@hotfoot:

I am a firm believer that learning a bit of something each day
you will enrich yourself and appreciate nature so much more.

This link is really good and helpful for learning about birds:

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During spring and early summer they run a Red Tailed hawk streaming cam that is fascinating too:

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It is not live now however but will be soon.

I never was a camera buff or good at photography, but I finally did get a digital camera, and that changed me completely!
I use a Sony zoom automatic camera, and it allows me to zoom in on subjects that would be difficult to capture otherwise. Since 2006 I have had 2 of these cameras, and I do confess I don't have 100% abilities on all the features of them. My son is much better and uses a SLR type very well. sigh. Canon, Panasonic and Olympus now make these auto zooms, like Sony and really I think they are lots of fun. No film to be expensive, so you just delete your mistakes.

I am also an artist and have had some university level fine art experience as a post degree student. The design courses I took back in the early 70's have strengthened my compositions when taking photos. I also have an older Corel graphics program on my computers --Paint Shop Pro 9-- Which I use to crop and enhance photos that need improvement.
When I get off this laptop, I'll put up a few recent drawings to share on this thread. My recent files are on my desktop
Training myself and taking some courses in art, has taught me how to fail, and learn from mistakes and move on. Being an artist really teaches one to be patient, and open to new experiences.

Apologies to Kiwi for the thread hijack!
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