Photographs by Frank

19 May 2015

Big Bertha Returns

Filed under: Birds,Monadnock Region,Spring,The "New" Yard & Environs — Tags: — Frank @ 11:00 PM

Last evening I took a drive and picked up Big Bertha* from the repairman. Don’t ask how she ended up in the shop… I’m trying to forget!

This afternoon, just to make sure that all is working properly, I set up by the feeders and gave Bertha a thorough workout. All is looking good, as you can see in the photos below.

The male red-winged blackbird made an appearance again… just to observe. Very strange… the feeders are set up at the edge of the woods (i.e. it is not typical red-winged blackbird habitat) and we are at least a quarter mile from the nearest marsh where these birds usually hangout.

The other interesting visitor was a great crested flycatcher. I do not think that I have ever seen one before.

At least the feeders are in the right habitat for this species… mature deciduous forest, according to Sibley. This individual just perched for a minute or two near the feeders before it flew off.

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* My 600 mm f/4 lens.

 

15 April 2015

Searching for Spring

Filed under: Birds,Mammals,Spring,Wildlife — Tags: — Frank @ 6:00 PM

A week ago on Tuesday, Joan and I headed south in search of Spring.

When we arrived at Assateague Island National Seashore on Wednesday the temperature was 45 degrees, the wind was blowing at about 45 mph and the sky was spitting (a combination of salt spray and intermittent rain)… not exactly the weather we were hoping for!

None-the-less, we dropped the camper off at a campsite, donned a few layers of fleece with a topping of Gore-tex and headed out in search of horses and birds. We had a wonderful time despite the weather.

On Thursday, we awoke to horses in our campsite, egrets in the marsh beside the campsite and no change in the weather. After breakfast, we headed south to the Virginia side of Assateague Island and Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. We had another wonderful day.

The weather broke on Friday and we headed north and west to Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. We arrived just before lunch and spent roughly six hours exploring this wonderful place.

As the light began to fade, we turned the car towards suburban Washington, DC.

Here are my photos of the horses:

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Here are the birds, the egrets are from Assateague and the remainder from Blackwater:

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The weekend in suburban Washington, DC finally brought the lovely spring weather we had been hoping for.

We spent the weekend visiting with my parents, my sister and brother-in-law (who live nearby) and our daughter (who lives in Baltimore).

My parents live in a “soup-to-nuts” retirement “village” with lots of open space. There are many birds around and I was duly entertained on our daily walks around the grounds!

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We arrived home late Monday evening to find that spring had returned to New Hampshire in our absence. There is still ice on the lake and scattered pockets of snow in the woods, but we have great hope!

 

 

26 January 2015

Practice

Filed under: Birds,Monadnock Region,The "New" Yard & Environs,Winter — Tags: — Frank @ 8:00 PM

Like so many things in life, photographing small birds takes practice.

Thus, yesterday afternoon I set up the chair blind, tripod, etc. near the feeders in our yard intent on getting some practice.

In addition to the usual birds we see all winter (chickadees, titmice, nuthatches and downy woodpeckers*) we have been seeing small flocks (8-12 individuals) of goldfinches at the feeder in the past week or so. I photographed them all yesterday.

I have decided that the titmice are the hardest of these birds to photograph.

Many individuals fly directly to the feeder from fairly far afield. Those that do stop at one of my “photo perches” near the feeder rarely stay for more than two or three second; a much shorter interval than any of the other species**.

Photographing titmice requires rapid reflexes… and much practice!

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* We also seem to have a pair of red-bellied woodpeckers that visit the suet feeder regularly, most often fairly early in the morning. I did not see them yesterday afternoon.

** The red-bellies are hard to photograph as well for similar reasons. They spend a much shorter time at the feeder than the other woodpeckers. They stay only long enough to dislodge a large chunk of suet which they then carry off into the woods. I suspect that they cache much of this food for later use.

 

31 December 2014

An Adams Dozen for 2014

Filed under: Birds,Landscapes,Odontates — Tags: , , — Frank @ 6:00 PM

Back in 2011 (see this post), I started an annual tradition of choosing a dozen photographs to represent my work for the year. I some how missed making a similar post for 2012, but I continued the “tradition” in 2013 with this post.

Maybe this will actually become a tradition, since I have remembered (in a timely fashion) to choose a dozen for 2014.

Here they are:

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30 December 2014

Sunday Birds

Filed under: Birds,Monadnock Region,Wildlife,Winter — Tags: — Frank @ 7:00 PM

Sunday was a warm (for December in NH) day… the temperature was in the mid-40’s.

Just after noon, I filled up my ersatz tree trunk with suet, set up my chair blind near the feeders and waited to see who would show up.

The chickadees, of course, were back about ten seconds after I walked away from the feeders. In addition to the numerous chickadees, there were good numbers of white-breasted nuthatches present and a few tufted titmice and blue jays. Two female downy woodpeckers appeared simultaneously a couple of times as did a lone male. Lastly, a male red-bellied woodpecker made a very brief (five frames worth) appearance.

The relatively mild temperature and sunny skies lulled me into complacency and I was under-dressed for sitting in the blind… a breeze had also developed. Thus, by two thirty, I was cold and stiff enough that I headed inside.

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12 December 2014

Backyard Birds

Filed under: Birds,The Yard,Wildlife,Winter — Tags: — Frank @ 6:00 PM

This morning dawned partly sunny and cold and I was hopeful for some good skies for landscape photos today. Alas, the overcast moved in by noon so I switched plans.

About 2 o’clock, I geared up (warm clothes, camera, tripod and chair blind) and headed out to photograph the birds by the feeders. I set up about ten feet from the feeders and made my first exposure at 2:30.

By 4 o’clock the light was gone, the temperature was dropping and I had filled a memory card. I headed back inside. Twas, an enjoyable way to spend 90 minutes.

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11 December 2014

“Cheating”

Filed under: Birds,Monadnock Region,The Yard,Wildlife,Winter — Tags: — Frank @ 4:00 PM

We have had a stretch of cold, gray weather. Monday’s “wintery mix” turned into Tuesday’s rain…nothing like a 35 degree F rain! Yesterday (Wednesday) nothing fell from the sky but the sun still did not make an appearance. I awoke this mornring to snow flurries which continue as I write this in the mid-afternoon.

So why is this post titled “Cheating”?

Well… you see that small “tree” upon which the birds are perched? It is actually a dead branch I picked up in the woods in the beginning of November and specially prepared for bird photography. I mounted the branch on a stand made of lumber so that it is more-or-less perpendicular to the ground. Around the back-side, I drilled a series of one inch holes.

On Monday, I packed the holes full of suet and stood the whole thing out back near the other bird feeders. (It is probably about 25 feet from the house.) I retreated to the warmth (and dry) of the house and photographed thorough the glass of our French doors.

See what cheating will get you!

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20 September 2014

Early September

Filed under: Birds,Early Fall,Landscapes,Mammals,Monadnock Region — Tags: , , — Frank @ 2:00 PM

The beginning of September brings three harbingers of the autumn that is just around the corner…

The hawks and other raptors begin their migration. We, in the Monadnock region, are lucky to have a wonderful spot from which to observe this world-class spectacle. New Hampshire Audubon organizes and staff an observatory on the summit of Pack Monadnock in Miller State Park during September and October each year. Visits are always interesting; I tend to go on weekdays when it is not quite as busy.

The swamp maples begin to turn red. For some reason, the swamp maples at the north end of Gregg Lake seemed to turn especially early this year; there were signs of red in late August. Currently, these trees are about at their peak and there it little change most of the other trees.

The chipmunks become manic. Living more-or-less in the woods, with a property bounded by stone walls, we are well acquainted with chipmunks. However, in early September as the acorns start to drop, the chipmunk activity really picks up. One does not even have to go outside as their squeaking vocalizations are clearly heard when the windows are open.

Late yesterday afternoon, I noticed “nice light” on the chipmunk highway (i.e. the stone wall) down by the road. I headed down, with camera in hand, hoping to get some photos of “flying” chipmunks as they jumped from stone to stone, often with an acorn in their jaws. I failed miserably… they are just too fast for me! I did manage a couple of frames of individuals who stopped to eat along the highway!

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NH Audubon Photo Contest / Auction

Filed under: Birds,Odontates — Tags: , , — Frank @ 2:00 PM

The New Hampshire Audubon Society is sponsoring a wildlife photo contest and fundraising auction this fall.

I entered five photos in the contest. My prize? I had to mat and frame those (the first three shown below) that were selected for the auction! Oh well… all for a good cause!

If you happen to be in the Manchester, NH area between 1 October and  7 December stop in at NH Audubon’s Massabesic Center to see all of the photographs and maybe to bid on one or two if you can.

As I said, all for a good cause!

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9 July 2014

Loons and Catbirds

Filed under: Birds,Monadnock Region,Summer — Tags: , — Frank @ 12:15 PM

Yesterday afternoon, I spent some time observing the nesting loons again. No chicks yet… a worrying state of affairs as they have been sitting on the nest at least since the 9th of June.

I did watch the two adults switch places twice during the four hour interval (1:15 to 5:15 PM) that I watched them.

Photographs of loons actually leaving or entering the nest are not very interesting. These birds leave the nest without any obvious (to me anyway) warning… they simply slide off the nest into the water. Loon butts do not make for interesting photos! Conversely, watching an adult loon climb back onto the nest is a vivid reminder that these are water birds… the word “ungainly” comes to mind.

Once the incoming adult gets on the nest, they proceed to move the eggs about a bit and do a bit of housekeeping by rearranging a stick or two before settling down on the eggs.

Take a careful look at the loon photos… see any other animals present?*

The best place to photograph the nesting loons is from atop a large rock. Yesterday,  I kept noticing that  two or three small gray birds would briefly appear on another nearby rock and then disappear back into the bushes behind the rock.

Eventually, an adult appeared with a single small insect that one of the three fledglings gobbled up in a microsecond. There are only two young birds in the photo because the “winner”  did not waste any time in getting away with the prize. The two you see are still yelling at mom or dad “where’s mine”!

The appearance of the adult allowed me to identify, without the need for a book, the birds as gray catbirds.

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*I am now to the point were I can photograph odes without trying!!!

 

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