Monthly Archives: November 2019
Buff-bellied Hummingbird
I went to Edinburg Wetlands World Birding Center in Edinburg Texas to look for kingfishers…some days you can see all three US kingfishers there: Ringed, Belted, and Green. Not yesterday. I had glimpses of Ringed and Belted but came away with no kingfisher photos. So it goes. The consolation prize, of which there were, of course, many, was this nice Buff-bellied Hummingbird posing at close range. Sony Rx10iv at 1200mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Cue the Black-bellied Whistling Ducks
One of the last “lessons” in my Advanced Field Techniques class for Point and Shoot Nature Photographers is “birds in flight” and yesterday, at Estero Llano Grande World Birding Center in Weslaco Texas, we came back to the deck at the Visitor Center overlooking the pond to see if anything would give us a chance to practice. Cue the Black-bellied Whistling Ducks! We had two groups circling the pond in the space of 30 minutes, giving us plenty of opportunity to practice our skills. Most P&S superzoom cameras (or “bridge” cameras as they are sometimes called) have an effective “sports” mode that works well for birds in flight, so it is not as hard as it sounds. And, of course, my Sony Rx10iv has wonderful tracking auto focus and shots at up to 24 frames per second, with makes it as good as any camera made of bif. The light was less than ideal…one of those grey cold front south Texas days…but still, needs must. And we could not have had better targets. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds-in-flight modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Green Jay. We must be in the Rio Grande Valley
The other way you can tell you are in Texas, specifically in the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas, is the Green Jays. This one is at the National Butterfly Center in Mission, but they are present in large numbers everywhere in the Valley. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Kiskadee: This must be Texas!
We will take a break from Uganda today. I am in Texas for the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival, one of the oldest birding festivals in the US, and still going strong. This year we are in the brand new Harlingen Convention Center. I took a walk at the Hugh Ramsey Nature Park on the east edge of Harlingen yesterday morning, and this is the obligatory Great Kiskadee. We must be in Texas! Sony Rx10iv at 1200mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr.
Zebra with foal, variation
Another shot of the mother Zebra with her foal at Lake Mburo National Park, Uganda. I am not sure how old the foal was. The foals are born with brown stripes, which darken as they grow. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. And I missed publishing this shot yesterday.
Warthog piglet
During our Birds and Wildlife Safari in Uganda in September there were lots of young animals around…calves and fawns, cubs and piglets. This is Warthog Piglet at Lake Mburo National Park…not newborn, as they only weigh 1 to 2 pounds at birth…but maybe a few weeks old. This is perhaps as cute as a warthog gets (unless, of course, it is a Disney warthog). Sony Rx10iv at 1200mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
The Generous Eye. Bee-eaters. Happy Sunday!
“If your eye is generous, your whole being is full of light!” Jesus
Bee-eaters are one of my favorite African Birds. They are elegant, brightly colored, and have interesting behaviors. They are custom designed to feed on bees and other flying insects…up to the larger dragonflies. Most are communal nesters, and most nest in holes in banks along streams and rivers. In the regions of Uganda we visited, there are 11 possible bee-eaters. 10 are resident, and there is one migrant that breeds in Europe. We saw 6 different species in 12 days. Though they are all obviously variations on a theme, they are all distinctive. Even the closest two in the panel here, the Cinnamon-chested (bottom left) and the Little (bottom right) are different enough to recognize in the field. (And they are, left to right and down: White-throated, Northern Carmine, Swallow-tailed, Red-throated, Cinnamon-chested, and Little.)
Now, I believe that this universe we live in, and this earth we live on, and all its creatures, are works of creative love…works of a creative imagination working good. So when I look at the Bee-eaters of Uganda, I see and can celebrate that love. Sometimes I like to think that what I believe is a choice, and I sometimes present it that way to others since it can make it easier to understand, or at least to accept…but if I am honest, there is no choice involved. I am compelled, in the face of the evidence before me, to believe that creative love moves in, lives in, everything around me. What is already in me, the light within, answered what I see with a resounding and generous yes! The Bee-eaters just make it easier for me to believe. May your eye be generous and you whole being full of light today! Happy Sunday!
Mountain Gorillas, moving out
After about 30 minutes in the presence of our family of Mountain Gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, Uganda, the silverback, who had shown signs of being increasingly uncomfortable, decided to move the family on. I put it down to one of the cell phone toting tourists (not one of my group) getting at bit too close and making eye-contact one too many times, but the silverback might well have just gotten bored with us. Once he had disappeared through the heavy vines at the clearing edge the others quickly followed. Mom patiently waited for the youngest to climb aboard before she moved off. She did not seem to mind when the infant grabbed fists fulls of her fur for climbing holds. Sony Rx10iv at about 200mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos. For the full story on my Mountain Gorilla Trek, visit here.
Mountain Gorillas, breakfast
Mountain Gorillas are mostly vegetarian. They eat all parts of the plants around them from roots and bark to seeds and fruits…over 140 species of plants. One favored food is the gallium vine, which we saw them eating in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park when we visited our family of Gorillas. The silverback (male) was cracking the vine open to get at the soft parts inside, while the female was stripping leaves. Mountain Gorillas are big…the silverbacks can run to 440 pounds, and it takes a lot of vegetation to keep them healthy. They forage in morning and again in the evening before bedding down. Sony Rx10iv at 440mm and 540mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Mountain Gorillas, contemplation
The mother Gorilla taking a moment of rest while the male finished his breakfast and the youngsters played. As I said, in 30 minutes with the Mountain Gorilla family in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park in Uganda, we had the opportunity to observe and photograph an amazingly wide range of behavior as the gorillas went about their morning routines. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr, Apple Photos, and TouchRetouch. For the full story and more photos on my Gorilla Trek, visit my post on Point and Shoot Nature Photographer.