The Simian Mr Bugg and I had an outing to Jordan Lake the other day, once again ostensibly for a sunset that never materialized, but during the run-up to that time, we chased a few bird photos. Yet as the title says, there are fewer here than it seems. Above, an osprey (Pandion hailaetus) remained perched on this dead tree for a long time – you’ll see it again a little later on.
The wind
Not every project that I tackle comes to fruition, and I’m forced to abandon more than a couple (like the tracking motor to use with the eclipse, for instance.) But, as the title says, this one did.
For the record (Hah! I keel me!) this was the previous incarnation of it mentioned within the video. But here’s what I was dealing with this time around:
I have a decent audio recorder, and
N 27.046105° W 82.400731° Google Earth Placemark
I’m still not sure if the Google Earth Placemark links are actually working – they’re not for me – but if they are for you, this one will be slightly different than the latitude/longtitude coordinates listed, and neither of those actually shows where I was standing, but the coordinates show where these birds were at least.
I actually use this image in my introductory nature photography seminar, as an example of what not to do, and also as a kind of penance. Initially it might look like an okay portrait of a sandhill crane (Antigone canadensis,) though it quickly becomes clear that it could be a lot better. The background is cluttered and complicated, and too close in focus to the
Given the success of previous efforts and the fact that I had the opportunity to pursue such actions, I’ve been making more trips down to Jordan Lake to try and keep an eye on the red-headed woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) nest. It hasn’t been daily, nor for more than a couple hours at a time (mostly,) due to storms and heat and, you know, having a life.
A week ago now, I posted about finding the nest of a red-headed woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus,) including being able to see the opening clearly enough that I should be able to spot the nestlings as they got bigger and closer to fledging out and leaving the
At times past, I’ve realized that I’m getting into a rut, posting too many images of a particular topic, mostly mantids and frogs. I have also said that I wasn’t much of a bird photographer, concentrating on other subjects (like mantids and frogs.) Well, at least I can switch ruts,
I couldn’t pass on opening the post with a rather bizarre image, could I? Don’t judge, you’d do the same thing in my shoes with the pressure on this way. It’s my homage to the cover of Watership Down. What you’re seeing, first of all, is from 2004, in my favorite snorkeling haunt on the Indian River Lagoon in Florida. This is a southern puffer