IN-Freakin'-Credible Find!

sm4him

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The pictures may not be incredible, but the find was! Went out on a boat this morning, to a place where the boat owner said there were osprey nests, an eagle's nest with just fledged juveniles, tons of black-crowned night herons and GBHs, and a few egrets. Never saw an egret (still haven't found one of them around here), but did see all the rest he'd promised. Won't be able to process those till tomorrow to see what I got, because I overdid it after being sick this week, and now I want almost nothing more than to medicate myself and drag myself off to bed.

But first, I *had* to post this. After the boat tour, I drove around the area to get a feel for where else I might be able to explore for bird photos without a boat. Found a little cove, pulled into the nearby boat launch parking area and saw a bird sitting on a pole out in the water. Couldn't figure out what it was--too big for a cormorant, but something like that, I thought. Got out, took a picture of it...and didn't actually believe what I saw...

It was a PELICAN. A Brown Pelican...and I live in EAST TENNESSEE!! Never in my entire life did I imagine I would see a brown pelican around here! Just incredible...
I know, I know...to the rest of you, these are STILL just gonna be so-so pictures of a pelican...but I am still stunned by seeing one!

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Lovely shots of the pelican, Sharon! Liking that new lens?
 
Boy, is that one ever lost! I've never seen one around here either.

Great shots to.
 
very cool! that guy is WAY lost...

I wonder if he escaped from somewhere out there...we used to have a pink Chilean flamingo that escaped from a local aviary and lived in the wild here for like 25 years migrating between Idaho in the summer and the great salt lake in the winter: Pink Floyd - Utah's Chilean Flaningo
 
Love that last shot. nice score!
 
Sharon, that is really awesome! I checked ebird and it is very rare indeed, only like 2 reported in Tennessee in recent years! Birds seem to be moving North.. There was a Brown Booby sighted in CT that all the birders are talking about... Long-tails: Norwalk CT Brown Booby
 
Nice discovery and nice shots. Colouring suggest it is a juvenile - young'un got lost :lol:. I like #3 the best.

WesternGuy
 
A nice find, indeed. Love #3 &#4.
 
Thanks, everyone! I am still shaking my head this morning over the fact that I saw this lone pelican right here in hill country.

Lovely shots of the pelican, Sharon! Liking that new lens?
I am LOVING the new lens, but I gotta admit, good focus is still a bit hit-or-miss; it's not the lens, it's me, because I get some nice sharp pictures and then, in the same place, shooting the same thing, all of a sudden, I get a bunch that just miss focus. I think it's mostly learning to keep the thing steady enough. I handhold some, and use the monopod some, but even with the monopod, I sometimes have a few issues. I probably should not have thrown the "let's shoot from a moving, floating device" into the mix yesterday! :lmao: Still got a few decent shots, though.

Boy, is that one ever lost! I've never seen one around here either.

Great shots to.

Scott, my sister and I were talking yesterday afternoon. She reminded me that back when we were kids, QUITE a few decades ago, seagulls were extremely rare in this area. Now, of course, they're everywhere--but it wasn't until sometime in the 70s that they started slowly moving into the area. It'll be interesting to see if perhaps in the next decade, the pelicans start moving in...and if they do, it makes me wonder what they know that we don't. :D

very cool! that guy is WAY lost...

I wonder if he escaped from somewhere out there...we used to have a pink Chilean flamingo that escaped from a local aviary and lived in the wild here for like 25 years migrating between Idaho in the summer and the great salt lake in the winter: Pink Floyd - Utah's Chilean Flaningo

Sharon, that is really awesome! I checked ebird and it is very rare indeed, only like 2 reported in Tennessee in recent years! Birds seem to be moving North.. There was a Brown Booby sighted in CT that all the birders are talking about... Long-tails: Norwalk CT Brown Booby

After seeing the pelican, I called my sister and we went out again for a while, but never saw it again. But we made jokes all afternoon about seeing a flamingo, or a roseate spoonbill or other birds that would be equally ridiculous in our area. Because if the pelicans are here...well, anything's possible!!

I don't think it's escaped from somewhere though--I've reported it to the TN Ornithological Society and it seems like ONE of them would have heard something about it if it were a stray pelican from some refuge or something.

Nice discovery and nice shots. Colouring suggest it is a juvenile - young'un got lost :lol:. I like #3 the best.

WesternGuy

Yes, you're right; it's a juvenile. I suspected it was, but wanted to wait on confirmation from the Ornithological Society. I've got the TN birders all in a tizzy this morning! :lol: Especially the ones in East TN; I suspect a lot of them are changing plans for the weekend from whereever they HAD planned on birding to a little cove in Tellico Village. :lmao: I might have to go back out this afternoon, just to see how many birders are there. :D
 
Wow! Nice find, and the 3rd and 4th are awesome.
 
Just read what you said about focus issues. Ihave same problem and suspect it is from shooting to quickly. The OS needs a sec to spin up before releasing the shutter. So half press for a bit before releasing.
 
Just read what you said about focus issues. Ihave same problem and suspect it is from shooting to quickly. The OS needs a sec to spin up before releasing the shutter. So half press for a bit before releasing.

Oh, I hadn't thought of that possibility, thanks! I just assumed it was me, since I was getting sharp pictures *sometimes* but not others. I'll give this a try next time I'm out and see if it helps!

An update: A columnist for our local newspaper contacted me this morning and wants to use the photos and my story for her column next Sunday. Cool!
 
...........An update: A columnist for our local newspaper contacted me this morning and wants to use the photos and my story for her column next Sunday. Cool!

Don't forget about us 'little people'.
fiufiu.gif
 
Just read what you said about focus issues. Ihave same problem and suspect it is from shooting to quickly. The OS needs a sec to spin up before releasing the shutter. So half press for a bit before releasing.

Oh, I hadn't thought of that possibility, thanks! I just assumed it was me, since I was getting sharp pictures *sometimes* but not others. I'll give this a try next time I'm out and see if it helps!

An update: A columnist for our local newspaper contacted me this morning and wants to use the photos and my story for her column next Sunday. Cool!

Hey, that's awesome - congrats! :) I was happy to hear you'd reported your find to your local birding association; good action - they rely on people like you. Nice shots, too - all in all, a pretty nice outing!
 

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