An Old Farts Outdoor Thread

[steffo99]

Thank you, Pockets. Yes, trying to learn as I go along (grew up in the city) so just wanted to share some info I find to get a better context.


Still newb at birds in flight and at identifying various species, so may mis-identify some but trying my best. Please feel free to correct me at any time. The Gulls/Terns have several very similar looking ones so seems hard even for experienced ppl to separate them at times. No spectacular exotic species - just me out in a normal park again.





European herring gull (Gråtrut)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_herring_gull




Regular sea gull, I think?





https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_siskin
It was very dark and far away, but think this is a Eurasian siskin. Easily confused for a slightly larger finch, but guessing I got it right due to size ( tiny 13 grams) and thinner beak. Will go back to the same location again for better light etc.



Common Moorhen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_moorhen







Common Goldeneye, Male and Female
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldeneye_(duck)

First time seeing/noticing such a yellow eye.


Anyways, thanks for having a look and have a good evening.

[mtpockets]

Great shots Steffo, keep em coming.... Golden eyes are a diving duck. Shot a lot of them over the years. Their wings make a loud whistling sound when flying.





Mark, I had a fear of cattle for years. When I was younger, a fellow up the road had a few Black Angus. Flippin Cow Patties was an easy way to get worms for fishing. I'd sneak into the field and flip a few patties but once they spotted me they would come running after me and I would beat feet as fast as my 5 year old legs could take me. It was years later before found out that they weren't chasing me, they associated anyone entering the pasture with food. The pasture was remote and the only time anyone went there was to feed or water them lol.

Oscar still scares me..



Steffo, I grew up on the ocean, every year when I was a kid I would rob a nest and get a baby gull for a pet.. Shhhhhh! I would feed it for a few weeks and then it would take off and never return. Boy can they ever eat. I would feed them these fish (Capelin) that would roll up on the beach annually, June in our area..









Here's some gull pics from years ago...



















Have a great day Fukkers..

[paulinkansas]

This is for you 'tards that can not identify a duck.

https://www.fws.gov/sites/default/fi...stance-ocr.pdf

[steffo99]

That's cool pockets. That last one looks hungry or maybe just communicating to Mark a bit (upset about something). And thank you Paul, I'm definately a tard so will check it out.

A few more, last before bedtime. Just had a big lens, so sorry pockets...couldn't get the whole of your fav animal.













.

[mtpockets]

Nice Steffo......

[steffo99]

Up on a mountain/forested area - was looking for birds during the golden hour.

[steffo99]

Got one bird wrong last time – it was :

wood warbler (Phylloscopus sibilatrix) Grönsångare
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_warbler

and not Eurasian siskin....

So many of these are very similar, but trying my best.


Using a bird book and google atm, then just ordered similar ones (4 of them) for trees/bushes, flowers, mushrrooms, and insects.


Anyways, here are some from today (not all perfect – was difficult with these small ones):


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fieldfare


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotted_flycatcher


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_nuthatch


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_blackbird

[steffo99]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_blackbird






https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_chaffinch

Have a good evening all.

[mtpockets]

Amazing stuff Steffo.... Love it...







I am all packed up and headed out for a long e bike ride on the logging roads and trails. The trees are just starting to bud and any day now the black flies will start and riding won't be quite so pleasant with those fukkers around.


Have a great day folks and keep, smilin!

[Mark1T]

Sorry for the delay, but I have been dealing with very high water. From last 2 years of drought to flooding now. There was a tornado about 20 miles from where I am. Water has receded some and all ok, but part of living for anyone.

MT, that bear attack story is remarkable. Hope fishing is picking up.

Paul, good link. I saved that document in my Tard folder. Good information.

steffonoli, awesome shots. The horses are sweet. I love horses. Never enough birdies.

I tripped about a week ago and really smacked my right quad and left shin bigly. Still swollen. I rubbed some dirt on both and kept hobbling along. Missed one leg workout.

Talk later.

[paulinkansas]

Sorry for the delay, but I have been dealing with very high water. From last 2 years of drought to flooding now. There was a tornado about 20 miles from where I am. Water has receded some and all ok, but part of living for anyone.

Paul, good link. I saved that document in my Tard folder. Good information.

That describes the weather here in the last 5 days.

One time I took a kid duck hunting. He wanted to trade shotguns. He had a regular shotgun. I was using a 3.5 inch 12 gauge. For you 'tards that don't know, that's the highest power and recoiling shell there is. A flock came in and I shot his gun until it was empty, probably got 2 ducks. I heard one shot to my side and the ducks were still in range. Why isn't the kid taking another shot? I looked over and he was laying on the ground with my gun a few feet away. The recoil knocked him over.

[Mark1T]

That describes the weather here in the last 5 days.

One time I took a kid duck hunting. He wanted to trade shotguns. He had a regular shotgun. I was using a 3.5 inch 12 gauge. For you 'tards that don't know, that's the highest power and recoiling shell there is. A flock came in and I shot his gun until it was empty, probably got 2 ducks. I heard one shot to my side and the ducks were still in range. Why isn't the kid taking another shot? I looked over and he was laying on the ground with my gun a few feet away. The recoil knocked him over.

I have a few guns and my favorite is my 110 year old Grandfather's single-barrel 12 gauge. It is the most versatile gun I have. I never kill for fun. Just the bad things.

The 3.5 inch magnum is a potent round with some reach. I used to use those in my old Remington 870.

For here, 2.5 inch magnum buckshot is all I need and plenty of power. Also, easier to find.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/be...45bdc3e0&ei=20

Bonus

https://twitter.com/BuzzFeedFood/sta...29668058321075

[mtpockets]

Sorry for the delay, but I have been dealing with very high water. From last 2 years of drought to flooding now. There was a tornado about 20 miles from where I am. Water has receded some and all ok, but part of living for anyone.

Holy Sh!t my man... That tornado was close, crazy on the water for sure. Hopefully you get a break from the rain for a bit.

I tripped about a week ago and really smacked my right quad and left shin bigly. Still swollen. I rubbed some dirt on both and kept hobbling along. Missed one leg workout.

Ouch! Hopefully you mend up fast.. Quad injuries suck.. The shin isn't fun either.


Half way through my ride for today, just stopped to have a fried Bologna sammich and a big fat joint at this viewpoint.






Time to put the fire out and make tracks.....

Have a great day Fukkers....

[paulinkansas]

Here is my bird pic. I've got a 3 story rental house with a pigeon problem. Been going there every day and smacking them with a .22 pellet gun. Most of the birds I take home to feed a couple of foxes that live in my back yard. I gave this one to the neighbors cats. He keeps an eye on the place when it's not rented out.

[Mark1T]

MT, gorgeous scenic area. Makes me sad it's not within walking distance

Paul, nice of you to contribute food for the kitties. I wonder how many 22 cal holes are in your upper story

[paulinkansas]

I wonder how many 22 cal holes are in your upper story

Those shingles are about 30 years old and some have ripped off. The eaves have rotted away too, and pigeons are getting in. Once the rain stops I've got a $17,000 bid to fix it all. The materials have been delivered. Only paid $15,900 for the house about 15 years ago. When there is a turnaround or other major work going on at the refinery, the house generates $2,000 a week. 2 washers, 3 dryers, 4 bathrooms, 8 beds and a kegorater.

When the roof and eaves are fixed, that's the end of my pigeon shooting.

[Mark1T]

Those shingles are about 30 years old and some have ripped off. The eaves have rotted away too, and pigeons are getting in. Once the rain stops I've got a $17,000 bid to fix it all. The materials have been delivered. Only paid $15,900 for the house about 15 years ago. When there is a turnaround or other major work going on at the refinery, the house generates $2,000 a week. 2 washers, 3 dryers, 4 bathrooms, 8 beds and a kegorater.

When the roof and eaves are fixed, that's the end of my pigeon shooting.

Great investment. Fire away

[paulinkansas]

Great investment. Fire away

That house makes me the most money, but it is the hardest to rent out. This is what I hear, "Paul, I work with these 6 other m-fukkers 12 hours a day and I'll be damned if I'm going to be around them 24."

So it's always an extended family group of welders, fitters or boilermakers. Father, son, cousin, uncle, brother in law, etc. 6-8 unrelated guys never rent that house.

[steffo99]

Just a few "normal" animals - nothing spectacular, but like em anyways.











Been scouting my next few spots to explore for birds and nature, looking at google earth, maps, trails etc, and how to get there so maybe something for this weekend. Have a good day all.

[mtpockets]

Great shots Steffo, especially like the Caribou, (called reindeer in some parts) Keep em coming!



Last week my buddy borrowed my Kayak, he was always asking me what the draw was and why I kayak fished so much. A couple of days later he brought it back and said I totally get it, that was fun. A day later he bought one and we are heading out this afternoon to the big lake in front of my place a tiny bit of it is pictured below. It's 1577 acres, gonna see how much of it we can paddle troll today.

A couple of shots from my ride this am, nothing special.



















Time to make tracks...

Have a great day Fukkers... Keep smilin..

[Mark1T]

That house makes me the most money, but it is the hardest to rent out. This is what I hear, "Paul, I work with these 6 other m-fukkers 12 hours a day and I'll be damned if I'm going to be around them 24."

So it's always an extended family group of welders, fitters or boilermakers. Father, son, cousin, uncle, brother in law, etc. 6-8 unrelated guys never rent that house.

Great way to make income.

steffonolio, great shots. Animals and birds are the best, IMO.

Mountain Man, I recognize your path and your area. Quite a difference Spring makes. No matter what season, it is beautiful. My seasons are green and brown

Hope you catch a bunch of fish.

[mtpockets]

Well I stayed up until past midnight to get a glimpse of last night's sky event and it was pretty much a flop in our area because of the cloud cover. I have been watching the Northern Lights since I was 4 years old and saw them 1000's of times from many parts of the globe.

I have to say that this was the strangest thing I ever saw, totally different than the Northern Lights which normally take up a smaller portion of the sky to the north. This thing seemed to be all over the sky.

Because of the cloudy conditions I could only view it to the East and Northeast, below is my feeble attempt to capture it. My camera skills leave a lot to be desired and the tiny bit that I did capture was better than my limited camera skills could produce. There were many pillars and colors that I didn't catch.







Anyone get any shots? I'd like to see them. Sure wish it hadn't been cloudy because this was probably an event of a lifetime..

Have a great day Fukkers!

[Mark1T]

MT, amazing shot. Really cool. Thanks for posting.

[paulinkansas]

Getting ready to plant my pumpkins in the 5 strips I plowed and disked a few months ago. Johnson grass and broadleaf weeds are growing in the strips. I spot sprayed all the johnson grass with herbicide specifically for grasses yesterday. Would you spray the rest of the strips with Roundup and plant, or disk it to hell and then plant the pumpkins?

[Mark1T]

Paulo, I personally would not use Roundup. I would disk it to hell and then plant the pumpkins.

[OldFartTom]

Paulo, I personally would not use Roundup. I would disk it to hell and then plant the pumpkins.

Agree, wait until the weedkiller has killed the grass roots (assuming it was systemic?) then disc harrow it.

Wow MT, greatly like that Northern lights pic, wish I'd seen it myself

[steffo99]

Collected from a short walk from my house, 5 minutes away.













Have a good day all.

[steffo99]

Was just out for a walk 5 minutes away again and just hoped for some small birds. Saw a roe deer for the first time at this location - and I grew up here. Tried to quitely hand signal a few ppl behind me and a dude sitting on a bench to have a look, but they all were just looking into their cell phones.

Anyways, it dissappeared pretty fast so couldn't get any great shots.





The moon looked pretty nice just before sunset as was walking the trail still. Remade it to black and white as some details seemed nicer this way. I should probably try some shots like this of celestial things later.

[mtpockets]

Steffo those are some amazing shots... I really like the moon one, look forward to more...

I tried to capture the northern lights and I failed.. Surprise Surprise ha ha


On the houseboat for a couple of nights

Fishing is off the hook

The loons are back

Saw my first hummer

Black flies are out in hoards

268 days until ice fishing

[steffo99]

Steffo those are some amazing shots... I really like the moon one, look forward to more...

I tried to capture the northern lights and I failed.. Surprise Surprise ha ha

]

Thanks Pockets, that moon shot inspired me to try some of that nature more later on for sure. This was no planning or set up - just looking up, so wondering what is possible later. I'd love to get some of those northern lights at some point as well. Just I want to read up first to be prepared a bit at least for type of shots I haven't done before. Maybe I should use some of those flight points I have for some place in Norway. Saw that they have good locations and even some "northern light" hotels that help you a bit I guess.

Sounds real nice to be a on a boat. I'm so much behind you guys as far as outdoor things go but have an interest and some time to catch up I hope. 4 more field guide books coming this week or the next.