Pelicans of the Shem

When I've traveled to South Carolina, seems I always find some time to spend at Shem Creek in Charleston.  The waterfront area is built up, commercialized, nicely.  What I like the most are the commercial fishing boats.  All the masts, booms and nets.  And the colors.  The scenery lines are everywhere.  And the colors.

And where there are free fish to be had, Pelicans are around.  I'm guessing the locals think of Pelicans as trash birds - and they may be.  But for the tourist in me will overlook societies harsh judgement.

Pelican on a Roost

NIKON D6 Ver.01.51/NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6

350 mm, 1/800 sec, f/5.6, ISO 110 (AUTO)

EV 0, Shutter Priority, Size FX, Polarizer

Pelican Committed to Takeoff

NIKON D6 Ver.01.51/NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6

175 mm, 1/800 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100 (AUTO)

EV 0, Shutter Priority, Size FX, Polarizer

Pelican Water Takeoff

NIKON D6 Ver.01.51/NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6

400 mm, 1/800 sec, f/5.6, ISO 220 (AUTO)

EV 0, Shutter Priority, Size FX, Polarizer

Pelican Water Takeoff

NIKON D6 Ver.01.51/NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6

400 mm, 1/800 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 (AUTO)

EV 0, Shutter Priority, Size FX, Polarizer

Pair of Sandhill Cranes in Flight

Last Saturday's Eagle chase yielded some surprising guest shots.  One of the unexpected guests was a pair of Sandhill Cranes.

This was a very cool event.  Through a long clearing, over a mix of water and grass, a pair of Cranes flew just about right over the spot where I was standing.  I watched their approach for I'm guessing, about 300 yards.  I heard them before I saw them.  I'm guessing I watched them for about 15 seconds - but felt like minutes.  In a good way.  Plenty of time to get the camera up and acquire focus.  No rookie mistakes.  Even had time to breathe.

One of the few events I could watch the entire event unfold through the camera, and not miss much.

Pair of Sandhill Cranes in Flight

NIKON D850 Ver.1.30/NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6

500 mm, 1/1,000th sec, f/5.6, ISO 140 (Auto)

EV +0.67, MANUAL Mode, Size FX

Pair of Sandhill Cranes in Flight

NIKON D850 Ver.1.30/NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6

500 mm, 1/1,000th sec, f/5.6, ISO 280 (Auto)

EV +0.67, MANUAL Mode, Size FX

Pair of Sandhill Cranes in Flight

NIKON D850 Ver.1.30/NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6

500 mm, 1/1,000th sec, f/5.6, ISO 320 (Auto)

EV +0.67, MANUAL Mode, Size FX

Very cool experience to have a subject fly so close.  Will be tough to beat.

Eagle with Dinner

A week ago, I was in 80 degree weather.  Today, 40 degrees, 8 knot winds and drizzle.  The only difference, about 1,000 miles.  I'll get back to South Carolina.

Today, I had an invitation to see an Eagle's nest in Clarkston, Independence Oaks County Park.  Can't pass that up.

Did I mention the weather was pretty crappy?  All of the sky shots will end up being deleted.  Anything eye level or lower, or with a dense tree in the background turned out OK.  And in reality, I'll be back there when the sky is much better - someday.

But we did have a few moments of excitement when one of the parent Eagles hit the water for an un-suspecting catfish and departed for the nest in what seemed to be one move.  I missed the business end of the bird and fish, but did get the water takeoff.  There is a fair amount of distance involved, so the cropping is fairly aggressive.  Won't win any prizes, but looks good on the monitor.

A bird and a fish.

All photos were taken with the D6/200-500 f/5.6 combo, 1/1,000 sec, f/5.6 and ISO between 2500 and 3600.

The Herons of Kensington Metropark

I live under a rock.  Not sure where I picked that up.  Most of the people I grew up with are natural inquisitive explorers.  I balance that out.

There is a metropark that I have passed numerous times in the last 25 years of my life in Michigan.  Last weekend, I finally paid the $10 to spend a few hours exploring.

My photo club has started going there in the past year.  I've never been able to join them on these excursions - but I have heard the tales.  This past weekend was the perfect time to go.

I was hoping to see some bigger birds of prey, but that was not to be.  I did get to see a number of small birds chase a hawk through the trees, followed by a number of photographers.  That lasted for about 15 minutes - and for me at least yielded no useable shots.

The metropark does boast a Heron Rookery on Wildwing Lake.  I've seen photos of rookeries in the southern states, but none close by.  It is a Rock thing.

Heron Family Portrait

NIKON D850 Ver.1.20/NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6

400 mm, 1/1250 sec, f/6.3, ISO 180 (Auto)

EV 0, Manual, Size FX

GBH in the Trees

NIKON D500 Ver.1.31/NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6

750 mm, 1/800 sec, f/5.6, ISO 280 (Auto)

EV 0, Aperture Priority, Size DX

GBH Returning Home to the Kids

NIKON D500 Ver.1.31/NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6

660 mm, 1/1600 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100

EV 0, Aperture Priority, Size DX

The first shot was taken while I was walking around for my initial survey.  The shot was hand held.  But while I was there, I know I would return with heavier equipment.  In a rare display of forward thinking, I had the D500 combo-ed with the 200-500 lens ready in reserve.  I also now have stored permanently stored in the truck, a monopod with appropriate gimbal.  All came to good use.  In the middle shot, I decreased the shutter speed to 1/800 from my usual 1/1250 speeds.  That doesn't happen often.

Ospreys of Port Mahon

Port Mahon, Delaware.  Population 0.

The getaway to Delaware for a long weekend was scheduled to be two days at the Dover Airshow.  Ah, schedules.  Didn't work out that way.  Saturday at the show was so hot that Sunday at the show was not in the cards.  On to the famous Plan B.

The core of Plan B was was coastal travel and sightseeing.

Late in the afternoon, we hit Port Mahon, population 0.  There were no habitable buildings there, so I'm guess no zip code either?

Apparently Port Mahon was a port for Little Creek and Lepsic.  OK, I guess coastal villages need a port.  Works for me.

Maybe I was expecting too much.  When you see a sign that says Port Mahon to the right - you think Ice Cream in 15 minutes, right?  Population 0.

But with any combination of land, water and some activity involving fishing - the birds are everywhere.  In the case of Port Mahon, the birds seem to be Gulls, Cormorants and Ospreys.

Sounds like fun.

I had the D850 and the 80-400 combo as the primary equipment for the day.  

I was all in on Osprey watching.

Osprey in the Nest

NIKON D850 Ver.1.20/Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6

400 mm, 1/1250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 125 (Auto)

EV 0, Shutter Priority, Size FX

Osprey and Gull

NIKON D850 Ver.1.20/Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6

400 mm, 1/1250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 140 (Auto)

EV 0, Shutter Priority, Size FX

Osprey Flying Away with Dinner

NIKON D850 Ver.1.20/Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6

400 mm, 1/1250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 140 (Auto)

EV 0, Shutter Priority, Size FX

Osprey with Lunch

NIKON D850 Ver.1.20/Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6

400 mm, 1/1250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 (Auto)

EV 0, Shutter Priority, Size FX

I follow some very good photographers of Ospreys - and these won't crowd their space.  But you have to start somewhere.  For me, the primary point is the eye.  The rest is window dressing.  If we had more time to watch, maybe the dive and food retrieval.  But next time I get to Dover, this is on the agenda.  Agenda 1, Population 0.

Tobico Marsh Cardinals

I usually don't have much luck with small birds.  So far.  Maybe I need a change of location?

While walking the Tobico Marsh, I found my way to an observation tower.  At the top of the tower, there really wasn't much to see.  Except, after about five minutes, the small birds showed up.  Not close enough as in food expectation, but maybe 20 feet?  Maybe 15 feet?  Normal small bird stuff.

The most camera friendly were two Cardinals.  And they didn't move when I did.  I never tried to crowd them, but it has been my experience that most small birds will move when I do.  Usually moving farther away.

But this time, these two stuck around for a few minutes.

Female Cardinal

NIKON D500 Ver.1.31/NIKON 80.0-400.0 mm f/4.5-5.6

600 mm, 1/1250 sec, f/5.6 ISO 560 (Auto)

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

Male Cardinal

NIKON D500 Ver.1.31/NIKON 80.0-400.0 mm f/4.5-5.6

600 mm, 1/1250 sec, f/5.6 ISO 250 (Auto)

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

Female Cardinal

NIKON D500 Ver.1.31/NIKON 80.0-400.0 mm f/4.5-5.6

600 mm, 1/1250 sec, f/5.6 ISO 400 (Auto)

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

Not that I'll ever get a number of the small backyard bird shots, these were fun to be a part of.

Birds from the first Tobico Marsh walk

Yesterday's walk through Tobico Marsh didn't yield any big birds.  No Eagles, young or old.  No Osprey.  But there weren't many people out either, which makes me think I'm early for the big bird season.

That's OK.  I'm getting better at sneaking up on, or having the patience for, smaller flying objects.

At Shiawassee I got to the point where I can spot and Eagle far off.  For a while, I know where they would transit.  For smaller birds, walking through the paths between the roads I could never sneak up on them.  Thus, very few small bird shots.

At Tobico, I had a bit better luck.  Or the smaller birds tolerate the tourists much better.  In each case for the following, I stayed in place for about two to three minutes before the little flying objects returned.

This first shot is far from perfect.  It is about three inches from being the best small bird shot I have.  Anyway, this is more than a miss on the tail end, hah, of the bird in flight.  Truth is, I was focused on the stationary bird and didn't see this until I got home.  I can almost see the stationary bird smile.

Swallow on the Rail

NIKON D500 Ver.1.31/NIKON 80.0-400.0 mm f/4.5-5.6

600 mm, 1/1000 sec, f/5.6 ISO 800 (Auto)

EV +1, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

This next one was in the same area where the walkway was at the end of the flooded marsh.  About 15 yards off the walkway was a small clump of grass.  And in the grass, a hiding Canadian Goose.  I tried a number of shots, but could never get the eye clear of the grass stalks.  This was as close to framing the eye that I could get.  You would think if I could move the the right just two inches....

Canadian Goose in Hiding

NIKON D500 Ver.1.31/NIKON 80.0-400.0 mm f/4.5-5.6

600 mm, 1/1250 sec, f/5.6 ISO 640 (Auto)

EV +1, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

This is a Red-bellied Woodpecker.  I've verified it with the Merlin application on my phone.  Merlin never lies.  Anyway, I snuck up on it while it was feeding on the ground.  it was one of those situations where I was looking in the trees and almost stepped....  Well not sure who scared who.  Anyway the bird took to flight.  Only to be caught when I got to the top of the observation deck.

Red-bellied Woodpecker at Home

NIKON D500 Ver.1.31/NIKON 80.0-400.0 mm f/4.5-5.6

600 mm, 1/1250 sec, f/5.6 ISO 800 (Auto)

EV +1, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

Eastern Screech Owl

Today (Saturday) at the For-Mar Nature Preserve & Arboretum, the Wildlife Recovery Association paid a visit to show off some of their resident birds of prey.  The Nature Preserve often has events for a few hours on the weekends.  Great way to spend a few hours on a Saturday.

The WRA brought in four different owls, two falcons and some other 'peaceful' birds.

Part of the event was reviewing the mission of the WRA, and a bit of history of the birds on show.  The birds that were there would never go back in the wild.  The injuries that brought them to the WRA would never heal sufficiently to allow any chance of survival.  The critters in their care that will be rehabilitated to the wild will never be this close to humans.  Never thought about it before, but makes sense.

Aesthetically speaking, fun to see such magnificent creatures close up.  They catered to the kids a lot, most of the attendees were young accompanied by parents.  The birds were brought out to and through the audience.  Lots of phone close ups.  Great experience for kids.

Photographically speaking, the light was awful.  I'm recently used to wide open skies and subjects relatively far away.  This somewhat bit me as my initial aperture settings introduced a very shallow Depth of Field.  Unfortunately for the first bird to make an appearance, the Eastern Screech Owl, I was shooting f/3.5 for some of the early shots.  Nice bokeh, but something important was always out of focus.  At some point I figured it out.  Like I had to figure out the ISO.  I had a limit set for 200.  That worked for some of the shots outside of the pavilion.  Inside the pavilion, I had to bump that limit to 1000.  To be fair to me though, I figured that out before the birds took the stage.  

This is the first time I've seen owls up this close.  Awesome.

This first shot of the Eastern Screech Owl was making the rounds before the show started.  Always arrive early.  Lesson for life.

Eastern Screech Owl

NIKON D850 Ver.1.20/NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED

185 mm, 1/200 sec, f/3.5, ISO 250 (AUTO)

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size FX

At least the eyes are in focus.

This next shot was taken in the pavilion.

Eastern Screech Owl

NIKON D850 Ver.1.20/NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED

200 mm, 1/125 sec, f/5.0, ISO 640 (AUTO)

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size FX

This shot is a prime candidate for a background replacement.  Something for the winter.  The change of aperture yielded an in-focus glove.

Great day.  More photos of adorable critters to follow.

Bringing Home the Food - Part II

Today was not the best day to be out and about.   Heavy overcast.  Just plain flat.  But I needed to get out and walk around a bit.  Good day to get back to basics.  I've been relying on high shutter speeds (over 1/1200th sec) to help with focus.  Call it a crutch.  And to really handicap myself, I used a polarizer.  The polarizer just arrived and I was looking to use it, no matter what.

I wanted to check out the Eagles in Richfield Park.  I've stopped by their nest a few times this year, but always appeared no one was home.  I heard from a friend that the nest was still being used.  So the nest was a destination today.

Over the last three years that I've been observing the nest and Eagle life, I've come to the conclusion that the more time that is spent at the nest, the better the chance to see something more than a bird in the trees.  You have to work for it.  Except for today.  I spent about 15 minutes at the nest.  One of my favorite sights is to see one of the Eagles fly directly overhead bringing home some food.  It's not easy, because it is silence coming to you from behind.  Sometimes I can see the reflection in the pond water, but not today.  

The Eagle is in flight above my head in view for only 3 to 5 seconds.  Hate to say it, but if I was using the 200-500 lens, I probably miss it.  With the 70-300 lens, much lighter to swing around.  The difference is 1.5 pounds to 5.25 pounds.

Bringing Home the Food

NIKON D500 Ver.1.30/NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E ED VR

450 mm, 1/640th sec, f/5.6, ISO 110 (AUTO)

EV +1, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

A year ago, I was able to catch food being delivered, here.  It almost looks like as spring brings out the greens and life, it's also a good gage on the new life of the Eaglets.  Didn't see this until I started looking at the photos on a monitor.  Eaglet!  Need a serious crop to get the little one.  Big eyes and a lot of fuzz.

Mom and Eaglet

NIKON D500 Ver.1.30/NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E ED VR

450 mm, 1/640th sec, f/5.6, ISO 140 (AUTO)

EV +1, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

Tomorrow is forecasted to be a much better day, light-wise.  Sunny.  Maybe.  I read where the Eaglets spend most of their day eating, so the food train has to keep rolling.  Maybe get another shot.

Heron Snack Time

Another sign spring is on the the way, or in progress.  A Heron on the ground.  There was a single Heron at the Reserve this weekend.  Just standing in the water.  For me, there was a lot going on at the pond.  No offense to the Heron, but I was looking at the Hooded Mergansers most of the time.  But every few minutes or so, I'd look back to see what the Heron was doing.

To be honest, I failed my pre-event checklist before heading out.  I skipped the step of checking my EV.  It was set from the past outing at +1.  Not a killer miss, but it certainly doesn't help.  But that's not the issue here, I caught the mistake earlier.  The shot is light, should have gone with -1 for the day, that is the miss that hurt.  And the angle of the Heron's head is a direct flat reflect from the sun to where I was standing.  Really messed with the camera.  What are the chances?  Reverse luck.  But the total subject works for me.  Yep, this took some time.

Although technically not the best photo ever taken, I try to balance the 'value' of a shot between the technical aspects and the aesthetics.  If it is interesting, it doesn't have to be perfect.  The fish may disagree, but this is interesting.  Not your everyday Heron shot.

Heron with a Snack

NIKON D500 Ver.1.30/NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR

375 mm, 1/1250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 400 (AUTO)

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size: DX

Not being able to fix the clarity issue with the yellow eye keeps this from being a really good shot.  Room for improvement.

I take this as a sign warmer weather is on the way and better times ahead.  But, maybe not for the fish, who did not make it to the next shot.

Tree Sparrow - In Flight shots

On my travels to the Shiawassee Nature Preserve, I would often see these small 'fluorescent' birds moving around very quickly.  Seems I missed every opportunity to get a good shot as no shots were attempted.  I do that a lot.  Part of the journey.  On Saturday's venture to For-Mar, I had a chance to miss more shots of these birds.  Fortunately, I tried a different approach.  Take a shot.  Or two.

I found two of these little birds at the beginning of my hike.  They are hard to miss, even at a distance.  The coloring is pretty unique.  Practicing my best slow approach, I was able to get within ten yards of the tree a pair were sitting in.  I took a number of shots of the pair.  Sometimes they would fly off, never going too far but always returning to the tree.  The short round trip efforts never lasted more than 30 seconds.  Because of these trips, I had multiple attempts at something other than a bird sitting on a branch.

And I needed multiple attempts for an inflight sequence.  I had narrowed my AF down quite a bit, because I was expecting to mostly target stationary subjects, not birds in flight.  For the most part that worked.  And again being a seasoned rookie at this, it never dawned on me to change one setting.  In the field.  One command dial motion.  Yet another lesson.  And the journey continues.  

But there was some success.  If I ever go professional in this field at any level, I'd consider the name Blind Squirrel Photography for my business.  Or the next blog.  Because sometimes you just get lucky.  True, you can increase your chances at a good shot, but for me often it is luck when I get one of these quick action shots.  With aircraft, you know they are coming and at what speed.  Small birds are an entirely different set of skills.  And I count luck right up there.

The first shot is of a stationary subject getting ready for flight.  I'm not kidding anyone here, the bird's movements are so fast none of this beyond the bird's placement was planned.  I hit the shutter release at the time the bird was going to change locations.  Luck.

Tree Swallow Pre-Flight

NIKON D500 Ver.1.30/NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR

525 mm, 1/1250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 400 (AUTO)

EV +1, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

I was lucky enough to get a shot of one in flight with some great wing motion.

Tree Swallow In-Flight

NIKON D500 Ver.1.30/NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR

465 mm, 1/1250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 180 (AUTO)

EV +1, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

This next shot is a pair of Tree Swallows in flight.  Again, very lucky to get the AF on one of the birds.  Also what gets to me is the bird on the right appears to be looking back at me.  Wonder what is going through that brain.

Tree Swallow Pair In-Flight

NIKON D500 Ver.1.30/NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR

465 mm, 1/1250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1000 (AUTO)

EV +1, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

It is fun to see these photos turn out.  A lot more interesting in its own way.

Northern Flicker

Life was a lot easier when I didn't appreciate the smaller bird.  Something moves in the bushes, I have to find it.  Some sound comes from above, I have to investigate.  Prefect segue to my introduction to the Northern Flicker.  I was walking around For-Mar, heard some commotion in a tree ahead of me.  Followed the noise to the source.  There was some avian altercation going on that ended with two birds flying off in different directions.  And after the two ruckus participants had moved on, there was movement on the tree limb.  And I waited.  You have to work for it.  And I waited.  There was movement on the branch.  And the sun hit the bird and....

Northern Flicker

NIKON D850 Ver.1.20/NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED

200 mm, 1/800 sec, f/3.5, ISO 125 (AUTO)

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size FX

For me, there is a lot going on.  First, it has been some time since I used a polarizer.  usually, using a CPL will deepen my sky blues.  It is supposed to also help with contrasts.  Without a non-CPL shot to compare to it is tough to know what is or what isn't.  Under the category of what is, to me this is one of the technically better shots I've done.  The D850 and the 2.8 lens are turning out to be an awesome combo.  There is a pretty aggressive crop going on.  Still looks like full frame image.  The wood in the tree has a lot going on as well.  I did lighten the shadow of the perch a bit, trying to remember it is a shadow.  As to the subject, I've never seen anything like that pattern.  When I was looking on-line for what it was, one identifying mark was red on the back of the neck.  Tough to see from this angle, but if you look close enough the red is there.  I didn't see any of this until I looked at the photograph.

Hooded Merganser, Right?

Spring 2021 is getting here.  Rain instead of snow.  A warmer cold instead of a colder cold.  For sure, I'll take anything at this point.  Feels like a super long winter.  Like all of 2020 was winter.  Today was nice sunshine in mid-Michigan, very little wind.  On the ground was a lot of standing water.  The rainfall over the past 24 hours had no where to go.  When walking, you can still feel the frozen ground layer less than an inch below the surface.  No mono-pod work today.  On the positive side, my boots from the last two weekend hikes were cleaned.  Important stuff.  The boots can come inside the house now, the banishment to the garage being lifted.

Along with the nice sunshine that greeted me at For-Mar, noise filled the air.  Sure a lot of the noise was the Canadians (Geese), but others in the park were clearing their throats as well.  I was expecting a good day.  Something more than the Canadian Geese and squirrels.  And with any luck, by the end of the day I'll have to look up the name of a new to me bird.

The primary unit today was the D850/70-200 , backed up by the D500/200-500.  Over the winter I had purchased CPLs for the new lenses.  I wanted to try them out and there was certainly enough sunlight to drive the CPL on the 70-200 today.  Not sure if I will get one for the 200-500 as it is pretty expensive, but we'll see what the difference was to day between the two sets of photos.  With that said. the best shots for the day were from the secondary unit.  That big lens trumps just about everything when looking for small birds.  Other 'improvements' for the day.  Go with a slower shutter speed.  I didn't need to be close to 1/2000.  I should be shooting in that area for the 2X focal length rule, somewhere around 1/1500th.  Trying to dial it back a bit so I don't have to rely on software as much to clean up the shot.  My targets for the day were going to be pretty much stationary birds, not much speed needed there.

One of the new birds for me today was a pair of Hooded Mergansers.  A male and female pair.  You would be correct is stating that I couldn't describe this bird 24 hours ago.  Truth is, I've seen other photos of these birds before.  Still didn't know the name.  And I've read that they are all over Michigan.  So today when I was walking around one of the ponds, I saw something small on the water.  When I focused in, it turned into the good news/bad news scenario.  Good news, I see one of these birds on the water.   Bad news - don't screw up the photos.  No pressure.

Hooded Merganser

NIKON D500 Ver.1.30/NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR

750 mm, 1/1250 sec, F/5.6, ISO 500 (AUTO)

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

Those colors are fantastic.  Black, White, Gold eye with black dot.  Copper/gray.  Wow.  Add a little water reflection.  

Pair of Hooded Mergansers

NIKON D500 Ver.1.30/NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR

750 mm, 1/1250 sec, F/5.6, ISO 720 (AUTO)

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

Very cool to know where to find these.  There was another pair on the pond at the same time.  Something to look for next time out.

Broadwing Hawk Re-Do

Call it Throw Back Thursday.  One of my favorite bird shots came up as a screen background last night on the home PC.  As I looked at it, I started to think I could re do this photo a bit better these days.  And an afternoon project was born.

I am far from a Hawk expert.  I scoured lots of web photos to come up with this is a 'Broadwing' Hawk.  And I looked for help from other websites such as the page that lists what birds were seen at the Refuge for the day, or recently, as reported by much more expert birders.  So if someone says this isn't a BWH, I counter with the photo is good enough that you can tell and I really did try to identify it correctly.

The photo comes from September of 2018.  I was hiking the Nature Refuge with the D7200 and 70-300 lens.  I came across a veteran birder at the Grefe Tower observation deck.  He instantly recognized me as a person who could only ruin his day if I was allowed to roam freely.  Thankfully he did not carry a stun gun that day.  But as a nice member of the birder community, he motioned me to be quiet, and to come up on the tower.  (The tower is about four feet off the ground.)  He motioned for me to look over the far end of the tower deck, look over past the road and in the trees.  Looking back at me like I was a freshly fried donut was this BWH.  It was relatively far away at probably 20 to 30 yards.  The original shot frame is this:

For me to get this shot I had to extend the lens to its full reach.  And shoot with a reduced sensor size.  It's a physics thing.  Anyway, this is an effective lens angle, or reach, of 600 mm.  If I remember right, I braced myself on one of the tower rails for the shot.  The BWH did its part by just sitting still, even when a car passed within six feet below it, it just sat still.  (I bet the car occupants didn't even see the bird.  Rookies.)  Other photo information, 1/800th sec, f/5.6, ISO 640.

When this showed as the background on the monitor last night, I thought with some improved processing techniques and newer software I might be able to improve on this result.  This is the image from the original post in January of 2019: Eyes on Eyes

This was from a time when I was framing the finished shots with a black and white border.  I have since gone borderless.  The eye in the shadow always bothered me as well.  I have since improved on my shadow work.   The 'improved' shot.

I didn't boost any of the colors as much in the re do shot.  I could be talked into maybe giving it more of a vibrant look, but I seem to be going in a more realistic look phase.  The improvement of shadowed eye is reason alone to delete the original photo.  The bird's feet and tail also improved with more definition.  The overall definition or sharpness improved a bit.  In the end, the dampening of the eye shadow is the difference until you get into the pixel peeping.  I did use Gigapixel to help out, I think it is worth the time.

Lazy Sparrow Shot

It's Friday.  It's after work.  Can't get more lazy than that.  The sun is out - and although not summer warm, it is coming out of winter warm.

We have a homemade birdhouse in front of the house, close to my office window.  The house is untreated wood and it shows.  It has been weathered by at least 10 Michigan outdoor years.  Wood grains and colors are awesome.  Can't buy it in a store.

Over the years, the house has been home to a new Sparrow family every spring.  From the house I can watch the cycle of the birds freshening up the nest with new organic material, starting the family and then moving out, all in the space of a few months.  I never got it as a kid how all this could be interesting.  But now, we'll always have a bird house or many around.

So I have the cameras out this afternoon, getting prepped for a small outing tomorrow.  I've been working a lot with the D850, now how to bring out the D500.  Tomorrow's nature hike in a county park that will be new to me will have the D500 and the 70-300 lens as the primary unit.  I'll take the D850 and monster lens in the car for backup or opportunity.  (Frankly, I'm learning that unit is heavy to lug around!)

Back to today, and the sunlight hitting a Sparrow on the birdhouse in front of the house.  It's not exotic.  It's not exciting.  But it is a sign, spring is on the way.  The term lazy in the title does not refer to the Sparrow.  It refers to me being lazy in the effort to obtain this shot.   Slightly more than mailing it in.

Lazy Sparrow Shot

NIKON D500 Ver.1.30/NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED)

300 mm, 1/2000 sec, f/3.5, ISO 160 (AUTO)

EV 0, MANUAL Mode, Size DX

Looking forward to tomorrow's hike.  Maybe a bit warmer, and just as many no clouds.

Today's Birds - Recovery from last Weekend

I've been looking forward to getting out and about this weekend.  I can't go too far as I'm wearing the work leash for this weekend and next.  But last weekend my efforts were far below where I need to be.  It's one thing to misfire on far off Eagles, but to miss aircraft on Final to FNT?  There was even an American Eagle flying into FNT - all the funny blog post headers will have to wait.  Root cause?  I think that even shooting at 1/2000th of a second was not enough to cure lens shake.  I also bought into the notion that Vibration Reduction could be turned off at high speeds.  I may have to re-think some of those moves.  And I may have to consider really working with the mono-pod.

So today arrives and I'm out the door, mono-pod in hand and lens VR On.  There will be a clear photo or something is going in the trash - including the one holding the camera.  I believe in technology, it's usually the human on the business end that has the issue.  That comes from years of tech support in some form or other.

And clear shots were had today.  As to the far off BIF, I saw a hawk of some breed that came in pretty clear but is so far off the contrast of the bird just isn't that good.  Can the sun offer too much light?  But great improvement over last weekend.  Confidence restored.

Lots of work with the mono-pod today.  Worked on important subjects such as how to carry the mono-pad and camera a long distance.  That's more important than one would think.  And once shooting is in progress, what hands go where?  Yes, there is bad news on this - I missed two shots that I might have had without the pod.  But in the end, what I did get was pretty good.

One of the fun parts of the day is researching the birds I have photographed.  I know not much about bird recognition in the field.  But in front of a PC - I'm starting to get the hang of it.  Today's bird of choice is a Whit-breasted Nuthatch.

White-breasted Nuthatch at the End of the Tree

NIKON D850 Ver.1.20/NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR

460 mm, 1/2500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1400 (AUTO)

EV +1, MANUAL Mode, Size FX

I spent about fifteen minutes with this little birdie.  The bird would move around quite a bit looking for food.  We played a form of hide and seek.  With no counting.  The sunlight on the white feathering played havoc with some of the shots.  But it's all good.

In searching on the web for the identification for my new friend, the description was just about dead on.  Most notably the description said there was a lot of time in the bird's walking travels spent upside down.  And that is where I got this one.  I had a few shots with this pose, but I needed to get the side coloring with out the sunlight washing everything out,

White-breasted Nuthatch Looking Down

NIKON D850 Ver.1.20/NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR

450 mm, 1/2500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1800 (AUTO)

EV +1, MANUAL Mode, Size FX

All in all a good day and good rebound from last weekend.  Certainly more critters out and about enjoying the improving weather.

Southern Osprey - 2012

In the summer of 2012, I found myself in South Carolina.  Long time ago to be sure, and who really knows for sure.  Long enough that the statue of limitations for anything I may or may not have done have clearly expired.  What I do know for sure is I had gray hair then as I do now, and I had a D90 with 18-200 lens.  And just enough photo knowledge to be dangerous.

As part of that trip, we, C's family and I, hired a 'captain' to take us to through the deltas, or swamps or whatever that area is.  We found the guy in a triple A guide.  We called him.  He said he was out of business, for years.  We had a good laugh, but he said he could use some cash and needed to catch dinner for the next few days so we were on.  He said he didn't have the carter boat anymore, but had a smaller craft that would comfortably fit the four of us, plus him and the first mate.  When I heard that, thought of Gilligan and the three hour tour.  And three hours was just about the length of the cruise.  It was all coming together.

We met the captain at the appointed time and boat ramp.  The boat was large enough for 5.5 people.  The .5, first mate, was a full grown German Shepard.  This was going to be fun.  If we didn't wind up as alligator bait.

The captain was a great guy.  We hit the jackpot.  Great talker and story teller.  Our little adventure had more twists and turns.  As a child of the electronic GPS age, I was impressed on how we got back to the starting point before sundown.  But between the starting point and the ending point, we had a lot of fun.  We saw birds, gators and more birds.  I wasn't as savvy in the avian recognition talents as I am now.  Please hold the laughs.  And you could say, I wasn't as savvy in the photographic arts either.  Or as I will say now, building the blocks of experience.

I had the D90 and the 18-200 lens.  The lens is slightly better than a kit lens.  But good enough I still have it.  It's not going to EBAY.

I was re-visiting the photos this evening and I saw this one.  It is fair to say it was forgotten.  And it is fair to say at the time, I had no idea what I had photographed.  And I'm happy to see it was in RAW.  I can do this.

Even at 200 mm, the subject of the image was pretty small.  Perfect enlarging project for the evening.

Osprey with a Meal on a Dead Tree

NIKON D90/NIKKOR 18-200mm f3.5-5.6G ED VR II

200 mm, 1/1250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 400

EV -0.67, APERTURE Priority, Size DX

Three years ago, I saw my first Osprey in Michigan.  I've been hooked on them since.  Along with the Eagles, my favorite targets when I go out.  In level flight, big and slow targets.  Once they go down vertical, the challenge begins.

This is as close as I can crop and keep everything pretty much in focus.  The fact the tree is interesting helps.  Looks good on the monitors.  No prizes, but good memories.