Back To Real Life.....

Sorry that I haven’t posted lately. I just got back from Alaska last week and I’m playing catch up. I’ll have a post on my experiences in Alaska coming up soon. But the day after we got back I was back in one of my favorite wetlands, in my element. Click to enlarge….

Pondering the meaning of life….

Nothing special, but I was back with my peeps. Felt good to be back with a camera in hand.

It was good to see the “Mayor of Brick Pond” again, peering out over his kingdom. (below)

Lord of all he surveys……

But there was a newcomer too, something we don’t usually see until about this time every year. I think they will only stay for a short while and then be on their way. Very good at catching fish! I believe the official name is Double Breasted Cormorant. I don’t know why they are called that, I only saw one breast!!!

Drying Time!

That’s all for now, but I have an awful lot of editing to do, so I will be back soon! But for now, get out and shoot!

On Your Mark.... Get Set..... GO!!!!!!

Just when you think the day is going to be a dud, life hands you a beautiful surprise!

It had been a pretty slow day at the swamp. Some decent images but nothing to write home about. This Green Heron had been fishing in front of me all morning, but he wasn’t having a good day. But the beautiful light made it hard not to take a few pics….

“Bird on a stick!”

But luck has a way of changing quickly in the wild….

And even a blind squirrel finds an acorn once in a while……
And his luck definitely changed after that, which made him happy and me too!

The short series below was interesting because I could see that he was leaning way out, too far for a straight down attack on a fish. So I knew he was going to jump into the water after his prey. Luckily, I was ready and caught most of it in pictures. Just before he hit the water he went behind the greenery and that shot didn’t come out. Which is just as well, because he missed again….

Too late to back out now!

Eyes on the prize!

Full attack mode!!!!

Sometimes the best things happen when you least expect it, and life drops these moments of joy into your lap. It’s up to you to appreciate them…..
All for now, so get out and shoot!

Yeah, It Was A Good Day.....

But it didn’t exactly start out that way. I was awakened at 3am by a very bright thunder and lightning storm. I thought about rolling over and going back to sleep but then I realized that I couldn’t do that because today was the day that my wife was going to come and shoot with me! This doesn’t happen very often. It’s not that she doesn’t like wildlife, but she’s not crazy about the early hours that go along with it. But she managed to get up and out on time and off we went.

When we got to the wetland and started walking to our shooting spot, we were greeted by an unusual sight: Lots of fallen trees in our path to our spot! That storm that came through really did some damage! We had to crawl over or through several large blow-downs and I wasn’t really sure if we we going to make it to our spot. But eventually we got there and got set up and ready. It was just starting to turn from night into day. You know, that greyish, black and white look when the world is just starting to show signs of life. For me, this is the best time of day. The light is slowly creeping in, you can hear the Beavers out there finishing up their work, the birds are starting to sing and life is just perfect.

We were fortunate enough to see plenty of action. The woodies were there, the Beavers stayed active until well after dawn, but the Otters were the stars of the show. They are a delight to just watch as they go about their lives. And the Kingfisher made a cameo appearance just before we were about to leave and even brought us a fish to photograph! And who could forget the clowns of the wetland, the Green Herons!

Playing “king of the log”

Fishing expert!

She loves her job!

He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother!!!!

So all in all, we were fortunate that we didn’t turn back. It was a wonderful day, made even better by being able to spend some real quality time with my wife! Let’s see how soon she wants to go back! Now, get out and shoot!

Perseverance Pays Off..... Eventually

Perseverance is a trait that is highly prized by successful wildlife photographers, but difficult to master. Defined as “persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success”, this attribute could be the one skill that separates the average photographer from the successful pros that command all of the attention. And rightfully so.
The famous wildlife photographer Tom Mangleson once spent over 40 days in the same place, waiting for the one perfect shot that he wanted! I like to think that I have a better than average amount of patience, but I’m nowhere near that level. But I aspire to be, and that is one area where I am trying to improve. It is with that thought in mind that I found myself watching perseverance in action the other morning.

I was out shooting (early of course) when two immature Hooded Mergansers came by, looking for breakfast. They looked to be about half grown and the Mom was nowhere in sight. They proceeded to work together as a team, methodically searching the shallows right in front of me for something to eat. They were only about 15 yards away from me, so you can see that I am shooting at a slight down angle and my depth of field is very thin!

Two of a kind….

Could use a snorkel!

Things weren’t looking very promising for awhile; neither of them were having any luck. But you knew eventually things had to change for them, and it sure did! All of a sudden this one stuck her head under the water and came up with breakfast!

Not pretty, but effective!

Now that she had it in her mouth, could she swallow it???? This was a large Crayfish for a small mouthed duck like the Merganser. She flipped it around in the air, squishing it as hard as she could with her bill, hoping to make it just a bit smaller.

It’s a really tight fit!!!!

But eventually, she swallowed the whole thing! She looked uncomfortable for a few minutes, but by stretching her neck she was able get it to work down into her stomach. And this wasn’t the only one she caught that morning.

These two ducks aren’t going to win any beauty pageants. They looked very much worse for wear by the time they were done feeding. But give them time to preen and dry off a bit, and they will be back to their beautiful selves!!!

Often, wildlife shows us what real perseverance is. They don’t persevere, they don’t eat. A simple truth for them, but I’m not sure we know what that really means.

Hope you enjoyed the pics! And remember, get out and shoot!

I Think.....

that I have never seen a living creature that just enjoys being alive and relishes each and every day more than the River Otter. This little powerhouse uses every day to the fullest, with the family being in the center of everything they do. Click the image to enlarge.

Family is everything….

Whether playfully roughhousing with each other or chasing down the morning meal, the Otters seem to love every minute of it.

Formal portrait session!

Otters are very social and affectionate animals, whether nuzzling each other during a break in the hunt, or gathering with the rest of the family.

If you get a chance to observe them often enough you will see that they have personalities of their own. Some enjoy a good game of roughhouse while the others prefer the quiet family time more. (probably the parents!)

The problem with observing them on a regular basis is just finding them! They go where they want, when they want, and with who they want. So just seeing them is a thrill. I have been very fortunate in the last 2 or 3 years to have several encounters with them, and they make my day every time. The more time you can spend in their neighborhood, the better chance you have of seeing them and the obvious joy they get from each other. I can think of no better way to spend a day. Creatures like this are the reason I do what I do……

My BFF!!!!

Enjoying a joke on the community log…..

If you happen to see them, tell ‘em that I sent you!

Always A Pleasure To Watch A Pro In Action.....

You know how it is when you get a chance to watch someone who is really good at their craft and obviously enjoys it? I had that chance last week, but it wasn’t a human.
It was a little old Green Heron…. This guy was good, I’m mean almost perfect. (I call him a guy because male and female are very difficult to tell apart. And because it’s my blog!) I’m going to show you a series of images so you can see how impressive this little heron was. I’ve seen enough herons that I’m not easily impressed by them, but this guy caught my attention! Click on the images to enlarge…

Nothing special, just a bird on a stick…..

Like a professional athlete, getting ready for his first dive…

Coming up for air….

And voila, the first winner of the day! Breakfast is served!
So what do you do for an encore? You just do it again!!!

Of course, he had to let the rest of the swamp know that was the baddest bird on the water!!!!

The next set of images is a sequence of one attempt at some more breakfast. This is where he shows off!

Look how far off the branch he is reaching out!

Digging deep!

I was just so impressed that he could reach out there that far and down so deep, and catch the fish at the same time! Even better was that he was able to return upright just by using his legs!!! Try that at home and see if you can do it! This guy only missed one time in the hour that I watched him!

To the victor go the spoils……

And I added the last pic below because I just love the way the early morning light just warms up the heron and makes the colors just glow!

Without that light, it’s just an ordinary image.
Remember, it’s all about the light……
Hope you enjoyed it. Now, get out and shoot!!!!

Senior Moment....

The pictures that I’m posting here were taken 3 weeks ago at BP. I thought that I had posted them already, but someone asked me about them and when I looked for the pics I found them in the ‘not sent’ pile! Just another senior moment! Let me tell you, gettin’ old is not for sissies!!! Click to enlarge…

Difference of opinion?

The Hooded Mergansers above seem to be having a little difference of opinion….. The pics below are shortly after when momma merganser went to check on an apartment she was thinking of renting for the season….

That first step is a killer…..

As you can see, it’s a single room efficiency apartment…. “cozy” is what a realtor would say…

First Look…..

If you look closely at the feet, you can see the toes all have little claws on them. This helps them climb into the nest….. they normally nest in tree cavities, but they have readily adapted to these nest boxes which I believe were originally intended for Wood Ducks.

She didn’t get into the box this day, but I have since seen her enter and exit the box. Baby Mergansers are on the way!!!!

This Mallard hen below came over to see what all the excitement was about. She couldn’t imagine putting a nest in a tree!!!

Nosy Mallard….

Meanwhile, the Wood duck swimming below just shook his head and swam away……

I hope that I can convey what a great time I have when I’m out there, no matter what I see! So get that camera out of the closet and go shoot! There is no better time than now….

Fighting The Light...... And Losing

There are times as a wildlife photographer when it looks like everything is going to work out perfectly. Your subject, the weather, wind direction etc. all seem to be going your way. There is a little voice in the back of your mind that is jabbering about something, but you’re not paying attention. What could go wrong???

And then reality hits. You picked this spot based on your knowledge of the species you were after and also the anticipated weather conditions. And that was my downfall. I listened to the weatherman again. It just boggles my mind that with all the million dollar equipment they have available they still can’t forecast 12 hours ahead, let alone a whole day!!!

In this case I had set up thinking that I would have high clouds as my background, which would work perfectly with the nesting herons that I was hoping for. It was perfect at first. The birds were there going back and forth, busy building their nest. When the darkness began to fade and the sunrise began to light up the valley, it was absolutely gorgeous. High scudding clouds made a pattern that the sunrise just danced across and lit up beautifully. What a background for the birds! But as fast as that cloud cover showed up, it vanished like a bad dream. There was now a clear blue sky as my background. And what was worse was that when the sun finally popped up over the hill, it would be hitting me right in the face! But I wasn’t giving up yet. Maybe I could salvage something, at least for Facebook

The images that I took were not good. Below is the original image that came out of the camera and I think it needs a little work! Click on the image to enlarge

Just a tad overexposed….

I figured that all of these images would end up in the scrap heap, and they probably will, but I was determined to see if I could salvage anything out of them. The compositions were beautiful and the birds did their part. So I massaged the heck out of the image and below is what I finally came up with.

Much better, but that background is a killer….

It’s still not a good image, but the pose is so perfect I had to take a crack at making something acceptable out of it. Even if I can’t, I can always blame the weatherman…..

I think the photo gods took pity on me and tried to make it up to me. Later on, when I was back at the truck and had all of my gear packed, I was in the car warming my fingers back to life when out of the cattails popped this little guy right in front of me!! So of course, all the gear had to come back out and get set up while trying not to scare him into the next county!

This is a male Pied Billed Grebe….. They’re pretty common up at Montezuma and Iroquois NWR….

All in all, it was great morning. But what a picture that would have been…..

What Women Want......

Yesterday was “bring a stick to your sweetie” day at the rookery. It’s what every female heron needs to make her house a real home…… After watching a pair of herons building their nest, I don’t know how it ever gets finished! I mean, they can’t just call Lowe’s and have them drop off a pallet full of sticks. They go and get every single stick, with a separate trip for every single stick. The male is the stick finder and after he finds one that he thinks will work, he brings it back to the female waiting in the nest. They greet each other with great fanfare, and he gives the stick to her. IF she likes it, she will add it to the nest. But if she doesn’t approve of that stick, she will drop it off the side of the nest into the water. Can you imagine the self-esteem issues this poor guy has after a day of rejected sticks???

Anyhow, the pics below will give you an idea of what they go through every spring just to get a nest built. Raising the little ones is a story for another day. Stay tuned….. Click on the images to enlarge…

Closer and closer…

She can hardly contain herself!!!!

Just what she always wanted….

Should I keep it or send it overboard?????

Thanks for looking, I hope you enjoyed them! And remember, get out and shoot!!!!

Working On My Game.....

I have been working very hard on learning my new camera. From all the new AF possibilities to how it handles high ISO noise, I want to get this nailed down as soon as possible so I don’t miss a great shot because I wasn’t ready.

So Brick Pond is the logical spot for me to embarrass myself in relative anonymity, with only the birds there to point out all of my mistakes. Brick Pond has a very healthy population of Wood Ducks and Hooded Mergansers this year, so finding subjects is not the issue. Getting them close enough and in the right light is the problem.

I wanted to begin to push the ISO limits to see how far I could go and still get a good image, and the birds were happy to oblige. Click on the image to enlarge…

I believe that these first 3 images were shot at ISO 7200 and I’m pretty happy with the way they cleaned up. I could print these and be confident they would look good on paper. Two factors that affect how your high ISO images come out are cropping and under-exposing. Cropping just magnifies the noise and underexposing will make you bring up the shadows in your image, showing the noise even more clearly. The less you crop, the better off you are. Easier said than done, I know, but do your best. And if you find that you are shooting more and more high ISO, get a separate program like Topaz or OnOne to help you with that. They really do make a difference!

A couple more from that morning….. nothing special, but at least the birds cooperated and let me get some much needed information about the new camera!

Now get out and shoot!

When the light is right…..

Wayyyyyy Behind........

The break between sports shooting this winter and wildlife shooting was very short this year, and I am way behind on my editing and blog posting.

I was out last week at my favorite GBH rookery hoping for some early season pics of the adults building nests, breeding, squabbling for preferred nesting sites and in general being the raucous birds that they are. It was a chilly, cloudy morning so I knew it would be a balancing act between shutter speed and ISO.
And then a guest showed up that I really didn’t expect, but they definitely brought some excitement and fear to the pond. Click on the images to enlarge

Wait, isn’t this backwards???

That is an Immature Bald Eagle in the GBH nest. The Eagle chased the GBH out of her nest without much of a fight, and proceeded to have eggs for breakfast! The Heron was not happy, but right now her options were very limited.

And when the Eagle got done there, he moved over to the next nest a short distance away and started to munch on another fresh egg. But this time he got a little more than he bargained for!

I wish that I could have this shot back, but it is what it is. In this nest, the Heron decided that enough was enough and she attacked the Eagle so fiercely that she made him retreat, and in doing so, he lost his grip on the egg he had planned to steal! You can see the egg yolk and egg white dripping from the broken shell in his talon. That would have been a killer shot…. woulda, coulda, shoulda….. but at least you can see the end result! I just wasn’t prepared enough for what happened. But I’ll get over it. That’s why God invented beer!!!!

THIEF!!!!!

He came around one more time but by then both parents were there and he didn’t stand much of a chance, so he retreated to a nearby tree and eventually left the area.

High key Eagle

So that is my tale of a great experience for me. I had never witnessed anything like this before and it is one I won’t soon forget! Hope you enjoyed it too! Now get out and shoot!

Playing Catch Up....

For the last month we have been shooting sports championships all over the state, so I have been getting very behind on my blog posts.
But I did manage to sneak in a quick trip a couple weeks ago to see my buddy Dave in the Buffalo area. Originally we were going to go to Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge but the water at the refuge was still pretty much iced over, so Dave cooked up an alternate plan. He took me to the Irondequoit Bay area, near Rochester instead. The water up along Lake Ontario is usually open at this time of year and the migrating ducks were already back in pretty good numbers.
We hit several spots in and around a smaller bay off of the main bay called Braddock Bay. This was a different style of shooting for me. It’s a run and gun type of shooting, and we put plenty of miles on the car moving from one spot to another.

The first thing that struck me was the variety of species of ducks compared to what we see here in the spring. Redheads, Buffleheads, Ringnecks, Scaup, etc., it was a smorgasboard of duckulous proportions! I even got to see a Long Tailed duck, which was a first for me. I have included a few pics that were good enough to show. the wind was blowing around 25-30 mph all day, so that didn’t make things easy and I’m also learning a new camera, so I had plenty of wasted electrons!! But I hope you enjoy them!! Click on the images to enlarge…

Redheads on the alert!!!

Ringneck Ducks flying in formation, with Mom on point!

A Harrier Hawk, a first for me!

A better angle….

I also saw my first Saw-Whet Owl on this trip! Unfortunately the best image I have is a small brown blur in a sea of pine branches! One of the most common Owls, yet this was a first for me! I’m including a link so you can see a pic of these little cuties! Northern Saw-whet Owl Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Many thanks to my friend Dave for guiding me for the day! I would never have seen the Owl without him pointing it out to me! I will definitely return the favor when you come down for the GBHs….. Thanks for looking and remember…. get out and shoot!!!

A nod to a favorite poem and poet.....

Last Friday I was fortunate enough to be asked to give a presentation on wildlife photography to a group from Two Rivers Photography Club, of which I am a member. I’m not very good at giving these talks but as I do more of them, I think I’m getting better at it! I basically wanted to help some of the newer photographers get started in wildlife photography. Everyone always thinks it has to be extremely expensive to shoot wildlife and I wanted to dispel that notion. (Although you can spend an insane amount of money if you wish!)
So I thought that I would share some of the images with you all that I shared with the club. Nothing fantastic, but I wanted to show them that even a guy like me can get out there and enjoy the world that many people never get to see. I’m a pretty lucky guy!
Click to Enlarge….

Showing the importance of controlling depth of field….

An example of High Key photography

You gotta be there early!!!

Whispering sweet nothings….

Simple Beauty

Posing….

And to end the program, I shared a poem by Mary Oliver that very eloquently captures my feelings about being out in nature. Several of the attendees asked me to send them a copy of the poem, so here you go!

"Rear View", or "What the Hell Is Going On???"

I was at Brick Pond yesterday. The usual suspects like geese and Mallards (lots of them!) and several Muskrats. Nothing special.

As I was walking back from the blind I noticed a large Muskrat hut that just didn’t look right. The huts kind of look like a miniature version of a Beaver lodge. The Muskrats build these huts for shelter. But when I saw this hut there was something large and brown on the side of the hut. My first instinct was that it was a Beaver, but that made no sense at all. So I pulled up my binoculars and this is what I saw: click to enlarge

Even the goose can’t figure it out!!!

What the Hell is going on here???? A secret Muskrat lodge meeting? I had no way to explain this until I got home and did some research. Apparently, when the food supplies get too low as is often the case in late winter, they will actually eat their own house! When you stop and think about it, it does make perfect sense. The hut itself is made mainly out of one of their preferred foods, the Cattails. But it also seems that they would be easy prey for a hawk or an eagle. Maybe the goose is the lookout!!!

You can clearly see the shape of the tail in the first image. So that is your fun wildlife fact for the day! I hope you enjoyed it!

Spring Training......

It’s the middle of February already….. and most of the bird photographers that I know are anxiously awaiting ice-out on the local waters, including me!
So when Brick Pond opened up this last week, I knew that I had to get out and get going on spring training. It’s not just for athletes, we photographers lose our edge and sense of timing when we aren’t actively shooting on a regular basis.

Even though the only birds available were geese and Mallards, that’s okay. They are both good choices to get your panning skills back in shape, and every once in a while, you get a keeper out of your practice pics. I don’t think there are any from this bunch that I will keep for the archives but that’s not the point. Get out, sharpen your skills and enjoy being alive and out in nature! click on the images to enlarge

Make the most out of your practice time, no matter the species….. I wish the background was blurred a bit more….

Once in a while, you get surprise guests, like these Hooded Mergansers!!!

Jump shooting!!!

In Sync, wings down!

Slightly different wing position… you like this one or the one above?

Start with a goose, end with a goose!

It doesn’t matter what species you use as practice, but you definitely need to shake the rust off! When the shot of a lifetime comes around you’ll want to be ready!
Thanks for looking!!!!

Back At The States......

What the heck, I can’t always shoot wildlife!
Becky, Dave and I have been shooting sports for several years now. Because wildlife photography is such isolated endeavor, it’s fun to get together with your photo friends and shoot something different. And actually, sports and wildlife photography are very similar in the types of gear that is used. In addition, you are shooting the same type of shot: fast moving, erratic subjects usually in less than ideal conditions. Just what every photographer dreams of; twitchy subjects, crappy weather, and poor lighting conditions! But we’re not complaining (much).

The last two weeks we were shooting the semifinals and finals of the NYS boys football championships. The semis were outside at UE stadium and the finals were at the Carrier Dome (or whatever they call it now). And let me tell you, the Dome is a photographer’s dream: warm, no rain and reasonably decent, constant light! I have posted just a few of the images from the tournament here. You can go to my website gallery for a few more, OR go to Beyond the Print to see all of the images from all three of us! Click the images to enlarge….

Obviously, we all had a great time and with any luck we’ll be back next year! Hope you enjoy them! And remember: Get out and shoot!

Sometimes It's Just Not Fair.....

We’ve been shooting sports for the last month, and it’s starting to wear on us. You have to travel to the event, shoot all day and then go home and cull 6000-8000 images and edit the good ones. We love it, but I needed a break. I found just enough time last Wednesday to sneak down to Brick Pond for a little R&R. When I am out shooting wildlife everything else just melts into the background. It’s my drug of choice when I need some chill time.

There was open water pretty much all over the pond and of course the Geese were there. There were also quite a few Mallards who braved the weather to stick around. Until the pond ices over, I think they will stay.
But I was looking for my little furry buddies to see if they were going to stick around when it gets cold. Otters will sometimes take over a portion of a Beaver lodge for the winter and I was hoping they would do that at BP.
But as the time went by, I began to think that they had left the pond for the winter. I was looking at my watch to decide when to give it up for the day when …. there they were! The two of them were hunting as a pair, very efficient and methodical, working their way from west to east on the far side of the pond. The odds of them coming close enough for a decent picture are not good but eventually they worked close enough to me and surprisingly got out of the water for a break!
Click on the images to enlarge….

I think they knew they were being photographed!

They were only on that log for a few minutes, but I was burning electrons as fast as I could to get some decent poses before they slipped silently back into the water.

I got some good pictures with some nice poses, and I was glad for that. But something was missing, and that something was their mother. I had watched them for most of the summer, mom and the kids, but in late October I was able to watch mom as she crawled up on the beaver lodge. And I knew something wasn’t right. She just didn’t walk right and when I looked at the images I took of her, I could see why. She had a large red bulbous mass sticking out of her and I couldn’t tell what it was, but I knew it wasn’t right.

I took the pictures to someone who was much more knowledgeable about this than I am, and the news wasn’t good. Although they can’t say for sure, they believe that the Otter had a Prolapsed Uterus. Which means the Uterus is physically sticking out of her. Although they can sometimes reverse themselves and go back up into the body the prognosis is not good. Most likely she would either die of blood loss or infection. It’s been a month since I have seen her so I’m pretty sure she didn’t make it.
Like I said; sometimes it’s just not fair…..

A Day In The Life...... (and death)

Down at Brick Pond earlier this week. The water level is pretty low, just the way I like it. The birds are a bit more concentrated around the remaining pools of water, and it makes for some interesting interaction.
Dawn brings the Green Herons out for the day. They’re very similar in some ways to humans; some are slow to wake up and start moving and feeding, and others are a ball of fire from the get-go. The guy below took forever to get going, but once he did he was very good at his craft! Click on the images to enlarge…

Morning stretch. He needs a cup of coffee to get going!!!

First fish of the day!

While I was there, this little one came and kept me company for a bit, never coming out of the thick brush. I haven’t ID’d it yet, but it looks like a young Catbird to me.

Back to fishing. This guy (and I call him a guy because I had to pick one) turned out to be a very competent fisherman, catching several fish in a short period of time.

This guy is good!

But what he did next is the reason for this post. As he was sitting on the log fishing, he suddenly looked to his left and flew off. I thought maybe one of his siblings was about pounce on him and start a fight, but as fast as he flew off he came back to the log and he had a passenger….

We deliver!

Somehow he managed to see that frog 30 feet away from his perch on the log, flew over and caught him, and brought him back to his original spot. All within 20 seconds! And if you look closely at the pic you can see that the frog still has a tail! This was a first for me! The really bad thing about it is that there was a branch right in his flight path. I have a whole series of images as he came back across the water, and all of them have this damn branch in it!

It’s not a good day for the frog…

A couple times he almost dropped the frog back into the water!

Now he’s turning the frog around to start the beginning of the end for the frog…

And of course we all know how it ends. And I didn’t show the in between pics that show the heron viciously slamming the frog on the log to tenderize him a little. Not that I am squeamish about it, but it doesn’t add much to the story.
My question to all of you is; Were you rooting for the frog or the bird? If the frog gets away does the heron starve? One of them has to lose in this deal. As wildlife photographers we are confronted with this on a regular basis, and I think about it often. With very mixed feelings.
Once again, thank you all for looking!

It's Getting To Be That Time Of The Year.......

5:30 in the morning and it’s already 70 degrees. The mosquitoes are taking turns picking out real estate on my forehead and to top it off I left my coffee thermos at home!!! Not a great way to start the day. This is the time of year that shooting wildlife can get difficult. The little ones are no longer those cute little puffballs. Now they are little miniatures of their parents. And the parents are looking a little ragged too. The ducks are molting and the wood duck males look like escaped convicts with shaved heads! And the mature vegetation has made it difficult to get a clear shot. I thought it couldn’t get worse but then it started raining. The forecast said a 6% chance of rain. Way to go Howard, you screwed the pooch again!

I figured if the birds didn’t mind, neither did I. And I was hoping the Green Herons would keep me company, at least for a little bit. And I can report that they certainly kept me entertained today. Green Herons are a fairly large bird, maybe a little smaller than a crow. But they are so light they can almost “walk on water”, as you can see below. Click on the images to enlarge….

Beep-Beep!!!

This next Heron was trying to interrupt his siblings hunt by “dropping in” on him!

“I must go, my people need me….”

And then it was the Kingfishers turn. There are two separate families of Kingfishers, and they never tire of harassing each other. It’s like a giant game of aerial tag whenever they get together. But they eventually settled down for a few minutes and ended up giving me two or three of my best shots. The next two shots are from the same branch, but at a different time and a totally different quality of light. Look at the difference in the color of the light in the two images. Not better, just different. I like them both!

A cooler color of light….

And a bit warmer for this image….

The last one with the raindrops is going to get printed. It just has such a nice feel to it…..
But the next one is my favorite and captures the spirit of the Kingfisher better than any words I can put on paper…..

Bring on the world!!!

They are constant motion, constant jabbering, always full of piss and vinegar! That’s why I love them!
So in the end, it was a great day! Like they all are…….

Thank you so much for looking! Talk soon!

Do I Have The Best Job In The World, Or What????

I was down at Brick Pond last night. I hadn’t planned on going because the weatherman was calling for thunderstorms. But then I remembered that the weatherman couldn’t find his ass with both hands and a flashlight, so why am I depending on him? I grabbed my gear and headed down to the pond.
It was a hot afternoon and I was sweating when I got to the blind. And guess who was waiting for me? Big Mama…. Click on the images to enlarge

Giving me the old stink eye…..

I had just enough time to get my camera out of my pack to get this image. I think she watched me sweating my way up the trail and decided to wait for me to see her before she took off. But she just slowly walked down the log and hopped into the water and leisurely made her way into the pond.
But that gave me time to get set up and be ready for the next guests…. Green Herons are funny birds. They are the smallest of the herons in our area, but they can make the most noise! And there is a whole family of them down at Brick, at least 6 that I know of.

Yada, Yada, Yada…….

And this one is a juvenile. You can tell by what’s left of his downy feathers on the top of his head. But he kept me company for quite a while by showing me his ineptness at catching anything that resembled food. He was an expert at catching sticks and twigs though. These birds have probably never seen live food before, just what gets regurgitated for him in the nest. So they need to learn the hard way about catching their own prey and it takes a while…..

Wow! Is that what food looks like????

Maybe I’ll do better from up high…..

But these guys were just the warmup for the main event…. the babies!!!!

I have been very fortunate this year to see an incredible number of young birds, of all kinds. But tonight was like hitting the lottery. Not only did I see the young herons, but now baby Wood ducks?? I’m so glad the weatherman screwed up again!

Submarine move…..

I had seen a Merganser chick do the exact same thing last week and I just thought it was a fluke, but now I’m not sure. Maybe this is the latest hashtag trick for ducks???

more and more….

And soon I had all my ducks in a row……. I can’t believe I said that…..

In the next pic below, Mom looks really proud of her kids….. or am I being too anthropomorphic? Too bad, it’s my blog!!!!

Yep, these are all mine…… I think…

And it didn’t stop there! Pretty soon everybody was trying to crawl under Mom!!!

And it looked like Mom was about ready to burst!!!

Now I think the next pic is by far the best one, even with the damn branch in the way! The look on the little one’s face on the left is priceless!!

But all good things must come to an end…… Mom spotted me and the that was the end of that! The Mom train pulled out and didn’t look back!

Sayonara!!!!

All in all, it was a great night considering I almost didn’t come out! Lesson learned……..

I hope you enjoy these as much as I did!!!! Thanks for looking!