Monthly Archives: May 2022
White Pelicans in Ohio!
White Pelican: Magee Marsh Boardwalk, Oak Harbor, Ohio, USA, May 2022 — Maybe it is just me, but I don’t immediately think of White Pelicans when I think of Ohio. Considering the long shoreline of Lake Erie, maybe I should, but I don’t. So I was surprised to look up from the boardwalk at Magee and see a large flock of them coming overhead. I even managed to get my camera up in time. 🙂 I happened to be with a “local” at the time, and she assured me that they are common along the Erie shore, and had already been in Ohio for more than a month at that point during the Biggest Week in American Birding in mid-May. Who knew? Sony Rx10iv at 526mm equivalent. Program mode with my “birds-in-flight” modifications (I have BIF programed into the AEL button, so I just swung the camera up, pressed the AEL button, zoomed out a bit to frame a section of the flock, and shot.) Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f5 @ 1/1000th. + .7 EV for the backlight.
Yellow song!
Yellow Warbler: Magee Marsh Boardwalk, Oak Harbor, Ohio, USA, May 2022 — most years the Yellow Warbler, which nests in Ohio, is the most abundant warbler at Magee during the Biggest Week in American Birding, and it probably was this year too, though it seems some days to be outnumbered by the Magnolia Warblers passing through. The Yellow is certainly the most vocal of the warbler of spring at Magee. They are always singing. This is a full adult male letting everyone know that he is on territory and ready of business! Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixomator Photo and Apple Photos and assembled in FrameMagic. ISO 200 @ f4 @ 1/500th. + .3EV exposure compensation.
Antidote to ugliness…
I offer this collage of May forest flowers as an antidote to all the ugliness in the news today. Take hold of hope. Take hold of beauty. Take hold of love. Sony Rx10iv. Program mode. Processed in Pixelmator Photo, Apple Photos, and FrameMagic.
First breeding season male Magnolia Warbler?
Magnolia Warbler: Magee Marsh Boardwalk, Oak Harbor, Ohio, USA, May 2022 — Besides abundant full adult male Magnolia Warblers and lots of breeding plumage females, there were a lot of these birds at Magee this year. I am thinking this is a male just coming into its first breeding season plumage. I had to look at every one of them, trying to make one of them, at least, into a Canada Warbler…but no, they were all Magnolias (I did see and photograph both a male and female Canadas toward the end of the week…but this is not one 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4.5 @ 1/800th.
Lady Slipper Orchids of 2022
Lady Slipper Orchid: Kennebunk Plains Sanctuary, Kennebunk, Maine, USA, May 2022 — We interrupt our coverage of the warblers and song birds of Magee Marsh in Ohio and the Biggest Week in American Birding to bring you breaking news from the woods of Maine. The Lady Slipper Orchids are in bloom. I went to Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge where they grow along the loop of trail behind the current headquarters buildings, and found them almost too late, and then yesterday took my eTrike out to the Kennebunk Plains to check the extensive stand in a hidden spot in the woods there. Again this year there were well over 500 orchids in bloom, all along the bank where it rises from the stream. The dappled light and shade provide lots of options for photography. These Lady Slippers are among the most healthy I have ever seen (unlike the ones at Rachel Carson which seem to be more faded each year)…intense pink verging on purple depending on the light…tall and stately, and sometimes half a dozen to a bunch. It is an amazing and an inspiring display of this threatened flower. Sony Rx10iv at 68mm (the macro) and 97mm (the wider view). Program mode with HDR. -.3EV. Nominal exposure: ISO 100, f3.5 @ 1/160th and 1/200th.
Prothonotary Warbler
Prothonotary Warbler: Magee Marsh Boardwalk, Oak Harbor, Ohio, USA, May 2022 — Some years at the Biggest Week in American Birding the Prothonotary Warblers, who nest at the marsh, don’t show up until the last days of the festival. Other years they are already there when the birder’s arrive. This was one of those years, at least the second week of the Biggest Week when I visited, when I saw my first Prothonotary on my first day…and when there were at lest 4 pairs building nests along the boardwalk. One pair was even building a nest on the boardwalk, in a cavity between an upright post and the rail. The wardens had to put highway cones and incident tape around it to protect it from the hordes of birders. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 250 and 200 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Prothonotary Warbler
Prothonotary Warbler: Magee Marsh Boardwalk, Oak Harbor, Ohio, USA, May 2022 — Some years at the Biggest Week in American Birding the Prothonotary Warblers, who nest at the marsh, don’t show up until the last days of the festival. Other years they are already there when the birder’s arrive. This was one of those years, at least the second week of the Biggest Week when I visited, when I saw my first Prothonotary on my first day…and when there were at lest 4 pairs building nests along the boardwalk. One pair was even building a nest on the boardwalk, in a cavity between an upright post and the rail. The wardens had to put highway cones and incident tape around it to protect it from the hordes of birders. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 250 and 200 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Killdeer
Killdeer: Magee Marsh Boardwalk, Oak Harbor, Ohio, USA, May 2022 — Only a few days old and already photographed more times than almost any other Killdeer in the known universe…this little chick was the most adventuresome of a clutch of chicks (try to count the legs under mom) who were easily seen off the boardwalk at Magee during the Biggest Week in American Birding this May. I don’t think anyone got a definitive count on the chicks, but there were at least 4. Over 5 days there, I could just about watch the chicks grow and become less dependent on the shelter of mom’s breast feathers. By Saturday, they were all out foraging on the mud flats of the channel. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 250 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Blue-winged Warbler among Apple Blossoms
Blue-winged Warbler: Magee Marsh Boardwalk, Oak Harbor, Ohio, USA, May 2022 — This bird was playing hide and seek in the foliage and blossoms of the Apple tree along the boardwalk at Magee Marsh. Confident folks standing with me were identifying this warbler as a “Golden-winged” presumably because of the yellow tint to the wing bars, but it is very likely a first year female Blue-winged. There is a chance it is a hybrid, but I feel better about just calling it a Blue-winged. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 and 200 @ f4 @ 1/640th to 1/500th.
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler: Magee Marsh Boardwalk, Oak Harbor, Ohio, USA, May 2022 — Chestnut-sided Warblers gave Magnolias a run for their money, numbers wise, on many days during this year’s Biggest Week in American Birding. And they are another bird that forages at eye-level and close to the boardwalk, as well as being very photogenic. What’s not to like! Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 160 @ f4 @ 1/500th. Plus .7 EV.