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.
