Canada Geese: Defending Nesting Territory

When a second pair of Canada geese swam too close to the original pair the attack was sudden and violent. The male suddenly launched himself at the intruder.

The intruder wasted no time getting out of the way of the irate defender

With trouble past the gander returned to wooing his mate

Beginning: Spring Migrations

As temperatures begin to rise and the snow pack recedes, early signs of spring are beginning to appear. With our ponds, marshes and lakes still locked in ice I decided to check some local creeks for waterfowl this morning. After unsuccessfully check a few spots I spotted a pair of geese.

I have noticed over the past few days that the large wintering flocks are beginning to break up and finding geese on this creek indicates that they are beginning to move to their nesting sites.

This encounter with the geese soon took an unexpected turn giving me a honker photo shoot like I had never encountered before. Sorry, but you’ll have to check back later for the “action” shots!

Early this morning I passed an ice covered pond noticing a lone red-winged blackbird perched among the bull rushes, my first for this year. This was the same spot where I observed my first red-winged blackbird last year on February 21st. By this afternoon flocks of redwings were moving through our area on their journey northward.

During my time afield today I flushed a pair of ducks that I was unable to identify or photograph from along this creek. While walking along the water’s edge I heard the unmistakable staccato rattle call of the belted kingfisher, a few moments later it flew past, another first for the season.

The calendar indicates that spring is still two weeks away but nature is already heeding the call of a new season of renewal.

Conowingo Eagle: More Poses

Another of my favorite shots from our Conowingo Eagle Excursion it this one of the eagle looking down into the river below. I expect that it was hoping to see an injured fish floating past as it had been a number of hours since it had fed. The dappling of sunlight filtering through the trees, the open shadows containing good detail of the bird’s body set against a blue sky combined with the bird’s intent concentration made this image particularly appealing to me.

I found the intent piercing stare captured in this photograph appealing

The Conowingo eagle experience is quite different from what I am accustomed to. In my home area bald eagles are very shy of humans. Upon approach eagles here will fly away while still out of reach of even the longest of lenses. At Conowingo the hydroelectric generating dam creates an eagle smorgasbord during power generation and the birds have become acclimated to human presence along the shoreline. The situation at Conowingo presents the wildlife photographer with easy access to rare close-up eagle photo opportunities .

As our visit was late in the season, only a few eagles were present but the few that were there gave me the best eagle photos presently in my collection.

During this visit I concentrated upon the eagles and made the mistake of shooting very few frames of the scenes around me, just one more reason to go back!

With Lifted Wings: Bald Eagle

With lifted wings, the majestic Bald Eagle appears ready to fly

Such was not the case as it was merely repositioning itself to a more comfortable spot on the branch.

When viewing and photographing Bald Eagles I cannot help but think of how they were perceived by our forefathers. First over the objection of Benjamin Franklin the Bald Eagle was named as our national bird, and then followed the slaughter. As a predator they were lumped with all other predators into a class of wildlife considered vermin and to be killed any way possible. Alaska even paid a bounty for the killing of eagles which resulted in the death of some 128,000 eagles over 36 years, ending in 1953.

Eagle Expressions

During our visit to Conowingo Dam Willard & I spent quite a few hours with this perched eagle. While it may have seemed a waste to some to wait and photograph this one eagle over a span of time, that is not the case. During this time span the lighting changed, the eagle shifted position, and changed its expression frequently.

In this first shot the wind has ruffled the feathers on the back of the head and the slight shadow cast by its eyebrow imparts a stern uncompromising expression to our subject.

With open mouth and evenly lit by direct sunlight the eagle appears entirely different in this frame.

American Crow: Don't Roost Below Your Buddies

Once again I had the opportunity to photograph a crow on snow at a reasonable distance. For this shot I set the exposure compensation at +1.7 step.

I recently read an article which explained that most digital cameras will record detail in the brightest area of the image by spot metering on the bright area then compensating +2. In this case I was using evaluative metering which was also taking the crow & background into account. Without compensating the exposure this image would have exposed the snow gray with a black crow devoid of detail

I noticed as this crow landed that it had an unusual white mark on a couple of its feathers but I was unsure of the cause until I reviewed the images later.

A very tight crop of the image reveals that our crow obviously was not the Top Crow on the Roost :)

Winter: A Time of Hardship

Even as winter begins to loosen its grasp the time of hardship is not past for our wildlife.

The green sprouts of spring may be too long in coming to save this orphaned fawn from death.

I have been noticing this fawn recently and have observed how its body is wasting away. Although not readily apparent in the first photograph this shot of it walking away shows it protruding pelvis well.

At no time have I observed it with an adult female. I would expect that from whatever cause that it was orphaned and has had to face the winter alone without the guidance and experience that an older deer could provide.

With the exception of a few individuals the whitetail herd in our area appears to be wintering well.

A Wild Turkey Adventure: Part 4

As the fight continued it was evident that both toms were tiring. The fighting became less frantic although the serious intent of the birds did not diminish

During this phase of the fight the stronger bird expended considerable effort in attempts to force his opponent to the ground.

Once again grappling his opponent’s head the stronger bird forced its head down onto its back. Note the severe neck twist captured here

After a few moments of struggling the weaker gobbler collapsed on the snow with outstretched wings as the winner looks on.

After resting for a minute and regaining his composure the losing bird arose, walking away from the arena of combat escorted by the proud victor.

Checking the photograph’s time code revealed that this fight had raged for 19 minutes.

Brad Myers asked in one comment what I will do to top this. I don’t know Brad but I am sure that in due time another surprising and exciting wildlife experience will occur; that is what keeps me going back to the outdoors every chance I get!

Why Hunt our Elk?

Read more........

Freedom Skies

Nothing symbolizes Freedom more than a soaring American Bald Eagle

I photographed this beautifully marked eagle at Conowingo Dam, near Baltimore Maryland. Take notice of the white feathers in the wings and the black fringing of the tail; this eagle is making the transition into adulthood. Bald Eagles reach full maturity by five years of age.

Earlier in the morning I observed this eagle catch a fish and then alight in a nearby tree to feed. The poor lighting precluded any acceptable images but the light improved before it took flight allowing me to capture this image of the transitioning Bald Eagle.

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