Yesterday, Joan had some PCV* business to attend to over in Hinsdale, NH. I planned to tag along and use the time to hunt for “big river” odes on the Connecticut River.
The day dawned cool and gray… not ideal weather for odeing. I decided to make the trip anyway, figuring that there would always be birds to photograph.
We arrived in Hinsdale in a light rain and the temperature was in the mid-50s. Joan met up with her fellow PCVs and, as they headed off to search for rare plants, I headed off to the Hinsdale Setbacks, along the river, to photograph.
Completely ignoring the “ode rig” (that I had optimistically brought along), I mounted Big Bertha on the tripod and headed out the causeway towards the power line towers in the rain and fog… great weather for photography!
It rained with varying intensity for the roughly three and a half hours I was out. As one would expect, given the weather, I saw no dragonflies or damselflies.
As for birds, there was an osprey on its nest atop one of the powerline towers… way too high for a photograph.
I also spooked a great blue heron from the edge of the main channel of the river as I walked by… I was too slow for a photograph.
Groups of tree swallows appeared during intervals when the rain let up a bit. They disappeared into the thickets of shrubs whenever the rain picked up. I hoped to photograph them on their way in or out of the vegetation but they do not seem to pause on the surface of the thicket… ever!
Also present in and around the thickets were small groups of song sparrows. They spent most of their time either in the thickets or feeding on the ground. Some of them were kind enough to pause on various perches, as they traveled between protection and food, long enough for me to photograph them.
I was also able to photograph some of many red-winged black birds that were present in and near the cattail beds.
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While waiting for birds to appear in the proper places, I noticed the photographic possibilities present in wet vegetation. Thus, I was able to fill the intervals between birds by photographing said vegetation.
A long telephoto lens is not the usual tool for this type of photography but it does allow one to nicely isolate subjects against the background. Besides, it was the only lens I was carrying!
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* Plant Conservation Volunteer, a group organized by the New England Wildflower Society.
