The Warblers Have Arrived!

Fontenelle Forest has been listed as one of the top ten places to view warblers in the United States.

A Yellow-rumped warbler (Myrtle)  is wondering what I'm doing with that big camera.

A single tree is blossoming by the stream.  This Baltimore Oriole uses the blossoms to enhance his beauty.

Not to be undone, an Orchard Oriole poses among the blossoms.

Some White-throated Sparrows have brighter colors than others.  Compare this one with the photo below to see the variation.

Two Canadian Geese were hidden in the weeds.

A Killdeer walks in a shallow part of the stream.

This yellow warbler was in constant motion.

New Faces in the Fontenelle Forest Wetlands May 8 2012

I visited the Fontenelle Forest wetlands late this afternoon.  As they recover from the flood and food becomes available, the mammals are slowly returning.  I saw a large racoons and a deer, neither stayed around for a photograph.

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This Baltimore Oriole was attracted the the water.  He has been trying to get his feathers back in place but isn't quite there yet.

The birds were attracted to ripe mulberries.  The mulberry trees had plenty of leaves and branches.  This Red-breasted Grosbeak was the best I could do under those conditions.

This Scarlet Tanager will never win any photo contest but it is the first one I've photographed in hundreds of visits.

I finally found a warbler - this Common Yellow-throat.  I heard others. 

This Northern Water-thrush flew into the trees when I approached.

The Lesser Yellow-legs continues to hunt for  bugs.

The Cedar Waxwings flocked in, ate mulberries and flocked out.

A Perfect Spring Morning

I spent several wonderful hours in the Fontenelle Forest wetlands on the morning of May 5th.  The temperature was perfect.  The mosquitoes were manageable.  It had rained recently but the trails were not too muddy.  Best of all, I nearly had the place to myself for several hours.

My strategy is to try to spot wildlife before it notices me as I walk the trail.  Nearby areas are hunted nearly year round so many species have a reason to remain wary.  I'm interested in shots that show how wildlife interacts with each other and their environment  I could rush down the trails.  I would see many more species that way.  I would also miss many changes to make quality  photographs.

This Song Sparrow posed for a couple of seconds.

Catbirds have returned.

A solitary Great Egret surveyed the pond.

The Great Egret decided it was safe enough to fish nearby.  It is extremely difficult to get this close to an Egret in Nebraska.  I knew my time with it was limited.  The next person walking down the trail would only see it's tail as it flew off.

Fishing was good today.

A Little Blue Heron noticed the Great Egret and decided this was a safe place to fish.  This is the first Little Blue Heron I've ever seen in the ten years I have been photographing the Fontenelle Forest wetlands.  I've mentioned Nature Search before - It is an extremely useful site that shows every type of plant and animal ever photographed in Fontenelle Forest.  This Little Blue Heron will be added to the site. 

I saw quite a few Baltimore Orioles.  Except for this female, they were too interested in attracting the opposite sex to than to pose for a photograph.  

Bullfrogs  lined the stream.  I expected this guy to make a snack out of the water strider.  He didn't.  My depth of field wasn't sufficient to focus on the frog and insect at the same time.  I quickly made one shot and then refocused for the next.  The two images were merged in Photo Shop.

A Lesser Yellowlegs strolled along the side of the stream eating insects.  

A couple of painted turtles sunned themselves.