Social Distancing......

Bill Baburchak March 24, 2020

It has been a long winter and the coronavirus issue is sending us into very unfamiliar territory. Fortunately it is Spring migration time and the birds really don’t give a damn what our problems may be. They are following their instincts and doing what they have done for thousands of years. Getting out with my camera is one way I can stay sane and practice social distancing. I am staying at least 6 feet away from the birds. (more like 60 yards!) The migration is just starting up so now is the time to make sure your cameras are ready to go because they won’t wait around for us! Lots of pics to follow, hope you enjoy!

BIG Beaver at Brick Pond…. at least 40 pounds!

Ringneck ducks….. uncommon visitor here, except as a transient

Better hope his girlfriend doesn’t catch him with these two!

These were all taken within the last week. Some at Brick Pond, some at Lindsay Parsons Preserve in Danby, NY. It’s time for the migration to kick into high gear so get your gear ready!

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Yep, I'm Still Here....

Bill Baburchak January 19, 2020

No, I haven’t fallen off the edge of the Earth (you do realize it’s flat?)

It’s just that between all of the shooting and editing I’ve done, a health issue and the photo club, I have been procrastinating. And I’m very good at that!!

Just to give you a quick look at some of what happened this year I have a short video for you. It’s not complete because I don’t have any images after the end of August on the video. But it will give you a sample. I will be adding to the photo galleries as soon as I can, hopefully by the end of the month!!!

Here is the link to view the video The Wild Side… Don’t forget to turn on your speakers!

When Life Hands You Lemons......

Bill Baburchak October 30, 2019

The last week or so has been a slow stretch for bird photography, at least by my standards. Not many birds other than the geese. But I was at Lindsay Parsons yesterday and there were some Mergansers, so maybe we’ll get better conditions this weekend!
But what do you do when the only thing to photograph, bird-wise, is geese???? Shoot the geese!!! At this time of year they make excellent practice for your bird in flight photography. That way when the shot of a lifetime presents itself, you will be ready! Doing well on birds in flight takes a considerable amount of practice and geese are the perfect bird to practice on. They are much larger and considerably slower than most of the ducks. And at this time of year there are lots of them! And make sure to consider your background if you can. A shot with a house in the background is not going to look as good as a background of Fall foliage.
Of course I’m hoping the Otters will make an appearance….

Bird Behavior....

Bill Baburchak August 2, 2019

Time for Natural History (bird behavior)

Just a couple things that stood out to me from my images this past week....

In the first three images you can see a disagreement between a Great Egret and a GBH. In the first image you can see the GBH actually step on the head of the Egret while in flight and push the Egret's body into the water. I didn't realize there was such animosity between the species.... Maybe it's just because the low water levels are forcing them to co-exist in a much smaller area and creating a more stressful situation than normal. Whatever it is, you could see the tension and aggression between the two species!

The last image is something I had seen the wading birds do in Florida, but not here. In this image you can see an Egret flying low over the water and without stopping it plucks a fish out of the water! Normally you think of these birds as slow, stealthy hunters but this one was doing a fly by! I don’t know how they can keep flying and stick their head underwater at the same time without crashing!!!

As always, thanks for looking!!!! You can see more pics at my website Long Creek Photography

There's Something in the Water..... Bourbon maybe???

Bill Baburchak August 1, 2019

The last two weeks have just been crazy with bird life!! I haven’t really had a chance to edit all of my pics yet, but here are a few….

Yeah, I know it’s dead center but I still like it!!

As of yesterday the Great Egrets were still at Brick Pond, but who knows when they will leave? Many more images at Long Creek Photography

Thanks for looking!!!

More swamp fun.....

Bill Baburchak July 13, 2019

The wetland at this time of year is a very busy place. All of the young ducks, geese turtles, blackbirds, etc. are demanding time from their mothers. Male ducks are molting now and they look pretty fugly without their feathers. But the most interesting and fun thing for me is watching the young ones grow week by week. Not so long ago the ducklings were just little puffballs and now many of them look like miniature carbon copies of their Moms!! Because they weren’t all born at the same time you can still see families with little baby chicks swimming in the same area as the older chicks. The GBH chicks are now leaving the nests and beginning to fish for themselves (Mom and Dad couldn’t be happier!).

So if you want to see all of the little ones doing little one things, you better plan a trip soon. Because childhood doesn’t last long in the wild…..

Fun Times at Brick Pond....

Bill Baburchak July 5, 2019

Sorry I haven’t posted lately, been busy shootin’!!!!
Brick Pond has been fun, but the landscape is changing. The vegetation is filling in which makes it a bit more difficult for photography. But at the same time it makes it easier. The very same brush that blocks your vision helps hide your silhouette, making it easier to hide. The young ducklings are growing rapidly and the male Wood Ducks are molting.

This is a male in breeding plumage… Click to enlarge

This is a male that is molting. If not for the red eye, you might not know this is a Wood Duck!!!

The Deer seem to be much more active this time of year also. I almost always see deer in the mornings now.

Just for the fun of it!!!! Click to enlarge… — Just for the fun of it!!!! **Click to enlarge…**

There are several more images of this fawn and her twin in my 2019 gallery page, http://longcreekphotography.com/2019

Now is the time to get out and see the little ones before they grow up. And the little ducklings are so cute!!!
Thanks for looking…..

Interesting Birds.....

Bill Baburchak May 30, 2019

Life is changing at Brick Pond. The ducks are nesting, and in some cases, have hatched already. The GBH’s have not hatched yet but give them another week or so.

I have been watching one particular species lately, the Hooded Merganser. And specifically the female. The males disappear once mating is accomplished (typical guy, huh?). Hooded Mergansers nest in tree cavities or man made nest boxes, the same as the Wood Duck. The female is a very subdued brownish-rusty color and at first glance appears to be very plain Jane in appearance. But the following pictures show a duck that has it’s own kind of beauty.

Because this is a diving duck, they use a hooked and serrated bill to catch their prey, usually fish and tadpoles and crustaceans.

An environmental portrait, just to show you these are not shot in a controlled environment!

A small duck with rather short, stubby wings, these ducks are fast and erratic flyers. Getting a good flight image of these birds is a real challenge!

Being a tree nester these birds have a short hooked claw on each toe to be able to grab the tree or nest box so they can enter the nest. This one is sitting on a nest box at Brick Pond which we think is being used by both a Merganser and a Wood Duck… — Being a tree nester these birds have a short hooked claw on each toe to be able to grab the tree or nest box so they can enter the nest. This one is sitting on a nest box at Brick Pond which we think is being used by both a Merganser and a Wood Duck! This is not unusual as the Merganser is happy to let the Wood Duck do all the nesting work for them!!!

Just a little idea of what you can see at Brick Pond! These image look much better on my website, www.longcreekphotography.com You can enlarge them on the website but the email version is a fixed size. All for now, thanks for looking!!!

Migration and Nesting....

Bill Baburchak May 19, 2019

It’s a busy time for the migrating birds. Migrating hundreds and sometimes thousands of miles to get to their preferred breeding, they all seem to have plenty of energy left!!! And they are now at their most colorful, with the male Wood Duck wearing the most colorful outfit!
Please enjoy the images, because I sure enjoyed taking them!!!

Female Merganser with backlighting to light up the hood

That’s all for now, but hopefully next week will bring more opportunities!!! Thanks for looking!!

More fun in the Swamp...

Bill Baburchak April 27, 2019

Didn’t get out much this week, but spent one day at Brick Pond and another at Lindsay Parsons. As usual, there were woodies and mergansers, but it wasn’t a productive week. One interesting thing was that I was at brick at first light and I could see something swimming across the pond. It was so dark that I could only see the ‘V’ that the critter made. I assumed it was a Beaver or a Muskrat because they are so plentiful there. Well it swam to shore and I lost interest. But a minute later I saw the animal on a log to my right and I thought “what a funny place for a Beaver.” I got my binoculars up to my face and realized it wasn’t a Beaver it was a Mink!

I had seen one last year here but this was the first time this year. I was afraid he was going to head into the woods away from me so I made a squealing noise with my mouth. Mink are very curious animals and most times they will at least stop and look if you do that. Well this guy (or girl) decided to come and see what was squealing! Meanwhile I’m trying to get the camera setup to take advantage of the possible opportunity.

Unfortunately, he caught the movement and while he wasn’t scared, he didn’t stick around either. This shot was the only open one he gave me. Not great shots but it was fun for me!!!
And there is an upside to this Mink. Brick Pond is dealing with a huge increase in Muskrats, and they can cause some considerable damage. Fortunately, Mr. Mink enjoys a good meal of Muskrat!!! So lets hope he stays hungry!

And a last shot of Hooded Mergansers…. not a great shot but the rim lighting on the birds gives it a different feel.

Oops, one more. The Beavers were very active that morning so you get a bonus Beaver pic….. :)

This was a big Beaver, probably 30+ pounds!!!

All for now, thanks for looking!!!

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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!!!