Warblers and Friends from Shawnee State Forest

One of my favorite trips (if not my favorite trip) of the year is going to Shawnee State Forest in southern Ohio. Warblers are the prize and it is just so much fun. I went down two days that had marked different weather. Friday was spectacular. The kind of days where even if I wasn’t seeing anything, I’d be happy just to be outside. Lighting was awesome! Amazing what the sun does. Unfortunately in Ohio, we’re lucky to get one or two days like this a week. Saturday it was the overcast with a couple showers that we had to sit through. But I have been trying to learn how to use flash more effectively for days like this. I ended up only needing it for the last two birds (Black-and-White, and Cerulean) we saw and I got nice results!

Friday:
The first place we stopped was really the best place of all. It was still pretty early and I screwed up the flash on this try. Messed up some of the best bird poses, but I got lucky that a couple shots did come out.

Click on any photo to bring up a bigger picture.

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Pine Warbler (This was a “A-List” target bird for the trip.)




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Blue-grey Gnatcatcher (Common, but still a very cool bird)

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Eastern Towhee (I love Towhees, even if they are a dime a dozen)

The next stop was to photo one of my favorite Warblers. These guys always put on quite the show, and they are so pretty. Even though I already have great shots of them, I can’t resist getting more. The light could not have gotten better!


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Prairie Warbler




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Lastly we were hoping to find a Blue Grosbeak, but none was the luck. However, we did find this beauty! These guys are known skulkers. But he was so cooperative. Light was fading at this point and I turned up the ISO in lieu of flash. A little skittish from the morning…


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Common Yellowthroat




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Saturday:
The Saturday pictures just don’t have the same pop because the lighting was simply not as good. These first ones were close call, either crank up the ISO or use flash. These were higher ISO. Good or bad, here they are…


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White-eyed Vireo (This was a “B-List” target bird for the trip.)






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Blue-wing Warbler




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It poured down rain for a while. We used this opportunity to move from one end of the forest to the other. As you can see in the second picture, he was soaking wet! I did use flash on these.

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Black-and-white Warbler





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Lastly another a “A-List” target bird for the trip! By this time is was really bad light. I used flash and was very happy with the results. It really was either flash or put the camera away.

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Cerulean Warbler




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That's it!

Thanks for looking!

Backyard using a flash

I wanted to play around with using flash as primary light. I feel natural light is way better, but if there is not enough of it, what do you do. So, yesterday afternoon, I put up my chair blind in front of my feeders. In order to get a decent shutter speed (without the flash) I needed at least 800 or maybe even 1000 ISO. With the 40D, this can work at times, but often comes out a little too noisy for birds. A lot of times if the light is as bad as it was last night, I would not have even tried to shoot. But, living in Ohio, I need to work on a solution for the more than not ideal lighting. Interestingly enough as I look though the photos, I did get some good results with no flash and ISO 800, but I also set the F-stop at 5.6. This barely got me 1/200 to 1/250. I usually consider 1/200 as the minimum for decent shots. Anything less does not normally come out, even on a tripod. I also noticed I must have turned on the flash without turning down the ISO, so I have a couple at ISO 800 with flash. I also took a few with few at ISO 400 and 200.
The bright yellow on the Goldfinches really looks plastered to me. I actually got better results than I expected…

The females actually came out better.  They're color is a little darker and the flash didn't was them out as much.

Finally a chickadee to land on my perch.  They are so quick.  Usually they come in straight to the feeder, grab a seed and leave.  This stopped on the perch, just for a second.

If you put up feeders you are going to get House Sparrows.  They are better looking than I like to give them credit for!

Thanks for looking.

err...Correction, there are TWO owlets!

This past Wednesday, with blue skies and low wind I headed to the metro park.  After finding the baby owls on the previous Friday, I wanted to get some better photos of it. This time I was after that blue sky background.  I also want to find in a little better light. 

As I approached the area, I spied them pretty Quick.  Instead of just finding one, as I expected, there were 2 on the branch.  Side by side, they sat. 

I did have in the back of my mind that there might be a second one.  As I was going past the spot it was sitting the previous time, I was thinking I wish I had spent a little more time looking.  Then looking back at the pictures from Friday, I realized that I did see both of them!  Because the area was so thick, I had to back out.  I also backed out so I would not have to walk right under the Owlet.  Trying to not get to close.

I then walked around to what I thought was the other side of the tree.  It was getting pretty late and dark, so I took a couple photos knowing that they would not be that good.  When I got home, I barely looked that them.  That is until I started thinking that maybe I had taken pictures of 2 different Owlets.  Upon further inspection, I do believe they are different ones!

Here is a re-post of the first picture from the other side.

First Warbler photo of the year.

As I was taking pictures of the owls, I could hear two warblers singing.  A Louisiana Waterthrush, which is usually there, so I almost always take a moment to get a visual on him.  But there was another familiar song being sung that evening.  A Northern Parula.  A very small guy.  They are quite the singers, but they are hard to get photos of.  Small, like only 3-4 inches and quick!  I had wonderful looks at him, but only one decent photo!  I'll take it.

As to be expected whenever you prowl the woods, you will see, hear and sometimes just feel their presences.  Somehow you know they are probably what is making all the noise and rustling in the leaves.  I am talking about the White-throated Sparrow of course!

Surprisingly, I have very few pictures of them.  So, I stopped for a second to see what all the rustling was about and out popped this guy. 

When all was said and done, it was time to get out of the woods, but I know to sneak out.  At this time of the evening there just might be some deer coming into the field.  I got to the edge and popped my head around the corner.  Bushes, trees and high grass conceal me pretty well.  There is only a little opening to shoot through, but somehow those deer saw me.  Or did they?  They knew something was there.  The littlest of them, a Button Buck, seemed the most determined to get me to reveal myself.  A stomping he did do! 

After taking quite a few pictures in the ever fading light, I decided to go.  Again, with respect for the animal, I wanted to leave without sending them running with their tails up.  So I backed out, and walked around.  Passing them by from a greater distance.  This time they just watched me as I walked by.  I looked out of the corner of my eye and never stopped walking.  My efforts were successful as the deer stayed in the field and grazed.  Probably not a huge deal as they would have just ran back in the woods, and then come right back out after a short while. 

Lastly, I got a flyby Turkey Buzzard as I was shooting the deer.  These guys are so graceful in flight.  I love watching them fly. 

Thanks for looking!

A new season begins

Well It's April and time to start checking Buebird boxes!  I love this time of year.  Gearing up for the birds to come back.  A beginning to new season as a Bluebird box monitor at a local Metro Park.  Bluebird Box monitoring is a fun and rewarding hobby that gets me out in the field early and keeps me out into the first week of August!  In April it's that anticipation of seeing the first eggs.  I went out to check my appointed boxes on Friday evening as I knew the weather was going to turn bad over the weekend.  I was rewarded with eggs in my first box!

As it turned out this was the only box with eggs, but there is hope as another box has a full nest in it.  Maybe an egg will be laid in it this next week. 

I was also rewarded with my first of the season Hermit Thrush.   A happy greeter, early in the spring.  They usually arrive a little before the other thrushes do, and this guy was a welcoming site.   As I was taking his picture I could hear another early bird, an Eastern Phoebe, but I never saw him. 

As usually in April, one of my favorite rituals is to look for the newly fledged Great Horned Owlets.  I have found them in 2005, 2006, 2008 and now in 2012!  Yes, I found a baby Owlet!  I didn't realize until I just looked it up, that it had been 3 years without finding the babies.  There was only one there, which was disappointing.  I have seen 3 before, but usually there are 2. 

  

Normally as I search the woods for the baby owls, I spy one or even both of the adult Great Horned Owls.  They don't usually let you get very close.  Most the time, my first glimpse of them is as they take flight.  This time started out the same.  My first view was of her flying away, but she didn't fly far, and ended up perching in a fairly open area.  I snuck through the woods and I saw her again from a pretty good ways off.  She was watching me too. This might have been to my advantage, because I was able to sneak up, in plain sight, to within about 60 yards. I snapped off a few clear photos before she took off again.

What I nice night at the park.  It ended with getting to hear and eventually seeing an American  Woodcock.  Well, I saw a brief view of him as he whirled by on his way back down. I do enjoy staying until I hear them sing, and if I'm lucky, to see a little of their evening flight.

Pretty Lady – Yellow Warbler.

So often we consider the male to be the prettier bird, but this young lady holds her own when it comes to good looks. She has a soft delicateness to her. Normally Yellow warblers like to feed around 15-20 feet up in the trees and that makes them very difficult to get good photos of. They seem to hang out there just out of reach. Not this beauty. She was working the low lying shrubbery. In typical Warbler style, she paid no attention to me or the sound of the shutter going off. This outing was a unique encounter with which I will remember for quite some time, and I have pictures to help relive the moments!


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GB,

Bruce



Turkeys

I got a new lens and wanted to try it out, so the first stop was to Blendon Woods MP.  Here I found  a very cooperative pair of Turkeys!  I have wanted to get a photo of a Turkey displaying for several years and here was my chance! 

Nice Beard too!

I'm seeing Gold

All winter I watch and wait.  While I think their winter plumage is pretty, the summer coat is specatcular.  I'm talking about Goldfinches.  To watch them change over the last month has been exciting.  Each day I look out in wonder, are they there yet.  I must admit, I have jumped the gun just a little as they are not quite 100% yet, but they are so close I could not wait any more.  These will have to do for today! 

And not to be left out is this beautiful female.

Thanks for looking!

Bruce