blueberries in abundance! Herbert produces a profusion of jumbo-sized fruits with a rich, sweet, slightly tart flavor; it's a late-season variety and very winter hardy.

Coville: Coville produces high yields of large, sweet berries and has good disease resistance. Blueberry plants require pollination from at least one other blueberry variety; plant several varieties for improved fruit set and long harvest. Blueberry is a native shrub that was utilized by Native Americans. Growing 5-6', their productive season is July-August, but they also enliven the garden with blazing crimson foliage in fall.

Bluejay: This native American variety ripens in July and yields heavily for weeks. Plant with at least two other blueberry varieties to ensure adequate cross-pollination. The 5-6' tall bushes become a blaze of crimson in the fall, so they are ideal arranged as an informal hedge. You'll have fresh blueberries for pies and preserves for many, many years.

Apparently, these are good blueberries to plant in NJ. But time will only tell that. I already had a blueberry plant in the garden. So, all total six blueberry plants. I am so fond of this fruit that if I am successful with these plants, then I hope to plant a hedge of blueberries in the front yard. Do you have blueberries in your garden? Do you do anything special on arbor day?