Posts in Category: birds
Happy Thanksgiving! Just for fun.
Photoshopped from 2 Nikon P900 images.
I am not a big fan of Photoshoped images…images that are created in Photoshop…and could not exist without digital manipulation. I tried for an actual shot of Sandhill Cranes against the almost full moon at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge during the Festival of the cranes, with some success, but also took a few daylight shots of the moon thinking I might later work up a composite image in Photoshop…just for fun! This is one. In some ways it is a testament to the power of the Nikon P900 camera. Both shots, moon and cranes, were taken hand-held with the P900. The moon is at about 2000mm equivalent field of view, and the cranes are at about 1200mm. To create the image, I edited out one piece of crane in the top left corner using iPixio. Then, in Photoshop, I used the magic wand tool to select and delete the blue sky background around the cranes. It required some fine adjustments of the selection, pixel by pixel, to eliminated almost everything that was not crane. Finally I opened the moon shot and pasted the cranes over the moon. It took about an hour.
As art, I think it works. As a photograph, maybe not so much. 🙂
And, as a Thanksgiving shot? Well I am, of course, thankful for my cameras, for my software and computer, and most of all, for time to play. But that thankfulness does not begin to touch the real thankfulness for my life, my life in Christ…for my family, for my home, for the blessing of being…for the privilege of sharing…for the love I am surrounded by. When we sit down to celebrate today as a family, it is such an amazing abundance that we celebrate. And no matter what else goes on in this world, we have a right, we have a duty, to be happy! Happy Thanksgiving.
Exuberance at dawn!
Sandhill Cranes, Bosque del Apache NWR, Socorro NM
Part of the ritual courting dance of the Sandhill Crane is the vertical leap. The bird faces its potential mate and then springs vertically into the air. I suppose the height of the leap is supposed to impress. Sandhills, unlike most other birds, display courting behavior year round, so it is common to see them practicing their vertical leaps wherever Sandhills gather. This is just before dawn at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in Socorro New Mexico. The birds are excited, as they are about to leave their night gathering and disperse to feed for the day. As this bird is not facing off with a potential mate, I have to believe the bird is just leaping for the joy of it.
Nikon P900 at 600mm equivalent field of view. 1/30th @ ISO 1400 @ f5. Processed in Lightroom.
Shrike!
Loggerheaded Shrike. Bosque del Apache NWR, Socorro NM
There are other birds at Bosque del Apache besides the Sandhill Cranes and Snowy Geese. This is a Loggerhead Shrike from the scenic overlook at the south end of the refuge. The overlook provides a panoramic view of the refuge and the Rio Grande Valley south of the refuge. Perhaps that is what attracted the Shrike, but I suspect it is the abundant bug life of the upland. The Shrike is also called the “Butcher Bird” because of its habit of leaving its prey impaled on barb wire and thorns to keep it from other predators.
Nikon P900 at about 3500mm equivalent field of view (Perfect Image digital zoom). 1/500th @ ISO 100 @ f6.5. Processed in Lightroom.
Sandhill Sunset
Sandhill Cranes against the sunset. Bosque del Apache NWR, Socorro NM
Our last sunset at Bosque del Apache for this November. Headed home today. Though there were not enough clouds for a classic Bosque sunset, this is still pretty good okay.
Nikon P900 at 700mm equivalent field of view. Shutter preferred. 1/250th @ ISO 220 @ f5.6. Processed in Lightroom.
Now that’s a Sandhill!
Sandhill Crane, Bosque del Apache NWR, Socorro NM
The combination of great light and enough wind to slow the birds down made this an ideal morning to photograph birds in flight…both Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese…at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge and the Festival of the Cranes. It just does not get any better than this! (Not the photo necessarily…I am not claiming that…but certainly the photo ops!)
This is a full frame shot (uncropped) with the Nikon P900 at 1200mm equivalent field of view. 1/640th @ ISO 100 @ f7.1. Processed in Lightroom.
that’s a real Raven’s breakfast!
Raven with prey. Bosque del Apache NWR, Socorro NM
One of the great things about Bosque del Apache National Wildlife is that, right along side the major spectacle of the 30,000 Snow Geese and 14,000 Sandhill Cranes, you have all the other wildlife of the Rio Grande Valley high desert…and wildlife that seems somehow more accessible than it is outside the refuge. We watched this Raven devour some anonymous chunk of meat…and then drop down into the water channel and come back up with the next course…which is some kind of mouse or vole. It flew off with it pretty much intact. The Raven, seen this close up, is a beautiful bird, and demonstrated its hunting power for us.
Nikon P900 at 1750mm equivalent field of view. 1/500th @ ISO 110 @ f6.3. Processed in Lightroom.
In Sync. Snow Geese
Snow Geese. Bosque del Apache NWR, Socorro NM
It always takes me a couple of days at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge to get my flight shot hand in. Practice! And there is no better place to practice flight shots. The Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese are always in the air, and relatively close. One of the amazing things about the Geese is how closely they fly…and how synchronized their wings are.
Nikon P610 at 1200mm equivalent field of view. Shutter preferred. 1/800th @ ISO 100 @ f6.3. Processed and cropped slightly in Lightroom.
Snow Geese!
Snow Geese panic, Bosque del Apache NWR, Socorro NM
Hundreds in the air at once. A Harrier put them up. It is an experience you never forget.
Nikon P900. Processed in Lightroom.
Cranes in Winter!
Sandhill Cranes, Bosque del Apache NWR, Socorro NM
Well not quite winter…but definitely snow on the mountains this morning at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge and the Festival of the Cranes. I stood on the Coyote deck for a half hour waiting for, and trying for, this shot. There was one spot of sun on the snowy mountains, and occasionally Sandhill Cranes moving up the refuge would pass in front of the spot. Photo in the making. 🙂
Nikon P900 at just under 1000mm equivalent field of view. 1/400th @ ISO 400 @ f5.6. Processed in Lightroom.
Festival of the Cranes (posting schedule)
Sandhill Cranes, Bosque del Apache NWR, Socorro NM.
Friends and followers. I am at the Festival of the Cranes, at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge for the next 6 days. One of the things about Bosque is that you want, as many days as possible, to be on the refuge at dawn. This is especially important when, like me, you are actually “working” the festival, and have most of your daylight hours already committed to “inside” activities. So, for the next week or so, my posting schedule for Pic for Today is going to be skewed. Most days my post will not arrive until late in the day…perhaps even evening. So we will kick it off with this special edition afternoon post.
Sandhill Cranes are not the Cranes the Festival was named for…back in the 80s the Sandhill flock at Bosque del Apache included several “fostered” Wooping Cranes. They all eventually died out, including the only offspring…a single hybrid Sandhill/Wooper. However, the festival remains…now as a continuing celebration of Bosque’s winter population of Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese. Â It is, according to some authorities, the oldest birding festival in the US. It is a big deal in Socorro…filling every available hotel room most years…and fostering a range of local spin-offs including a craft fair, an art fair, and lots of community dinners offered by churches and civic organizations.
The Sandhills are majestic, prehistoric looking and sounding birds, beautiful feeding or in flight. This shot is with the Nikon P900 at about 950mm equivalent field of view. Sports Mode to catch the action.
So, watch for the Pic for Today posts later in the day for the next while. I promise it will be worth the wait.