Winter Sunrise

Here are a few shots from the morning after a recent storm here in Barrington, NH. It pays to get up early!

Bald Eagles on Ice!

While Ice fishing this weekend I had some nice close encounters with a mature ( full white head) bald eagle. NOt only was he close the light was amazing right at sunset! These were shot on Great Pond in Belgrade Maine.
-Bill

First Antler of 2013!

I love this time of year. Winters been hanging on, wildlife is surviving on the last remains of stems, acorns and anything else that provides basic calories and nutrition. Just a few weeks from now spring will rear it head and life will again return to the forest.

Still has fresh blood drops on it!

Part of this annual cycle as far as white tailed deer are concerned is a subject I have written about many times, the shedding of the antlers. I always think of Feb 1 as the true beginning of this process that can last for the next 4 weeks.

 Look at his right antler and compare it to the imag eof it ont he ground. The same!!

I went to check my trail camera last weekend and had a few deer walk by with antlers still hanging on. When I went back this weekend to check it I was super excited to stumble across a small very fresh antler about 50 yards from my camera. Then I realized the photo my trail camera captured the week before was the deer who had dropped the antler while he was still holding onto it. very cool!

Here are some more outtakes:

 If I had a dollar for every time i took my own photo on a trail camera....

-Bill

Eagles and Ice fishing

A  yearly tradition that happens right about now, ( especially with the nice cold streak we have had) is ice fishing. Yesterday I headed out to South Berwick, Maine, about a 20 minute drive and had a blast with one of my old fraternity brother Eric. We were catching so many fish traps we going off 2 at a time. It was actually making it difficult to even cook the venison because the traps kept going off!

Well it was not only a great day of fishing and being with friends but we also got some amazing views of a juvenile bald eagle.  This was good practice for our big trip up to Belgrade in a few weeks!

Thanks for stopping by!
Bill

A few more bird paintings complete!

These little paintings have been a blast. Here are a few more recently completed. First is a Northern Cardinal, and that is followed by one of my favorite visitors, the Cedar Waxwing!

My Facebook Page

Hello everyone. I wanted to remind you that if you are on Facebook you should LIKE my Facebook page. I do a photo of the day and share some more of my small adventures and art than I do here. Hope you are well and thanks for stopping by!
-Bill

Owl Nesting Box Construction

Tere Mills

Its almost nesting time, and I missed the window to do this project last winter. With the rainy and dreary weather I took advantage of the garage wood shop to make 3 owl nesting boxes this weekend. One is BIG and designed for larger barred owls, the other 2 are smaller and made for screech and saw whet owls. It was a little tough getting them high up in the tree but they are all hung now. I started with common white pine board, one 8' x 1' board will make one screech owl house

I added a small inside perch to help owlets get to the hole to look out. 

Although I was not thrilled about spending $7 on cedar shavings I think the comfort aspect will make this house very attractive to a owl about to nest. 

Screech owl box hung high in a hemlock near my back swamp

Barred owl Box hung as high as I could get it ( almost fell off ladder) just above our vernal pool

Screech owl box high over our garden. I have a feeling this one is a winner, it gets great sun and will keep the owls warm in the cold late winter days. 

Now we wait!
Let me know if you would like the plans I used, heck, I might even make you one if you are really interested!

Happy Sunday
-Bill

Pine Grosbeaks

Although considered a fairly common winter visitor, I have never really identified these beautiful winter visitors until just yesterday. Fortunately we have a mob of them on the tree right in front of my office. Today I saw over 20 in one tree alone!
-Bill

I think this is a male

amazing feather detail!

Apparently I am not the only one who noticed all the birds in the area

Love this pose showing the coloration perfectly

2013 Calendar

Limited amounts of my 2013 Photography Calendar still available. Makes a great gift!
-Bill

Saw Whet Owl Painting

I just finished a new 'yard bird' painting, the Saw Whet Owl. This painting is in dedication to the owl that flew into my window last week. Although she was quickly taken in by a specialist she passed away a few days ago. I feel so lucky to have seen her so close, in fact it was the first time I have seen a Saw Whet in the wild.

 -Bill

Ornithological Painting

I really enjoy looking at all the different illustration styles of famous ornithological painters such as John James Audubon, David Sibley and one of my personal favorites, Roger Tory Peterson.

The thought occurred to me that it could be a lot of fun to try to come up with my own style of ornithological illustration based on primarily on photos,  yet referencing work from some of the greats.

My goal is to create paintings that not only show the important identification features, but also creating a bird that has some life and action to it. I feel like I want to be somewhere between Audubon animated style and Sibley's refined hyper accurate reference style, maybe leaning a bit more towards Sibley.

The only criteria, I am limiting myself to birds identified withing the boundaries of my property.

Here are my first two attempts, super fun and quick. I cant wait to fall into a groove and find my style. These are painted with acrylic on Gessoed Masonite, 8x10".
-Bill

Mt Katahdin Summit, Baxter State Park

We had awesome weather and declared this as the most exciting, beautiful and challenging hike we have been on. I highly suggest taking this one on if your looking for a challenge both mentally and physically.

Baxter Peak, summit of Katahdin

The Knife Edge section awaits

This image gives good scale and shows how you literally hike on the top edge, on all fours manytimes.

Zoomed further out you can see the scale of Baxter peak on the extreme right

Making our way along the Knifes Edge between Baxter and Pamola peaks. The mountain has claimed 19 lives since 1963, mostly from exposure in bad weather and falls from the Knife Edge. For about 3/10 of a mile the trail is 3 feet wide, with a drop off on either side.

Epic reflection, what you can't see are the 20+ other photographers from all over the country

This guy, trail named Highlife, just finished the entire Appalachian Trail, all 2,184 miles of it at this very moment, it took him just under 6 months.

This trail has proved fatal 19 times

Classic Roaring Brook

We even saw a moose!

-Bill