2014, The Last and a First

As 2014 drew to a close today I had the opportunity to photograph three wild turkey gobblers as they sparred with one another.

After photographing the turkeys I drove by a stream where I commonly spot mallards during the winter months.  I was surprised to see that a pair of pintail males and one female were feeding with the resident mallards.

This is the first time I have ever observed pintail ducks in Fulton County Pa!

 

Wishing you and yours a healthy, prosperous, and Happy New Year!

 

 

 

Strutting Their Stuff

Canon EOS 6D, EF 600mm f/4 IS USM   F/5.6, 1/400 ISO-800

As spring grows nearer wild turkey gobbler's are being seen more frequently strutting and gobbling. 

 

 

I have not observed any interest on the part of the hens yet but it won't be long before they will join in and the mating season will begin in earnest. 

 

The normal impression of a wild turkey seen at a distance is that of a large bald-headed black bird, but when seen close-up in good light the iridescent feathers of a mature gobbler glow as if illuminated from within with a multi-colored sheen.  

 

I am always amazed at how quickly a gobbler's head can change colors.  Normally a dark drab bluish hue with some red mixed, in the turkeys head can change colors in a matter of seconds as he becomes excited.

Right now the strutting and gobbling appears to be all about establishing dominance between the gobblers both within an individual flock and between flocks of males.

However in the near future as the hens become receptive the male's displays will be all about attracting hens.

Winter, a Challenge to both Wildlife and Wildlife Photographers

A gobbler stands on one leg while resting and warming the other

 

Mid-winter; a time of freezing temperatures, snow and ice makes survival in the wild a daily challenge for wildlife.   Without the cover of leafy foliage to hide behind and with the ground covered by white snow, many species of wildlife are more easily spotted now than at any other time of the year.

 

Adult Wild Turkey

 

During this past week we experienced two winter storms, first a wet snow on Monday followed by a snow and ice storm Wednesday.  Following Wednesday's snow and rain the temps dropped, turning the heavy wet snow that blanketed the ground into ice.  Neither deer nor turkeys are able to break through the resulting crust and cannot reach the food below.

 

A yearling buck stands with his coat fluffed to ward off the cold morning chill.

 

 

During weather like this deer spend a considerable time each day browsing.

 

 

 

And nibbling at dried grasses that remain uncovered.

 

Winter also presents its own set of challenges for the photographer.  Aside from how to keep warm enough to spend time outdoors and what we must do to keep our photographic equipment functioning, snow presents a challenge of its own when it comes to properly exposing a photo.  As anyone who has spent any time on Facebook can attest, most of the snow photo posted are exposed much too dark.  With the exception of some snow-scene photos taken in bright sunlight, the camera's built-in light meter will under-expose any photo shot on auto.  

 

Manual exposure, exposing strictly for the subject, or exposure comp can be used to nail down a good photo.  Since I usually shoot in aperture preferred I use the exposure comp wheel and watch the histogram to assure that my exposure is within the proper range.  I used exposure compensation of +.3 to +1 stop to nail down the exposure for photos in this post.  

 

 

Wild Turkeys & Motion Blur

Wild Turkeys in Flight

 

A flock of wild turkeys were feeding along a meadow edge under heavily clouded skies as dusk settled over the landscape.  The light was such that decent photos were out of the question so I was standing idly by paying little attention to my camera settings.  When suddenly the flock took flight I was forced to shoot with the settings previously dialed in as there was no time to make changes.  The camera was set on ISO 400, with the auto exposure cranking the shutter down to 1/30th for this shot.  While if I had had the time to make adjustments I would have selected a higher ISO, I actually like the way the action is depicted in this shot.

 

As they birds rose higher against the background of trees the shutter speed dropped to 1/10sec. capturing even more motion blur.  The first shot is my favorite.  Which do you like best?

Happy Thanksgiving

 

While we all have much to be thankful for this Jake had best not let down his guard.  Thanksgiving is the first day of the last segment of Pennsylvania's fall turkey hunting season.

Lookin Good for the Ladies

Strutting is all about the hens.  Gobblers don't gobble and strut to impress or intimidate other gobblers, they strut to attract the hens.  Here a pair of jakes put their colors on display trying to gain the attention of the hen feeding in the foreground.

And this mature gobbler looks to be trying out his latest break dancing move; getting down for the girls.

A close-up reveals the brilliant red, white, and blue color scheme of the gobbler's head.  

Spring has Sprung

Just a week ago brown and gray were the predominate colors across the southern Pennsylvania landscape.  But the sustained unseasonably warm temperatures has hurried the season along.  Now the countryside looks like it normally does in mid to late April!

I focused my attention on wild turkeys the past two mornings.  This hen was my only reward with the gobblers staying hidden behind a screen of brush.

Spending mid-day Friday on a local lake I found that the species of waterfowl that I expected at this time of year were present.  My waterfowl sightings included lesser scaup, ring-necked duck, pied-billed grebe, mallard, wood duck, and horned grebe.  However the 80 degree temp's are far from the norm.  Here a horned grebe takes off when my boat drew too near for its comfort.

I was experimenting with handling the 600mm lens on board the boat during this outing.  Its sheer size and weight precludes hand-holding it for any period of time.  For these shots I was using a folded tripod as a monopod.  The pod made it easy to support the lens but the boat movement made focusing and shooting extremely difficult.  Even though the water was fairly calm the rocking of the waves played havoc with getting good shots.  I did find that keeping the boat under power smoothed out the motion somewhat.  Here two male and a female lesser scaup takes flight. 

A flock of forty or so ring-necked ducks were also present.  These migrants as well as other divers always stop in for the spring perch spawn.  I have seen no indication that the perch spawn has started but with the warm temps I expect it to begin any day.

Trees of all types are bursting into bloom.  These dogwood flowers are two to three weeks early.  Friday evening found me mowing the lawn; the first I have ever needed to mow in March!

Strutting His Stuff!

The Wild Turkey mating season normally begins slowly in early March before exploding in early April.  However the unseasonably warm weather we have experienced for more than a week has the woodlands resounding with the throaty gobbles of the big toms as they vie for mates. 

Wild Turkeys gobble and strut both mornings and evenings with morning activity usually the better.  Gobbling will usually begin before daylight while they are still on their overnight roost.  The early morning gobbling gives one the opportunity to locate the toms and set up in a likely spot for early morning action.

This series though was captured in the evening after I spotted a flock of hens accompanied by some attending gobblers feeding in an open field.  Seeing that a ravine may allow me to approach unseen I was able to stalk to within photography distance; capturing this big fellow Strutting His Stuff. 

Wild Turkeys: Gobblers Preening

Documenting wildlife behaviour is one of my major attractions to wildlife photography.  Thus this morning's encounter with a flock of mature wild turkey gobblers was made even more thrilling when the entire flock began preening.  Whereas deer will groom both themselves and also other members of the herd; the gobblers were content to groom only themselves.

A gobblers head can change color rapidly; take note of the color change between the first photograph and this one taken just one minute later of the same bird.

A close-in crop of the second image reveals his extended snood.  Again this change from the short stubby snood in the first image took place in the space of about a minute.

I shot the above photos with the Canon 60D & a 600mm lens.  While the 600 was working quite well for shooting detailed images of one individual bird it was too much lens to capture the entire scene.

Scooping up the Canon 30D & the 100-400mm lens I hand-held and zoomed to 285mm to compose this shot of the flock standing single file.  Three birds are busy grooming while a single bird keeps his eyes peeled for danger.

Having a camera and lens of a different focal length handy and ready to go can pay dividends.  In this case the zoom lens on the second camera allowed me to capture the rest of the story.

The Wild Turkey: A Bird of many Colors

From a distance or in subdued light the Eastern Wild Turkey appears as a predominately black colored bird.

However, when an adult male steps into bright sunlight the incredible colors of his iridescent feathers changes his appearance entirely.

And the closer you look the more beautiful his coat of many colors becomes.

As March approaches the early stirrings of the breeding season can be seen in flocks of gobblers as they Jockey for dominance.

Although, I haven't observed a mature gobbler in full strut to date, the jakes are creating quite a commotion.  I was hoping to capture a good side or frontal shot of this jake as he strutted his stuff today, however all of the good poses came while he was partially obscured by the high grass.

Eastern Wild Turkey Gobbler

Winter Gobblers

Wintertime is for the birds and the largest birds in my neck of the woods are wild turkeys.  Fortunately winter is an excellent time to photograph wild turkeys as they utilize both fields and woodlands foraging over wide areas.

While turkeys will scratch in the woodland duff in search of food normally they use their sharp eyesight in open areas.  A light covering of snow brought this scratching gobbler out into the open in front of my lens.   

Winter Wild Turkeys

 Yes, I know the weather is cold and sometimes dreary, but wildlife photography opportunities still exist for those willing to endure the numbing chill.  Migrant species that summer here have long since departed but for the wild turkey there is no choice other than to spend the entire year on their home range.

While the wild turkeys are mainly interested in feeding at this time of year, the occasional fight does break out when two flocks meet.  Within a month the gobblers will begin feeling early stirrings of the mating season; gobbling and fighting will become more common.

I photographed this gobbler during a snow shower early this morning as he fluffed his feathers in a display of dominance toward another gobbler.  Today the display was all that was needed to force his opponent back off.   

Winter Gobblers

Wild turkeys and some of the toughest subjects I think I have ever tackled.  Even when photographing birds with which you have developed a level of trust, trying to get good sharp images is incredibly difficult.  For a photo to be a keeper the head must be sharp and a turkeys head is always twisting, turning, and bobbing about.  

So I was very pleased when after making 58 shots during a recent morning's shoot that I still had 19 images remaining after deleting motion blurr/missed focus shots.  Of those 19 shots this image of a pair of mature gobblers feeding in the frosty meadow grass is my favorite.

Wild Turkeys on the Wing

Wild turkeys spend most of their time on the ground usually prefering walking or running.  However when the mood strikes they are perfectly capable of lifting their heavy bodies into the air.  With strong wingbeats they will rise quickly and then glide to their destination.

Willard and I watched a small flock of immature gobblers this morning  as they decided to fly over, rather than walk through, a patch of dense cover.  One by one the birds lifted up and glided into the a open field.

As each turkey made its flight we followed their progress with our cameras; trying to capture sharp images of the big birds in flight.

Their flight, while not graceful by any measure still is more graceful than the landing.

Turkeys for Thanksgiving

While photographing a flock of wild turkeys early one recent frosty morning I was surprised when suddenly the alarm call was sounded and the entire flock sprang into the air. 

Mid Winter Wild Turkeys

Seeing beauty in a Wild Turkeys face is an acquired taste; not one that comes naturally to most folks

But the iridescent sheen of a mature gobblers plumage is another story altogether

But when a gobbler begins strutting with feathers fluffed and his head colors changing hue he becomes a thing of beauty.  As he struts his head may be blue one moment only to be red the next and a moment later nearly snow white.  The snood ( the projection on top of his head at the base of his bill) will lengthen and shorten, changing color as well.

The rear gobbler pictured here is preparing to strut.  By the time he reached full strut with tail fanned he was moving out of sight.

Although the turkey mating season is still some weeks away the gobblers are beginning to vie for dominance.  When bachelor groups of gobblers encounter one another either one flock must give way or a fight will ensue.  Usually, as in this encounter, a show of force is all that is required to settle the dispute. I am hoping for an encounter where neither side will give way leading to another fight to the finish such as we photographed during Februrary of 2010.