It Was a Brick Pond Kinda Week........

Bill Baburchak April 18, 2019

I spent most of this week shooting at Brick Pond in Owego. The birds are pairing up and looking for nest sites, and there are some serious disagreements over territory! It’s still cool enough that the mosquitos aren’t bad, but I think that will change with the 70 degree weather we have coming.
Please enjoy the following pics and as always, click on an image to enlarge it!! More to come…..

Pied Billed Grebe, cute little guy (or girl, they both look the same!)

Just to give you an idea of how small they are!

A little more of an environmental kind of pic…

And this little girl was a real beauty….

Last but not least, a little territorial skirmish……

They're Baaaaack......

Bill Baburchak March 29, 2019

Ah, Spring…… best time of the year for a bird photographer. The snow and ice are almost gone, the temp is climbing and the birds are back!!! I was lucky enough to get out this week and enjoy the sunshine and warming temps. I went to Brick Pond and Lindsay Parsons Preserve and they both had their share of birds.
Click on image to enlarge

For the next 2 or 3 weeks we will also have birds that are not common to the area stopping in for a rest and a bite to eat before continuing their journey north. Shovelers, Ring necks, and Grebes can all be seen in the area at this time of year.

And last, but not least, the GBH’s are back at the rookery…

Long shot, heavy crop, but they are back!

More to come……

Odds and Ends.....

Bill Baburchak December 9, 2018

It’s early December and most of the waterfowl have left the area for open water. About the only things left are an occasional Mallard, the cold weather loving Hooded Mergansers and the Canada Geese.

I had just read Rick Marsi’s outdoor column in the newspaper (remember those?) about a possible avian visitor to our area this winter. Not even an hour later, I looked out at our bird feeders and I was amazed at what I saw! There was a whole flock of Evening Grosbeaks at the feeders hungrily gobbling up every bit of seed in the feeder!!!

They stayed around for the whole day. We filled the feeders four times that day!! It was a first for us, and we’re hoping they will stick around for a while. It’s time to order more seed!!

And then this past Saturday I was able to sneak out for a wander around Brick Pond in Owego. I always try to finish up the year with one last trip to one of my favorite spots and Brick Pond has been on my favorite list all year. Anyhow, ice was covering about 95% of the pond and I figured seeing ducks was out of the question. But I took a good long wander to see if the otters were still in the area and also to shake the cabin fever that comes whenever I can’t get out to shoot. I idin’t see anything interesting until I was almost back at the car. The West end of the pond flows over the edge and eventually empties into the Susquehanna river. Where the water flows over the berm there was a small patch of open water and that is where I saw two small Muskrats. The way the Sun was situated they were looking right into the Sun when they were looking in my direction. So they really couldn’t see me and I was able to get a few cute pics of them.

In a few days the ice will cover the entire pond and life will slow down at the pond, at least on the surface. All in all it was a great year for the two of us photographically. We can’t wait to see what the new year brings us! More later…..

A Photographer's lament... (Or, dumb shit I have done!)

Bill Baburchak June 4, 2018

I can't believe that I'm even telling you this. It's probably the dumbest thing I've done with a camera in my hand!
I went to Brick Pond on Sunday morning, hoping for some Wood Duck pics. I usually park up by the auto parts store on 17c and walk in the back way. Of course I put plenty of bug spray on and I was head to toe in camo. The mosquitos were having a contest amongst themselves, trying to see how big of a welt they could leave on my skin. I almost turned back, but eventually they seemed to taper off and I was in business.
I got to my spot undetected except for a hen Mallard who just quietly swam away. I think she probably had a nest nearby. Anyhow, I got myself set up with some good cover in front of me, my tripod with gimbal head and my 500mm ready to rock and roll! In front of me about 120 yards away I could see at least 3 Woodies, two males and a hen. I turned on the camera and began to check my settings... SS, Aperture, ISO, all good. And then out of the corner of my eye, I noticed in the bottom right hand corner of my viewfinder a little "E" symbol. In a split second I knew that I had committed the biggest, most lame-brained mistake a photographer can make: I left my memory cards at home!!!!! They were all sitting in a nice neat pile, right next to my computer! AHHHHHHH!!!!!!! So of course you frantically search your pack for just one little card. Normally I carry several hundred gigabytes of cards in my pack, but I was in the process of clearing them after our trip to Florida.
Well I figured I might as well make the best of it. I still had my binoculars so I sat down to watch the show. And I didn't have to wait long! In addition to the 3 woodies from earlier, another hen woodie came out with 5 or 6 little ones in tow! And then I noticed the Beaver. He was a bit farther away, and a bit hard to see even with the binos. So I watched him for a bit and I noticed he wasn't acting or swimming like a Beaver. He finally picked his head out of the water and began chewing on a fish he had caught. That's when I realized I was looking at an Otter!! That was the first wild Otter I had ever seen, and there I was with a camera with no memory card! I watched him for a while, swimming powerfully around the pool chasing fish, but I couldn't take it anymore, so I picked up my toys and went home...... So that's my tale of woe.
But I can't end a post without a pic. Here is one from Florida. It's not a great pic, but it really captures the feeling of the area we were shooting in. Big Cypress trees, alligators, this place had it all. This was just a nice, peaceful, moody kind of pic. Enjoy.....

Redux.....

Bill Baburchak May 31, 2018

I can't believe I forgot to put these images in the last post!!!

The first two are from last week.... I don't know what this Goose was pissed about, but she was ready to kick some ass and take some names!!!

And I added this one just because I like it......  too bad it's a zoo pic.... :( — And I added this one just because I like it...... too bad it's a zoo pic.... :(

Odds And Ends......

Bill Baburchak May 29, 2018

I've been really busy the last month, between the camera club wrapping up for the year, and trying to get to all of the shooting spots I promised myself I'd get to this year. But I finally have a little time to take a look through some of my images from the last two or three weeks. Nothing earth shattering, but some cute stuff. By the way, the Great Blue Heron chicks are doing well at the rookery at Lindsay Parsons Preserve. If you want to see for yourself, let me know and I'll go with you!!!

I need help with an ID on this bird. Anybody???

Yellow Rumped Warbler  (I think!) — Yellow Rumped Warbler (I think!)

See, I told you, nothing terribly impressive. But they are the reason I go back every week!!

More soon.......

It's All About The Light......

Bill Baburchak April 25, 2018

So we are back home and of course I'm not real happy. There's always a short period where you think about quitting your day job and living the easy life. Then reality rears it's ugly head......
So to make myself feel better I grabbed the camera and headed for Apalachin Marsh. For those of you who don't know, Apalachin Marsh is the wetland in between the east and westbound lanes of Route 86, just west of the Apalachin exit.
It was a chilly morning with skim ice on some of the water, so I skipped the chest waders and just went to the old blind located on the edge of the main pond. At first there wasn't much going on but patient here can pay off! I was lucky enough to see a few birds while I was there, and was able to get a few images.

This guy below was all by his lonesome, looking for a date!!!

And there were a few nesting geese also...

But the show of the day was put on by the Wood Ducks. There were 3 males pursuing a lone female and they were not letting her out of their sight!

Now take a look at this last image and then the next image. Same bird, same spot, same time frame. The only difference is the quality of the light. I don't care how good the subject material is, without good light you'll end up with a mediocre image....

All for now..... I'm heading up to the Lindsay Parsons Preserve in Danby on Saturday. I'll let you know if I get any good images....

Severe Depression Setting In.......

Bill Baburchak April 17, 2018

Well boys and girls the party is just about over. We've had a great two weeks down here. The weather has been perfect, and the birds have shown us their best!! The only thing I could wish for is two more weeks!!!
Before we depart, I have one more set of images. I believe this is a juvenile Black Crowned Night Heron (or at least that's what the locals are telling me) trying to swallow a fish that may be just a little too big to go down! These are Mel's images by the way............

It took this bird several tries to get the fish down its throat. But finally.......... success!!!!

So we leave with some great pics and even greater memories. We've been coming down here for over twenty years now, and this area is a very good piece of our collective memory. There are times here that we will smile about for the rest of our lives....... Thank you all for looking. We hope you enjoyed them as much as we did! See you at home!

Slow Day, BIF Practice.....

Bill Baburchak April 15, 2018

As lucky as we were yesterday, I knew that we probably wouldn't be repeating that anytime soon. And I was right, today was pretty slow. I think the birds feel the storm coming in and they are heading for safer waters.
However, this makes it the perfect day to practice. And I definitely need to practice my birds in flight. The best way to do this is to seek out the biggest and slowest flying birds you can find. And the Pelicans and Ospreys were happy to oblige. Getting good BIF images doesn't just happen by accident. (at least not to me!) There is a learning curve and the only way to learn is to get out there and make mistakes. And don't automatically delete those mistakes. Look at them and find out why they didn't come out the way you wanted them to. Usually it's a combination of things. Shutter speed too slow and erratic panning are the common mistakes we make. I try to keep my SS up around 1/2000 at least and even then the wing tips might be a little blurry. And the easiest way to smooth out your panning is with a Gimbal head. A Gimbal head or a "Sidekick", attaches to your tripod and allows you to swing smoothly through the flight path of the bird.

The GBH was first thing in the morning and I was trying to balance my need for light with my need for high shutter speed. It's a bit of a tightrope walk when the light is low, and you will have to experiment and make your own mistakes. But if it was easy everybody would be doing it!!!

I left some of the noise in this image to show you what happens at high ISO. Fortunately, when you print these a fair amount of the grain just disappears into the print.

1/1250th @ f7.1, ISO 400. This shot had much better light so the ISO is much lower which results in a much cleaner image with less noise.

Thank God for morning light!!  1/200 @ f8, ISO 450 — Thank God for morning light!! 1/200 @ f8, ISO 450

Not only does the morning light let you use higher shutter speeds, but it gives your images a nice warm look!

Last but not least, there was this little guy. He kept me company for almost 2 hours while I was waiting for the "better" birds to show up. So he deserves some recognition. I just wish I knew his name!!!
None of these images will make it to my permanent "best of" collection, but that wasn't the point. When that perfect "bird of a lifetime" shows up in your viewfinder your practice today will help you get that "shot of a lifetime"!!!
All for now, more to come!

6 Mile Cypress Slough (part 2)....

Bill Baburchak April 15, 2018

Another post heavy on images. All in all it was a great morning and one we won't soon forget!!

A pair of Tri-Colors... A lot of variation in color with these birds...

Pileated Woodpecker ..... A bonus bird, one we didn't expect!

This little Green Heron was a busy boy.... Lunch was on the menu!

We were very aware of the fact that days like this don't come along every day. Sometimes the photo Gods just smile on you....... Thanks for looking!!!

6 Mile Cypress Slough (part 1)....

Bill Baburchak April 13, 2018

This post is going to be heavy on the images. This was one of those rare days when the good images just kept on coming! We were like kids in a candy store! And we certainly enjoyed it because we know it doesn't happen very often, so we hope you all enjoy them too!!!

The next two images are very similar, but I need your help to decide which one is more pleasing to you. The only difference is the position of the head. Which one do you like?

Last but not least ..... another Tri Color....

All for now, lots more tomorrow!!!!!

BIF's........

Bill Baburchak April 12, 2018

Photographer's slang for "birds in flight", we try and improve our images of flying birds because these are the shots that everyone likes. They bring the birds to life with a sense of motion and action more than a static standing shot. But they are considerably more difficult to produce. You not only have to get your subject in crisp focus, but you also have to keep an eye on the background. You don't want a tree growing out of your birds' head!
I was fortunate enough to get a shot of a GBH the other day and the following is a sequence of the bird flying by me. All shots are early morning, high ISO shots.

This first one is the bird just after take-off, trying to gain some altitude.

This second shot is taken as he is gaining speed...

Here the bird has gained some altitude and is squawking, which is normal for GBH. They are a noisy bird....

And this last one is nearly the same image but pulled back to about the original size. It's more of an environmental shot, meant to show not only the bird, but the surrounding area.

I wish the bird was a little more to the left but I really like the dead branches as a compositional element. I'm still not sure I'll keep the branches and if I do I'll probably blur them a bit so they don't compete with the bird for your attention...... what do you think of the composition?

That's all for now. Tomorrow we have some really good images from Harn's Marsh. Or at least Mel does!!!! Thanks for looking!!

Harn's Marsh Revisited......

Bill Baburchak April 10, 2018

We were back at Harn's Marsh this morning hoping for some better luck and better light. And we got both!!!
First image is a Limpkin. Not the rarest of birds, but definitely doesn't like people.

Next is one of the apex predators in the area, the Osprey. This one was up high in a pine tree and Mel was able to get a good angle and a different facial expression!

Next up are the old reliable type birds, the herons. Always fun to watch, and sometimes difficult to get close to, these birds are the most common of the Florida shorebirds.

I was trying my 1.7 teleconverter on my D810 to see what kind of sharpness I could get. This teleconverter never produced what I would call sharp images on my D300 but on the D810 this can be one sharp addition to the camera bag, especially stopped down!

And last but not least... there are two nesting families of Sandhill Cranes at Harn's Marsh and I was lucky enough to get fairly close to one group of what appears to be an adult and a juvenile. They are large, beautiful birds and I had a great time getting close to these two!!

We had a great morning, got to spend time together, and just enjoyed being out there!
More to come....

Gingers, Gingers, and More Gingers!!!!

Bill Baburchak April 9, 2018

Went to the mouth of the Estero river, which is only a 15 minute walk from our place. It was a pretty quiet day without much bird activity, except for one little Reddish Egret. I spent the best part of an hour watching and photographing this bird. By far this is the most animated and enjoyable bird to watch down here! I wish I had taken some video so you could see all of his antics, but you'll have to settle for my pics! This happened just as the Sun was coming up, so the ISO's were fairly high.

1/2000 @ f7.1, ISO 4000

If you view these through the e-mail thread you don't get a chance to enlarge the image. They actually look better if you go through the blog page, www.longcreekphotography.com/blog
All for now, but we are going back to Harn's Marsh today so hopefully there will be more!!! Thanks for looking!

Playing catch up.......

Bill Baburchak April 8, 2018

Sorry, but I'm getting a little behind with my posts. Between shooting every morning and drinking beer every evening, it's an exhausting schedule!!!
We were at Harn's Marsh in Lehigh Acres for these images. This is a flood control impoundment just east of Fort Myers. It wasn't the best time of day to shoot, but sometimes you just have to take it while you can get it!

I had no idea what this bird was until I looked it up. This is a young Blue Heron. They don't turn blue until their second year. Blues are pretty common down here, but it was the first time I had seen an immature bird.

This is another first for us. What struck me about this bird is the size of the beak. It is the longest beak I have seen on a bird of this size. They are a little bit smaller that a GBH, but I think the beak is longer than a GBH!

That's all we've got for today, but I'll have a smorgasbord of Reddish Egrets tomorrow!!!!

Estero Pool.....

Bill Baburchak April 7, 2018

We took a trip up to Fort Myers Beach to visit the Estero Pool. This small pond sits right behind the Wyndham hotel in Fort Myers Beach and is a very good spot to catch wading birds. The light wasn't very good but we managed to get a few interesting shots.

Tri Colored Heron.... courtesy of Mel....

These are supposedly plentiful down here but we seem to have trouble finding them. Beautifully colored birds but a bit skittish. We'll be back to get more shots of this bird!

These birds are by far the most fun to watch! They literally run after the small minnows and flare their wings to cut the glare on the water so they can see their prey. It's very comical to watch them chase the fish around the pool!

I believe this is a Snowy Egret but I don't recall them having an Orange strip across the top of their beak.
That's your daily dose of Florida bird life.... More to come!

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Change of Pace....

Bill Baburchak April 4, 2018

Mel and I decided that a change of pace would be good for us, so we left the chilly weather up north and headed to south Florida! And of course I had to get out early on the first morning to see what was around. And that first morning gives you a chance to make all those dumb little mistakes you make when you're out for the first time. You know, like leaving your vibration reduction on even though you are shooting with a tripod! And speaking of tripods, if you are shooting a long lens in low light, your tripod should be your best friend! And a gimbal head makes it SO much easier to use! I'll have to do a future post on how to use a gimbal head and what it can do for you.
But the beach was calling me and of course I answered. The moon's shadow was playing on the Gulf water when I headed out. A beautiful morning!
It took a while, but I found some birds at the mouth of the river, including one I had never seen.

Pool Party! Least Sandpiper 1/200 f5.6 ISO 2000

These little ones couldn't get enough of the water! They reminded me of a group of kids at the local pool.

These birds are very common down here, but I like the pose here. And I think it looks pretty good for a high ISO image.

This Stilt is a first for me. They are supposedly common down here, but up until today I had never seen one. There's a reflection from the water ripples that runs across his face and neck that I don't like, but other than that it's a decent image. It looks like he caught a small fish.

That's all for now..... I will post when I get some pics that are worth sharing, and as long as my internet connection keeps working.

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Things Are Heating Up At Brick Pond....

Bill Baburchak April 1, 2018

Even though the weather is still cold, bird activity at Brick Pond is heating up! A pair of immature Bald Eagles have been seen feeding there in the last week and the waterfowl are using the pond as a resting spot on their way north.
I have been there 3 times in the last week, and have seen some species of ducks there that I have never seen before so it was a big thrill for me. Of course being the start of the year for birds my skill hasn't quite caught up to my ambition! And the weather hasn't really cooperated. ISO too high, shutter speeds too low make for less than perfect pics! But practice makes perfect and you won't see anything if you're not out there!

Northern Shovelers... 1/1000 at 5.6, ISO 2500

This was the first time I had seen a Shoveler. I went back 2 more times and they were nowhere to be found.

Ring Neck Ducks.....1/640 at 5.6 ISO 1400....  click to enlarge — Ring Neck Ducks.....1/640 at 5.6 ISO 1400.... click to enlarge

These Ring Neck ducks have been there all week and I still haven't been able to get anywhere close to them. These ducks are also a first time species for me. They are quite beautiful with the coloring on the bill....

We don't only see bird life at Brick Pond. This little guy sat very patiently for us one morning.

And I ran into this little one by accident when I was trying to get closer to the Ring Neck ducks. Shame about the piece of weed sticking up and ruining the image. :( I'm just glad I got the chance to see him!!

Last but certainly not the least, these guys put on a real show! There were 5 or 6 males chasing a female around and they would raise themselves up on the water, kick their heads back and croak like a frog!!! And they would constantly fight with one another! Of course the female didn't want anything to do with them!

Hooded Mergansers  1/1250 at f8, ISO 640 — Hooded Mergansers 1/1250 at f8, ISO 640

Had a great week!! Even though the pics aren't the greatest I had a terrific time! So now is the time to get out to Brick Pond. Some of these birds are just passing through and they wont be here much longer. Don't wait for the perfect day because those days are few and far between!
More to come....

Looking Back.....

Bill Baburchak February 5, 2018

It's hard to believe that another year has passed me by, and that I have more years behind me than in front of me. But that doesn't mean I'm going to go sit in the rocking chair and give up!

The last year didn't seem like it was that busy photography wise, but a look back through my 2017 pics showed me that there was plenty of opportunity for good pics. I have posted a gallery of my 2017 pics and you can find it on my website, www.longcreekphotography.com
It was fun looking back at what landed in front of my camera, and I hope you will enjoy the images too.... Now don't let 2018 get away, get out and shoot!!

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Lunch With Friends......

Bill Baburchak January 22, 2018

Mel and I went for a walk at the Lindsay Parsons Preserve in Danby yesterday. A great place for a hike and the weather cooperated so we had a great time. On the way up there, in between Spencer and Danby we went by a large empty corn field. I looked out and saw what I thought was a couple of Turkeys..... but then did a double take when I saw what they really were!!!

Just goes to show, if you're not out there you have a 0% chance of seeing anything!!! It was a very long shot, and not a great pic, but it made our day!