Birding while commuting

[Maestro]

My commute to work is about 55 minutes. I live 35 miles (55 km) from my job. My wife and I carpool because she works at the school just behind my school. She's Jr. High and I am elementary. Anyhow, I bring my camera along for the ride because quite often we see many birds together. Most of the birds are common, incredibly abundant species. But sometimes there are some birds worthy of a quick shutter click. These are by no means "wow" photographs, but it just goes to show that if you open your eyes a bit it is amazing what you see (preaching to the choir here, I know. Many of you already have that "eye", if not for birds, it is for something else artistic. ;) )

Belted Kingfisher with a lot of noise removed since I shot it @ISO 800 because of low light.







Any raptor, however common, is a good shot for me! ;)

Red tailed hawk at dawn


Red tailed hawk looking over busy freeway into the median for voles, reptiles and field mice.


Black Vulture just staring


All in all we saw three red tailed hawks, one Cooper's, a huge kettles of turkey and black vultures, many scissor-tailed flycatchers, house sparrows, lark sparrows, mourning doves, more rat-birds, er, I mean pigeons that I could count, Great Egrets, Cattle Egrets, grackles, starlings, cowbirds and probably more.

[semillama]

1. Are you taking these while the car is in motion?

Very nice shots of the Kingfisher and Black Vulture in particular!

[Maestro]

2. No. I pull off to the shoulder or sometimes in the grass.

It's not the safest thing to do I suppose, but warning lights and all are on. I did not get out of my car to get any of these shots. Wait, I lied. The Red Tailed Hawk at Dawn was taken while out of my vehicle but there was a large area off the side of the road where I could park and get out so it was safe.