April 7 - Fontenelle Forest

The Barred Owls were out in force this morning at the Fontenelle Forest Wetlands.  I photographed two of them high in a tree.   Unfortunately, they were too distant and high in the trees for decent photographs.

 American Coots are fairly common on the lake.  I've found them difficult to photograph. If I expose for their black feathers, the white bill is overexposed.  If I expose for the bill, I lose detail in the black feathers.  Their eye often disappears  when their visible side is in shadows.

Today, a solitary Coot was extremely cooperative.  It was very overcast day and just starting to sprinkle.  The resulting light was very soft. My photos captured the Coot's red eye along with details in both the feathers and bill.

A Wood Duck couple was high up in a dead tree.  They were well out of the range of my lens and silhouetted against the sky.  This image is a crop from a fraction of the image.  The ducks are so small in the image that I would normally throw it away.  As you can see, Photoshop was able to rescue this image.

Some of the Red-winged Blackbirds have arrived and are establishing territories.  They tend to perch on the highest perches in the area.  This one is resting on an upturned log that still is covered with debris from the 2012 flood.

First In

Today, I was the first person to hike to the lake in the Fontenelle Forest Wetlands.  I found three Double-crested Cormorants were sitting on a branch next to the trail.  The only reason I was able to record the sight was my stealthy approach and super-telephoto lens.  A few seconds later the Cormorants entered the water.  The second person would only see an empty branch.

I scanned the rest of the lake after the Cormorants left.  I expected to see plenty of wildlife.  It was nearly empty.  There were a few Hooded Mergansers and Wood Ducks in the distance.  They were gone before I reached their location.

 I changed direction to leave the lake and to walk along the stream.  A couple of Red-winged Blackbirds were high in the trees.  Cardinals were calling each other.  My eye was drawn to an Eastern Phoebe that was moving from stem to stem ahead of me.  It didn't want to leave the stream and it didn't want to be very  close to me either.

A Lincoln's Sparrow didn't welcome my approach either.  Instead of moving down the stream, it moved deep into a bush on the opposite side of the water.  I could see movement but it was always obstructed by branches.  I was patient.  When it moved to an outside branch for a couple of seconds, I was ready. 

 Some of the ducks that weren't on the lake were in a small pond next to the stream.  The ducks didn't see much danger in the trail from this location because they were only visible from a couple high points on the trail.  They were protected by the stream and  tangled brush.   I was able to photograph a Hooded Merganser couple.  My telephoto was able to make some of the out of focus vegetation disappear but the female is still very blurred.

Some Green-winged Teal were in the pond as well.  They spent most of their time with their head below the water and their bottoms up in the air.  One male was more interested in sex than food.  He would make himself look as attractive as possible and then display his intentions to every female nearby.  The Teal would have left if they noticed me but the same brush that was partly hiding them obscured me as well.

Wood Ducks are extremely difficult to approach in the marsh.  I was fortunate to notice this couple before they noticed me.

There are places in the United States were a photographer can find very tame examples of each of the birds I photographed today.  A tame Wood Duck would look the same in a photo as a wild Wood Duck.  I've heard people criticize wildlife photographs saying  "How many photos of a bird do you need - they all look alike?"  It's a valid question.  I didn't NEED another photo of a Wood Duck.  I did Need to leave the sofa, brave the elements, carry heavy camera gear into the wild and then enjoy the challenge of putting everything that I know about photography a photo of a Wood Duck.

Fontenelle Forest - June 9 2012

I arrived before sunrise today and was rewarded with a glance at a distant deer waling through the foggy forest.

A raccoon was searching for food along the shore. He glowed in the light of the rising sun.

Buffalo-bur doesn't normally bloom until July.

A Killdeer enjoyed the early morning light.

If this is a Swamp Aster, it is blooming early as well.

This Black-capped Chickadee was searching for lunch.

Wild Turkeys have become fairly common but truly wild ones are difficult to photograph in the wild.

This mother Wood Duck was followed by eight ducklings.

My Trouble With Bird Names - May 13 2012

I am in awe of the experienced birders.  They can identify and count birds a mile off before I can focus on a single one of them. If they hear a couple of notes, they don't even have to see the bird.  I don't share this ability.  I have four different bird books and still can't positively identify some of the birds that I photograph.

 I'm also not sure what kind of Warbler this is

This little bird is some kind of Flycatcher.

The Common Grackels were beautiful - their iridescence reflected in the sunlight.

This may be a Great-tailed Grackle.

I was able to photograph a pair of Hooded Merganser by shooting through some branches.  When I tried to get a better view, they were gone.

A Red-headed Woodpecker seemed to appreciate all of the extra dead wood this year.

The advantage of being the first to arrive at the wetlands is that you get to see a scene like this.  A pair of Great Blue Herons and a Wood Duck.

Brown-headed Cowbirds - May 28 2012

I spent the majority of my  time this morning photographing a pair of Brown-headed Cowbirds.  The male was desperately attempting to woo the female.  She was doing her best to ignore him.  When he thought he had her eye, he would fluff up his feathers and spread his wings to look as sexy as possible. Then he would strut in her direction.  Her lack of interest each time would be devastating and he would appear to deflate.  His entire body would shrink as his feathers returned to their normal positions.  A minute later and he would be back at it again.

It was an extremely private moment.  Neither realized that I and my long lens were recording the romance.  It wasn't an easy scene to photograph.  Cowbirds are mostly black and the overhead cover was dense.  I had increased my ISO to 800.  Because my lens has a maximum aperture of f8, I was at about a 1/100 of a second shutter speed. 

Most of the time, I only have enough time for a couple of shots.  This couple was oblivious to me and he wasn't having any luck, so I soon had many exposures.  It was tempting to move on but I've learned that a cooperative subject is a rare opportunity that should not be wasted.  The end result is that I have a bumper crop of Cowbird photos and less variety of anything else.

The Great Blue Heron was fishing again today.  He flies away as soon as he spots me or another hiker. It is a good omen to photograph him because the alarm that he sounds when he leaves puts most of the other wildlife on alert as well. 

Perhaps that is why I got a glimpse of Wood Ducks.  The male was high overhead on the branch of a dead tree.

The female had three young ducklings out for a short swim.  If she had spotted me first, they would have been hidden before I spotted them.

I'm not sure what the bird is.  I suspect it is a young male Oriole. Birds are easier for me to identify in the early spring when they are adults in their mating plumage. 

I Meet a Birder

It was a beautiful morning.  It was cold enough to keep the mosquitoes at bay and warm enough for a sweatshirt.  I arrived at the Fontenelle Forest wetlands early and had the place to myself for over an hour.  I hear more birds every week as the migration progresses. 

I had the privilege of photographing a couple of wood ducks along the trail.  Once they are disturbed, they are gone for the day.

A turkey vulture spotted me before I saw him.  I'm not sure why he moved to a nearby tree to watch me.  I was concerned that he knew something about my state of health and thought perhaps waiting would be worthwhile.  He was disappointed.

Teal take off as soon as they spot movement.  I was able to approach closer than normal.  After a few photos, they were off in a flash.  Then a voice behind me made a wisecrack about whether my lens was big enough or not.  A birder had appeared.  He was nice enough and we chatted for a couple of minutes about how much he enjoys watching birds.  Then he walked ahead of me seeing how many different kinds of birds he could frighten into flight. 

I packed up and went home.