Never Ending Love

You may have noticed that I have been a poor blogger the last few weeks. The reason is I have been in Europe celebrating my parents 50th Wedding Anniversary.

Nat & Phyllis Mistretta, 50 Years Ago!

I have been incredibly blessed during my life. I have had the love and support of both of my parents and have watched them mature (ahem, get old) with grace and dignity…..together. They have reaped the rewards of the seeds they have sown. I also have a great wife and 3 beautiful, albeit mostly grown children (you can tell I don’t like the mostly grown part) ;-). Our family, my folks, wife, children and my 2 sisters clans equate to 16 people. As most of you know, organizing 16 people to go to Europe is a Herculean task but with 1 1/2 years planning, we were able to make it happen.

Vincent, Margaret and Paula One Christmas Many Years Ago

My father paid Paula and I $50 to kiss Margaret to make this picture :-). (Actually I am making that up to distract people from realizing I am holding a Barry Manilow album)!

One of the gifts we presented my parents while on our trip were 2 DVD’s with all of their 8mm and Super 8mm films set to music. They truly enjoyed being able to watch their wedding day festivities with their children and grand children.

Guest Houses, Roman Forum

As I prepared for our trip, I decided to tie a photographic challenge into the mix for me. My challenge was to take only one body (Nikon D700) and one lens (the old, 24-120) and try to photograph images of famous places differently than others have done. I will share some of the results with you over the coming weeks. As you can imagine, I have about 75 GB of new images to process and review. My goal is to present my parents with a book of the images from this great trip as a remembrance of the 12 days we all spent together celebrating their never ending love.

Images captured with Nikon D700 and 24-120 VR I, on Lexar Digital Film

Snowy Egrets

Snowy Egret in Breeding Plumage

The above picture was taken along Dune Rd in Quogue at sunrise. As you can tell, this male was in full breeding plumage and trying to impress the ladies!

Snowy Egret Party

A little further down the road, this group of Snowy Egrets was working a tidal pool. I must have been a tad late to this party as the feeding was limited. I suspect they cleaned the tidal pool out before I got there.

Images captured with D700, 600mm f/4 w/1.4 TCe on Lexar Digital Film

Monday Musings – Ever See an Osprey Being Harassed?

Its a known fact that Red Winged Blackbirds like to harass Osprey. This really isn’t an issue for just Osprey but Raptors in general.
I have documented this several times at the Osprey nests I visit. As one would expect this behavior is more common when the Osprey and Red Winged Blackbirds are sharing nesting locations.

Red Winged Blackbird Sneaks up on Momma Osprey
Red Winged Blackbird Showing Off

On a recent trip to one of the nests, I was able to capture this in flight pursuit.

Red Winged Blackbird in Pursuit of Osprey

What interests me most about this behavior is it seems to be specific to a few of the Red Winged Blackbirds. There are times I visit these nests and the birds all seem to coexist without any interaction. There are other times when the Red Winged Blackbirds are relentless in their pursuit of the Osprey, so much so, that photographing and observing the Osprey’s behavior (yes, observation is a major part of what I do when I go to photograph subjects) can be difficult.

Photos captured with D3x/D700 w/600mm f/4 on Lexar Digital Film

Aren’t They Cute!

Osprey Chicks Waiting for Mother to Return
Mother and Chicks Calling for Pappa to Return with Some Fish

I Love the gesture on the chick in the top image. Make sure you check back Monday for one of my favorite posts!
Have a great weekend.

Images Captured on D700 w/600mm f/4, 1.4 TCe on Lexar Digital Film

Black Crowned Night Heron on the Hunt

Black Crowned Night Heron Hunting Reflection

The bird count has been pretty good the last few weekends. I know some have been complaining about not seeing many birds however that has not been the case on Long Island.

Deer with Good Taste

Fawns at Sunset

Deer that like the Hamptons. I might have seen one of them at a local watering hole!

Deer at Sunrise

Images captured with Nikon D3x, 600 f/4 on Lexar Digital Film

Monday Musings – Great Egret Sunrise

Great Egret at Sunrise

I think the light says it all! Looks especially bold on this male showing off for a nearby female.

Observing the Plains

Don’t you just love mornings like this?

Image captured with Nikon D700, 600 f/4 wTCe-II 1.4 on Lexar Digital Film.

Momma Feeding Her Chicks

Osprey Chick Calling for Food

I had the opportunity to return to the Osprey nest this week. The chicks are getting close to taking flight. Their wings are now fully developed. No more wholes created by not enough feathers.

Osprey Chick with Mouthful of Fish

One of the things I like about visiting this nest is that it is very peaceful. Most of you have heard this before but wildlife photography affords you a lot of time to think as you sit and wait for something to happen (it doesn’t always). This time however I was able to capture something new to me. The female Osprey feeding her young.

Pappa Osprey Keeping Watch Over Nest

All this occurred while dad kept a watchful eye over me!

Images captured by Nikon D700, 600 f/4 w/ 1.4 TCe-II on Lexar Digital Film.

Glossy Ibis

I had the opportunity to observe a group of Glossy Ibis that were feeding near the Osprey nest that I visited the last few weekends.

Glossy Ibis in Flight

Its interesting that I have never seen a troop of Ibis at the nest prior to this visit. I have visited this particular nesting site for the last 3 years.

Glossy Ibis Portrait

It was unfortunate that the group moved off into the distance not long after I arrived, but it was fun pulling out my binoculars and watching them interact. I also made some great images of the mother Osprey feeding the chicks which I will share with you all shortly.

Images made with Nikon D700, 600 f/4 with 1.4 TCe-II on Lexar digital film.