Swamp Sparrows

I had hoped to get out in early June to shoot some Sparrows.  Well, that simply didn't happen.  So here it is October and I finally getting out looking for sparrows.  Of course at this time of year, the big ticket is Nelson and Le Conte's Sparrow, but so far those have eluded me.  This morning ( a beautiful 85 degree day in October) I went to a new little swampy area coined Snipe Marsh.  There were sparrows there, however most of them stayed in the heavy cover.  I did have a few Swamp Sparrows come out for a nice view.  I love the pose and will be trying to get a few more like this!

A few summer time birds

I didn't get many bird shots this summer, but here are a few.  This first one is more of a documentry shot than a good bird photo.  As much as I hate to admit it, this guy had me stumped.  Here is an immature Orchard Oriole!  I never saw the parents as that would have clued me in pretty fast.  I saw these guys every week when I went out the wetland area at Highbanks to check bluebird boxes.

While photographing the Oriole, I found this Willow Flycatcher hanging out in the same thicket.

The wetland pond at Highbanks always has families of Wood Ducks on it.  They are pretty skitish, but I snuck up on this guy.

Heading out to Glacier Ridge Metro Park a few day later, I was hoping for some grassland birds.  It was not to be that day.  A little late in the year, but I did manage this photo of a Killdeer!

Dragonflies and Butterflies!

Wow, looking back at my blog, I see I have not updated it since the end of June.  Probably because I just haven’t done much birding or bird photography this summer.  It has however been a wonderful summer with a completely new avenue of photography.  One of my summer hobbies is to be a Bluebird box monitor at Highbanks Metro Parks in Columbus, Ohio.  Usually once June hits the photography subsides, but this year I discovered dragonflies and butterflies.  What a treat.  I took many pictures.  I tried this before, but one thing that really made a difference was adding a 20mm extension tube to the setup.  This allowed me to get much close and really had some success.  I may need to change my blog title one more time! 

This is the photo that really started me off this year.  I got this shot at Highbanks Metro Park and was amazed at how sharp it came out.  The extension tube was a key factor in it. 

For butterflies, this was one of my first.  I saw this Little Wood Satyr Butterfly when I approached box 12 at Highbanks.  I love the heart shaped leaf that it is sitting on.  I was not super close so I was happy to see it come out with nice detail.



For the next few weeks I even tried my hand at getting these little tiny guys in focus.  This was not easy!  They are so small.  Half the time I’d walk right past them without even noticing they are there.  When the focus locks, I’m a happy camper, or should I say a happy photographer! 

Pickerington Ponds MP

I've really enjoyed shooting the last couple weeks, but have not had much birding opportunity.  A friend, suffering from an injury, wanted to go to the park.  So, off we we went.  It got hot early!  It's late June in Ohio so the best birding is grassland birds, or in our case, Great Blue Herons.   We went to Pickerington Ponds Metro Parks in Columbus.

Started off seeing Mockingbird fledglings.  We could also hear a Common Yellowthroat, but as usual for these guys, he was hiding deep in the brush.

On to another area where there was a very active Great Blue Heron Rookery.

We took a walk around to the back side of the rookery and in the field we saw lots of Red-wing Blackbird.

We also could hear a Chat out in the field, but he never showed himself.  What else is new!  While watching for a glimpse of the chat we had a lovely Field Sparrow and Song Sparrow singing for our attention.

After the ranger stopped by and told us where he had seen a Baltimore oriole nest, we decided to head to a different tail.  As we walk back we had several GBH flybys!

I was so excited to see a few of them come out!

We did not find the Baltimore Oriole, but enjoyed the trail none-the-less!  We did flush a family of Pheasants.

It's not Florida...But

When you live in Ohio you get used to the idea that the birds are very skittish.  Herons and Egrets are no exception.  However, when you get up to Lake Erie, things can get a little more relaxed.  I keep thinking that someday I will go up there just to shoot (take pictures of) these beautiful birds.  I went to Magee for Spring migration and mostly wanted to see and shoot warblers. 

Driving back to the board walk, you will see lots of Great Blue's and Great Egrets!  As I was driving along at the speed of a turtle, I spotted this guy fishing the canal.

The Catch:

Canals run along the back side of the boardwalk.  Most times I get some close encounters with Great Blues.  This year was a very memorial one.

A zoom is very helpful when these guys are so close.  Here is what they look like at 400mm.

Fishing, he caught a unsuspecting Frog.

Cuyahoga Valley and Brandywine Falls

My wife and I were in Akron visiting with friends over the weekend. On Sunday we had a chance to go to Cuyahoga Valley National Park. We have never been there. A national park only a couple hours drive and we had never been there? Yes, it was time to go - even if it was only for a few hours.

Falls are a favorite theme of ours when picking where to go on visits to a new area. So we stopped at the Hunt Farm Visitor Information Center and asked "where are the cool falls?" They directed us to Brandywine Falls. It is spectacular!!! 

As you can tell, waterfalls are not our forte when it comes to photographing. The only camera we had was a very old 3.2 megapixel point and shoot, so we did the best we could.

This truely was an easy falls to get to.  A board walk and a couple flights of stairs to the bottom.  After enjoying the view, we headed to the top.  We had to stop and take a picture of the warning sign. 

Not always birds...

Well, there are those who think I only shoot birds. This is not true at all.   I actually only shoot birds 95% of the time. I love all wildlife. So just to show that it’s not all about the birds here are a few shots.

I really like flowers, they don't move all over the place like those pesky little birds.  This one is particularly pretty!

Are squirrels not the best friend a person with a new camera.  They are everywhere and I have lots and lots of pictures of them.  Never have I taken one that I really like until this one.

Turtles are so cool.  Imagine our surprise when we see this huge snapper crossing the parking lot.  We didn't have any problem catching up to him.

I had such high hopes for this picture of a Painted Turtle when I took it.

An added bonus of Magee Wildlife Area is the oportunity to see snakes. I saw at least 3 different snakes, Water snakes, Black rat or racer (is there a different??) and this awesome Fox Snake!