Camera Critters: Bonaparte's Gull

Bonaparte's Gull Close-up

While fishing the lake this morning I noticed a pair of birds a considerable distance away.  Checking with binoculars revealed a pair of Bonaparte's Gulls riding the waves.  As I approached them with the boat they insisted on swimming away, not exactly the view I was seeking for a photograph.  Suddenly a powerful gust of wind rippled the water and spun the birds nearly 180 degrees; CLICK....That was the shot I was looking for!

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Mallard Flush

I wondered what this colorful Mallard male was saying...........

Perhaps it was ............I'M OUTTA HERE!!!

Wetland Flight Shots

After a strong series of thunderstorms passed through our area beginning Sunday evening and extending through the morning hours Monday the skies broke giving us and incredibly beautiful evening. Not wanting to waste such an evening on mundane task around our home I instead opted for a visit to our local wetland.

A number of wood ducks and Canada geese were present but proved elusive upon my approach.  After reaching the western side I sat down at the waters edge partially concealed by the surrounding willows in hopes of a photo opportunity presenting itself.


While I waited a few wood ducks flew overhead as the bullfrog deep song reverberated across the landscape. Red-winged blackbirds, grackles, and numerous other song birds sang and flitted about with the occasional honking of the Canada geese joining in with the peeping of smaller frogs creating a beautiful chorus courtesy of the spring wetlands choir.


While soaking in the melodious harmony I spied a lone Dragonfly darting past when suddenly is stopped in mid-air and allowed me time to aim, focus and fire three frames; the best of which is posted above.

As the evening shadows crept across the landscape I began the walk back to the car. With all of the waterfowl present I was a little disappointed that I had been unable to capture a usable photograph when suddenly from a tiny pond a pair of wood ducks sprang into the air. Swinging the camera with the drake I pressed the shutter button and hoped for the best.



An evening in the wetlands always beats an evening of chores, a couple of decent flight shots is an added bonus!

Great Blue Heron

Whether Flying

Walking

 Or Stalking

The Great Blue Heron is at all times a majestic bird

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Loon Encounter

 I had originally planned on arriving at the lake this morning before sunup but after staying up into the wee hours of the morning with a cow that was having problems delivering her calf; I instead chose to sleep a little longer delaying my arrival until 7:30.

At first I did not see any waterfowl activity. Shortly after beginning fishing I heard the familiar whoop of a loon. Looking towards the sun I spied a pair of loons in winter plumage gently gliding past. The backlighting created sparkles on the surface in each swirl of the loon's wake.

A few hours later as I approached a shallow shoal a loon popped to the surface

Obviously totally at ease with my presence, the loon swam with its eyes beneath the surface, a position that affords the bird an excellent view of the underwater environment.

During the course of the morning I encountered three loons, a flock of Lesser Scaup, two Mallard males, two Broad-winged Hawks, one Osprey, three Double-crested Cormorants, two unidentified Terns and one Great Blue Heron along with an assortment of songbirds.

Weekend Highlights

A day of striper fishing on the Chesapeake did not yield any keeper fish but the sunrise certainly was memorable. I made this image with my little Canon S2 IS point&shoot. I guess the batteries are getting old for after shooting just three shots of the sunrise the camera shut down telling me to change batteries; not an easy task as I had just put my spare batteries in the handheld GPS unit we were using to navigate

Visiting our local lake on Friday I was closing in on a flock of lesser scaup when I noticed more ducks along the shoreline. Checking them out through the camera lens I realized that they were American Wigeon, a much less common duck than the scaup. Getting close to the shy Wigeon was out of the question as they flew before I was able to maneuver to within good camera range. This is only the second time I have encountered the American Wigeon in my area.

Earth Day 2010: Saving the Planet?

Today marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day so I thought it fitting to share my opinion on the subject of “saving our planet”.

I often find myself spending considerable time dwelling upon the problems facing our environment as I pursue my passion photographing wildlife. I have come to the realization that we humans are looking at the situation all wrong if we believe that we must save the earth.

Sure, we as a species have the potential to do considerable damage to the environment. We poison the air, the waters, and the land. We rip down mountains for the coal that lies beneath. We burn fossil fuels at an alarming rate spewing poisonous emissions and greenhouse gasses. We create chemicals never before known on earth and spray them on our crops, feed them to our animals, and use them to manufacture products that soon end up in vast landfills. We overfish the oceans, destroy rainforest, everything must give way for the consumptive wasteful society we find ourselves in. The list of sins committed against the environment goes on and on; nearly without end.

Regardless of the damage we do we will not destroy the planet; we will not even come close. So what if the planet warms, ocean levels rise, the Gulf Stream quits circulating plunging us into another ice age. So what if we spew nuclear radiation over millions of square miles. No matter what we do the planet can take it. The sun will come up in the morning and go down in the evening, the earth will be here.

What is at risk is us, the human species. In our rush to riches and power we forget that we to are a natural part of this planet. Just like all other living things, both plant and animal our life begins, matures, mates, and dies all the while depending entirely upon the earth for our very survival. When we poison the earth it is ourselves that we are poisoning. When we poison the atmosphere we are poisoning the very gasses that we require for survival. When we pollute the water we are polluting the universal solvent that makes up the vast majority of our bodies. When we eliminate a species we are eliminating just one more building block of the very environment that we depend upon for our life giving sustenance.

Protecting the environment in reality is all about saving ourselves. Going Green is not going to save the planet, it doesn’t need saving, but it is a step towards saving humanity. Although going green may seem to be an anathema to the path to riches, what does all the money and wealth in the world matter when we succeed in destroying ourselves?

Shakedown on the Chesapeake

My friends Paul & Sindy recently acquired a fine old Grady White 20ft Walkaround and invited me to a day on the Chesapeake Bay to give her a shakedown cruise and troll for spring trophy striped bass. We were planning on going this past Saturday but the winds forecast for the weekend forced us to postpone our trip until Tuesday.

Arriving at the marina before dawn we were preparing to launch when we noticed that the GPS would not retain a satellite fix. As we are very familiar with navigating this section of the Chesapeake we did not consider this a major problem.

Once we were a mile or so out of the inlet I checked the sonar to determine when we reached sufficient depth to put out the trolling lines only to find that the unit was not displaying bottom. Checking it out we found the transducer attached to the boat’s transom was broken. So there we were, out on the Chesapeake with a fine running boat, rods, lures and no electronics; time to fish the old fashioned way!

A passing boat illustrates just how serious some folks take their striper trolling

Passing bell buoy 80 I took the opportunity to click this picture showing the bell that is rang by the rocking of the waves.
After 7 hours of trolling without as much as one strike we pulled the lines in and began the long trip back home. During our time out we did not see anyone catch a fish although we did encounter a couple of successful fishermen upon our return to the marina.

As they say; that why it’s called fishing, not catching :) 

These photos were taken with a Canon S2 IS point&shoot as I did not want to subject a DSLR to the rigors of the saltwater.

Spring Lilacs

Lilac in Bloom

Many newer homes as well as most old ones have a Lilac bush growing among their landscaping plants. The first shot is of the bush growing along my driveway with the second shot taken at our next door neighbor’s home.


Speaking with our neighbor I learned that this bush was planted by his wife’s grandmother who had passed away nearly eighty years ago. I don’t know what the lifespan of these fragrant flowering bushes is but I do know that I look forward each spring to enjoying their beauty while inhaling their sweet scent that permeates the air.

Saturday Morning on the Lake

The strong cold front that passed through our area Friday evening dropped temps from near 80F into the 40’s by Saturday morning.

When I first checked the sky the stars were shining brightly but by daylight dark brooding clouds were crossing the sky, a sure sign that high winds were soon to come. I snapped this shot at a moment when sunlight was streaming through the clouds lighting the mountain top beyond the lake. Although the lake was calm at the moment it would not stay that way long.

I was pleased to find that a common loon was present. I have not observed the numbers of loons this spring that I have come to expect with only one present during each sighting. Previous sighting have been of birds in breeding plumage but this bird still retains its drab winter feathers.

Near noon an immature bald eagle soared past the lake. Staying high in the sky riding on the strong air currents it did not take it long to fly from horizon to horizon. I clicked this image mostly for identification purposes as golden eagle has been sighted in our area recently.