Category: Nikon

Empty Nest

Posted in Birds, California, Nature, Nikon, Photography, WildlifeTagged , , , 2 Comments

The chicks turned into Fledglings over night! I misjudged their age by a week it seems. That “crop milk” is indeed very rich and nutritious for they grew from their tiny new-born, blind, and naked size to this in a week!

I’m sure they could see me by this time (Mar. 11, 2011), or their hearing and sense of smell was awfully good.

March 17, 2011 – Passing the window in the living on my way to the kitchen I saw one of the chicks was standing on the edge of the hanging basket. Yes! Standing there and his/her size was enormous. Nearly as big as its mother. I reversed course to grab my camera to record the moment. A milestone in a Mourning Dove’s life.

Not a chick anymore, but a fledgling now soon to be an adult on his own.  I wondered if the other chick had already flown away. I went outside to get a little closer to see if I could spy another head in the basket.

The other fledgling was there keeping a low profile. In the distance I heard the soft cooing of the Mother. I wondered if she was calling them to join her in a tree in another yard.

My instincts told me today was the day they would leave the nest. I wanted to stay nearby with camera in hand. I might get lucky and get a shot of one taking flight, but I couldn’t stay. I had a commitment that took me away from hearth, home, and Mourning Dove leaving day. I watched as long as I could about 30 minutes. The whole time this little one stayed right there on the edge of the basket…feeling the pull to fly, and mustering up the courage to take flight.  I hated to leave. I knew they’d be gone by the time I returned later in the morning.

When I returned home I went straight to the nest, and as I feared the nest was empty! I immediately started to look around the yard to see if they had stayed close by. I spied one fledgling on the fence on the side of the yard I’d heard cooing earlier in the morning. Then I heard the cooing again. The Mother was in a tree calling him. I got the camera ready, and took a few shots of him on the fence.

All of a sudden there was rustling of leaves, a flutter of wings, I blinked! A squirrel jumped out of the tree landing next to the Fledgling who took flight, I snapped the shutter…

I didn’t get the shot of him in flight. He was gone.

The 7 days the two Doves were in my hanging basket were a gift. It was wonderful to watch them grow, to learn a little more about them, and feel so close to nature.

I looked at the basket now holding a few weeds, and twigs that was once was their nest and felt a little sadness. I pray they will be safe, and grow to have little chicks of their own, and perhaps, next Spring one of them might find my hanging basket.

Update- Dove Chicks!

Posted in Birds, California, Nikon, Nikon D90, PhotographyTagged Leave a comment

The chicks are thriving! Since my initial post about them  https://circadianreflections.wordpress.com/2011/03/11/the-mournful-oowoo-woo-woo-woo-of-my-squatters they’ve grown a lot. March 14, 2011- Mama in protective mode. She usually sits tall in the nest but, whenever I get too close she signals them to be still and quite and like good chicks they do it.

March 13 2011- The chicks are starting to be more active in the nest. Fluffing their wings and walking around a little, but I have to shoot that from a distance so they don’t get into protective mode and hunker down. This is all I can see from my vantage point at the sliding glass door.

Compound this far vantage point with them being under the cover of the patio and it was windy and rainy. The basket was moving quite a bit. Notice the motion blur on the tail. I raised the ISO to get my shutter speed up, not enough I’m afraid. I didn’t want to introduce too much noise. Between the family moving the basket, and the wind moving it has been a challenge  photographing them.

March 13, 2011- Here is the only time so far, I’ve been able to see the female feeding the chicks. It was windy, and had been raining on and off all day. Here the female is getting ready to feed her chicks “crop-milk”.  I’ve got motion blur on the females head. She’s bringing up the milk.

I’ve done a bit of research since these have come into my life about what to expect until they leave the nest. Mourning Doves don’t regurgitate worms to feed their young. They are vegetarian and  have a special pouch that their food goes into where it is turned  into a very rich, nutritious milk.  It contains more protein than cows milk. The chicks stick their head/beaks into the parents mouth and drink the milk. Another interesting fact both the male and female have this extra large crop and produce the milk. The chicks grow very quickly due to this rich milk.

March 16, 2011- Look how much they’ve grown since I first discovered them! They are nearly twice as big, and their feathers are much softer and more filled out. Addendum: They are born blind and naked!

The sitting parent( I think the female)  has been leaving the nest more often, and the male has been coming around. Both the male and female spent more than an hour on the fence away from the nest this morning. The chicks leave the nest at just 14 days old. I found these two 6 days ago, and I don’t know how old they were. They might be here another 6 -7 days.

All photos Copyright © 2011 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved

The mournful oowoo-woo-woo-woo of my Squatters

Posted in Birds, California, Nikon, Nikon D90, PhotographyTagged , 1 Comment

The call of the Mourning Dove is soft, and low.  I hear it on and off all day long.  Years ago this pair flew into my backyard and tried setting up house in a hanging flower basket I have on the patio. I shooed them away the first couple of years and they set up a nest in the eaves. They are stubborn tenacious little things, and after years of trying to shoo them out of my basket I caved in a let them stay a few years ago. I never look for their return but return they do and always to this basket.

They arrived this year just before the arrival of my new camera accessory the Wimberley Sidekick(2/14/2011). When it came in I decided to get some practice with it taking the pictures of the two Squatters Doves living on my patio.

Yesterday(3/11/2011) I noticed there was only one Dove in the nest and she wasn’t making sorties. I said to myself, ” When she leaves I’ll have to look to see if there are any eggs in there.”

Late this afternoon I noticed she was gone so I grabbed a ladder and my camera to have a look.  I was thrilled to find not eggs but 2 chicks in the nest!

I have no idea how long ago they hatched.  I’ve not heard a peep! They look fairly new and I’m sure they can’t fly. The female has been gone for a few hours now. It’s getting dark and chilly. I hope she returns soon!

I’m in Mother mode now checking out the window to see if she’s returned and I’ll be watching their growth and progress now until they fly out of the nest.

“Every spring is the only spring – a perpetual astonishment. Ellis Peters”

All Photos Copyright © 2011 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.


Bucolic Sunday

Posted in California, hikes, Landscapes, Nikon, PhotographyLeave a comment

Last Sunday I had a wonderful day hiking with a friend whom I share two hobbies; photography and hiking.  We met to hike up Mission Peak.

We chose the less steep but slightly longer route. This route meanders through verdant pastures in the Winter and Spring months. Cows roam free munching on grass throughout the park.

Rachael loves cows, and was very excited to be so close to them, but was more comfortable with them behind a fence.  This is my favorite photo of Rachael taking photos of the cows on this hike.  This was taken on the way up.

Two times we came across cows near or beside the trail. On one occasion a calf was on the opposite side of the trail of its Mother, and the Mother cow  Mooed at a passing hiker.  So we hiked up the  side of the mountain and gave them a wide berth, but I watched cyclists and other hikers walk or ride right past them without any trouble. Here’s a Happy California Cow munching on the new grass just beside the trail. She totally ignored us.

I turned around to look back and could see way out in the distant horizon San Francisco’s skyline. Can you see it?  There was little to no haze today, and the colors were wonderful.

We ran into lots of hikers on the way up. I even met a neighbor when I was nearly at the top. He was just starting his descent. The para-gliders were out enjoying the day too.

Their parasails looked gorgeous against the blue sky. Here are two sailing the Thermals. Just look at that sky! We couldn’t have asked for a better sky!

On my hikes up here before I’ve froze at the Summit. Today it was warm by comparison. My ski pants, long-johns, parka, gloves, and fleece jacket were not needed.  The last time I was up here I set up my tripod, snapped my photo and headed down as quickly as I could.  It was a little chilly, and windy but not uncomfortable waiting my turn to take my photo at the pole. For the Gear Heads:

I packed really light for this hike. The Nikon D300s, one lens the Nikkor 18-200mm VR, the B+W Circular Polarizer w/warming, one Singh-Ray 3 stop Graduated Neutral Density filter w/holder and adapter ring, spare battery, and my Carbon Fiber tripod with Really Right Stuff  BH-40 ball head. I use the L-plates with my cameras. I packed it in my Lowepro Flipside 300 back pack.  That’s it! It was the right kit for this steep of a climb.

I even stopped long enough to take this shot of the view to the east.This is Sunol Wilderness, and in the distance the snow capped Sierra Mountains.

Passing the pond once again we were treated to great reflections, and a picture perfect scene.

We finished our hike tired, dirty, and hungry. Time to get lunch!  The perfect ending to a wonderful day of hiking.

Begin at 500ft

Total climb 2,017 ft

Total Elevation 2,517 ft

Total miles 3.4 up to the top- 6.8 miles round trip

All photos Copyright © Deborah M. Zajac

(Click a photo to see it large)

You win some, you lose some.

Posted in California, Landscapes, Nikon, Photography4 Comments

4:20pm Horsetail Fall,  in Yosemite National Park glowing in the afternoon sun teases all the photographers who came from near and far to try and catch the sun light hitting the water just before sunset.

For a several days the sun lines up with this fall; in February, and again in October when it does it lights it up.  The preferred time for photographers to shoot this is in February when there is a better chance for snow melt, and water running down the east side of El Capitan. When the sun hits the water the phenomenon can be awesome.  This shot was made famous by famed Yosemite photographer Galen Rowell with his photograph “Natural Firefall”.

Ansel Adams famous for his black and white photography has also taken this shot.  Since then many nature, and landscape photographers have been trying to “get the shot”. Me included.

I first shot this fall last February seen here:

The color and light were good, but it’s not “the shot”. I was hoping for more intense reds and yellows.  I’m not expecting to ever get a shot better than Galen’s he has set the marker high.

This year I tried a different location too. There were quite a few photographers here.

They came from near and far. Next to me were friends who traveled 3 days by car from Colorado to shoot the valley and, try to get the Horsetail Fall shot. Behind me was a photographer from San Diego, CA, and behind him a videographer from Lake Tahoe.  The man that set up on that little island of snow got there at 11am to claim that spot  I was told. Behind that hill of snow, and tree roots the bank is lined with photographers. My friends are over there somewhere. I said I was heading left. I think they veered right.

This year the shot was not meant to be. Two times myself and few friends drove the 4+ hours to get here and both times the clouds blocked the sun. By 4:30PM the first day the clouds began to creep lower, and at 5:32PM I took this shot:

…as you can see the clouds had crept in and blocked the sun.  The photographers around me and myself started making plans to do weather checks and see if it might be possible to try again the next day. By 5:42PM when the sun set we all started packing up. The next day we did return, but the day was more overcast and the shot eluded us once more. We headed over to Cook’s Meadow, and saw the sun did peak through the clouds and light up Half Dome so we raced over to Sentinel Bridge to get that shot before the sun went down.

Not the shot we hoped to get, but a shot I’m happy to have photographed:

I left the park that evening with my spirits high. I came with good friends and had a great time, and with luck I’ll return next year to try to get the fire of Horsetail Fall.

All photographs Copyright © Deborah M. Zajac.  All Rights Reserved

Click the photo to view it large.

Nikon Firmware Update available for D90 and D5000

Posted in Nikon, Nikon D90, PhotographyLeave a comment

This firmware update for the D90 and D5000 only will correct distortion issues .

Nikon says., ““The Distortion Control Data firmware upgrade is available for Nikon D90 and D5000 cameras only. This is used to correct barrel and pincushion distortion during shooting and editing. This may be loaded into cameras that support distortion control.” Nikon

 

Details on how to update your cameras firmware are here:

http://nikonimglib.com/dcdata/manual/En/lensprofile_win_en_ABF.html

 

H/T Nikon Rumors