Birds – Page 9 – Circadianreflections Blog

A Ground Dweller

March 4, 2012March 4, 2012Posted in California, Nature, Nikon, Photography, Travel, WildlifeTagged Birds, Burrowing Owl, California, Nikon, Photography, WildlifeLeave a comment

Yesterday I had the pleasure of hanging out in Muir Woods National Monument with several photography friends. Several of them had hoped to see owls, but we hadn’t seen or heard any in the 4 hours we had been in the forest. When we met a fellow photographer Dennis A. and he heard there was an interest in seeing owls he kindly shared with us the location where several pairs of Burrowing Owls live.

My friend Dali who is an avid Raptor/bird photographer was eager to go to see if we could find them, and find them we did. (see his photo of the Burrowing Owl here)

I first spotted the pair and thought they might be Ground Squirrels, but as we pulled around I saw they were a pair of Burrowing Owls perched just outside their nest, and partially hidden by a little patch of tall grass. They’re adorable!

After parking the car and grabbing our gear we quickly but cautiously made our way to the nest. Once spotted the female dove into the burrow, while the male stood guarding the entrance. Not expecting to do any bird photography I wasn’t carrying my longest lens yesterday, so I was not able to get as close a shot as I would have liked, but getting as close as I dared I fired a few shots before the male dove into the burrow. Here he is just before he dove into the burrow.

Once in the burrow the male kept his head out keeping watch. He’s all eyes and beak!

It was quite exciting to see them. This is the first time I’ve ever seen Burrowing Owls.

We crept just a bit too close for his comfort and he disappeared down the burrow not to be seen again.

Dennis said there are several pairs living in this field, and we did spot another pair but they must have received word that we were about because before we even neared half the distance between us and them they dove into their burrow.

While wandering around looking for the owls we did see turtles sunbathing along an irrigation canal. That was an unexpected surprise.

Dennis A. here’s a huge “SHOUT OUT!” for sharing with me and a couple of friends the location to these Burrowing Owls that have made a field in Vacaville, CA. home. Thank you!!!

Nikon D700| Nikkor 180mm f2.8| Induro CT213 Tripod

White Kites…

December 13, 2011December 13, 2011Posted in Birds, California, Nature, Nikon, WildlifeTagged Birds, Birds of Prey, Merced National Wildlife Refuge, Nature, Nikkor, Nikon, Photography, Recreation, Wildlife2 Comments

I’ve been trying for weeks to get a decent shot of a Kite that lives in Moss Landing without success. That Kite likes to perch on a tree out in a Marsh which is too far away for my longest lens. Here’s the best I’ve been able to get. It’s soft, and there isn’t much detail. I used a Nikkor 70-300mm VR on a tripod for this shot in mid November 2011.

I hoped by renting the Nikkor 300mm f4 I would have better luck. I’d be able to use my Tamron 1.4x Extender with it and have a bit more reach. With that in mind I took the rental lens with me last Saturday to Merced National Wildlife Refuge with my friend Rainey. We made a detour on the way to try to find some birds at another park and along the way we spotted this Kite perched on the branch. I was busy clicking away when I noticed it opened its beak, and then I heard it call then in came this other Kite! Oh, how I hoped I nailed the shot with its beak open!

While this photo isn’t as sharp, or have as much detail as I would like it to have I’m thrilled it’s decent and I did get the shot with its beak open. You can see a little more detail, but it’s still too far away for this lens plus extender. Also when using an Extender there is generally a loss of sharpness. With my aperture wide open and focused on the perched Kite I missed the opportunity to get them both in focus. I was focused on the perched one.

I’m learning though. One thing I’ll do differently the next time is stop the lens down to f8. I expect the clarity will improve a bit.

A brief word on the Nikkor 300mm F4 lens. This is the 3rd time I’ve rented this lens . Each time I rent it I want one of my own! It’s a great lens. It produces wonderful colors, and superb details if you can get a bit closer, and the Bokeh is yummy. I do wish it had image stabilization though. Hand-holding this lens isn’t easy so I’m using a tripod, or a pillow when I am shooting out of the car window.

Right after I took the picture above the perched Kite took flight. I got a little of his profile, and the sun peeked through the fog and overcast morning for a little while which lit up its chest nicely.

I do love the thrill of the chase so, I’ll continue to look for Kites maybe the next time they’ll be a bit closer.

Nikon D300s| Nikkor 70-300mm VR & Nikkor 300mm f4 w/ Tamron 1.4x TeleConverter

On Radio Road

March 21, 2011March 21, 2011Posted in Birds, California, Nature, Nikon, Photography, WildlifeTagged Aquatic birds;, Birds, California, California Reserves;, Nature, Nikon, Photography, Redwood Shores, Wildlife2 Comments

These birds make me smile! They have such a friendly face, but their walk is awkward…. and….stilted. Probably because they’re trying not to disturb the water as they hunt for food.

“The Black-necked Stilt forages by probing and gleaning primarily in mudflats and lakeshores, but also in very shallow waters near shores; it seeks out a range of aquatic invertebrates – mainly crustaceans and other arthropods, and mollusks – and small fish, tadpoles and very rarely plant seeds. Its mainstay food varies according to availability; inland birds usually feed mainly on aquatic insects and their larvae, while coastal populations mostly eat other aquatic invertebrates. For feeding areas they prefer coastal estuaries, salt ponds, lakeshores, alkali flats and even flooded fields. For roosting and resting needs, this bird selects alkali flats (even flooded ones), lake shores, and islands surrounded by shallow water.” ~ Wikipedia

For this shoot I met photographer, and friend Marianne Bush out at Radio Road which is part of Redwood Shores Reserves. After we shot around the lagoon for a while we walked over to a channel that feeds the lagoon where Marianne had spied a Bufflehead while we were driving in. An aquatic bird in the Sea Duck family that has been on my list for sometime. The Bufflehead was no longer there, but we did see this little duck below. Both Marianne and I were very excited because neither one of us had seen this bird before. Marianne being the much more experienced birder had an idea of what breed it might be. When we left we were both anxious to get into our bird books to see if we could identify it.

Marianne was able to ID it faster than I did. She wrote to tell me we had seen a Blue Winged Teal! Very uncommon on the West Coast. You can image how thrilled we both were. A month later looking at this photo I can still feel that thrill of excitement one gets when seeing a new species for the first time.

At a Safari Rest Stop

May 6, 2010May 6, 2010Posted in California, UncategorizedTagged Birds, Safari West, Santa Rosa, Screamer CraneLeave a comment

I went to Safari West last week-end with 9 members of a Meet-Up group. We are photographers. Safari West is a little slice of Africa in Santa Rosa, CA.

What a neat experience it was to see so many different and exotic birds, and animals up close. Many of the birds and animals roam freely through the park where we drove. We stopped right next to a giraffe, zebras, and a we had a close encounter with a female ostrich. She didn’t want us to leave so she cleverly positioned herself near the gate so we couldn’t drive through. We ended up backing up and going out a different way. Which turned out wonderfully. I wouldn’t have seen the swan in this post if we hadn’t gone this way.

Feathering the Nest

February 11, 2010February 11, 2010Posted in CaliforniaTagged Annas Hummingbird, Birds, Feathers, Gardens, NestLeave a comment

He found this little down feather and was shaking, and plucking at it. I think to get it ready for his nest. Something caught his attention in this Oleander-which is where he lives. See the little feather stuck on the end of the branch? He cleverly lodged it there for safe keeping. He flitted around my yard gathering fluffy things for two days. He’s flitting around today, but not gathering things. His bed will be soft and warm.

A Few Things That Make Me Smile.

February 9, 2010February 9, 2010Posted in CaliforniaTagged Birds, California, Forest, hikes, Sparrows, Woodland Friends2 Comments

The smell of damp soil after rain, the sound of the Song Sparrow in the meadow, bright green moss growing on a tree, and the smile of another hiker met along the trail.

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