Sometimes when you go out to shoot early in the morning, so early that even the birds are still asleep, you just get the feeling that it’s not going to be a Nat Geo kind of day. By that I mean you feel that for whatever reason you know that it’s not going to be your most productive outing, photographically speaking. That was the case on Wednesday morning. The wind wasn’t right, my angle to the sunrise wasn’t all that favorable and to top it off the Otters came in a half hour before sunrise. All I saw was 5 little black heads bobbing in the water.
But as the sun began it’s race to the other side of the mountain I realized what a beautiful morning I was being treated to! A gorgeous colorful light filled the sky, with backlit clouds providing perspective to the scene. Shortly after sunrise while the light was still pretty dim, this male Wood duck and his girlfriend started working their way towards me. Of course they stayed in the dimmest part of the pond but I was still impressed by their Fall colors. Nothing spectacular but the day had already exceeded my expectations. Maybe it wasn’t such a dud after all!
After those two passed out of my sight I decided to have a cup of coffee. I always carry a thermos of coffee with me when I’m out shooting. If I’m going to sit for 3 or 4 hours in the same spot I am damn sure going to be comfortable! The problem is every time I pour a cup somebody shows up to get their picture taken! It’s like they wait until they see me pour a cup and then decide to come by. That is exactly what happened when I saw the little one below.
This little cutie is a Pied Billed Grebe. They are one of the smallest ducks that inhabit our area. Maybe they just look small because they have no tail, just a little puff that looks like a cotton ball. But do not let the small size fool you! They are as vicious as the Otters when they are tearing apart their prey.
Spin Cycle….
They enjoy doing the Spin-o-rama on their prey to basically break every bone in the poor minnow’s body! I wish I could have used a faster shutter speed on this but it was early morning and I needed all the light I could get! I like the next one a bit better.
I like this image a bit better than the previous one. The bird had just finished tenderizing the minnow but the spray was still in the air and the color palette is interesting too.
So as Mr. Peabody would say “there are no bad days. It’s just that some days are better than others.” And any day you can spend with friends like these is a gift to be appreciated…… now get out and shoot!
