Photographs by Frank

26 November 2013

Backyard Birds Redux

Filed under: Birds,Monadnock Region,November — Tags: — Frank @ 9:05 PM

There was a bit of snow overnight and the low temperature was in the mid-20’s. However, by mid-afternoon the temperature was a few degrees above freezing and the wind was calm.  The light was not great as the sky was a dull, dark gray but I headed out the back door to photograph the birds in the backyard anyway.

As usual chickadees were most abundant. In addition to the chickadees, there were good numbers of both nuthatches and tufted titmice. Interestingly, I did not see a goldfinch or a junco in the ninety minutes I was out.

There was also a pair of downy woodpeckers present. This pair spent as much time watching and chasing each other as they did foraging for food. Watching their antics was quite entertaining.

By 4:00 PM, the light was too dim to photograph fast moving birds and I called it quits for the day.

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23 November 2013

One Foggy Afternoon

Filed under: Landscapes,Monadnock Region,November — Tags: , — Frank @ 4:00 PM

Yesterday dawned cold and rainy; it was 38o and raining light when I arose.

By mid-morning the temperature had made it to about 40o  but  the rain had stopped and the fog began to thicken… perfect weather for some photography!

When I headed out to photograph after lunch, I could not see the couple of hundred yards across the lake by the boat launch… there was no hint of the far shore line just a wall of white!

I decided to make a loop of some of my favorite wetlands in Hancock and Stoddard. All of the photos shown are from Hancock; by the time I got to Stoddard there was not enough light remaining.

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15 November 2013

Backyard Birds

Filed under: Birds,Monadnock Region,November — Tags: — Frank @ 10:00 PM

Earlier in the week, I put out the bird feeder (both seeds and suet) in hopes of attracting photographic subjects.  I need to take it in every night to avoid attracting bears… I have only forgotten once so far!

It took a few days for the birds to find the feeder but by this morning things were hopping! Thus, after I finished a few chores, I headed out to get some practice with my new photographic tool*.

In addition to the four species (junco, chickadee, gold finch, and white-throated sparrow) I photographed, there were two other species  (nuthatches and a downy woodpecker) that I did not get good photos of.

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*All of these photos were taken with my new-to-me Nikkor 600 mm f/4 lens. Joan says “toy” but I am sticking with “tool”!


6 November 2013

Early November Olio

Filed under: Birds,Monadnock Region,November,Odontates,Uncategorized,Wildlife — Tags: , — Frank @ 9:00 PM

I was surprised to see male Autumn Meadowhawks around the yard on the weekend (2 and 3 November) since we had some cold nights (temperature in the low twenties Fahrenheit) last week. I only saw one or two individuals at a time but they were still flying strong.

On Sunday (3 Nov) Joan was raking leaves when she disturbed a very cold and torpid red-backed salamander nestled among the leaves. As I moved him from the spot where we found him, he became a bit more active. I grabbed the camera which was rigged for odes and made a couple of exposures. I then headed back into the house for the macro lens… all for naught, as he was gone from the rock where I had placed him by the time I got back. I searched the area in vain for some minutes but he was not to be found.

Tuesday evening (no…  make that late afternoon, as sunset is about 4;30 these days), I headed down to the lake in hopes of a nice sunset to photograph. I was rewarded with less than five minutes of nice pink colored clouds but this was enough to make a nice photograph.

Today (Wednesday, 6 Nov) I headed up Pack Monadnock for some more raptor watching. I arrived just before noon and stayed until about 3:30. We saw a number of raptors including two golden eagles, but none were close enough to photograph. (Henry’s full report is here).  I did, however, make a few photographs of smaller birds which alit briefly nearby.

There is another week and a half of  the raptor watch season remaining, so hopefully I still have time to get a “portfolio quality” photo… if not, there is always next year!

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