I look forward to seeing you all at the new location of this site, tgreybirds.com.
I'd been birding for ten years, and I got into bird photography by digiscoping some of the birds I was seeing, just so I could document sightings. Over time, I got more interested in the photography side, and I switched to a digital single-lens reflex camera; most of the images on the site, and all taken since November 2003, are DSLR photographs. I've been upgrading equipment and (I hope) improving my skills since then, so more of the pictures here are relatively recent. But I'll keep a so-so picture or old digiscope if that's the best I've got for that species.
For some technical stuff about my photography (and a bit on digiscoping) look here. For those whose main interest is the photography side, I have a separate bird photography gallery (with lots of the same pictures as on this one) at my Pbase site, where technical information can be found on photos. From that site here is a page of my pictorial favorites.
FORMAT. The pictures here are displayed on image pages, one for each bird species. The species photographed in North America are listed on three index pages, one in alphabetical and two in taxonomic order, links on the left.
Species photographed only outside North America are listed on the World bird index; see link on left. When I have photographs of a species both from North America and elsewhere, the latter are included on the North American species pages, with a label showing the location.
On the index pages, each species name links to an image page. On the image pages, passing your cursor over a bird's image gives basic information: species, and date and place of photo. Places are in Santa Clara County, California unless another California county or another state is given. On many pages, there is commentary, including discussion of identification issues. (I invite comments and especially corrections; I'm an enthusiastic birder, but no expert.) My maximum size for web images started at 640 x 480, and is now 1000 x 800. I'm gradually upgrading old images to the larger web display size, but many smaller ones remain.
BIRDING VENUES. The pictures on this page show some places where I do a lot of my bird photography. Two of these, pictured left, are on the Stanford campus. where we live and work. ("We" includes Barbara Babcock, who often notices birds that I miss.) Top left is our garden, with redwoods where raptors sometimes perch, plus a fountain, plenty of bird-friendly plant cover, and a couple of feeders. We're on the edge of the campus in a transitional zone between the built-up valley floor and the open Santa Cruz Mountain foothills, and in addition to standard suburban garden birds we get chaparral species like Wrentit, quail, and thrashers. Below that on the left is a picture of Frenchman's Park, a short walk from our house; as shown, it was a grassy area, with oaks and two fan palms (where Hooded Orioles nested), and a small seasonal marsh with willows. Now it's a park, with paths and benches, most of the natural growth preserved, and more native trees, but without the fan palms. Top right pictures Arastradero Preserve, a natural area with oak savannah hillsides, a stream, and a small lake; it's a few minutes drive behind Stanford into the foothills. Below that on the right is a picture from the Moss Landing / Elkhorn Slough area, including Salinas State Beach, where we sometimes visit at a friend's house. This birding mecca is on the Monterey County coast, a little more than an hour's drive away for us. Regular spots for bird photography in Santa Clara County include Palo Alto Baylands Park, Shoreline Park in Mountain View, and the marshes of Alviso.
I also frequently do bird photography other spots in the Bay Area and nearby in Northern California. I also take photo trips further afield, and many pictures here have come from those expeditions.
CONTACT. Feel free to download any of the pictures for your personal enjoyment. If you want to make any other use of them, please email me for permission here -- where comments and suggestions are also welcome.
