outdoor photography

Shiny Cowbird For me, 2015 was a fantastic year of birding.  I've been doing this a while now, so gone are the days when I get 70+ lifers per year.  New birds are fewer and farther between for me, but that adds to the challenge.  And I've begun focusing more on county listing, which helps to keep things fresh.  This year, though, I benefited tremendously by one trip out west and two trips out of the country. These were not birding trips, but I had a little bit of time to at least check my surroundings to see what was available. Smooth-billed Ani I found 16 lifers on my visit to Antalya, Turkey White Stork  Eurasian Sparrowhawk  Laughing Dove  Eurasian Siskin  Common Buzzard  Eurasian Jay  Great Tit  White-spectacled Bulbul  Common Redstart  Black Redstart  Gray Wagtail  Common Chaffinch  European Greenfinch  European Goldfinch  Hooded Crow  White Wagtail Great Ti...

White-spectacled Bulbul A few days ago I returned from Antalya, Turkey. I wasn't there for fun or birding; it was a work trip. I was unable to go anywhere except walk around the hotel grounds and look for whatever wildlife might appear there. However, the grounds were large and beautiful; there were lots of trees, and the property backed up to the Mediterranean Sea.  Between walking around the hotel grounds and returning to the Antalya airport, I saw 20 species of birds, including 16 lifers.  I still wonder what it would have been like to take a tour or hike; I may well have doubled these numbers. But I can't complain at all.  I was there for work, and just spending about 45 minutes outside each day was plenty of fun. My favorite find was a White-spectacled Bulbul, which was the first bird I photographed when I first walked onto the grounds. White Wagtail White Wagtail Gray Wagtail The most noticeable species were the wagtails.  White Wagtails were...