Posts in Category: Magee Marsh
Magee Marsh Wide with Clouds
Taking a break from birds for a day, here is the scene on the way into Magee Marsh on Sunday Morning. This is a sweep panorama using the Samsung Galaxy S4 phone camera. I have experimented with sweep panoramas on Sony cameras a few generations ago, and found the results disappointing, but the technology, at least as implemented by Samsung, has come a long way. I did this with the phone in vertical position, to capture maximum pixels. The full shot is 10840×2776 (cropped slightly when straightening the horizon) and covers, as you see by the road, close to 180 degrees. You can see the image at your full screen resolution by clicking HERE.
But of course, it is more than a technical exercise. I love the clouds, the blue of the water, the sweep of the early sun across the marsh. And the phone has captured it all very well. And in one long slow steady sweep. Not about the technology, but the technology is amazing just the same.
Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.
Cape May Warbler: Magee Marsh
Sunday morning at Magee Marsh was cold, but we had intermittent sun, and therefore pretty good light for photography. There was one tree, just beyond the west entrance to the boardwalk, right over the parking lot with the sun on it, that had at least 10 species of warblers actively feeding. The long lens crew made a solid semi-circle around it…tripod city.
This Cape May Warbler was among the birds, and it was putting on quite a show. The Cape May was named for spot where it was first observed, but it actually only passes through Cape May, New Jersey during migration to it’s breeding grounds, which, except for Northern Maine and the extreme upper Mid-West, is all in Canada. That did not keep this handsome fellow from singing in Ohio!
I like this composition, with the bird at the powerpoint of the rule of thirds, and the rich bokeh behind. And the morning sun certainly brought out the color of the bird!
Canon SX50HS at 1800mm equivalent field of view. (It was a tall tree.) Program with iContrast and Auto Shadow Control. -1/3EV exposure compensation. Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.
Yellow Warbler Wow! Magee Marsh
Yesterday, the final day of the Biggest Week in American Birding, was one of those amazing days that only happen at Magee Marsh. The warblers were passing through in great numbers, and they were feeding low in the undergrowth and lower branches of the sheltering trees, and very close to the boardwalk. Saturday was actually as good for warblers…but Saturday was overcast, and on Sunday we had intermittent sun… adequate light makes a huge difference when photographing birds.
This Yellow Warbler was just within the 4.5 foot focus range of the Canon SX50HS. In fact, I had to back off on full zoom to get this much of the bird in the frame. I was using the 1.5x digital tel-converter so this is still at over 1600mm equivalent field of view. It is almost a tel-macro of the bird. Certainly the feather detail is amazing. If you want to pixel peep, a larger version can be seen here.
Canon SX50HS. Program with iContrast and Auto Shadow Control. -1/3EV exposure compensation. 1672mm equivalent field of view. f6.5 @ 1/200th @ ISO 80. Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.
Wood Thrush Sings: Magee Marsh. Happy Sunday!
It is not often that you see a Wood Thrush, let alone see one singing out in plain sight. This one was no more than 20 feet from the boardwalk yesterday at Magee Marsh and delighted a small group of birders at the Biggest Week in American Birding for a good 20 minutes before moving on. It was a one of those moments that will be remembered, and treasured, by all who shared it (with the possible exception of the Wood Thrush).
I even remembered to shoot some video so you can hear the song.
Canon SX50HS. Program with iContrast and Auto Shadow Control. -1/3EV exposure compensation. 1800mm equivalent field of view. Video was handheld.
And for the Sunday thought. Despite threatening rain, poor light, and low temperatures, yesterday was as good as I have ever seen Magee Marsh. There were warblers, sparrows, natcatchers, flycatchers, thrushes, tanagers, orioles, grosbeaks, egrets…everywhere. They were down low and close in to the boardwalk. It was very special. Among the huge crowd of birders, there was a hush. Gone were the mobs gathered to see a single good bird that clogged the boardwalk during the past week (as well as the shouted instructions of the professional guides). There were clumps of birders where there were clumps of birds, but never such a crush that you could not pass…and never such a crush that you could not see. Twice I had warblers working and feeding within arm’s reach. You could stand in one place and watch 10 warblers of 3 species glean the fresh leaves for bugs. I came back after a 90 minute loop once around the boardwalk feeling satisfyingly full of birds, full of delight…content…deeply happy. What a gift!
And it was not a feeling you had to be a birder to appreciate. Many, maybe a majority, of the people on the boardwalk yesterday were civilians…folks for whom birding is not a major preoccupation or recreation…just plain folks drawn by the rumor (and the media accounts) of something special happening at Magee Marsh on International Migration Day. And they were in the zone! They were just as delighted and just as amazed as those of us who could actually identify the birds we were seeing. You didn’t even really need binoculars or any skill with them. The birds were that close! A treat, a blessing, anyone with eyes and ears could appreciate.
Hence the hush. The happy low current of laughter. The occasional quiet cry of outright delight. Surrounded by bird song and birds in motion, the humans just naturally fell into an attitude of true worship. Souls opened. Delight flowed in and out with every breath. People smiled at each other…smiled at the birds…smiled at the songs…smiled in themselves. And we knew, every one of us, that we were in the presence of a miracle…in the zone of the holy…caught in a flow of love that can only be called divine.
I, for one, wish church could be like that more than it is. That is all it would take, really, to put faith back at the center of lives. Just a regular dose of deep delight in the presence of wonder!
House Wren City at Magee Marsh
It is House Wren city at Magee Marsh during the Biggest Week in American Birding celebration this year. They are everywhere. They are singing. They are scuttling in the undergrowth. They are climbing on stumps and trees. The are contesting nest sites with Tree Swallows. They are everywhere and showing every sign of nesting right here in the marsh. Which is okay.
Canon SX50HS. Program with iContrast and Auto Shadow Control. 1200mm equivalent field of view. Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.
House Wrens are nothing if not entertaining!
Swan in Flight
I was observing Tundra Swans, and when this bird took off and flew overhead I was sure that was what I was photographing. Rats. Just a Mute Swan. This aggressive non-native species is competing with the native swans over most of their range, and has become a nuisance in many areas. Still it is a beautiful bird, especially in flight. The soft light of an overcast morning only adds to the beauty.
Crane Creek Estuary behind Magee Marsh, OH.
Canon SX50HS in Sports Mode. 1200mm equivalent field of view. f6.5 @ 1/250th @ ISO 320. Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.
Baybreasted in Song: Magee Marsh
Birding has been slow the past few days at Magee Marsh and the Biggest Week in American Birding. There are high hopes for this morning as the weather patterns were predicted to be favorable for a pile up of birds at Magee overnight. Time will tell.
In the meantime here is a Bay-breasted Warbler in full song from Sunday.
Canon SX50HS. Program with iContrast and Auto Shadow Control. -1/3EV exposure compensation. 1200mm equivalent field of view. f6.5 @ 1/1000th @ ISO 320. Processed in Lightroom for Intensity, clarity, and sharpness.
Blanding’s and Painted Turtle: Magee Marsh
It is not all warblers all the time, or even all birds all the time, at Magee Marsh and the Biggest Week in American Birding. I found these two turtles along the large canal by the eastern section of the boardwalk. We have a rare (relatively) Blanding’s Turtle and a super abundant Painted Turtle sharing the same perch.
Blanding’s is listed as endangered by ICUN Red List, and has threatened status in a number of states and all of Canada. Unless I am much mistaken this is my second sighting of this individual. The pattern of moss on its shell is quite distinctive. The first time, 3 days go, it was crossing under the boardwalk most of a mile from this log.
Canon SX50HS. Program with iContrast and Auto Shadow Control. -1/3EV exposure compensation. 1200mm equivalent field of view. f6.5 @ 1/1000th @ ISO 640. Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.
Chestnut-sided Warbler: Magee Marsh
After the high point on Saturday afternoon, warbler activity has returned pretty much to normal at Magee Marsh where I am working the Biggest Week in American Birding Festival, so getting new species has been difficult…and many of the nesting species have yet to arrive. There are no Prothonotarys yet, and no American Redstarts. This is strange, but hopefully they will show up before next Sunday.
This is a Chestnut-sided Warbler, on of the most abundant along the boardwalk right now, and certainly on of the most cooperative. They feed at eye-level and have no fear of humans, so they will land on a branch a few feet from your head…often too close for photography. Lots of fun.
Canon SX50HS. Program with iContrast and Auto Shadow Control. -1/3EV exposure compensation. 1200mm equivalent field of view. Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.
Wood Cock: Magee Marsh
There were more birders and less birds at Magee Marsh and the Biggest Week in American Birding yesterday. And the crew from the CBS Sunday Morning show was there, doing interviews and filming on the boardwalk. (Watch for the segment on Memorial Day weekend.) I spent the morning run, before reporting to the Optics Alley tent at Blackswamp Bird Observatory, doing a live action, point of view video of the boardwalk with a head mounted HD action cam. Fun! I have edited in some still shots of birds this morning and will be uploading the finished video to youtube in a few moments.
This is a Wood Cock. There are several pairs establishing nesting territories. One beside the boardwalk, and two out in the parking areas. The parking lot pairs are behind “incident tape” for protection (mostly from photographers :). This bird is just behind the parking lot.
Canon SX50HS in my usual program mode. 1800mm equivalent field of view. Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.