Estate Find 55

Al DenelsbeckLeave a comment

There were about 2-3 minutes today when seeing this was actually possible, so The Girlfriend and I are extremely lucky to have been there when it happened. But as we were walking the property and discussing where some trees would be going, I spotted this microspud booking as fast as it was able across the gravel driveway.

very small eastern mud turtle Kinosternon subrubrum on concrete driveway
This is easily the smallest turtle I’ve ever found, which we’ll see clearly in a moment. It’s an eastern mud turtle (Kinosternon subrubrum,) and this is about the size of a newly-hatched one, except that this happens in late summer. Plus the mud on its back indicates that it recently emerged from hibernation, assisted by last night’s rain, though why it was practically on the highest point on the property and over a hundred meters from the pond (and not along an easy route either) remains beyond our comprehension.

very small eastern mud turtle Kinosternon subrubrum held in The Girlfriend's fingers
This is the first of the scale shots – luckily The Girlfriend was right there and could hold the turtle for some detailed frames, rather than me attempting to juggle the camera one-handed.

underside of very small eastern mud turtle Kinosternon subrubrum showing double-hinged plastron
This is how it was identified, since the very similar striped mud turtle (which is not striped in North Carolina, for some reason, and would not have them at this age, nor would we have been able to see the stripes on the carapace under the mud anyway,) only has a single hinge on the front plastron and not the two faintly seen here. Also, the common musk turtle, also found on the property at times, has a much smaller plastron.

very small eastern mud turtle Kinosternon subrubrum on US quarter coin
Neither of us was carrying change, not expecting to pay any tolls nor find a gumball machine in the yard, but The Girlfriend ran in and grabbed a quarter for another scale shot – the adult treefrogs are larger than this. I spent a lot of time last year monitoring turtle nests hoping to catch some hatchlings, or better, some actually hatching, all for naught, but at least we snagged this one for a photo session.

very small eastern mud turtle Kinosternon subrubrum at eye-level on concrete drive
I made the attempt to get a few frames in the grass/weeds for a natural setting, but it vanished beneath the leaves almost instantly, so we have this eye-level portrait on the driveway again after that aborted attempt.

There are a bunch of other pics from this morning, and some from last night along with audio clips, as well as all of those images that were taken earlier that I’ve been trying to get to, so there’s post fodder for a while now, but obviously this one was going to jump in front. I mean, not literally of course…

Tip Jar 10: Shutter speed

Al DenelsbeckLeave a comment

So, shutter speed. What is it? Should we fear it? Was it bestowed upon us by aliens? The answer to two of these is, “No,” so let’s look at the remaining one, and add in how to avoid the stumbling blocks.

female ruby-throated hummingbird Archilochus colubris approaching salvia
Basic answer: shutter speed is how long the camera is admitting light to the sensor or film. Except not really – it’s how long it can be, as long as there’s light, and we’ll cover that in at least two later Tip Jar posts. Managing it allows us to control certain elements of our images. A fast shutter speed (such as 1/500 second or higher, but this is not a set dividing line) lets us freeze action, prevent blur from camera shake, and capture decisive moments in action. A slow shutter speed (1/30 second and down) allows for motion to blur within the image, or allows minimal light (such as stars) to accumulate, or even gives us time to set up conditions. They both have their advantages and pitfalls.

First off, how fast is fast enough to, say, stop sports action, or a car going past – are there distinct guidelines? And there really cannot be, since it’s not how fast things are going, but how fast they’re crossing the frame. A jet in the sky going 450 knots at 30,000 ft is easy, since from our perspective it’s just drifting along, while a bicyclist passing right in front of us at a mere 15 kph can blur fiercely at the exact same shutter speed. Then of course, the focal length dictates how wide the frame will appear, so a shorter, wider focal length (say 24mm) will make action appear slower than a longer focal length (250mm) because the frame covers a much larger area in the former. About the best I can provide is, for sports, you probably want nothing slower than 1/250 second.

Bell 407 "Sky 5" of WRAL-TV Raleigh
Or maybe not. Sometimes it’s cool to have the blur of the limbs or sports implements, because that implies the speed of them. I spoke with a photographer that specialized in aerial photography of other aircraft (besides the one he was in to get the photos,) and he never used a shutter speed faster than 1/250, even when it was to his advantage to try and prevent any additional blur from the movement of either aircraft. The reason? Stopping the propellers or rotors from all motion looks unnatural, as if he pasted in an image of the aircraft over the sky – some blur is necessary and expressive. You might also note, if you look at car ads online or in magazines (what are those?) you’ll often see blurred wheels to imply the speed of the car while everything else is sharp. In many ads, this is digitally created, but that balance point between blurred wheels (propeller/rotor) and a sharp vehicle is possible, though often quite specific.

Then we have the other pitfall, which is camera shake. When using a camera handheld, too slow of a shutter speed can allow the camera to twitch during exposure, blurring everything. And even using a tripod doesn’t always eradicate this, since they can vibrate too, especially lightweight tripods in the wind. This is also affected by the lens, since the longer the focal length, the more every movement is magnified.

Now, there is kind of a rule for this – it doesn’t apply as cleanly as it used to. That rule was, your shutter speed should always be above the reciprocal of the focal length, which is one of those phrases that sounds nice and neat while not being very explanatory. So, instead, just add “1/” – if your focal length is 300mm, your shutter speed should be above 1/300 second. 135mm? 1/135 second, which isn’t usually a setting, so go the next option higher than that (typically 1/160 or 1/180 second.) The reason this isn’t a distinct rule is that some people are steadier than others, but more importantly, a lot of lenses or cameras have some kind of stabilizing function that helps compensate for camera shake.

For instance let’s say you’re using a 500mm lens, but it has stabilization that permits “up to four stops benefit” – and you’ll almost always see that “up to” modifier in there. If we use the rule above, you’d want a shutter speed of 1/500 second or higher, but the lens says it can improve that by (up to) four stops. Meaning we can cut the shutter in half (how a stop is measured) four times. Beginning at 1/500, we go to 1/250, to 1/125, to 1/60, to 1/30! We can get away with a shutter speed as low as 1/30 second!

Probably not. Manufacturers usually oversell the effectiveness of any such advancements, and I generally recommend not trusting anything beyond half of their claims – thus, only two stops. And this is on top of making every effort to remain steady in the first place. I recommend experimenting freely to know the actual effectiveness of your equipment, but using that rule above as your guideline, treating anything else as a bonus.

And of course, this only compensates for camera shake. Even if we could dependably use that 1/30 second, this will be worse for any action actually taking place – and when we’re using a longer focal length like that, we’re often going to be capturing some kind of action.

Canada geese Branta canandensis taking flight over pond
Does it sound like everything about shutter speed comes with conditions, or some kind of caveat? That’s actually fairly true. Much of photography is a tradeoff, or simply accepting the limitations.

A related limitation is frame rate. It’s easy to believe that, with the camera set for rapid-fire repeated frames as long as the shutter release is held down, you’ll capture the exact moment you want, let’s say a bat just as it hits the ball. We’ll assume 1/500th second shutter speed and 10 frames per second, which is a high rate for most cameras (standard is 2 to 5 per second.) This means, if you hold the shutter down as the ball approaches, you only capture 1/50 of the action in any given second (ten frames times 1/500.) An actual swing takes far less than a second, so you might have only two or three frames that even have a chance of catching that millisecond of contact. You can’t depend on it, is what I’m saying.

This also applies for birds in flight, when the frame rate might actually synchronize with the wingbeat and you catch the wings in the same position for every frame – this has happened to me more times than I care to admit. Additionally, when the camera is cranking out frames that quickly, the autofocus is usually not tracking because it has no time to adjust, so many of the frames may simply be out of focus. Short bursts, and/or trying for specific timing of that key moment, will often work much better.

The other option for using faster shutter speeds, or even just to combat camera shake in handheld shots, is using a flash, and this is an essential tool for photographers. The on-camera flashes included with most cameras are ridiculously weak, usually only good for a few meters, so a dedicated off-camera unit is better. Now, due to the limitations of shutter design (and basic physics,) most flash units have a maximum shutter speed allowable for their use, usually in the range of 1/125 to 1/250 second – faster than that, and part of your frame may not be illuminated at all. UNLESS you have a dedicated high-speed flash, often called a focal plane or FP flash, which communicates with the camera and compensates for faster shutter speeds, though be warned: the faster the shutter speed, the shorter the distance the flash will carry.

ice cube frozen in mid-air after bouncing in water puddle
There is another interesting technique, and that’s using the flash duration as the ‘shutter speed’ – essentially, it doesn’t matter how long the shutter is open, if the conditions are very dark and all of the light is produced by the flash. In such cases, the burst of the flash is your exposure time, which was used in this case, and also in capturing bats in flight. Things need to be pretty dark to accomplish this, though.

So now let’s go into slow shutter speeds, which are useful for very low light, or introducing that blur in interesting ways. The vast majority of the time, you’ll want to use a tripod, and a remote shutter release is frequently a great idea; it’s possible to introduce shake (especially at longer focal lengths) just by pressing the shutter release on the camera. And in fact, there’s an additional tool for such work, primarily with SLR/DSLR cameras, and that’s mirror lock-up, often an option within the specialty menu.

With such cameras, there’s a reflex mirror within that directs the light to the viewfinder, and it slaps quickly out of the way to let the light reach the sensor (film) right when you press the shutter release, part of that chi-clicky sound it makes. But this motion sets up some vibrations within the camera itself and it takes a few seconds to fully die down, and this can be especially noticeable at longer focal lengths because, again, it’s magnified. Therefore, for shutter speeds between about 1/10 second and perhaps three seconds, this vibration is enough to blur the image a little – for faster than 1/10 second, the vibration usually isn’t enough to register, and for slower, it generally has died down enough not to overwhelm the image, but it does depend on what you’re capturing. Mirror lock-up brings the mirror up well before the shutter opens, so the vibrations have time to die down before exposure starts. The best option is for two presses (on the remote shutter release): the first locks the mirror up, and the second then opens the shutter itself, and I prefer this because the default time delay is two seconds, and there have been times when that simply isn’t enough – I count off four or five seconds. This is usually with astrophotography, trying to gather the very faint light of stars.

long exposure from base of Looking Glass Falls in Brevard NC
Shutter speed will often rely on using an advantageous ISO setting – higher ISO for higher shutter speeds, and thus lower for lower, and aperture settings will often assist this too. In the case of capturing the blurring water of a waterfall to make it seem cottony, you’ll want, at most, 1/10 second shutter speed, usually lower, but if you’re doing this during the day, cutting the ISO down as far as it will go, and closing down the aperture quite small, will usually let you get a proper exposure. It helps if you’re doing this in shade, which will also help the appearance of the water, since in sunlight, single droplets catching the light for a millisecond can produce sparkles brighter than the rest of the water, and you’ll have white speckles in your ‘cotton.’ Nobody wants speckles in their cotton.

[There is an additional tool, if you like doing such shots, and that’s a neutral density filter. It’s not the density that’s neutral, but a dense filter that’s neutral in color – essentially sunglasses for the lens, which reduces the light coming through and let’s the shutter speeds go longer. They’re usually sold by the number of stops they reduce light. In a pinch, a polarizing filter can work, and stacked polarizers can be used as adjustable density ‘sunglasses,’ but with modern cameras, always ensure that they’re circular polarizers for proper exposure metering.]

black-crowned night heron Nycticorax nycticorax in flight with twig
An interesting balance in shutter speed is with creative panning. If you’re tracking a moving subject accurately, it’s possible to get a sharp image of the subject overlaid on a motion-blurred background, which is great when it’s done right, but a tricky balance. It can be a habit to pause all camera movement when tripping the shutter, which isn’t a bad habit in most cases but works directly against a good panning shot; the motion must be continued as the shutter trips. It doesn’t take too slow of a shutter speed to blur the background if the movement is adequate – the image above was shot at 1/80 second, 300mm focal length.

While knowing how to use a ‘proper’ shutter speed is an essential tool for all photographers, the fun comes with experimenting with it and seeing what you can come up with, so play around and be creative!

Madame Mesquite

Al DenelsbeckLeave a comment

And so, part two of the visit to Mattamuskeet National Widlife Refuge, focusing entirely on the one species that made a cameo in the first. The foreshadowing of the day came early on, when we saw a pair of birds far in the distance crossing the road.

pair of tundra swans Cygnus columbianus in flight in distance
This is cropped from the full frame at 600mm, so suffice to say I wasn’t identifying them based on what I saw in the viewfinder, though if I’d done more research on the area I should have known, since it’s notorious for hosting them in the winter. The gradual reveal to us, however, was fairly classic.

trio of tundra swans Cygnus columbianus in flood plain at Mattamuskeet National wildlife Refuge
Again cropped, though less so, but shot across the car (The Girlfriend was driving) out the window and across the flood plain alongside the drive. Here, you can just make out the typical swan ‘nose bridge’ of the beak.

Finally, a pair got close enough and unobscured by reeds to make a decent portrait.

pair of tundra swans Cygnus columbianus in identical poses on flood plain in Mattamuskeet NWR
Enough suspense; these are tundra swans (Cygnus columbianus,) quite fond of Lake Mattamuskeet and usually overwintering there. Had we gone down in this direction on the first visit twenty years (shy two weeks) ago, this would not have been my first views of swans in the wild, and don’t ask me how I’ve gone that long without ever seeing one. I could have gone longer too, had we delayed this trip a little more, since they’re about ready to migrate north for nesting season.

But yes, I appreciated the mirrored pose.

Overall, most of the photo opportunities were largely the same, swans milling about at a moderate distance and not doing a lot. I snagged a few frames as a pair flew past, again, still distant, but several times closer than the initial view.

pair of tundra swans Cygnus columbianus flying past, Mattamuskeet NWR
And then, getting still closer as we drove along, taking care not to spook them too much, which is now laughable, since they didn’t pay the slightest attention to the drive.

solitary tundra swan Cygnus columbianus seen from the back, flood plain in Mattamuskeet NWR
Eventually we got to one of the observation platforms that looked out over the flood plain, getting up above the grasses and able to see better. It was well placed, because there was more open water there and thus the swans (and numerous other species) were congregating in clusters stretched across a few hundred meters in width and depth from us.

Here we started doing some recording, because the calls of the swans (that had been gradually getting more noticeable as we drove) were now distinct, a great sound that i couldn’t decide was more reminiscent of distant coyotes or a bunch of rowdy cowboys. I’ll let you decide:

Tundra swans and others at Mattamuskeet NWR

You can hear the camera in there of course, since The Girlfriend was now wielding the mic, and a little wind noise that the dead cat didn’t quite eradicate even though it did reduce it significantly. If you’re sharp-eared, you might pick out calls from other species in there – I know I could hear the American coots from time to time – but mostly you’re hearing the swans. And a minor altercation that the damn autofocus kept snagging the grasses in front of, so I have no pics of it, only the audio.

Here and there, I spotted the dirtier coloration of a yearling, according to the birder we met there – I wasn’t familiar enough with the species to know how their plumage changed with age and season, but this is just about it.

one yearling and two adult tundra swans Cygnus columbianus swminning in flood plain, Mattamuskeet NWR
They may get a little darker than the specimen on the left when they’re even younger, but that happens in their breeding areas, way up north of here, so it’s unlikely I’ll ever see that phase. After their first year, they become the pure white with very subtle variations seen in the rest f the images

Another gave one of the few active displays while we were there (which was roughly midday,) standing up and flapping vigorously for a few seconds.

tundra swan Cygnus columbianus flapping energetically while another looks on, flood plain, Mattamuskeet NWR
I actually have four frames that make it look as if it’s conducting a symphony, too few to make an animated gif from.

tundra swan Cygnus columbianus flapping energetically while another looks on, flood plain, Mattamuskeet NWR
Male? Female? no idea, though we do have a couple more snoozing Northern shovelers (Spatula clypeata) in the foreground.

As we were driving back out, we noticed a pair of swans had now moved across the bordering channel and were in the grasses right alongside the drive, so we approached quite slowly, pausing as I fired off frames. We go out of order here and show the second, completely unconcerned with the car not seven meters away, posed on one foot philosophically.

tundra swan Cygnus columbianus standing unconcernedly on one leg alongside wildlife drive, Mattamuskeet NWR
That one was beyond the first, which was lying deeper in the grass and appeared to be far spookier, so we took our time in approaching while I cataloged this vehicular stalking.

tundra swan Cygnus columbianus peering from tall grasses alongside wildlife drive, Mattamuskeet NWR
The amount of yellow on the base of the bill doesn’t indicate anything and can vary a decent amount, though apparently the European variant typically shows more.

As we got alongside this one, it remained wary and appeared to be issuing a warning hiss, though we were close enough to hear it if it did, and no sound at all was issued.

tundra swan Cygnus columbianus with beak open peering from tall grasses alongside wildlife drive, Mattamuskeet NWR
And then, it stretched up a little taller and began surveying out across the water, so it was less concerned with our presence than it appeared at first, and our careful approach wasn’t really necessary – especially since we had drifted to the other side of the drive to avoid stressing it, and a passing car zoomed between us in a decidedly incautious manner that provoked no response from the swan.

profile of tundra swan Cygnus columbianus alongside wildlife drive, Mattamuskeet NWR
But this minor change in pose allowed a little more light to cross its face and make for a more distinctive portrait, and I was fine with that.

As I said in the previous post, the worst part was that the light was uniformly behind all the waterfowl, something that really couldn’t be compensated for except perhaps high summer at dawn (which the swans, at least, would probably not be around for.) Still a nice little outing and not too terribly far to drive, and it was great day for it, very pleasant temperature and softer light from the haze. So we’ll be back, as well as checking out at least two other areas that are also relatively ‘local,’ sometime in the near future – before spring is out, most likely.

And now I have to catch up on the various pics I’ve been getting around here…

Matt Amos Keat

Al DenelsbeckLeave a comment

It’s taking a little longer to get to this than intended, because other things keep happening, and I’ve decided that there are enough images to go along with it that I’m going to split it into two posts; this is the first. So let’s go out to Lake Mattamuskeet, North Carolina.

Lodge and tower near shore of Lake Mattamuskeet (not in foreground,) North Carolina
The Girlfriend and I have been planning to do this trip since we moved to the new location, because while we’re not close to it, we’re much closer than we’d been before. Lake Mattamuskeet is a large but very shallow lake in the coastal plains, now enclosed by the Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge, and a favored spot of waterfowl. The lake is not that seen in the pic here, which shows the landmark pumping station, the remains of a project intended to drain the lake and turn it into farmland a little over a century ago, and so that’s not a lighthouse, but the smokestack of the coal-burning pumps. When this project failed, the station was turned into a hunting lodge for a few decades, with the smokestack converted to an observation tower; both structures are now too unstable to allow entry.

unidentified warbler on reeds at Lake Mattamuskeet, NC
But it’s the birds we’re after, even when I can’t offer an identification of this one – some kind of warbler, but there’s so much variation in species colors among sexes and ages and seasons, and this looks to me like a mix of a couple, though I’m not songbirder and I’m relying on the illustrations in my Sibley Guide (like I says, I just takes picchers.) This was among the first birds seen, as we were out on the long causeway that crosses the lake, but we added to that in moments.

lone osprey Pandion haliaetus on bare tree in middle of Lake Mattamuskeet, NC
Visible from the main overlook on the causeway is a patch of trees on an island, which is where this osprey (Pandion haliaetus) sat – and then The Girlfriend spotted a bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) nearby on the same island, though both were so distant that identifying them took the binoculars or the long lens. Nothing was happening, no one was moving, so we poked around a little and were about to leave that spot when this changed, and suddenly there were three ospreys, and they were all intent on convincing the eagle to get the hell out of Dodge, which it wasn’t buying.

osprey Pandion haliaetus harassing bald eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus in trees on Lake Mattamuskeet, NC
With the distance and intervening branches, this is as good as I got, and never a decent frame with all four birds together, especially when the ospreys knew the eagle was keeping an eye on them and thus didn’t veer too close. The cries of both were audible across the lake, but the eagle was making the most noise. In my experience, this is a little early for the ospreys to have returned, but my experience has been with Jordan Lake, further inland from the coast, so perhaps this is the normal timeframe around Mattamuskeet. Eventually, one osprey left and the other two resigned themselves to the presence of the eagle, perhaps because no nests were in evidence.

pair of ospreys Pandion haliaetus in bare tree on Lake Mattamuskeet, NC
From there, we went down to the lakeshore near the pump station/lodge shown at top, and began following the skirting drive in both directions. I’d only been here once before, perhaps two decades ago [actually, I just checked the stock folders, since I had the first of my digital cameras with me then and so have timestamps, and it was March 18th, 2006, heh!] and made the mistake of following the same path as that time, though it was only a pass-through then. That direction was the quietest and most wildlife-free choice, as we discovered this time around.

By the way, the weather was lovely and warm, and the turtles were all stirring, so much so that we moved four of them from the road while traveling there and back, or three if you don’t count this one actually within the refuge:

likely eastern mud turtle Kinosternon subrubrum on road in Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge, NC
While the obvious markings don’t distinguish anything, especially when it refused to extend its head for a good look, I turned it over briefly as I carried it from the road and looked at the plastron, which was hinged front and back, making this likely an eastern mud turtle (Kinosternon subrubrum.) I also carried a yellow-bellied slider and two common snappers from the roads, one of which so covered with peat mud that it had clearly just emerged from its winter nap.

When we finally turned and began following the drive to the west, running between the lake proper and a vast floodplain, that’s when we started to see some real action. It’s amusing, in retrospect, how our expectations and reactions changed during the day.

American coot Fulica americana on flood plain in Mattamuskeet NWR
We spent some time trying to get a decent view of a few American coots (Fulica americana,) which turned out to be more and more numerous as we drove further, Now, a word about conditions, since it was bright haze the entire time, but on this section of the drive, we were facing almost entirely south, meaning everything was backlit unless we picked careful angles and timing. Moreover, there isn’t any time of the day or year where it would be a lot better, except for perhaps right at sunrise in high summer. That said, it’s also possible that sunset conditions at this time of year would produce lovely reflections from the water and potentially some nice silhouettes – we’ll have to see with further excursions. For now, this is what we have, and we can just barely make out the blood-red eyes of the coot in these conditions. It got slightly better later on:

American coot Fulica americana with aquatic plant in beak, flood plain in Mattamuskeet NWR
This one was pulling up plants from the bottom to munch on, though it looks like a shiv here, or perhaps Errol Flynn.

There were a lot of waterfowl species to be seen, though quite often at a distance, but I’m avoiding one in particular because all of those images (and probably some audio clips) will be found in a later post. Several flocks of ducks were only inclined to pass through well over a hundred meters off, allowing some wider flocks shots and little more.

flock of likely northern pintails Anas acuta passing over flod plains, Mattamuskeet NWR
These were probably norther pintails (Anas acuta,) though it was hard to say, since the only sharp image I got at this distance had them all banking the same way and thus showing little of their upper plumage. I got slightly better at another time:

flight of four northern pintails Anas acuta passing by in Mattamuskeet NWR
That’s enough to feel confident about them being pintails, but little else – it was more cataloging the different species; you can see them better in this post. Another species refused to show their faces, literally, though I’m fairly certain of these, too:

Canada geese Branta canadensis and northern shovelers Spatula clypeata all snoozing on flood plain in Mattamuskeet NWR
The larger ones to the right and behind are Canada geese (Branta canadensis,) but the smaller ones are northern shovelers (Spatula clypeata,) a duck species that I haven’t seen in the wild until now – and not really very well now, either, though the color pattern on the flanks seems to pin them down.

And then, another species, much closer this time.

female and male gadwalls Mareca strepera in channel in Mattamuskeet NWR
There’s a channel right alongside the drive, that gives way to the floodplain that, I imagine, gets a bit drier later in the year and turns into grassland; only a few species bothered being this close, and I didn’t recognize this one. We’ll go in for a closer look at the male on the right:

male gadwall Mareca strepera in channel in Mattamuskeet NWR
The head pattern and dark bill, stippled sides, and dark tail with lighter wing feathers above indicate this is a gadwall (Mareca strepera,) and I never would have determined that if it had only been the female – so many duck species have females that are practically identical, drab and mottled to disappear on the nests. A birder that we met told us there were also American wigeons and green-winged teals out there, though I never spotted those myself. To my credit, however, I spotted this one that I think he missed initially:

pie-billed grebe Podilymbus podiceps in channel at Mattamuskeet NWR
This is a pie-billed grebe (Podilymbus podiceps,) a species I’ve seen several times and never gotten a decent portrait of – this is so far the best. They’re tiny for waterfowl, smaller than the wood ducks and perhaps slightly larger than a pigeon, and pretty shy in my experience.

pie-billed grebe Podilymbus podiceps in channel at Mattamuskeet NWR
The males and the females look the same, so I can’t offer more than this, but at least the light wasn’t terrible.

variety of waterfowl in flood plains of Mattamuskeet NWR
I made a small mistake in not bringing the tripod, which would have allowed me to snag some video of behaviors, though I did bring the shotgun mic and recorder, so I have audio clips (that I have yet to listen to – I told you I’ve been busy.) This pic gives more than a hint of the other species that will be featured in the next post on the refuge, coming soon, and yet shows only a small percentage of the birds therein (and don’t ask me why focus jumped to the background birds.) Right now I’ll leave you with a semi-abstract on the railing of a walkway, muddy footprints probably left by a great blue heron, and expressive in its own way. More to come.

muddy footprints and dropping on railing in Mattamuskeet NWR, likely from great blue heron Ardea herodias

Signed and notarized

Al DenelsbeckLeave a comment

Yesterday we went on a nice little day trip, and consequently I have just a few photos to put up, but first, we have last night’s news, which is, now it’s official:

first Copes grey treefrog Dryophytes chrysoscelis found on Walkabout Estates in 2026
Yep, the first appearance of a treefrog, in this case a Copes grey treefrog (Dryophytes chrysoscelis) means that spring is officially here. Sure, we’ve seen some spring peepers before this, but they can get really early starts and we’ll still get frosts or even snows after their first appearance, so the treefrogs are a much better indication. And certainly, this is my personal guide, but it’s more accurate and dependable than any fixed date on the calendar or the angle of the sun in the sky. It was near 20°c when I took this after 8 PM, having reached 26° during the day I think. And this was not the only one.

small green treefrog Dryophytes cinereus perched in bucket at night
The green treefrogs (Dryophytes cinereus) were also in evidence, just to confirm that this was no fluke. We were a little surprised by the next finds, however.

Carolina anole Anolis carolinensis snoozing on dried weed stem overnight
I honestly expected it to be a little warmer, or more dependably warm, before we saw the return of the Carolina anoles (Anolis carolinensis) sleeping on the weeds and trees, but we found at least a dozen of them, so so much for my predictions.

I couldn’t pass up this perspective:

Carolina anole Anolis carolinensis sleeping vertically almost hidden behind weed stem
Nearly all of those that we found were juveniles, half adult size or less, but one or two of them were really small.

small juvenile Carolina anole Anolis carolinensis sleeping vertically on weed with fingertips for scale
Those are The Girlfriend’s fingertips that the anole is eyeing distrustingly, while mine were used to measure another treefrog:

small juvenile green treefrog Dryophytes cinereus perched on dried weeds with fingertips for scale
Both of the subjects immediately above strike me as being among the last ones out for last year’s breeding season, not having much time at all to forage and put on some weight before having to hole up for the colder months, though this didn’t seem to affect them too much and they’re ready to go now.

The last subject was much the opposite, not lacking in mass in any way:

large southern toad Anaxyrus terrestris venturing out for evening on liriope
This southern toad (Anaxyrus terrestris,) one of two that we found in close proximity, was several times larger than any other species found last night and both were decently large examples of the species, chunky little warthogs. The lizards were just trying to get some shuteye, but the frogs and toads were all up to find some grub, and since I spotted a couple of flying insects in the headlamp, the opportunities were there, so here’s hoping their first meals of the season were decent. Happy spring everyone!

Rehab x 8

Al DenelsbeckLeave a comment

It’s that time of the year, the time when the critters are getting more active and birthing their bebbies and all that, so we revisit our now-annual post on the topic of wildlife rehabilitation, in the hopes that it helps someone out there handle their unexpected situation a little bit better. Below begins the content first written in 2013 and still quite topical.

I used to work in this field a fair amount, both in administration of wildlife organizations and as an active raptor [birds of prey] rehabilitator, plus I served as wildlife adviser in several different situations. So I’m familiar with most of the more common reactions people have when they find ‘orphaned,’ injured, and ill wildlife. It’s hard to give enough useful information without trying to cover every situation or alternative, so treat this as an overview. One thing that I especially want to emphasize here is that there is an immediate emotional response in most cases, which tries to override the advice given by those who work in the fields, so be aware of it. There isn’t an ‘instinct’ we might have that applies to wildlife, and the rational mind is the part that needs to take control.

Additionally, the amount of folklore regarding wildlife is not just abundant, in most cases it’s ridiculously wrong. I’m not even going to say, “If in doubt…,” because you should doubt right off the bat, and consider that most of what you’ve heard is highly suspect. This means, contact someone who is supposed to know, and go with their advice.

Number one rule, and I can’t repeat this enough: Don’t try to raise wildlife on your own. Their diets are specialized, their needs varied and specific to the species, and their adult behavior dependent on how they’re raised. This isn’t the place for guesswork or experimentation. Even if they seem to be ‘doing well’ (like the viral video of the guy raising a baby hummingbird,) they may have developmental issues from an improper diet or exercise, or simply have imprinted on the wrong species, and you are in essence just prolonging the death of the animal. In the US, it’s illegal to raise any species without a specific permit, and songbirds are federally protected. It’s possible to obtain these permits, and quite frankly encouraged, because there are few places with enough rehabbers, but if you’re going to do it, do it right. More further down.

So, we’re about to enter baby bird season, and this accounts for a large percentage of wildlife encounters. I’ll dispel the first myth that touching a baby bird will cause the mother to abandon it. Utter hogwash, pure and simple – yet, I don’t always discourage parents from teaching this to their children, because it’s one way to try and get kids to leave them alone, which is a good thing. Better, perhaps, to teach them to leave them alone for the right reasons, which is to avoid interrupting their feeding schedule, or injuring them, or thinking it would be neat to have a pet robin. But returning to the myth, baby birds will occasionally fall from the nest, and it’s perfectly fine to return them to it, and in fact this is recommended.

It doesn’t always work, however. Some species will discard young that are not doing well, and some even kick their own siblings out – this is nature’s method of selecting the most viable offspring, as ruthless as we find it, and we’re not going to change it. Basically, if it’s a baby bird not ready to leave the nest (not fledged; we’ll return to this,) put it back. If it keeps coming out, there may not be much you can do.

Can’t reach the nest? Try to find a way, first. If that’s not possible, occasionally the parents will accept a substitute nest, such as a plastic berry basket with soft tissue as bedding – this should be placed as close as possible to the original nest, firmly anchored so it doesn’t come down. Observe the nest carefully, but from a safe distance, for 30-60 minutes to see if the parents have indeed found the substitute. If not, seek out a rehabilitator or wildlife official.

Abandoned nest? Maybe, maybe not. Once the eggs hatch, the parent birds go into feeding mode, gathering food constantly during daylight hours and stopping at the nest for brief periods to jam it down the gullets of their ravenous progeny. The 30-60 minute rule above is because waiting less may mean you’ve simply missed the brief feeding period between the extended gathering periods. Observation has to be done at a distance that does not alarm the parents – minimum is six meters (yards,) and more is recommended. Also, being low key is paramount, so take a seat (with binoculars, for preference) and remain still and quiet. Yes, it’s boring, but it’s for the health of the offspring, and if you didn’t care about that you wouldn’t be reading ;-)

fledglingsAs the nestlings become fledglings, they abandon the nest on their own in learning how to fly. This does mean that they’ll be found unable to fly, fluttering around at low level and even just sitting there staring at you. This is normal, and they should remain undisturbed. The parents are nearby, providing food and encouraging the flight attempts. Most bird species know enough not to give away their progeny’s locations to predators, or draw attention to themselves by moving a lot, so your ability to approach, or not being attacked by angry parents when you do so, means nothing at all. Again, observation is good here, as is knowing the calls of the species in question – the parents may be coaching their young towards them.

Now, telling the difference in ‘nestlings’ and ‘fledglings.’ A nestling is a baby bird that must remain in the nest for a while; they will have few feathers, or perhaps even odd ‘quills,’ which is what the feathers look like as they are growing out. Unable to support itself? Eyes not open? Nestling. Fledglings are the babies that are ready to learn how to fly. Their feathers will have good coverage with little to no stragglers or ‘stuffing coming out’ (the baby down.) One rule I always used over the phone was to ask if there were tail feathers – if there are, they’re about ready to fly. These are fledglings and should only be observed.

If in doubt, contact a rehabber/official. This is before doing anything else, save for getting it out of immediate danger. No food, no water, nothing at all. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve heard people say, “We’ve tried giving it water and worms” – birds can aspirate the water if it’s not given the way the parents do (you’ve noticed the beak getting jammed halfway down the throat, right?) and only one species in North America eats earthworms. Again, folklore – ignore it and be safe.

Also, bleeding in birds is serious, no matter what. Birds have very thin blood that doesn’t coagulate easily, and they can bleed out quickly. Also note that those ‘quills’ of new feathers mentioned above have a blood supply for a while, and these can be broken and start bleeding as well. Time is important in such situations.

HappyOwletBaby raptors will tear you up – they know how to use the beak and talons very early (often on their siblings) and will not hesitate to protect themselves. And adult raptors will protect their young. This is where it’s best to leave it to the experienced.

And it may seem funny to have to say this, but baby birds do not look like their parents. Adult kestrels and screech owls, both diminutive raptors, are often considered “babies” when found by those not familiar with what a real juvenile looks like. Basic rule: if it has a smooth appearance and good coverage of feathers, it’s at least fledgling age, probably older.

What about mammals? This is a little different – mammals are generally not found away from their parents unless something has gone wrong. Most especially, if the youngster’s eyes aren’t open, they’re wet from the rain or dew, or if they’re cold or dehydrated, this is the time to contact someone. Test for dehydration by gently pinching up the skin over the shoulders or side in a ‘tent’ and releasing – if the skin takes more than a second to go back into position, this is dehydration.

Always use gloves. Juvenile mammals can certainly bite, and there’s an additional risk to this: rabies is active throughout much of North America. This is an invariably fatal disease once it passes a certain point (much more so than HIV,) so this needs to be taken seriously. It is not just the bite that can transmit it, but contact of an infected animal’s saliva with mucous membranes can introduce it as well, which means that picking up a damp animal and rubbing your eyes puts you at risk. Animals do not have to be showing symptoms to be infectious, and symptoms vary anyway. BE SAFE.

It’s not just rabies. Mammals are far more likely to introduce other zoonotic issues than birds – they’re enough like us that parasites (internal and external) and some viruses can be transmitted to us. Bringing them into the house may mean you just introduced fleas, lice, giardia, and so on into your home. You’ve been warned.

possumpeepingAlso, and it pains me to have to always say this, but cute does not mean safe. Any animal can defend itself. I have never been bitten by a raccoon, despite their aggressiveness, but I have a scar and a touch of nerve damage from a grey squirrel – one, moreover, that was raised in a house. Rabbits and mice can bite the hell out of you. Shrews even have a toxic saliva. Yes, I am trying to scare you – if you’re scared, you’re cautious, which is better than incautious.

In many cases, mammals about half of the adult size can be on their own without issues – they learn how to forage for their own food reasonably quickly. Again, the stillness thing doesn’t mean they’re lost – it may simply mean they’re trying not to attract attention. This is especially so for white-tailed deer fawns – they often curl up in the grass and conserve energy while mom forages, and will not move even when someone approaches – occasionally not even when picked up. Leave them be, and come back in a few hours. If they’re still there, that’s when you should contact someone.

Rabbits are notorious for abandoning the nest if it’s been disturbed, even with a full brood of young within. This is doubly hazardous because their nests are often in clumps of grass and can be inadvertently discovered by cleaning the yard. If it happens, immediately put everything back as it was, without touching the young, and place a few distinctive blades of grass across the nest opening (preferably something you can see from at least a short distance away,) then leave it entirely alone. Come back in a few hours and check to see if the grass has been moved. If it has, things are probably okay. If not, it may be time to check the warmth and hydration of the young. Contact a rehabilitator.

Again, trying to raise them yourself puts them at a high risk. This is especially true for rabbits, which are among the hardest mammals to raise in North America. I can’t count the number of people who have assured me that they did it once before, so “they know how to do it.” While this may be true, it ignores numerous things, such as how viable the released offspring were and whether they lasted longer than a month, whether they had developmental deficiencies because of improper nutrition, and even whether they had habituated to food or behavior that left them ill-prepared for their conditions. There is a shortage of rehabilitators, so believe me, if it was easy most people would be encouraged to tackle this on their own. The fact that not only is it discouraged, it is unlawful in most areas, should be a good indication that there’s something more to consider. And the welfare of the animal should take higher precedence than anyone’s ego.

Injured animals are extra dangerous. Yes, they may seem incapacitated or helpless, but you know what they say about appearances. One of my colleagues rashly checked an injured, near-comatose squirrel bare-handed, and it bit through her finger, joining its teeth together in the fleshy part of her index finger – I actually heard them grinding together. It then passed out without letting go. Animals in pain (even pets) often respond aggressively – they have no concept of your attempts to help them, and restraint can make them even more agitated. Deer can do vast amounts of damage by thrashing with their hooves, and the big waterfowl like herons and cranes can drive that beak into your face (and yes, they aim for effectiveness.) I really want to emphasize this, because the nurturing instincts are badly misplaced here, and extreme caution is necessary instead.

“There’s a nest of animals in my attic/crawlspace/walls and they need to be removed!” No. Most especially not when they’re raising young, which is most often when anyone notices them. Once the young are there, no further damage is going to be done to your house, because the parents are concentrating on raising their brood. Trying to relocate them is hazardous, both to the animals and to people in many cases, and pointless. Let them be, and in a few weeks the young will be old enough and move out on their own – about the only exception to this is bat colonies (more below.) Once there are no young to raise, the adult animals often leave on their own – nests are primarily for young – but they can also be encouraged to leave or stay out at that point. Squirrels are pretty bad about wanting to return to successful nest areas, and will even chew through wire mesh at times, but most others take the hint and find better places to live.

“But what about rabies?” Animals raising young, even in the eaves of your house, are not an especially high risk. Contrary to belief, rabies does not cause animals to leap suddenly out and attack people; those events are remarkably rare. While anyone should be quite cautious of any mammals that openly approach, living near them does not place anyone at special risk – you’re at greater risk of being killed by the tree near the house falling on you, and we won’t even talk about road risks. Like snake bites, most contacts with rabies vector wildlife occurs by people initiating the contact.

beaverspoor“Animals are doing damage to my property and need to be removed!” No. I can’t tell you how much this attitude annoys me, but that’s what a blog is for, right? Wildlife goes where the habitat is ideal, and pays no attention to humankind’s imaginary idea of “property.” First off, anyone should enjoy the opportunity to see behavior, something that is often hard to accomplish even when making the effort. If someone has wildlife around, chances are they aren’t in a high-rise apartment, which means they wanted to live with at least some vestige of nature visible; surprise surprise, it comes with other animals. While we might decry the damages to our gardens or landscaping, that’s part of the territory, just like road noise and power lines. Learn how to cope, and the ways to exclude animals from certain areas so we can have tomatoes. I’m sorry that a $500 tree was stripped, but no one should have planted something that was that appealing to the local species in the first place, and chances are, numerous appropriate trees had been cut down first so that the fancy landscaping could be put in its place (and I used to work for a landscaper, too.)

Trapping and removal is rarely effective. If there’s a habitat, someone else will move in. And wildlife populations have been shown through numerous studies to be fairly self-regulating; the issues come because habitat destruction by humans is not. We can put in housing developments much faster than the natural cycles of population reduction and management, and those displaced animals end up somewhere. They likely feel the same way about us – dread the point where they develop opposable thumbs.

But what about bats? Ah, the poor little guys! Much of our population considers them ugly and creepy, not at all helped by folklore and horror stories, yet bats are actually way cool mammals, and good to keep the insects down. But most species nest in colonies, and this does sometimes mean in attics, which can produce lots of guano (bat poop) and increases the risks of rabies exposure, primarily when one gets lost and ends up within the human spaces of the house. However, the damage that they can do is minuscule, since they do not dig or gnaw, and excluding them only takes 1/4″ hardware cloth (small-holed wire mesh.) Again, this should be done when no young are being raised, and should always be done with gloves and a breath mask (guano turns into dust easily and can be inhaled.) Should you find a bat in your house, contact your local animal control, since states differ on how they handle potential exposures.

I said I’d get to this: So you want to learn how to rehabilitate wildlife? Once again, this is actually encouraged, but like riding a motorcycle, it should be done properly and responsibly. If there isn’t a wildlife center or organization available in your area, contact your regional Wildlife Resource Commission office (for the US at least) to find out who in your area can train you, and most especially what permissions you need. In the US you’ll need at least one permit, possibly several. What you’ll mostly need is training, because any species requires a decent body of knowledge to tackle well – which also means pick a species, at least to start. Your local rehabbers can suggest a few, which might mean picking something you didn’t initially desire, but which is either easier to learn or presents the greatest needs within an area (and again, is this about you, or the animals?) Expect to spend a lot of time at it, since most animals need lots of attention – mammals may need feedings every four hours around the clock, and birds every 15-30 minutes during daylight (yes, I knew a songbird rehabilitator that kept baby birds in the desk drawers of her office.) And it’s almost certainly all coming out of your own pocket.

SquirrelFeeding
I feel obligated to say this, too: wild animals are not pets, and should not be raised as such. There are lots of reasons. The domesticated animals we have as pets, like cats and dogs and horses, have been bred that way for thousands of years and quite likely were chosen because they already had traits that assisted the process. Animals do not domesticate by simply raising them around people, and in many cases have behaviors that cause them to run afoul of our own (I mention once again the squirrel scar I bear – that story was posted a few years ago.) Many animals also do not have diets that are easy for humans to replicate, meaning that they’re unlikely to thrive and may develop serious disabilities. But most distinctly, what we might imagine them to be like is rarely ever the case – they are highly unlikely to bond with humans in the slightest, and aren’t going to make good companions, do tricks, or even exhibit any appealing personality. They belong in the wild, and that should be your only goal.

Now, if the demands of rehabilitation are too much to contemplate, you can always volunteer with a local organization, and do rehabilitation on a rotation as your schedule permits. This helps prevent burnout and lets you have vacations and family emergencies. This also allows you to get involved without necessarily requiring the permits, because you can operate under the aegis of the organization and its own permits (which is how I worked with raptors, since my apartment would not fit the 15-meter flight cages required.) Still, expect to be dedicated to the job, even when it’s unsavory – cleaning cages and wounds, and even euthanizing injured animals, is a requisite part of it all. Not to mention how many species expect live or fresh food. If you’re thinking of cuddling fluffy bunnies, you’re not ready; rehab requires lots of ugly stuff, and very little bonding – they’re not pets, but wildlife, and need to be wild.

Or, simply donate money or materials. That works too, and is just as necessary – the nice thing about the subject is how nearly everyone can find a niche (provided they accept the reasonable expectations.) Despite such things as Wildlife Resource Commissions and the US Fish & Wildlife Service, there really isn’t money being put into wildlife rehab, especially not from a state or federal level. The vast majority of organizations run solely on donations and grants, and often even have to have veterinary services donated. Experienced workers are great, but donors are just as important, if not more so. Even people who can promote greater donations are important. Just about everything is grass-roots level, all of the time – the few exceptions are great, and demonstrations of what can be done, but not what you can expect throughout the field. Your help, whatever it is, will be appreciated.

A final note: find out, now, how to contact your local wildlife people. Before you find yourself with an injured owl on your hands. In some areas, it’s not self-evident or easy to find, and if it’s not a registered organization, you can forget about searching any telephone listings. Local animal control usually knows, and the 24-hour emergency vets. Often, 911 operators do not, and even local law enforcement may be stumped. A few minutes to get prepared can save a lot of hassle later on, and as I said, we’re entering baby season.

Hope this helps!

Tip Jar 9: Curves, part 2

Al DenelsbeckLeave a comment

And now we get into the second aspect of using the ‘Curves’ function for image editing, and that’s color management. I’m being my usual long-winded self here, so bear with me – if you can’t handle the length, there are TikTok morons that you could probably relate to.

Something that I didn’t go into within the video is, what constitutes excessive editing, or to be blunt, cheating? At what point does it become a digital creation rather than an edited photo? And there’s really no good answer to that – it’s more of a question you have to answer for yourself. I take a lot of pride in trying to capture something as close to perfect (or at least acceptable) in-camera, rather than attempting to ‘rescue’ it afterwards – and when I was shooting slide film, I had no choice, because whatever I did wrong was locked into the film. Yet I also see the value in creating something fartistic using the tools at hand – especially when it comes to monochrome images.

Then there’s the idea that the camera didn’t capture things perfectly or “as-is” to begin with – contrast and saturation settings within the camera, the metering mode and what it read from, and even the processing algorithms within the camera software all have their effects, so what’s “true”? Well, there is no such thing. BUT, being too heavy-handed in the tweaks or alterations that you do will be spotted by anyone with a modicum of experience, and it’s up to you to decide if you care or not (or up to them if they have stipulations over what is acceptable, with contest submissions for instance.) I personally avoid composites (using two or more images combined) for anything serious or fartistic, and only one of my prints has such a thing and that’s only for personal use. But I’ll have a lot of fun with them for frivolous purposes.

Getting these two videos done has laid the groundwork for some future Tip Jar posts, and I will try to link to them as needed, but knowing the basics of Curves will certainly help no matter what and is a useful skill to have, even if you do very little image editing.

Oh, just go

Al DenelsbeckLeave a comment

panel from "We need to talk about naked mole rats" by The Oatmeal, Matthew InmanThis isn’t one that lends itself to an easy description, or a slick way of introducing it, so I’m struggling here. But I’m on the mailing list for The Oatmeal, which is either a webcomic or the nom de plume of the guy who writes and illustrates them, maybe both. If you’re not familiar with the site, you should be, because it’s far worse than this one in terms of being indelicate and irreverent, plus the illustration style defies description.

Recently, the extended comic ‘We need to talk about naked mole rats’ was posted, and seriously, check it out. It’s worth it just for The Oatmeal illustrations of an already unsavory-looking creature, but the information therein is actually fascinating, and certainly a lot more than I ever knew about the species, which is unique in quite a few ways. It would be easy to look at naked mole rats and think they have nowhere to go but up, evolutionarily-speaking, but the actual traits that they’ve developed are extraordinary. We shouldn’t be judging on appearances – we’re bigger than that.

Plus, it’s almost certain at some time that The Oatmeal thought, You know, drawing the tiddies of the queen mole rat is probably unnecessary, only to be immediately countered with, The hell it is!

That would do it

Al DenelsbeckLeave a comment

I mentioned in the previous post about the possible explanation for the raised water levels in the pond, and The Girlfriend and I went out in the kayaks today to check things out. I would say the mystery is adequately solved.

large beaver dam at edge of The Bayou with better than a meter draft, taken from a kayak
That’s the edge of the kayak peeking in there, as it sat against the top of an impressive beaver dam, one that measured better than six meters in length across the drainage channel, and a meter or more difference in the water levels on either side. I could only get one decent perspective on it without trying to get out of the kayak and schlep around on shore someplace (which may come another day,) but I think these are expressive enough.

large beaver dam past bow of kayak, giving some indication of length
We only own half of the portion of the pond that we refer to as ‘The Bayou,’ and this sits beyond that dividing line, so technically it’s someone else’s property. It’s also not on the pond itself per se, but on an offshoot to the east, in the direction of the creek that forms the eastern border. It raised a few questions, especially given that we’ve been told the ponds are manmade, and the evidence for this was there – we also got down to the far end of the uniformly-shaped (more or less) pool and found the outlet pipe there. That was higher than this water level though. and this dam was beyond a break in the bank. It was responsible for flooding a very large section, seeming to extend all the way across to the creek itself.

flood plain caused by large beaver dam
So, what had caused the gap in the banks that allowed this to occur in the first place? Or, as I’m surmising right now, had the beavers dammed only a tributary of the creek, one seen beyond the dam in the photos, and the water level eventually surmounted a low point in the bank between this tributary and The Bayou, causing the ponds to become backed up too? That’s my working hypothesis right now.

flood plain caused by large beaver dam
From the shallow depth and the logs and cypress knees everywhere, I suspect the area seen in these two pics had been forest floor until recently, perhaps a bit boggy but otherwise solid – it now looks more like the creek flooded its banks, and we could potentially have paddled right on into the creek. Which would also explain the significant increase in trash in our ponds, since this became wide open water between the creek (receiving trash from the typical inbred redneck assholes that have to hurl their shit off the bridge where the road crosses the creek upstream) and the ponds. Which also means that my idea for putting a trash barrier along one channel would be next to worthless, because it wasn’t actually coming in that way.

The lodge was quite close by too.

large beaver lodge on edge of The Bayou, roughly a meter in height
While we have two beaver lodges on the property, one potentially abandoned, it would seem they weren’t the source of all the cutting and gnawing activity we’ve been seeing of late, since this is better than twice the size of either one, being a meter or more in outside height and showing fresh cuttings in its structure.

Which is another interesting point. Every lodge that I’ve ever seen in North Carolina has been dug into the steep banks of a stream, pond, or lake, rather than freestanding. The living area of the lodge itself is above water but underground, even when the entry is always submerged to prevent predator access, and the steep banks and land height above water level on the creek side permitted this; the minimal rise of the land on the pond sides wouldn’t allow for a dry chamber above water. This is the first tall dam I’ve seen where the living chamber might actually have been constructed under that log dome rather than dug out, perhaps even extended higher as the water level rose.

While we seemed to have two beavers living in one of those lodges near us, this confirms that there are certainly more within reach, and likely coming up to the backyard pond to snag more saplings as needed. Now, will I be able to get more pics or videos of these? That might be tricky, since there is no walking access to the dam or lodge that I know of, nor could see the potential of from the kayak, so that means I’d likely have to pack the photo equipment into a watertight case and haul it down to a nice vantage, beach, unload, and set up – and at least the return trip would be in full darkness. Not inconceivable, but a lot of effort, and not something I should be doing alone. Don’t count on it, is what I’m saying – unless someone wants to pony up some funding for the resulting pics and video? Let’s talk.

February responds defiantly

Al DenelsbeckLeave a comment

Perhaps having read my previous post where I dumped on February for being so dismal and rainy, it responded by producing a quite nice day today, as in, no jacket required, so take, take me home. The handful of leftover pics I had slotted to throw up here are now superseded by the ones I actually got today, and there’s just a few, so settle in.

We need to start with, the weeping willow (Salix babylonica) that I received last year is now kicking it for spring.

weeping willow Salix babylonica budding out in spring 2026
Unlike some of the other trees, the willow was very subtle about its early spring activity, producing only these very small buds tight against the branches like flattened thorns – until now, anyway. I don’t think the tree has quite topped four meters yet, but it’s close. And this is a wildly subjective thing anyway, since by nature it’s a floppy, droopy tree so the tallest branch may vary by half a meter or more depending on the wind and rain. I’ll try to get a size comparison soon, but right now, it’s slurping up all the rain in the boggy area we planted it within, specifically so it could – willows like wet ground.

Another tree was budding out enthusiastically too, but don’t ask me what.

unidentified tree budding out enthusiastically with red flowers
I probably should know what this is, since it’s right on the edge of the pond and has been photographed before, but I really don’t know. Maaayyybe swamp maple? Regardless, it’s pretty brilliant against the clear sky.

I played around a little with what the sunlight produced, while nearby.

reflections and shadows on pond surface with yellow cow lilies Nuphar lutea appearing from under surface
I noticed the yellow cow lilies (Nuphar lutea) were already springing back, visible under the surface but ready to overwhelm the pond again – that is, if the nutrias and the beavers let them, which is a big question right now, given how often those mammals are visiting. Of course, I had to back off a bit to get the bold reflections of the white trunks (another unidentified tree) in there. And then, the far more subtle part, the image is crossed horizontally with the shadows of other trees nearby, just making all sorts of interplay. That makes it fartistic, donchaknow.

The turtles had wasted no time taking advantage of the day, to be sure.

small eastern painted turtle Chrysemys picta picta basking on cypress knee with another painted and several yellow-bellied sliders Trachemys scripta scripta on Turtle Island in background
A small eastern painted turtle (Chrysemys picta picta) found one of the few dwindling basking spots in the higher water levels of the pond, while another painted and several yellow-bellied sliders (Trachemys scripta scripta) hog Turtle Island in the background. We really do need to make a few more basking spots, perhaps some kind of floating platforms (though maybe not – the winds may simply lodge those someplace shady and make them worthless.) I was shooting with the long lens to avoid spooking them, and snagged a closer frame of the little guy in the foreground.

small eastern painted turtle Chrysemys picta picta basking on bald cypress Taxodium distichum knee in backyard pond
Probably a little bigger than my hand-span in size, which makes it roughly half what the adults can achieve. I think the painteds are more wary than the sliders; the other day when The Girlfriend had the kayak out, she passed extremely close to a pair of sliders on Turtle Island who didn’t move until she was within three meters, which impressed me.

The turtles are definitely struggling with the higher water levels. I mean, they don’t care about the water per se, it just eradicates more of their basking areas.

four yellow-bellied sliders Trachemys scripta scriptaand one eastern painted turtle Chrysemys picta picta basking on the limited real estate of Turtle Island
Compare this image to this post (exactly a year ago!) when nineteen of them were all using that island. We really have to create something for them…

The Canada geese (Branta canadensis) were quite active today as well, congregating in pairs and, for the most part, just hanging out on holiday.

six Canada geese Branta canadensis congregating on backyard pond
They’re still not up to the level of trust that they had last year, curiously, and maintain a moderate distance when we’re around, but otherwise aren’t concerned. It’s a nice quiet spot for them and pretty protected, so they seem satisfied with it. They gave me a few nice framing opportunities too.

pair of yellow-bellied sliders Trachemys scripta scripta on Turtle Island with trio of Canade geese Branta canadensis in background
The turtles look wary here, as if ready to bail if the geese got too close, but then a little later on, I captured this image:

six Canada geese Branta canadensis and two yellow-bellied sliders Trachemys scripta scripta congregating on and around Turtle Island
The two turtles are still there to the left, if you look, and not at all concerned with being overrun. A little after this however, another pair of geese swam in from The Bayou and purposefully headed up here (the northern, opposite end of the backyard portion,) getting a little territorial with the ones seen here – nothing serious, but definitely herding them away a little. Those two then settled in on the other tussock with the broken snag (I think we’re calling it Goose Island now,) and so might have been the pair that looked like they were considering nesting there. Still monitoring this whole situation.

While we’ve seen some of the wood ducks close to the nest box, we’ve yet to witness anyone checking it out, but their nesting season is a little later on, I think. No, actually, we’re right on time (this post would go a hell of a lot faster if I didn’t keep searching for past posts that related.) But I took the opportunity to do a fartsy shot as one of the Canadas passed it by.

Canada goose Branta canadensis passing by wood duck nest box on backyard pond
I’d raised that nest box this winter, not getting it as high as I’d intended, but I also hadn’t realized until looking at the posts from last year that the water level is up higher than I’d thought – it appears to be a solid 25cm or more. We think we now know why, too, but that’ll wait until I can get some pics to feature.

Okay, two more. First thing I was after, stepping out today, was to see how that lone sunspot was progressing, just to compare.

two small spots on sun's face through solar filter, Feb 28, 2026
More visible now, with a companion, but not where I expected it to be – I need to check and see just how the sun’s axis is aligned in relation to Earth.

[This is slightly tricky. First off, the axis of both the sun and the moon, and Venus and Jupiter and all that, appear to realign as the day or night progresses, mostly because we’re seeing them from different angles as the Earth rotates – we just think “up” when looking at them in the sky, but that’s not the same as “towards celestial North” in any way. And then the viewing latitude makes a difference too, and our own planet has an axial tilt. So where the sun’s north pole sits in this image, I have no firm idea.]

And finally, a curious find that I want to check out better, but when I went out a couple of hours ago to try and find further examples, I came up empty-handed.

pair of unidentified snails entwined within The Puddle, possibly showing through translucent shells
No more than a centimeter in length, these little unidentified snails were very visible just under the surface of The Puddle, catching the light quite well, but at full resolution here, some odd details are revealed. I initially though that what we’re seeing on the lower portions of the shells were mere reflections of the external parts of the snails as they – possibly mated? – but that doesn’t seem to align with what’s actually visible. So I suspect we’re seeing what’s inside the shells here, the anatomy of the snail that maintains contact when extruded, because the shells are that translucent. The two frames that I have are inconclusive, so I need to capture one or two to confirm this. Thus, there may be a followup to this, but not until next month (which is now just over an hour away.)

So that’s, what, twelve more images for February? That helps bring the numbers up for a relatively slow month in the winter, and I still have those leftover pics too. Plus, the busy season looms, so things should start picking up seriously very soon. And I need to jump on various spring projects too. Getting to be that time.

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