This Snow is for the Birds

2-3" of snow overnight made for easy spotting of the numerous sparrows hanging around the yard this morning.  Most numerous were the FOX SPARROW'S - the highest single point count I got was 42, but my guess is we had up to 100 in the yard at any one time.  They were everywhere. 

Fox Sparrow as seen this morning on the fresh snow.

American Tree Sparrow with Fox Sparrows in background

Here is a list of the other birds observed from the living room this morning:

AMERICAN TREE SPARROW
DARK-EYED JUNCO
SONG SPARROW
PINE SISKIN
PURPLE FINCH
COMMON REDPOLL
YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER
RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER
NORTHERN FLICKER
HAIRY WOODPECKER
DOWNY WOODPECKER
RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD
AMERICAN CROW
WOOD DUCK
MALLARD
WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH
BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE 

A New Medium

I should really work on improving my skills in photography before adding video, but it is just so cool. HD Video is a feature I haven't really used on my camera, and for some reason in the gusty winds today I decided to give it a whirl.  My biggest accomplishment for the day was grasping exactly how far I have to go and how much I have to learn.  Out of all the 10 to 200 second clips I took today this was the best one...

Biggest lessons from the day -

Tripod - Handheld 400mm lens taking video is simply not possible.
Setup - Video is clearly not for quick snatches - everything that goes into making a memorable photo seems to be even more important for video.
Sound - The cameras built in mic just isn't going to cut it.  These eagles were squawking away and you can barely here them over the wind in the video.