SkyWatch Friday; Threatening Skies

Saturday marked my second trip this spring to the Chesapeake in search of trophy striped bass. We traveled in rain during most of our trip down but shortly after boarding the Afternoon Delight the rain quit. The first hit came shortly after the lines were in.

My friend Paul, pictured here with Captain Hank, did the honors fighting the first fish.

The dark threatening skies seen here soon settled over us pouring down a soaking rain until mid-day. As the morning progressed we had three more hook-up and a couple of pull downs. With one fish lost, we finished the day with three nice stripers in the box.

For more SkyWatch visit my old friend "Womtig"

The Plague Returns

The Gypsy Moth Caterpillars began hatching in great numbers around the first of May. As you can see in this photograph they have already riddled the new leaves on the oak trees in the affected areas.

Last year we experienced total defoliation of thousands of acres in our area and this year promises to be much worse. State and private spraying programs, although effective can only control the caterpillars on small areas of forest land. The cost to attempt to eradicate this pest would totally overwhelm state and local government if any such attempt were made.

I will once again post photos of the devastation to our forest as the season progresses. The worst will occur in late June just before the caterpillars metamorphous into adult moths. This will be the second year for the outbreak. Oaks can typically stand two to three defoliations before it proves fatal but last year was particularly stressful as we were in the midst of a prolonged drought. This spring has been exceptionally wet so for the tree’s sake I am hoping for the rains to continue.

If you are not familiar with the Gypsy Moth and their devastation, click the label “Gypsy Moth” at the bottom of this post to view my photos from last year’s outbreak.

Mallard Explosion

A Painted Turtle looks on as pair of Mallard Drakes take flight

I must confess I did not notice the little turtle until I reviewed this capture, as my attention was riveted upon the beautiful Mallards.

As I rounded a bend in the lake shoreline the Mallards watched me intently. Once I had the camera setting readied I began closing the distance as usual running the boat at very slow speed waiting for the moment they exploded into flight.


When shooting take-off shots, it is always a difficult call as to the best combination of aperture and shutter speed. In many cases I find myself fighting for enough light but that was not the case here as the bright sun was at a high angle. I used a 1/500 sec. shutter for this shot which gave a sharp image of the duck’s bodies while still allowing a pleasing amount of motion blur on the wings.

Hummingbird Clear-Wing Moth, A Sharper View

Earlier I posted a shot of the Hummingbird Moth showing its long proboscis curled up in the flight position. I chose that shot to show the proboscis even though the shot lacked the crisp sharpness that I would have preferred.

Today I share with you the very best shot I obtained in this session. I am particularly fond of this shot because of both excellent subject sharpness & detail along with the beautiful background provided by the lilac bush.

Red-Breasted Merganser

As any regular visitor to Country Captures knows, I have been having a great time this spring photo-hunting waterfowl. I have become particularly focused on capturing wildlife action photos. I consider this photograph of a Red-Breasted Merganser to be among my top shots of the spring.

I have carried a keen interest in wildlife since my boyhood days and it has not dimmed one bit as the years pass. Early on my interest centered on hunting and fishing as this was the only way I knew to interact with these interesting creatures. As I matured my interest in wildlife drew me into the field of wildlife conservation where I served as a Pa. Deputy Wildlife Conservation Officer for twenty three years.

Hunting presents a set of challenges that the hunter must overcome to become successful. The challenges begin with locating suitable habitat and locating the query to the end game of firing a well placed shot to bring the hunt to a successful conclusion.

I do continue to hunt for the table a little each year but now the camera has replaced the deadly weapons for the vast majority of my wildlife interaction. I find the challenges of wildlife photography are even more difficult than that of conventional hunting. Photography negates a few of the challenges that face the hunter as there are no set hunting seasons or bag limits to contend with. Also we can photograph where animals are to some degree acclimated to people; areas such as National Parks and nature reserves.

The photographer faces additional challenges such as amount of light, lighting angles, subject positioning, motion, and suitable backgrounds to mention a few.

I find a close encounter with wildlife that results in a successful image capture every bit as exhilarating and satisfying as any encounter in my younger years and much more so than bagging any animal does today.

Visit Misty for more Camera Critters

Ruddy Duck Hens

A couple of weeks ago I encountered a Ruddy Duck drake while visiting the lake and featured him on an earlier post. This past Saturday I bumped into a flock of hens. I don’t know if the hens and drakes migrate at different times or if this is purely coincidence.

A heavy coating of pollen along with the lighting angle created the unusual appearance of the water’s surface shown in this image.

SkyWatch Friday, Cloudless Skies & Starling

A Starling silhouetted against a cloudless sky clutches a bug tightly moments before plunging down the chimney to feed its brood.

I noticed this feeding occurring while I was shooting the carpenter bee featured in my previous post. Every few minutes one would land on the chimney edge, survey its surroundings before hopping into the chimney opening. By the time this bird was leaving another was sitting on the rim awaiting its turn.

I shot a number of photographs of these birds and found it quite interesting that they all appeared to be carrying the same type of insect. From the photographs I have not been able to identify the insect but apparently on this day they ranked high upon the list of the Starling’s favorite foods.

Face Off, Carpenter Bee

May brings the Carpenter Bees out in droves. I have found capturing a good shot of a male hovering over his territory to be quite an interesting challenge. Although they seem to hover nearly stationary it still has not been an easy chore, at least for me.

First they are not nearly as stationary as they appear when I try to find one through my viewfinder. Normally by the time I have acquired focus the bee is zooming off to intercept an intruder or has moved a few inches and now out of focus. Shutter speed presents another problem as does depth of field. Of course to increase DOF one must move to a tighter aperture which decreases shutter speed. When all else comes together I find that I am usually looking at the south end of a north bound bee, not exactly the angle I was looking for.

As for safety while shooting these bees, notice white patch on the bee’s face; this mark identifies it as a male which has no stinger, only the black faced female carry the artillery.

Canon 30D, 100-400mm lens @ 400mm, F6.3 @ 1/250th sec, ISO 800

A Rare Take-Off

A Loon creates a considerable commotion during take-off. The sunlight illuminating the loon and the flying spray against the dark background created what is one of my all-time favorite wildlife photographs.

Seldom have I witnessed Loons taking flight as they usually avoid intruders by quietly slipping under the water’s surface to reappear quite some distance away a couple of minutes later.

Shaking Off, Common Loon

A Loon, finished with fishing for the moment flaps its wings

I love watching the loons whenever I am on the lake. Most times they will be calmly sitting on the water closely observing their surroundings. Occasionally I have observed them intent upon fishing and at these times I can usually approach rather closely with the boat. This was the case on this day as the loon had located a large school of small fish and had been busily engaged while I made my approach.

After the school of fish disappeared, this Loon practically stood erect on the water shaking the water from its feathers. I like this shot not only for the subject but also the colors of the reflections on the water.