Hello! Most of my posts take place around San Diego County, (Mostly Lake Murray) unless otherwise noted.
For more posts and photos, I also post on Hubpages, a site that is a bit different than others. Thanks!: Shorebirdie on Hubpages

Monday, September 30, 2013

Last gasp of a dying camera

I had an unfortunate accident with my current digital SLR. I packed a new water bottle in my backpack with my camera, as I always do, and it ended up spilling and soaking the camera.  I had taken precautions and have had water bottles leak before with no problems, but this time I was not so lucky.  I've had the camera for more than five years (almost six) and it was about a year old when I bought it, so it's time for a new one, anyway.  It's just hard because my expenses just suddenly have gone up more than 15% and I don't make that much of a margin over the amount I need for my basic needs.  So, it might be a little while before I get a new camera.  I'm not sure if the lens was damaged, too, but I don't think it was.  If the lens was also damaged, then it would be even longer to get a new lens because I would have to pay the camera off before getting a lens.  So, it could be a little while before I post more close-up bird photos.  But, I might do some other creative things such as drawings, landscape photos, and videos.

But, I did manage to get a few photos yesterday being able to retrieve the photos due to having bought a CF card reader a few years back.  I didn't have much control over focusing and other controls, so not all the photos came out that great.  But, here's a few:

This is the time of year where killdeer parents bring out their debutantes to meet other young killdeer in the area.  I think this first photo might be Smudge:



I think this photo might be her young son:



White-crowned sparrows suddenly showed up in droves:



The big flock of ducks with Cow bringing up the rear:



The "rubber band" ducklings:



Rubber Band and her brother:




Eileen isn't spending much time with her ducklings and was across the lake from them when I saw them.   I think she met with them later. A coot didn't like them feeding nearby and when the ducklings didn't show any fear or concern, the coot pecked at one of them while he feeding  under water and then slapped his feet on the water.  I've seen coots nearly drown teen-age ducks, but generally they're fine with most other waterfowl there.  And, I've seen amazing tolerance from coots to young baby ducks.

Here's Pepper!



Here he is flapping his wings.  For those who don't know, Pepper broke his right wing when he was about 9 months old.  He strips the primaries on the broken wing because they drag through the water when he swims and they absorb water, making them heavy.



This duck has fishing line wrapped around his foot so bad that I think the foot is permanently damaged.  He won't let anyone catch him.  In this picture, he's way out in the water.



Jill is still alive, but she is losing weight and I think muscle.  Her wing is drooping.  She looks so sad and is almost always by herself.  But, she is alert:


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