Jackson, Michigan Marsh Birds and Wood Birds Collection 1

Not sure exactly what kind of bird this is but it's a safe bet to say it is a Rusty Blackbird

Rusty Blackbird again.

English house sparrow. 

Female mallard with male mallard duck.

Canada Goose

Canada Goose pose 2

Canada Goose pose 3 with butt of another Canada Goose

Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron standstill

Great Blue Heron feather fluff

Male house sparrow

Male house sparrow staring

Mourning Dove aka Refined Pigeon

Red Winged Blackbird

Red Winged Blackbird

Canada Goose pose 4

Male Northern Cardinal in the bush (i could not get close to him)

Male Norther Cardinal in the bush

 All these images can be clicked to see a larger version with a lot more detail.  The birds in this collection were found at Sparks Foundation County Park aka Cascades, our local waste water treatment plant/park area (the Mallard ducks), Ella Sharp Park (the Cardinal), and my own backyard (just the Sparrows).  I had a bit of help identifying that Rusty Blackbird and the Red Wing Blackbird from What Bird Website.  The link takes you directly to the page about birds from Michigan.

My state of Michigan is home to hundreds of different bird species ranging from sea birds to meadow birds.  Our diverse landscapes are what provide such an interesting mixing of bird species.  This fine state offers giant inland seas which a variety of gulls and other sea birds call home.  We also have vast farm lands and meadows as well as swamps, marshes, forests, lakes and "mountains".  If you're a birder or are just looking for a place where you can see a range of different species of animals in one day, look no further than Michigan State recreational lands/parks.  The further north you go, imagery gets more wooded with tall pines and mature woodlands.  Southern Michigan (south of Flint) offers you the smaller wild life, such as white tail  deer, coyotes, a host of amphibians and invertebrates as well as a range of bird species. Northern Michigan (Bay City and further up) offers you the chance to see black bears, wolves, more birds, moose and elk.  Michigan in general is pretty much a nature photographer's dream come true.   

For this collection i used the Canon Rebel t3i, an EF 75-300mm lens and no filters.  Most were taken at the full 300mm focal length with f-stops ranging from 5.6-8.  Shutter speeds were between 400 and 2000.  The editing program was GIMP which is found at http://gimp.org.