Monthly Archives: November 2015
King of the Hill: Dragonfly Style
Roseate Skimmer and Blue Dasher, Estero Llano Grande State Park and World Birding Center, Weslaco TX
I was already focused on the Roseate Skimmer assuming obelisk position (attempting to cool itself in the hot Texas sun), when the Blue Dasher flew in and tried to knock the skimmer off its perch. It made repeated attempts, and, at one point, actually latched on to the skimmers leg. It was over before I could remember to hit the video record button, but I got two shots of the action. The skimmer held on to the perch…and the Blue Dasher settled for a similar perch a few inches away. I have a second shot of them both obelisking.
Nikon P610 at 1440mm equivalent field of view. 1/250th @ ISO 220 @ f6.5. Processed in Lightroom. The second shot is more complicated. Since the two bugs were not in the same plane of focus, I could only get one in focus at a time, even zoomed out to 700mm equivalent with both dragons in the frame. I took two rapid shots, one with the Roseate Skimmer in focus, and one with the Blue Dasher, and then combined the two images in Photoshop so that both dragons are in focus. Final processing was in Lightroom.
Roseate Skimmer and Blue Dasher
Eastern Screech Owl
Eastern Screech Owl. Estero Llano Grande State Park and World Birding Center, Weslaco TX
There has been a Screech Owl in this nest box at Estero Llano Grande State Park and World Birding Center in Weslaco Texas for at least the past two years…and it right around a corner in the trail from the Common Paraque that has been roosting beside the path for past 6 years. Two great birds, reliable with a few dozen yards of each other. World-class Birding Center indeed! For those who are new to owls, and Eastern Screech Owls in particular, this fellow is small…not much bigger than a Robin.
Nikon P610 at 1440mm equivalent field of view. Flash aided exposure at 1/200th @ ISO 200 @ f6.5. Processed in Lightroom.
Funny Bunny. Happy Sunday
Eastern Cottontail Rabbit, Estero Llano Grande State Park and World Birding Center, Weslaco TX
“if your eye is generous, your whole being is full of light!” Jesus
The morning fog, common in the lower Rio Grande Valley, did not burn off at Estero Llano Grande State Park and World Birding Center until about 10 AM yesterday. Dew, as they say, was heavy on the grass. Maybe because of that there were lots of Eastern Cottontail Rabbits out breakfasting on the grasses along the edges of the trails. Lots! Many of them were clearly this year’s young, not fully grown…but even the adults showed a fine disdain of the passing birders…often going about their morning business until we were within 6 feet of them. This young rabbit was at the edge of the tail the whole time I passed, and let me stand there and take photos of him without the slightest alarm. He did not even pause in his chewing. I guess he knew I did not want to eat him, and wished him only good. I would like to think he saw that in my generous eye…but I suspect he simply knew no better…having been born into a sanctuary where humans are, indeed, no threat.
Paradise is often portrayed, based on the Psalms, as a place where the “lion will lay down with the lamb.” That sense that someday we will live in harmony and mutual respect…in peace…with all of creation…that all creatures will consider us friends and we will care for all that lives, because all that lives matters to us as much as we matter to ourselves…that sense is deep within us. I believe it is left over from the Eden days, when we were still caretakers of creation…not out for our own good, but dedicated to the good of all that lives…because that is the way we were made…in the image of God who cares for all creation.
And I thank this little rabbit for giving me a glimpse of what that would be like…for allowing my close approach…for suspending alarm in my presence long enough so see the generosity in his eyes. As I say, I hope he saw it in mine. Happy Sunday!
Vermilion Flycatcher!
Vermilion Flycatcher. Estero Llano Grande SP and World Birding Center, Weslaco TX
All good things come to those who work a bird long enough! I photographed this Vermilion Flycatcher at Estero Llano Grande State Park and World Birding Center in Weslaco Texas from much greater distances yesterday, over the space of 30 minutes or so…and just once he flew in close enough to fill the frame and sat still long enough so I could get off a burst of shots. One of the most stunning of North American birds and somewhat of a Texas specialty, though you can find them in Florida too.
Nikon P900 at 2000mm equivalent field of view. 1/500th @ ISO 160 @ f6.5. -.7 EV to keep the orange from burning out. Processed in Lightroom.
Two-barred Flasher
Two-barred Flasher, National Butterfly Center, Mission TX
Another panel (three shots this time) of another Rio Grande Valley specialty…The Two-barred Flasher butterfly, from the National Butterfly Center gardens in Mission Texas. The blue on this butterfly is often so intense that it “burns out” in a normally exposed photograph…losing all detail. I always feel that this one got shortchanged in the name department. Something more exotic is certainly called for!
All shots with the Nikon P610 at 1440mm equivalent field of view. Processed in Lightroom and assembled in Coolage.
Silver Emperor Butterfly
Silver Emperor Butterfly, National Butterfly Center, Mission TX
This is a collage of 5 shots of the Silver Emperor Butterfly, taken yesterday at the National Butterfly Center in Mission Texas. As though the butterfly were not spectacular enough with its rich brown body, yellow wing tips, and bold while band, in the right light the male shows a bright blue iridescence along both edges of the white. You can see a bit of it flashing in several of these shots. The name comes from the back-side view, and the silver color of the body and wing band. Again, if the angle of the light is right, it looks as metallic as the spots on a Fritillary. Note the green tongue showing in the two head on shots. All together one fine looking butterfly…and just rare enough to cause a stir whenever one is found on this side of the Rio Grande.
Nikon P610 at 1440mm equivalent field of view. 1/400th @ ISO 100 @ f6.5. Processed in Lightroom and assembled in Coolage.
Squirrely!
Grey Squirrel, The Yard. Kennebunk ME
We have more squirrels in our yard this year than I can ever remember seeing. They are after the acorns, of which we also have more than I can ever remember seeing…and of course they are after my birdseed and suet blocks. I have to admit, squirrels are cute…when they are not on my feeders. This one popped up while I was testing my newly repaired Nikon P900 and I could not resist.
As I mentioned yesterday, I am in Texas at the moment, and hopefully tomorrow will have some butterflies or birds to show. But for now, you are stuck with this squirrel 🙂
Nikon P900 at 2000mm equivalent field of view. 1/100th @ ISO 800 @ f6.5. Processed in Lightroom.
Texas Bound
Red Bordered Pixy. National Butterfly Center, Mission Texas
I am leaving in a few moments for a 14 hour journey to the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival in Texas. If all goes well, tomorrow morning I will be at the National Butterfly Center south of Mission, Texas, photographing butterflies and dragonflies. This shot, a Red-bordered Pixy, is from last year, taken with the Sony HX400V I was using at the time. The butterfly gardens at the National Butterfly Center are one of favorite places to photograph, anywhere, and then there all the other great spots in the Valley. It is a working trip and time in the field will be limited, but still it is always good. I am looking forward to some great photo ops!
Greater Yellowlegs in the Autumn Afternoon
Greater Yellowlegs. Kennebunk Bridle Path, Kennebunk ME
I waited patiently yesterday for some light…for a bit of sun to break through the overcast…before risking a photoprowl. It is hunting season, and though Sunday hunting is banned in Maine, I never really feel safe in the woods until the guns are put back in their cases in early December. Fortunately, I am in Texas and New Mexico for more than 2 full weeks in November…so I generally have lots of pics to post anyway.
This is a Greater Yellowlegs, in the marsh pools along the Bridle Trail in an isolated section of Rachel Carson NWR, in Kennebunk Maine. The late afternoon light makes the image warm, makes the shadows long, and picks out the detail in the plumage. Nikon P900 (back from repair!) at 2000mm equivalent field of view. 1/500th @ ISO 320 @ f6.5. Processed in Lightroom.
The Song of the Great Blue Heron! Happy Sunday.
Great Blue Heron, Back Creek Marsh, Kennebunk ME.
“If your eye is generous, your whole being is full of light.” Jesus
Of course, Great Blue Herons are not song-birds. They do not sing. They rarely make and sound at all, and when they do it is a guttural grunt, not only un-song like, but un-bird like. But they have a song. It is in the way they move, they way they hunt, they way they are. It is the silent stalking, the slow march across the marsh. Majestic, written and arranged for strings and orchestra. By Vivaldi perhaps. As much dance as song. Even silent, you can see as you watch the Heron hunt in the shallow waters of the marsh that it is hearing the music in its mind…that it moves to a song all its own. And then with a swell of strings, it spreads its great wings and lifts off…keeping time even as it flies. It is the song of the Great Blue Heron. And if you have watched one closely, with generous eyes, you will know what I mean, and hear it, at least in your dreams.
All creation sings the glory of the creator God…the God who creates in love. That is the light we are filled with…the generous eyed ones…the ones who hear the Heron song with the ears of the spirit…and who celebrate such beauty. Happy Sunday!