
What Kind of Birdseed Should I Use to Attract More Birds
by Michael | February 21, 2022 | Birding | 0 Comments
One of the questions I am often asked is "What kind of birdseed should I use to attract birds?" I have feeders out year-round and never take them down. There are some types of seeds and food I always have out. I add other types depending upon the season to attract the...

What Photographers Need to Know About Aperture
by Michael | December 20, 2021 | Uncategorized | 0 Comments
WHAT IS THE APERTURE? The aperture on your camera is a setting to control the size of the opening in your lens when you take a photo. For photographers, it is simply a measurement of how large the opening is so you can control the amount of light hitting the camera’s...

Big Changes on the Website
by Michael | December 13, 2021 | Site News | 0 Comments
Did you ever come home and find that everyone had moved? Well, luckily, neither have I but visitors to the East Texas Naturalists website may get that feeling. After working on that site for a few years, I have decided to change the focus a bit (as my own focus has...

ID Guide to East Texas Birds

Back to Work on This site – HELP!
by Michael | July 2, 2021 | Site News | 0 Comments
It has been a tough year and not much was accomplished on this website. I am hoping to fix that very soon. Right now I have one volunteer and will be looking for others to help in different areas. I really would love to find some help in any of the other categories...

Finding More Than Just a Pretty Bird in the Woods
by Michael | July 2, 2021 | Michael's Journal, Birding | 0 Comments
Obviously, most of the people who are in these birding groups find joy in seeing and learning more about birds and birding. When I say "these groups", I mean the Tyler Audubon Society, Birds of East Texas, Birds of Lake O the Pines, and Bald Eagles on Lake of the...

How Many Focus Points to Use With Birds in Flight
by Michael | May 2, 2021 | Photography Blogs, Techniques | 0 Comments
I have listened to a variety of experts, or at least knowledgeable photographers, who give their advice about the number of focus points to use with birds in flight. The vast majority of those photographers suggest using somewhere around nine focus points, depending...

Wrapping Your Hands Around Spring
by Michael | April 21, 2021 | Photography Field Notes | 0 Comments
We had a big storm blow through the Lake O' the Pines area last night. For a while the winds were rather fierce accompanied by a drumming rain that brought a bit of hail and just a touch of thunder and lightening. It was "interesting" for a little while, but nothing...

Be a Photographer, Not a Picture Taker
by Michael | April 21, 2021 | Photography Blogs, Techniques | 0 Comments
There are purists who only accept the images that come from their cameras as being acceptable. They believe any use of software or electronic filtering to make that image better is cheating. That is just silly and it is not what photography is all about. Instead, it...

What Photographers Need to Know About Shutter Speed
by Michael | April 21, 2021 | Need to Know | 0 Comments
What is the Shutter Speed? Shutter speed is a setting that controls how quickly the shutter opens and closes on your camera when you press the shutter button. For photographers, it is simply a measurement of how fast or how slow the shutter opens before it closes so...