In Flight: Great Blue Heron

To the small fish, the Great Blue Heron is public enemy number one. This ranking also holds true for the fish farmer, who raises his fish in shallow ponds.

For the wildlife photographer the Great Blue Heron bird is a study in both awkwardness and grace.

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Skywatch Friday: Gypsy Sky

A Gypsy Moth Caterpillar hangs from a branch by a silk thread

While the caterpillars are still small, their fastest mode of travel is to hang from a branch suspended by a fine silk thread and wait for the wind to carry it away.


My previous post garnered some very nice comments and raised some very good questions.

Jack and Joann asked if we have Japanese beetles. Yes, they do create a problem with ornamentals and grapes but no significant damage is done to other indigenous species.

Abe raised the question as to whether man had something to do with the problem. Yes, the Gypsy Moth is an alien invasive species brought to the east coast by a profit seeking businessman in the 1800’s. The only profit to be made from them is by those involved in making, distributing, and spraying pesticides. Since they have no significant natural enemies outbreaks are extremely damaging, particularly to our native oaks.

Fishing Guy mentioned that he hopes the spray doesn’t hurt the birds. The insecticide of choice is Bacillus thuringiensis or BT for short. BT is a bacterium that is fatal to caterpillars. No effect has been documented on any bird, fish, or animal species.

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Waging War: Gypsy Moth Control

Raining death and destruction on the ravenous Gypsy Moth caterpillar; a helicopter sprays a precise pattern on the unsuspecting critters.

Spray operations are now underway using both helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. Spraying began shortly after the caterpillar hatch in early May but was brought to a standstill by the heavy rains that visited our area for the best part of two weeks. With clear blue skies the spray craft are trying to make up for lost time.

War is also being waged by another bird. Pictured here is a Gray Catbird doing its duty reducing the Gypsy Moth population.

Fishing: Great Blue Heron Style

While fishing on the nearby lake Memorial Day morning, I noticed a Great Blue Heron standing along the shore. As I began my approach it flew south along the lake shore and disappeared into a small cove. This time I was able to approach to within about fifty yards before leaving cover and as usual, I set the trolling motor at its very slowest speed. To slow my approach even more I would bump the switch on and off giving it only enough power for steerage. Finally I ran up against a submerged stump and just sat quietly waiting and watching from about thirty yards away.

The Heron watched me intently once I broke cover but then found the small fish in the shallow water to be of more interest. Slowly ever so slowly she stalked her prey until with a lighting fast strike she deftly caught a small bluegill.

Guarding the Nest: Male Baltimore Oriole

The brightly colored male Baltimore Oriole keeps a close lookout over the nest.

As I related in the previous post, he was quick to rush in when an intruder landed in the sacred nest tree. I have visited the nesting site three times so far. Although never far away; this male is not nearly as aggressive since the nest building is complete. The female continues to flit about, coming and going from the nest but is not carrying nest building materials. I assume she is now laying her clutch of 4 to 6 eggs.

While visiting the nest tree last evening, I was treated to a rare view of a yellow-billed Cuckoo. The Cuckoo landed in a place that made capturing a post-worthy photograph impossible; but I was able to shoot a couple of frames which allowed me to make positive identification. Previously I posted a shot from my first sighting of a Black-billed Cuckoo. Amazingly, these are my very first encounters with Cuckoo’s and both sightings of the two different species were made in the very same brushy ravine only a few days apart.

Modern Nest-Building: Baltimore Oriole

The female Baltimore Oriole, not content with traditional nest materials, gathers plastic strips with which to build her nest.

As I sat watching, she made numerous trips, each time returning with these plastic strips. After surveying her surroundings, she would hop into her nest and weave the new material into the nest basket that was taking shape.

During this time the male kept his distance except when another bird happened to stop in the nest tree, then he would arrive calling loudly, fluttering and diving until the intruder left. He repeated this tactic each time visitors dropped by with but one exception, the cat-birds. For reasons only known to him, he completely ignored a pair of catbirds who spent quite a few minutes catching and eating caterpillars.

Spotted Sandpiper

During my early morning outing, I noticed a flock of Spotted Sandpipers running about on the earthen breastwall of the dam. Upon my approach all but two flew to a shaded area so I concentrated my attention upon the remaining birds. I adjusted my trolling motor to its slowest setting and over the next one-half hour worked these birds until they allowed me to maneuver to within a few yards.

By the conclusion of this session I had shot over one hundred images. As these birds move quickly, many were poorly posed and some blurred. After heavy deletion, I still had thirty eight images that made the grade. Of the image, this one which caught the bird with wings momentarily lifted while posed by the waters edge and it’s reflection visible in the water, stood out above all of the rest

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Early Morning Osprey

Today’s early morning encounter with an osprey produced this image plus my new header.

While I was photographing a Spotted Sandpiper, I noticed an Osprey perched on a dead snag in a nearby cove. Once finished with the sandpiper I maneuvered the boat behind cover and approached the Osprey to within about fifty yards before exposing myself. As the Osprey flew past I framed and shot frantically.

As is always the case in these fast action episodes I was left to wonder as to whether I was successful until I was able to view the results on the computer.

SkyWatch Friday; Lens Flare

Instead trying to avoid lens flare, I decided to embrace it for this capture

After nearly two weeks of clouds and rain the sun is a very welcome change. Here in South Central Pennsylvania we have experienced the coolest, wettest May on record since the 1950’s.

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Morning Freshness

As the first rays of sunlight illuminate the lake shore, the fresh colors of spring create a gorgeous backdrop for the day’s activities.

Photographing wildlife and fishing are the primary reasons for me to visit a lake at first light however I never forget to pause and soak in the beauty of my surroundings.