Posts in Category: p&s 4 wildlife
6/12/2012: Eastern Screech Owl, Magee Marsh OH
There are a pair of Eastern Screech Owls who nest along the boardwalk at Magee Marsh, and generally provide a show for the birders at The Biggest Week in American Birding. The male, shown here, is a gray phase, and the female is a red phase. Odd couple.
Canon SX40HS. Program with iContrast and –1/3EV exposure compensation. 1680mm equivalent field of view (840mm optical plus 2x digital tel-converter). f5.8 @ 1/160th @ ISO 800. Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.
6/11/2012: Northern Waterthrush, Magee Marsh OH
There are a couple of spots on the Magee Marsh boardwalk that are ideal for Waterthrush. They have just the right moist, but not flooded, edge of the marsh in deep trees nature to attract the birds. If you stand in one of those spots long enough, in May, it is very likely you will find a Waterthursh. Though there are likely lots of Northern Waterthrushes at Magee Marsh at any given time, the one to see this year was working the edge of the wet were the little spur boardwalk with the benches branches off. I am sure it was seen by thousands and photographed by hundreds.
It was, admittedly, easier to see than to photograph. The thick tangle of brush and branches, and the low light down in the muck there, made it hard to catch a good shot.
Canon SX40HS. Program with iContrast and –1/3EV exposure compensation. All at 840mm equivalent field of view. 1) and 2) f5.8 @ 1/100th @ ISO 800. 3) and 4) f5.8 @ 1/200th @ ISO 640. Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.
6/10/2012: Snowy Against the Sun. Happy Sunday!
I took a late ride on my scooter down to the Kennebunk Bridle Path after supper yesterday to see if there were any dragonflies flying late. I found a Seaside Dragonlet, which is always a treat, but that was about it. However, there was an egret working the marsh pools along the Path, just inside the Rachel Carson National Wildlife boundary. I could not resist a few shots. I was not until I got back to the computer that I saw the effect of the late sun behind the bird and across the water. Ahaaa.
Canon SX40HS. Program with iContrast and –1/3EV exposure compensation. 1680mm equivalent field of view (840mm optical zoom plus 2x digital tel-converter function). f5.8 @ 1/200th @ ISO 100. Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.
And for the Sunday thought: I was thinking yesterday on my two photo-prowls about just how aware looking for dragonflies makes you! It pushes the boundaries of what is possible. You have to be tuned to any motion, any fleeting shadow across the marsh grass, any tiny thing that moves. You have to check the likely bushes for dragons to hang up in. You have to scan every pool. You become hyperaware. And because of that you see more of everything. More birds. More flowers. More other bugs. More everything.
I requires constant effort. You drift. Or at lest I do. I catch my self just walking again, watching the trail ahead where my feet will fall and not much else, thinking about…whatever! And then I have to push my awareness back out of my head and start looking again.
And then there is an Egret standing against the low afternoon sun. It is not a reward for your attention. It would have been there whether you saw it or not. And I can’t claim much credit. After all I did not see the miracle of the sun behind the bird until I got home and looked at the image.
I know there is a correspondence to the spirit here…that my spiritual attention is not often at the pitch of my physical attention when looking for dragonflies. What if I looked for angels? What if I looked for miracles? What if I just looked for Christ in everyone I pass, in everyone I touch? What if I pushed by spiritual attention to see the spiritual in the world around me with that same intensity I devote to dragonflies? Is there such a thing as spiritual hyperawareness? Is that what means to be a saint?
Of course, I am cheating on myself here. I know that. I stopped separating the spiritual and the physical, in theory, some time ago. My search for dragonflies is a spiritual search. And I do experience the full impact, now that I have noticed it in the image, of the Egret against the sun on my spirit. Still…I have a feeling I am still missing too much…that my awareness needs to be kicked up a notch or two before I walk the miracle walk all the time. I have a feeling I have failed too often to see Christ in those I touch, just as I must have missed a thousand Egrets against the sun.
6/6/2012: Roseate Spoonbills, St. Augustine FL
The Roseates are coming into breeding plumage when I visit Florida in late January, but they are nesting when I visit in May. If that whole time is courtship…well, hard to imagine. Some birds at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm rookery are building nests, some are sitting on eggs, and some have well grown fledglings in the nest. The fledglings are interesting looking (which is what you say when no word adequately describes).
The richness of the pinks of the full adult breeding plumage is also hard to describe.
I always try for flight shots at the rookery, as there are pretty much birds in the air all the time. On occasion it all comes together. And how better than on a Roseate Spoonbill?
Canon SX40HS. Program with iContrast and –1/3EV exposure compensation. At the Alligator Farm you work within the optical range of the zoom, as you don’t need anything longer. The bird on the nest and the nestlings were at 840mm, all the rest were at shorter range, down to about 250mm for the top shot.
Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.
6/5/2012: Black-crowned Night-Herons: Jacksonville FL
The rookery at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm is certainly the largest in the area, but it is not the only one. There is a fair sized rookery of, mostly, Wood Storks, on the grounds of the Jacksonville Zoo. The other nesting bird there in small numbers is the Black-crowned Night-Heron, which, oddly enough, I have never seen at the Alligator Farm. The BCNHs like to sit on a post just off the main viewing platform for the African Savannah section of the zoo, across from the trees the Storks are using to nest, quite close to the boardwalk.
These two shots are at 840mm equivalent on the Canon SX40HS. Gotta love those eyes!
I also took a few shots of them hunting for insects under the rookery trees. These were also at the long end of the optical zoom. In the first shot, where the bird is focused on the ground, you can just see the long breeding plume running back up over the bird’s shoulder.
Though the images came out well, it was darker under the trees than it looks…ISO was pushed up to 400 for these shots and I am pleased with the results.
Canon SX40HS. Program with iContrast and –1/3EV exposure compensation. Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.
6/4/2012: Golden-winged Skimmer, Washington Oaks Gardens FL
I can tell I am getting serious about dragonflies. I bought a book: the Kindle edition of Dennis Paulson’s Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East, from Princeton Press. I run it on my Xoom Android Tablet, in full color, and it is a great resource. Such a lot to learn.
This is a Golden-winged Skimmer from Washington Oaks Gardens State Park south of Marineland FL. It is a stunning dragonfly any time of day, but when the early Florida morning sun wakes the orange on the body and, especially, on the wings, it is, I think, knock-your-eye-out beautiful.
Canon SX40HS. Program with iContrast and –1/3EV exposure compensation. 1) 3) and 4) are at 1680mm equivalent field of view (840mm optical plus 2x digital tel-extender) and 2) is at 1240mm (1.5x digital tel-extender). 1) f5.8 @ 1/400th @ ISO 200. 2) f5.8 @ 1/200th @ ISO 100. 3) f5.8 @ 1/125th @ ISO 800. f5.8 @ 1/500th @ ISO 160.
Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.
6/2/2012: Chestnut-sided Wabler, Magee Marsh OH
We will go back to Magee Marsh for today’s post, in honor of Song Bird Saturday. The Chestnut-sided Warblers at Magee this year were particularly cooperative…feeding close to the boardwalk and at or below eye-level. Given that, it was only a matter of getting one in the frame long enough to press the shutter release. 🙂
While most were very busy feeding, a few were singing as well.
Canon SX40HS. Program with iContrast and –1/3EV exposure compensation. 1) 2) and 3) at 1240mm equivalent field of view (840mm optical plus 1.5x digital tel-extender). f5.8 @ 1/500th @ ISO 200. 4) 840mm equivalent. f5.8 @ 1/200th @ ISO 160. 5) same, except ISO 200.
Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.
6/1/2012: Dragons down by the River
Yesterday I spent an hour or so down in the marshes beside the Mousam River, where the Kennebunk Bridle Path passes through, photographing dragon and damsel flies. There was one small oval pool, maybe 4 feet by 3 feet, that was attracting a lot of attention, but at any given time looking out over the marsh toward the wood, you could see a dozen dragonflies in flight. The two largest, and therefore most visible, species were the Common Baskettail, Four-spotted Skimmer shown in the first three images, and the Hudsonian Whiteface. Whiteface dragonflies are mating right now, and there were several mating wheels flying over the marsh. With patience, eventually most dragonflies, especially during mating season, will light long enough for a photograph. The trouble is, you very often run out of time before the dragonfly. The 4th and 5th images are a Hudsonian Whiteface mating wheel.
Of course, if you are photographing dragonflies you are watching the marsh closely, and sometimes you are rewarded with a damselfly. Damselflies are much more difficult to spot, as they fly lower, often weaving among the reeds and grasses, they are considerably more delicate, and most of them perch with their wings folded back along their bodies. Even when you spot one land in long marsh grass, it is sometimes impossible to see them with the naked eye from any distance. Getting them in the frame and in focus is a real challenge.
The 6th image is a Scarlet Bluet [much as I would like it to be…it is much more likely a] female Eastern Forktail that visited the pool I was watching for only a few moments. It did light long enough for a pic. Number 7 is a male Eastern Forktail. The Eastern Forktail is much easier than most damselflies to find and photograph, since that turquoise tail tip flashes like lightening in the grass. 🙂
Canon SX40HS. Program with iContrast and –1/3EV exposure compensation. These were all taken with the full optical zoom (840mm equivalent field of view) plus the Canon’s 2x digital tel-extender function for the equivalent of 1680mm. They are hand held shots, which is surely a testimony to how good the Canon image stabilization is. If I were working with any other camera and lens combination, I would have to be a lot more patient than I am. I can reach dragonflies and damselflies with are simply beyond the range of most camera rigs. And you can see that the auto-focus on the SX40HS does an excellent job of isolating the bugs, even deep in grass.
They are also all on Program, letting the camera adjust shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. Shutter speeds were between 1/320th and 1/500th and the ISO was 100 on most shots. They are all wide open at f5.8.
Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.
5/31/2012: Red Admirals Everywhere
There seem to be Red Admiral Butterflies everywhere this year. Due to the mild winter across much of North America the Red Admirals migrated north faster and further than normal, and in greater numbers. The individuals we are seeing in Maine are pretty worn, and travel weary.
The first two shots are from my yard this week. The next shot is from Cape May New Jersey, also a very worn butterfly.
Then we have a Red Admiral from Magee Marsh in Ohio, also a migrant (Like the Painted Lady, Red Admirals have to recolonize much of North America each year), but looking much fresher! However, according to the wiki on the species, this may be a butterfly that is fresh out of hibernation, as they are known for deeper colors in the spring.
Canon SX40HS. Program with iContrast and –1/3EV exposure compensation. 1) 1240mm equivalent field of view (840mm optical plus 1.5x digital tel-extender function), f5.8 @ 1/500th @ ISO 100. 2) 1240mm equivalent, f5.8 @ 1/800th @ ISO 160. 3) 1680mm (2x digital tel-extender) equivalent, f5.8 @ 1/500th @ ISO 125. 4) 1680mm equivalent, f5.8 @ 1/640th @ ISO 160.
Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.
5/30/2012: Tricolored Herons, St. Augustine FL
As befits its name, there is no more colorful bird at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm rookery during breeding season than the Tricolored Heron. Naturally a colorful bird, breeding adds the bright turquoise lores (with color extending well out on the beak), and extra vibrancy to the plumes. The clear red eye, which looks to me to be made of liquid ruby, is even more vividly set off by the turquoise surround.
The Tricolored are also the most oblivious of the birds at the rookery to human presence. They nest closest to the boardwalk, often within arm’s reach, and they will hop up on the pilings with people 3 or 4 feet on either side, and sit there, generally moving off on their own before they are flushed.
Canon SX40HS. Program with iContrast and –1/3EV exposure compensation. 1) 445mm equivalent field of view, f5 @ 1/160th @ ISO 500. 2) 325mm equivalent, f5 @ 1/200th @ ISO 200. 3) and 4) 230mm equivalent, f5 @ 1/200th @ ISO 200.
Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.