Category Archives: Birds

Monday Musings – Looking for a New Backyard Bird Feeder?

I have a few projects that I want to complete over the holiday break. One is to create a backyard bird photography studio. I decided to accomplish this in two ways, one with a purchased product that I will customize and the other with a completely home made solution. I think I found the purchased product that I am going to customize, its called “The Effortless Birdfeeder“. It should arrive this week and I am looking forward to working with it.

Effortless Bird Feeder

So here are my thoughts as to why this is the perfect portable backyard studio. I plan on adding perches all over this thing. When I am finished, this product will be the back yard birders equivalent to “Pimp My Ride”! These perches (branches I will attach with zip ties) will allow for birds that want to approach the feeder to rest and check for predators. This, my theory supposes, will allow for peak of action photography.

The mobility aspect of this feeder, allows me to move the feeder to control light and background. Depending on the time of the year will depend on where I place the feeder and subsequently the perches. I will report back next week with detailed pictures showing what I did to the product and how it performs with my customizations. I have had a lot of questions from people asking me for help with setting up their backyard for better bird photography and I think this could be a relatively easy solution to many backyard photography problems.

Note: Photo courtesy Effortless Bird Feeder website.

Waiting for Their Return

Curious Red Tailed Hawk

As I mentioned on Monday, the pond at Mead Memorial Park is back in operation after some much needed dredging and maintenance. While the pond looks great, there are some inhabitants that were displaced by the work that have still not returned……Red Tailed Hawks like the one in the photo above. I cant wait until they are back in their new home.

I did see one circling the park in the distance over the weekend so I hope that come breeding season they return to the park. There were those who did not like having them in the park. Why? This spring there was a mating pair and their 3 chicks……they made a lot of noise. Noise that people actually complained about.

I have a feeling however that the instincts of the hawks will return them to the park and that the local residence will have something to complain about again this spring.

Monday Musings – Mead Pond Park is Back!

You might remember reading in a previous post that one of the local parks I photograph birds, Mead Pond Park in New Canaan, Connecticut, had its pond drained. The pond was drained because silt built up over the years and made the pond too shallow to support the wildlife that made the pond their home. This problem became evident when moss and algae formed over the entire surface of the pond. In fact, when they drained the pond they found it was only a few feet deep in some locations. This work took several months and unfortunately for me meant that all of the ponds birds went to other locations.
This weekend I went over to the park to check on the work (I have been checking monthly since the work started) and was surprised to find that the pond was full again!

Canada Goose Calling
Canada Goose Drinking
Canada Goose Preening

I made some images of Canada Goose that had returned to the pond. Ice had formed and we had a dusting of snow the night before. I also watched a Red Tailed Hawk circling in the distance. The pond had been home to a breeding pair of Red Tailed Hawks and their 3 chicks this spring. They left the park however when the bulldozers and construction equipment came, go figure!

I’m really glad to see some of the wildlife returning to the pond and look forward to photographing there in the future. It will be great to see what new species inhabit the pond now that the ecology has hopefully been improved.

Dark Eyed Junco’s

Last winter when the Dark Eyed Junco’s came to town, we had quite a show in our yard. At the peak there were upwards of 60 birds living around our feeders. I think one of the reasons I like this bird so much is the different colors that its feathers reflect as the light hits it. Sometimes the bird can appear black, others slate grey with kisses of brown. Usually the males are the darker of the species.

If you look below you will see the same bird in the same spot just with different light falling on it.

Dark Eyed Junco
Bright Dark Eyed Junco

The Dark Eyed Junco’s brought some predators with them last year. Several birds were taken out of the air by Red Tailed and Red Shouldered Hawks. As some were making their getaway, they flew into our sliding doors. At one point we had 4 or 5 dead birds in a span of a week. Hope fully we can avoid that this year!

Monday Musings – White Breasted Nuthatch

One of the very first avian photographs I made was of a White Breasted Nuthatch. I look forward to the winter to try and photograph them because it is hard to get a lens on them when all the leaves are out, they are very skittish birds.

White Breasted Nuthatch Pose

A real challenge for me is trying to better my images. Before I try to photograph a place or a subject I have already photographed, I look through the past images and try to figure out how I can be better than I was the last time. Things like, angles, time of day, background, focus, depth of field and composition are all elements of the photograph that I can clearly make better the second time around…..at least I try!

White Breasted Nuthatch Pointing

Neither one of these images will win any awards and thats ok. The important thing is that you go out and try. You never know when you might make that once in a lifetime image!

Here Come the Winter Migrants

I know some of my friends and family probably thought the title related to my sons coming home for the Thanksgiving holiday that we will be celebrating in the U.S. tomorrow! While I am thrilled to have them both home, I was in fact refering to my avian friends. While photographing this weekend near the bird feeders I have on my property, I saw some of the first winter migrants, in particular Dark Eyed Junco.

Black Capped Chickadee

I look forward to having the chance to observe the behavior of these birds over the winter. We had approximately 40 Dark Eyed Junco living in and around our woods last year. The research I have done seems to indicate that this species of bird returns to the same place each winter. I will be interested to see if that is the case for me. We are going through 2 full feeders every other day now, so with that many birds, I might need to take a second job to be able to buy bird seed!

Tufted Titmouse

Monday Musings

Now that fall has the northeast firmly in its grasp, finding good birds to photograph is a little more difficult. I ventured to some coastal wetlands in search of some migrants and was able to add a new bird to my file.

Sanderling on the Rocks

I found a pair of Sanderlings foraging. Boy can they move. They never stood still and practicing peak of action photography was tough. The conditions also complicated things as the sun was very low and the birds were backlit.

Sanderling Call

One of the great things about photography is the excitement associated with trying again. While I didn’t get the shot I wanted, I now have some experience with a new species that will help me upon my next encounter. The lessons learned from putting your time in are transferable to all aspects of this vocation.

Its a Matter of Opinion

I ventured out on a beautiful fall day with the intention of photographing fall migrants at the beach. Some would say I failed since I came home with few bird pictures worth keeping…..if any.
This is what I did come home with

Fall Foliage

So while some might say I didn’t make any wildlife keepers, I would say I spent a beautiful day outside trying!

This was the closest to a keeper I had all day

Ring Billed Gull Eating

If it wasn’t for the gesture, I don’t think I would like this image either.

Have a great weekend.

Gesture

If you have ever been fortunate enough to listen to or attend a lecture given by Jay Maisel you would know that capturing gesture is very important in his photography. I have been fortunate to have studied with and read many articles written by and about Jay. A game I like to play with myself is to find gesture in wildlife. Doing so brings your subject to life. What better way to speak on behalf of an animal?

While it is not easy to capture gesture in wild animals the reward if you are successful are images that tug on the heart strings of the viewer. The ultimate reward for visual communicators. Here are some of my recent wildlife photographs that I think are good examples.

Laughing Gull Gesture

Ring Billed Gull Peek a Boo

A Walk in the Park

The heat wave gripping New England finally broke this weekend. It was such a beautiful morning that I decided to visit a local park (Mead Park) a take a walk around the pond. I decided to bring my 200-400 with a 1.4 TC attached. Normally this would be a lot of glass to carry on a walk but I was planning on getting in tight on some Canadian Geese that live at the pond so I knew this was the right lens to bring. Was I glad with that decision!

It seems that a family of Red Tailed Hawks has made Mead Park in New Canaan their new home.

Red Tailed Hawk atop Utility Pole

It seems that a mating pair moved in over the winter and had 3 chicks this spring. The mother has been teaching the chicks how to hunt. They were actively practicing while I was there.

Red Tailed Hawk Eyeing a Squirrel

Red Tailed Hawk Portrait

It was a great morning of photography. Many unexpected subjects.