Friday, April 3, 2009

Dux Delux, part two...

Please look in the background. Yep, that's a real Bull Frog. I didn't notice it back there until I processed the photos!


So, where was I?

Oh yeah, DUCKS! Them water lovin', quackity things. You know, those feathered flyer's that like to float far out of range of your camera, no matter what size lens you have. Every once in awhile you get lucky and one isn't paying attention to you because he's trying to look good for the babes...or vice versa and you can get a shot off.

I don't always have the best of luck photographing floaty birds, especially Gulls. Light gray, dark gray, medium gray, always against a gray sky and choppy gray water. Our friends, Judy and Hugh, were recently in California at an art supply store. They had a color called "Cleveland Gray," that pretty much explains Cleveland in the winter. That must be why I don't care for shooting Gulls along the lakefront, "G.O.S", gray overload syndrome. BUT, I digress...

Gotta love them dux. The boys get all duded up with fancy feathers to impress the ladies, who don't always seem to care. Then you have the cute little ducklings. Awwww...so precious.

Well, enough jibber jabber, here's some of my favorites for you!

What did I say about water and ducks? I still find it odd to see a Wood Duck in a tree. This one was in San Diego at Lindo Lakes.

And here's Mr. Fancypants. The Wood Ducks at North Chagrin Reservation are not at all shy.

A Tufted Duck in the rain in Bakewell, England. He didn't mind as much as I did...the rain that is.

My, aren't we the shy one. This female Ruddy Duck was trying to hide from me.


You gotta like these little guys! Ruddy's are so compact and efficient. These Ruddy's were in the Chula Vista Nature Center. I think they are in need of a good cuddle.

A cooperative pair of Ring-necked Ducks at Santee Lake, California.


Northern Shovelers are very easy to find in our area of Ohio. That's why this one was taken in England.

We also find these Northern Pintails on Lake Erie...far out there! Again, that's why this photo was taken along the San Diego River.

When we first saw these Mottled Ducks, we thought they were just a group of Mallards. Silly me. These were in Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge in Florida.


Now THIS is a Mallard! You can tell by the cute curly butt feather (that's the technical term). And I actually took this photo just down the road from our humble abode.

Aren't they a precious group? Mallards are very abundant around here, to put it mildly! These are in the Rocky River Reservation.

Now these are DUX DELUX! We found these Mandarin Ducks at the Cleveland Zoo. I know, I cheated...

By the way, is everyone aware of the Federal Duck Stamp Program? You should buy one when you get the chance. They help support conservation and the purchase of wetland habitat.

Birders really need to band (pun intended) together and do more to support our friends!

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Birding before the storm



I hope I'm not boring you as much as I did this Snowy Owl! It is an injured Owl rescued by the Medina Raptor Center.


We spotted these Sandhill Cranes the previous evening in this farm field. They were close to the same spot on Sunday afternoon. Must be good eatin' there!


Sunday was our last day in Shreve, Ohio and the weather forecast was ominous. As it turned out, when we awoke, it was sunny and only a little chilly.


Laurie-loo trying to digiscope the Scoters. Please note the word "trying". More practice is needed for us both.



I love Song Sparrows! This one watched me watching him. I spoke to him quietly (really!) and asked if he'd turn around for my Birds from Behind blog, he said okay as long as I gave him credit.


I feel bad, I forgot to get his name. Well if he sees this, I'm sure he'll let me know.


So we hustled and made it out for a little last minute birding on the marshes and wetlands. Our first stop was Wright Marsh where we saw the White-winged Scoters on Saturday. As luck would have it, they were still there! I tried walking down the dike a little further to get a closer shot, if you could call it that. I have a few that were a little better than the previous, but still not great. Oh well, evidence that I saw the bird. If anyone from Canon is out there, feel free to send me a demo of the new 800mm telephoto lens. I would be happy to settle for the 600mm though, beggars can't be choosers, as we said as children.


This shot is cropped a WHOLE lot! Yep, that big telephoto sure would be nice...


We also spotted this juvenile Bald Eagle cruising overhead. That 300mm lens gets REAL heavy when you're holding it over your head!



We were also on the lookout for the Northern Shrike that had been seen, but to no avail. I did slam on the brakes on a farm road and got Laurie-loo's attention REAL quick. She doesn't like my Land Rover driving style. It turned out to be an American Kestrel, still a good bird to see!

The winds really picked up and a torrential downpour ensued. Seeing how my lens and I don't like getting wet, we called it a day. I'm sure the ducks were still happy.

By the way, a BIG congratulations is owed to Jim McCormac, co founder of the Ohio Ornithological Society, author and all around great guy. He was the recipient of the ABA's Ludlow Griscom Award!

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Sensational Shreve!

A Horned Grebe going into breeding plumage. I caught him in between dives, you should see the empty water shots!




You know you've had a good birding weekend when:


a) You see lots of good friends you haven't seen in awhile.



Cheryl Harner of Great Mohican Audubon, Kimm Kaufman of BSBO and Hugh Rose, good buddy and business mgr. of BSBO.



b) You attend great programs presented by Jim McCormac and Kenn Kaufman among others.


Killer Kenn Kaufman signing everything that was put in front of him after his great presentation on Bird Migration...from the point of view of the birds.


Jim McCormac showing photos of the Cuyahoga River fire of 1969. That was the turning point for pollution control in the U.S.



c) You get a life bird.


A pair of White-winged Scoters a little out of their normal territory.


d) You make the front page of the local paper.


Chris Kick of The Daily Record taking my photo while I'm shooting far off duckies.



e) All of the above.



Yes indeedy, 'e' was the correct answer! What a great time was had by all, especially Laurie-loo and yours truly!


This was the largest of the annual Shreve Migration Sensation festivals by far. Started in 2000 by Kevin Higgins of the Ohio Division of Wildlife, every year has wonderful speakers and programs, not to mention the area birding. This year close to 1000 birders descended on the small town of Shreve, Ohio. The big draw, besides the speakers of course, and the great Amish cooking, is Killbuck Marsh and the vast quantity of waterfowl to be found. There are 6000 acres of marsh and swamp to explore with many breeding birds to be found...with a little patience.

A pair of Sandhill Cranes were out foraging in corn stubble at dusk. They are known to nest in this area also.



Ah, the two White-winged Scoters. We heard a few folks talking about them and thought, what are the odds we'll find them among all the other waterfowl in the marshes. We first went to Wright Marsh (instead of a program!) where we heard they were last spotted. A friend of ours, Craig Caldwell, said they were there, but hard to spot as they were up for a second and down for what seemed like a week. We came to nearly the end of a dike in the marsh where a number of Amish birders were and they helped us locate the area they were supposed to be.

Ring-necked Ducks were MORE than plentiful! There were hundreds to be found and sorted through. We also saw Lesser Scaup mixed in as well as Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, American Wigeon and Blue-winged Teal.


There they are! White-winged Scoters at last!

Then at last, WAY out in the distance, two black spots were swimming and diving among the hundreds of Ring-necked Ducks. I put a 2X converter on the 300mm lens, and bad-a-bing, I got me a couple of Scoters! Maybe not the greatest shot, but I'm more interested in SEEING the birds than making a field guide. At least for now...

Red-tailed Hawk at night, birder's delight, Red-tailed Hawk in morning, mousey's forewarning!


I haven't finished going through all the photos yet. I probably deleted half of what I shot on Saturday. I'll post the photos from Sunday within the next day or so. Sunday we lucked out. It was supposed to be raining heavily, then cooling way down with snow flurries thrown in for good measure. Springtime in Ohio, gotta love it. Anyway, early on the skies were clear and the temps were fine, so we got a little more birding in before the downpour came.

American Wigeon flying off into the sunset just as I am going to do now...



More later, stay tuned....and don't forget...

Another exciting chapter of...DUX DELUX...coming soon.