Return of the Osprey

I woke up to a very foggy morning today, every now and then the sun would just barley squeak through the clouds giving very brief glimpses of what heaven must look like. I figured this would be a good day to bring the camera on the way to work. Although I have not been shooting much recently with a very busy schedule, I figured it would not hurt to bring the camera, just in case. I have learned the hard way too many times. If in doubt, bring the camera.

On my commute to work I drive past one of those cell towers that try VERY hard to look like a pine tree. With it's awkward, stunted,  comical attempt to be branches, one must wonder if it were just a regular tower would it be less of an eye sore?

Apparently this breeding pair of osprey do not mind. I spotted one of them perched on the tower and pulled over, grabbed my camera focused in to make sure it was not a hawk or a crow, it wasn't!

Today marks my first osprey sighting of the year.  This is the same tower I reported a pair in last year. I can't help but wonder if it is the same pair as last year, or if it maybe one of the other 2 pairs that nested withing a 1/4 mile of this location last spring.

I had only a few minutes to watch as one of the osprey flew off, assuming it may be the male, I had a good idea he would be right back with a stick. Sure enough within 3 minutes the mature bird flew back over my head towards the nest. The size of the branch (or tree?) it was carrying was remarkable. Looking at the images I estimate 7-7.5 feet. As I continued to shoot these photos I could not believe it was actually gaining altitude with this log. Flapping hard and determined it struggled to continue its ascent. 

Just as the thought of "what would happened if he dropped that spear from the heavens and it hit a car, person, or house?" I saw one leg break loose from the tree. Within a second the bird released its' over sized payload sending the tomahawk missile plummeting downwards, as it gained velocity I peaked from behind my zoom lens to look at the landing zone. CRASH! the stick smashed into the metal roof of a storage facility and exploded onto pieces. No one else saw it.

This made me wonder how often this must happen, and thought, this must lead to some unexplained happenings around the world. Anyone ever hear of a stick falling from the sky with no trees around?

Barred Owl in Rain

 

On a rainy hike yesterday morning deep in a pine forest of Hollis, NH I startled a Barred Owl who was very low on a branch perfectly camouflaged. He flew a very short distance and landed on another branch a little higher up. Although I have seen barred owls several times in this area over the past year, I still consider them to be my ultimate find. Cameraless,  I watched it for 10 minutes and marked it on my GPS.

Then I tried to determine how long it would take me to get back to my truck. My thought was, based on an experience I had last summer, Barred owls tend to stay put for long periods of time during the day. So maybe, just maybe I could hike back to my truck, drive a few miles home, get my camera, drive back, hike back to the spot with help from my GPS and get a great opportunity to photograph such an amazing animal.  It worked! Forty minutes later...I relocated the owl and photographed it for about 45 more minute from 20 feet away! 

checking out a small noise below

 Got to be careful how you itch your ear when you have claws like that!

 

 I was relieved and out of breath after putting in that kind of effort to get shots like these.

 

I even had a chance to try some HDR techniques 

Thanks for stopping by, come back soon to check out some shots of the peregrine falcons I have been watching.

-Bill

New Hampshire Seacoast Birds

 Common Eiders

On my way home from some ice fishing in Maine I stopped by some of my favorite birding haunts. Jenness Beach, Rye Harbor, and various pullover areas with no names that I am aware of. Then I made my way down to Salisbury State beach, and headed home with a quick stop in Ipswich to see if the Red Screech Owl was still there.

Its tough to see the water over the high snowbanks making identification difficult and sometimes dangerous with traffic flying by. So I didn't stop as much as I wanted to. I had high hopes to spot the elusive Snowy owl.

After talking to a few members of the Mass Audubon I realized my fears are probably true, there will not be a huge invasion of Snowy owls this year. Seems this is a cycle based on lemming population that occurs every seven years, last year was that year. 

 Common Loon

 Horned Grebe? (first for me is so)

 Bald Eagle shot with a 85mm lens, can only imagine how nice these would be with the 400mm. doh!

 Golden Eyes

 Red Tailed Hawk

 Crow?

Red Morph Screech Owl, round 2

New Painting!

After some time off I am back at it, started this oil painting about a week ago and have been having a blast working on it. It is based on the photos I took this summer on the Nashua River. Stay tuned as I make more progress. I hope to do a short video when I paint the eyes in.

Red Morph Screech Owl

The Eastern Screech owl is the only small owl in the Eastern United Stated that has ear tufts. This little owl is also the only owl that appears in two distinct colors, or morphs. Its voice is mournful and can be heard late in the evening. Very often ( every time I have ever seen one ) they are sleeping in a hole in a tree. These guys are fairly common so next time your driving or walking in the woods take notice of the holes in the trees, you just might see one!

 Taken a year apart, these photos show the the two distinct color morphs

 This guy is no dummy, picking the sunny side of the tree to stay warm in the frigid weather

If you didnt look up you would walk (or drive) right past this guy.

Thanks for stopping by, feel free to leave some comments!
-Bill

Winter Coyotes

I went for a photo drive with fellow photographer Kevin Klasman this weekend. Our only plan was to attempt to photograph my first Red Morph Screech Owl that had been reported in Essex, Mass. Images for that attempt to follow in Part#2 of this post.

Along the way from Hollis,  we made several stops including Great Meadows Wildlife
Refuge in Concord, MA. With calm winds and comfortable temps we slowly made our way out onto the dike dividing the marsh. Almost instantly we spotted a bedded coyote several hundred yards off.

Patiently we watched the 'yote only to realize he was going to relax in the warm sun  and most likely not offer an opportunity for any closer shots. We were divided by the marsh and could not get any closer ourselves. After poking around a little longer we decided to head back to my truck. On the way to the truck we saw this cute little mash wren playing in the reeds.

Marsh Wren

I looked to see if I could locate my coyote call, figuring this might bring the bedded dog out for a better look, it was not in my truck.

With the opportunity to photograph this healthy mature coyote in snow too alluring to abandon, we decided to hike along the old train tracks behind where we spotted the coyote to give it one last try.
Glad we did! Click images to enlarge.

Bedded Female Coyote

Big Male spotted me very quickly, I made a hoot sound to stop him for a photo

 This looks like a wolf to me

 happy couple

 Relaxing, waiting for nightfall to cause some trouble

 Downward Yote

And one of my favorites, these people skied right past this huge male with out even noticing. Just shows, you gotta pay attention!

-Bill

Blizzard Feeder Birds

 

Female Cardinal

Seems like the heavy snow has made the local birds less picky about the food I have been putting out! Had a great time during the last snowday experimenting with my 580exII wireless flash. Just enough for detail capture.I was stopped down - 2 3/3rds. Also grabbed a video at the end of the post to show how strong the wind was blowing.

 Dark Eyed Junco

 Male Cardinal

 Blue Jay

American Tree Sparrow

White Winged Scoter Feeding Video

Snowy trip to Gloucester

I took a drive with my friend and fellow photographer Kevin to the coast in Gloucester, Ma this weekend. We were in search of some winter migrants. There are many species along the coast this time of year that spend the warmer months much further north, this late in the winter they move south offering us a look at these part-time visitors.

Given the tough lighting and constant snow/ ice it made for a great trip with 4 birds I have never seen before. Harlequin Duck, Purple Sandpipers, Ruddy Duck, and White Winged Scoter.

Our first sighting started at the Gloucester--Fisherman's Monument with some close views of the White Winged Scoter fishing near the seawall. The clear water provided great views of what happens once the duck swims below the surface.

 Purple Sandpipers reacting to my presence

 a seal swam by following a commercial fishing boat that had just docked at Jodfrey State Fish Pier

 Ruddy Duck

 These Horned Larks and Snow Buntings required the most effort to photographed, it was snowing quite hard at this point when we arrived at Cape Ann--Good Harbor Beach

Last but certainly not least, one of the main reasons we went to the Gloucester (besides the screech owl that was not present) was to find these Harlequin Ducks. I need to go back and really capture these beautiful birds with some better light! Amazing to watch them dive in unison.

Redpolls Invasion!

Today during a lunchtime stroll, I photographed a group of five Common Redpolls, typically found in the northern areas of Canada and Alaska. Although the markings on the birds are subtle from afar, the detail in these photos shows stunning delicate beauty as they feed on these white birch catkins.

One reason these birds are being found so far south is that they are forced to relocate in search of food when winter sets in their northern habitats.

When I first arrived at the location, I spotted three Redpolls right away in the birches. I got my camera set up and within 2 shots they all flew off to the edge of the river out of sight. I attempted to sneak down towards the river, only to have them fly away again. At this point I decided to try later. As I returned back to my truck, I noticed they were all perched in the same trees that they started in.