A Good and Grainy Day Nuking It!

Nothing too fancy today, but I wanted to show that you can even have a good day when it's a bit overcast and gloomy.

I was disappointed when I got off work yesterday, as the skies were blanketed in a thick cloud layer. It's been that way for a few days now, and it's building up a frustration in me. I haven't been on a "good" shoot in a while, so every cloudy day adds up. This day had just enough light to tease... So, I set my course despite the less-than-perfect conditions because I have been checking on a few sights that have chicks yet to be born. As I am doing that, I notice a lot of seagull activity near the "nuke plant" lake shore.

I see plenty of Caspian Terns, a rogue American White Pelican and a few Great Blue Herons in a matter of minutes. My hopes increase...

The local birding hotline has had sightings of a Laughing Gull at this location, so I sit in the parking lot for a few minutes. A few Caspian Terns go by, and as I follow their route, I see a great place to park my behind and wait for them to come to me. As I am trailing a tern, a shadow from above hints at a flyover I didn't see coming, and as I look, I see it's the (notorious) Laughing Gull. Damn! I am walking and my hands are full with my camera, water, phone, and monopod! Oh well, I can wait him out when I get to my spot. I get set up and wait, and as I am waiting, a few photo ops go by and I take a few close up fly by shots.






A few fishermen walk by, we chat about the crappy weather, and I lose my vantage point with their arrival. The gulls shy away even farther down the shore, so I end up calling it a day. I never did see the Laughing Gull again, but today looks promising, weather-wise...

A Mouthful

So you see a giant fish hanging from a Great Blue Herons mouth as you are driving by. You gotta stop! Is this guy seriously gonna swallow this cat (I think it's a catfish)? He did! I missed that shot only because I was watching him for quite some time, struggling to properly prepare this fish for the gulp. He tried many different techniques but there was 1 problem. This catfish had been dead for some time. Rigermortous had set in, so the long stiff fish was being quite difficult for the GBH. He dipped the fish for lubrication many times, just to give up for a few minutes, then grab it again and start all over. This went on for a long time, and just as I had given up, he swallowed it. Doh!




A good fluffing after a belly buster of a meal!



Strike a pose!

Hoodie Display

In a small unfrozen corner of a rather small backwater lake, a few male Hooded Mergansers were showing off for 1 lone female. Among the hoodies were 5 Great Blue Herons fishing the only open water. Since available space was limited, the hoodies circled the herons while putting on their show. It was an awesome show indeed, although having to shoot from such a distance away, proved to only wet my appetite for more.







Don't forget to enter the caption contest! See "Deer Tracks" for more information.

A Day at the River

I spent the day at the rivers edge, bundled up but comfortable, with a campchair, banana & water, just so I wouldn't have an excuse to come in early. I lasted for quite a few hours in 30 degree temps. It was a gorgeous day with barely a breeze, and the ducks kept me busy, as my hiding spot proved worthy. A deer came over the hill not 20 feet from me and bedded down, trusting its location just out of my view.



Great Blue Heron









Female Common Goldeneyes










Female Common Merganser










A fish in one mouth, and drool in the other.










Male Common Merganser










Male Common Goldeneye









A female Merganser diving just like Michael Phelps.









I just liked the reflection pattern of the water.

Let's Get Ready to Ruu-m-ble!!

Spending some much overdue time at a neglected hotspot of mine, the visit produced a few interesting battles. This first bout was the Great Blue Heron in the Gray trunks, and the Double-breasted Cormorant in the Brown trunks. They went to their corners and waited for the bell. They came out fighting! (--over the prime fishing spot known as the whistle.) Right under the heron is a very large drainage pipe which produces high water flow from the backwaters to the river or vise-versa. The swift current caused by the rush creates prime real estate for fishing. The finned ones gather in the eddy to fish for minnows and other teensy food & their predators fish for them. The food chain is pretty short at the whistle. The cormorant approached from the water, dove down for his breakfast, within harpooning range of the herons bill, but the swift swimming skills kept him from ultimate demise. We watched them battle for quite a long time...







The next fight on the card was the Green Herons. Theirs was more like fencing. It was a fast fight, bills clacking eachother, then jumping to a new branch for another angle, clack some more, and eventually fly off.

There were no winners or losers. Every fighter walked away unscathed!

It was a nice place to come back to, but the fishermen of the human kind have discovered this prime piece of wildlife heaven. If they are here, the wildlife aren't, so driving 20 minutes to get here is usually pointess, unless pre-sunrise is an option.

Friday Potpourri

I am hoping the weekend will bring plenty of photos to share on Monday. The weather looks good & my schedule is clear, so now its about luck. Will I choose the right spot? I always question that. My prospects are: Pileated Woodpecker, Wood ducks, Beaver, Bluebirds, Pine Squirrels, Black Squirrels, Kingfisher...Wish me luck!


This photo should have been included in the last post. This male mallard went flying after a female he found attractive.





I knew this photo would be dark, but I liked it, as far as squirrel shots go.





I discovered this tree bordering a creek a few years ago, with only a few heron nests at that time. Since then, the neighborhood has grown quite a bit!











And finally... A muskrat getting a drink of water at the edge of the beaver pond.

Putting It Out There

This Sunday, I am entering my very first Photo Contest. It is a small one here at Goose Lake Prairie Nature Center, and the Morris Camera Club is the host for their very first contest competition. I am entering 13 pictures in various catagories so my week has been busy getting the photos chosen, cropped, matted, and the information filled out. This one featured here is my favorite, but thats just me. The photo entries will be on display until August 4th at the center, and I am hoping there will be alot of local photographers entering. They are giving out 1 plaque for Best of Show and plaques for first places in all catagories, plus ribbons for 2nd and 3rd. I am just hoping for some sort of win so that I can say "Award Winning Photographer" in the future for some good reason as yet to be named. Wild Iris Bumble Bee, Teresa's Tree, Bullfrog Reflection, Great Horned Owl Family, and Screech Owl are all of which have been featured here on this blog, along with others that have not appeared as of yet. Wish me luck! I'm kind of excited...

Great Blue Herons are reliable. I can find them most any time I want. I have shot so many over the years, yet I am not tired of them. I found this guy at Gebhard Woods among the blooming wild iris's, lotus flowers and lily pads and just loved the setting.
Great Blue Heron Facts: Largest North American heron. A common wading bird that nest in trees near bodies of water. Wing span of up to 70 inches. Adults have a white crown and face; black plume extending above eye to back of head, gray/blue body. Stands 38 inches tall.