Pic of the Day

     Western Meadowlark, Strunella neglecta – Badlands National Park, South Dakota: A beautiful bird with yellow breast and black bib the Meadowlark is a member of the blackbird family. Though the eastern and western meadowlarks look similar, their songs are quite different. The eastern meadowlarks song is somewhat flat, while the western meadowlarks song is very melodious and lyrical.
     When I was a young man, a friend (Charles), and I were maintaining a bird banding station at my parent’s home (my home at the time as well). Eastern Meadowlarks were common in the pastures around the house and was a bird we had set our sites on banding. So, we strung our nets and waited. It is important to note, “A watched net catches no birds.” Not knowing this axiom, Charles and I watched the nets. It seemed to take forever, but finally two Meadowlarks flew into the nets. We both ran to the nets and were eager to retrieve the birds and band them. Each of us thinking, “next year we might retrieve these very birds, or even better, another birder would retrieve them on their wintering grounds.” How cool would that be!
     We were both new at bird banding and still learning how to extract birds from the nets. This is an easy process once you get the hang of it. Even if the net is rapped around the bird numerous times or even rapped around the tongue, which happens frequently, it usually takes only a few minutes to remove a bird. At this encounter there were no such problems, just inexperience.
     As we both attempted to remove the meadowlarks, Charles lifted the net and reached for the birds feet. Suddenly the meadowlark burst from the net and flew away. He stood there in amazement and I stood there laughing. As I lifted the net holding the second bird I reached for its feet, and before I new what happen the second bird burst from the net flying off into the pasture. We both stood there laughing and pointing fingers at each other and ourselves. And we were both sure the two Meadowlarks were in some secluded part of their territories laughing at us as well. Ever since that time, both Charles and I laugh when we see meadowlarks, knowing that two meadowlarks outsmarted us so long ago.
     This boisterous Meadowlark, the western race, was photographed in the Badlands of South Dakota. It had obviously not heard of my former travails with his eastern kindred; perhaps he was too busy defending his territory with song to notice me. Whatever the reason, this Meadowlark allowed me to drive right up to the post from which he sang his territorial song, and allowed me to shoot frame after frame of robust activity using my car as a blind. By the way, Meadowlarks had made a point to avoid my lens until I found this bird. Now………who had the last laugh!

Nikon D300, Nikkor 500mm f4, Digital Capture, ISO 200

Pic of the Day

     Lark Bunting – Thunder Basin National Grasslands, Wyoming: It seemed like a good idea at the time. Leave Yellowstone National Park and drive east to the Wyoming/South Dakota boarder. There, on the Wyoming side of the boarder is Thunder Basin National Grasslands, more than a hundred thousand acres of open grasslands filled with breeding birds for me to photograph. My wife and I arrived on the grasslands and began traveling down a gravel road. Using my iPad I could see that dozens of county and state roads crisscrossed the grasslands. So, without trepidation I (my wife is not always on board with my decisions) headed down the gravel road with a plan to cross the grasslands into the badlands of South Dakota.
     After about seven miles down the solidly packed gravel road things began to change. The gravel on the road became loose, and deep ruts began to appear in the road. At this point I should have turned around. But for sure, I thought the road would improve. However, the further I progressed the worse the road became. The gravel became dirt, and the ruts got deeper. It was time to turn around. Checking the map, I saw that if I made a right turn at the next intersection I could get back to our starting point, only 9 miles away.
     I made the right turn, drove a mile and came to an intersection with a road leading to the east. I wanted to go east to South Dakota, and this new road would take me in the direction I really wanted to go. A sign at the intersection read, “Bill”, 8 miles. Bill is where I started this little adventure. Within 8 miles I could be back on a nice paved road and could continue my trip on to the Badlands. The sign at the intersection also gave the name of another town 13 miles away, though I do not remember its name, and it was not on my map, which should have been my first clue that things would go awry. Thirteen miles, according to the sign would put us in a town, and to my reasoning, on one of the state highway I saw on my map.
     So, it was off toward the state highway. A state highway would be paved, right? I made the turn and the wet rutted road improved within a 1000 feet. Well, “this is better,” I exclaimed to my wife! And it was, for a while. My wife gave the look that only a husband understands. The look that says, "ARE YOU CRAZY." But, the words went unspoken. It was not long until the road began to become rutted. Streams crossed the road creating mud holes, and the loose gravel was giving way to dirt. The road was rapidly worsening, again. Still, the words were unspoken.
     As we continued down the road it became narrower and narrower, then turned into a one-lane path with tire ruts. Still along the side of the road was a county road marker. It was the same road my map indicated. After 18 miles, I realized the town mentioned on the road marker back at the intersection was either a cross-road or a myth. It never materialized.
     We were traveling in the right direction, but signs of civilization were scarce. Pronghorn antelope abounded, but I was so busy staying out of ruts it was hard to enjoy the view. At one point I looked up, and a Golden Eagle was soaring just in front of the van. It glided to a promontory that overlooked a valley and landed. Trees are non-existent on this grassland and the Golden Eagle and Ferruginous Hawk nest on the ground and valley cliffs. They also use the high points on the rolling grasslands and valley overlooks as perches to spy their prey.
     It was actually quite beautiful, a gorgeous day with blue sky and cumulus clouds floating in the sky. Green grasses carpeted the rolling hills that were spotted with pronghorn antelope. But, it was difficult to enjoy as I struggled to avoid the hazards of the road.
     Soon the two-tracked rut called a county road came to another of many cattle gates I had crossed. This one however had a backhoe lifting and dropping the gate, readjusting and lifting and dropping it all over again. A young man walked to the van and told me they would not be much longer and sure enough, we were on our way within fifteen minutes.
     As soon as we crossed the cattle gate there was a sign that read, “END OF COUNTY ROAD.” Yet, the two ruts continued on and my map indicated that a state road was ahead. I did not believe it possible, but the road got worse. The ruts got deeper, and were crossed by cuts from rain runoff that were 4 to 6 inches across and a foot deep. After about fifteen miles of following a trail across a pasture, the road (trail) turned into a poorly kept gravel road. The road continued to improve and finally after 35 miles we finally came to a state road. A very poor, graveled, washboard state road that we had to travel on for another 25 miles.
     Seven hours and sixty miles from where we started, we made it to a US highway, a paved US highway. There were lots of birds, and the scenery was beautiful within the grasslands. But concentrating on the road took all the time from wildlife watching and enjoying the trip. Would I recommend a trip to Thunder Basin National Grassland? Yes, but only if you have a four-wheel drive vehicle and lots of time. The roads are definitely not made for a Chevy Express Van!
By the way, the only bird I photographed on this escapade was the Lark Bunting, and I shot the image about 4 miles from where I started.
Nikon D300, Nikkor 500mm f4, Digital Capture, ISO 200

Pic of the Day

Razorbill Auk

Atlantic Puffin

Nikon D300, Nikkor 300 f2.8, Digital Capture, ISO 200

Pic of the Day

Atlantic Puffin:  Perhaps my favorite image from the shoot. 

Atlantic Puffin

Atlantic Puffin

Atlantic Puffins – Machias Seal Island, ME: In the previous post I have written a little about Machias Seal Island, but the most fascinating thing about the island is its birds. The Puffin is the star of the Island. With its colorful bill it is often called the clown bird. One of the things I find so fascinating is its call. It sounds like a distant chainsaw to me. My first trip to the island back in the early 80’s was my first encounter with this species. As I stood in the blind shooting roll of film after roll of film I suddenly realized I was hearing a chainsaw off in the distance. I stop the rally of shooting for a moment and listen more intently to discover the soft rev of a two cycle engine was not from a chainsaw on the treeless island, but the puffins themselves. Others have told me that the birds voice sounds like a low growl, and others say a raspy purr. We all relate sounds to something familiar to what we have experienced.

Posted here are a few more of my favorite puffins from the shoot. I especially like the top image. The blurred wings and ruffled feathers give an idea of the constant activity that goes on in a puffin colony.

Nikon D3, Nikkor 500mm f4, Digital Capture, ISO 200

Me, Buzz, and the Moon

Waxing Gibbous Moon photographed July 31, 2009

Nikon D300, Nikkor 500mm f4, Digital Capture, ISO 200; 

Photographed from Horse Cove, Alabama

   July 20th, 1969, a day I will never forget as long as I live. It was one of the most exciting days of my life and perhaps yours as well. It was the day that man landed on the moon. Wow, that was 41 years ago!
     Long before I was a hard-core birder and bird photographer, I was a space junky. During my junior high and high school years I lived and breathed astronomy and space travel. How could I not? I lived just 20 miles from Huntsville, Alabama at the time. Wernher Von Braun was director of the Marshall Space Flight Center. He and his team designed the Saturn V rocket that carried man to the moon. For me it was an exciting time to live! I spent nights in the backyard with my telescope observing the moon and the planets. I mapped the rotation of the Galilean moons of Jupiter in their orbits, observered comets and cut my teeth on astrophotography. Now that I think of it; It was a miracle that I ever found someone to marry me!

Buzz Aldrin on the moon. Photo by Neil Armstrong.....

                .... I wasn't able to get there to photograph the event.

     Later in life I got to meet some of those heroes of the early space program. Buzz Aldrin was one of them. I first met Buzz in 1992 when he was visiting bookstores to promote his book, “Encounter with Tiber.” I was asked to photograph the event, and of-course, I jumped at the opportunity. The first hour-and-a-half was very busy with a constant flow of autograph seekers (me being one), then there was no one there but Buzz and me. The two of us sat and talked for over an hour. I asked questions and he happily told stories to answer them. It was fascinating to have Buzz Aldrin to myself, telling stories of flying, his favorite aircraft and his time at NASA. This was another moment in time that I will never forget.

Left to Right, Kathy Sullivan, Bobby Harrison, Sylvia Earle,

 Buzz Aldrin: Photo by Whitney Harrison Robison

In 2006 I had another opportunity to meet Buzz. In 2005, Tim Gallagher (editor of Living Bird Magazine) and I had been elected to the Explorers Club in New York City. In 2006 we were among the honorees at the clubs annual dinner to receive the Explorers Club Conservationist of the Year Award. When I arrived at the pre-dinner events there was Buzz and a number of other Great Americans such as astronaut Kathy Sullivan, oceanographer Sylvia Earle, entomologist E. O. Wilson (a fellow Alabamian), and others. I must say, it was pretty cool ...........another day I will never forget!

Notes on moon Photography: Photographing the moon is easy. For a full moon set the shutter speed at the inverse of the ISO setting at f8. Example, if your camera ISO is set at 200. Set the shutter speed at 1/200 of a second at f8 or any equivalent. The faster the shutter speed the better. So convert the 1/200 @ f8, to 1/800 @ f4. If the moon is at a first quarter open the aperture 1 stop. With your digital camera you can check the exposure and make adjustments if needed.

Pic of the Day

Atlantic Puffin – Machais Seal Island, Maine: A two and a half hour trip into the Gulf of Maine and I find myself on Machais Seal Island. The treeless island is little more than a few acres in size and the only thing found there is a lighthouse and seabirds. Puffins are the star of the island. The bird that brings most birders from the mainland.
The Atlantic Puffins spent nine months of the year at sea, coming ashore only to breed. They can dive to 200 feet, and will fly more than thirty miles from the nest site to catch prey. With their short stubby wings puffins are not the best fliers in the air, but when it comes to flying underwater, puffins are at the top of the list.
The pigeon sized bird feed on herring, sprats and sand eels. Puffins swim (flies through the water) from behind a school of fish and grab fish on the left then right of the school, which lines-up the fishes heads facing alternate directions. Puffins can hold up to a dozen fish in its beak. Rows of spines in the upper beak (close-up photo) holds each fish in place as the puffin catches another fish.
Nikon D300, Nikkor 500 f4, Digital Capture, ISO 200;
Note: The top photo of this post, puffin with fish, was shot with a Nikon D3, Nikkor 300 f2.8, Digital Capture, ISO 200

Pic of the Day

Razorbill Auk -- Machais Seal Island, Maine: Perhaps I should say Machais Seal Island, Canada. Machais Seal is claimed by both Canada and the United States. The claim by both countries was established over a hundred years ago. By claimming the island, fishing rights of the respective nations were extended further out to sea.
The Canadians have turned the island into a wildlife refuge and maintains the only manned lighthouse in the Canadian system on the island. Canadian biologist work on the island as well. Fortunaly neither the United States nor Canada have started a war on who really owns Machais Seal Island. When I see the island it is obvious that it is owned by the seabirds. I hope that it will always be so!
There is never a lack of subject or action on the island. Birds are constantly coming and going, squabbling between birds is never ending, and preening and wing flapping is a favorite pastime. This Razorbill Auk, one of many milling around the blind hopped on a rock in front of me and began to stretch and flap its wings.
Razorbills are not easy to photograph. The razorbill is a white brested, brown-black bird with dark eyes. If the light does not fall on the bird just right, the eyes disappears into the dark feathers. On my recent trip I had the opportunity to shoot numerous razorbills and was fortunate to capture the birds as they turned their heads at just the right angle to the light to illuminate and show detail in the eyes.
I love it when all the elements come together to create a harmonious image!
Nikon D300, Nikkor 500mm f4, Digital Capture, ISO 200

Pic of the Day

       Bridled Murre – Machais Seal Island, Maine: Twenty-seven years ago when I first visited Machais Seal Island, Razorbills and Murres were only seen around the periphery of the island. Murres were uncommon around the blinds, and razorbills stayed a safe distance making them small in the camera viewfinder.
     On my recent trip to the Machais Seal Island Common Murres and Razorbills were common around the blind and easy to shoot. What I did not expect close to the blind were Bridled Murres.
In 2003 when I was on the island I counted only three Bridled Murres, and they were seen at the waters edge, far from the photography blinds. When I arrived on the island this summer I told the naturalist which blind I wanted to be stationed. Preverious experiene on the island had shown me that blind four would present the best opportunity to photography puffins, razorbills and murres.
     What I did not expect close to the blind was Bridled Murres. I was surprised when this Bridled Murre suddenly hopped on a rock about thirty-feet in front of the blind. I quickly shot a series of images as the bird skipped and hop across the rocks. While this is not the first Bridled Mrurre I have seen it is the first Bridled Murre that I have gotten a decent photo. I could have shot this Bridled Murre all day, but did not get the chance. Within ten or fifteen seconds the bird disappeared behind some boulders. As it disappeared my attention was drawn to the Razorbills and Puffins that crowed the rocks around the blind and I began to shoot without missing a beat, knowing I had taken some good shots of the Bridled Murre.
Nikon D300, Nikkor 500 f4, Digital Capture, ISO 200

Pic of the Day, and more

Northern Gannets, Bonaventure Island, Quebec, Canada: Here are some additional photos from Bonaventure. I shot thousands of Gannet photos, but don't worry, I will not put them all on the blog. These may in fact be the last Gannets I put on the blog. Well, at least for a while. I'll get the puffin photo from Machais Seal Island, Maine uploaded soon. Stay tuned!

Nikon D300, Nikkor 300mm f2.8, Digital Capture, ISO 200

Pic of the Day, and more

Northern Gannet soaring over ocean

Northern Gannet landing with nesting materia

Northern Gannet flying over gannetry

Northern Gannet 

Gannetry on Bonaventure Island looking South

Northern Gannet pair bonding behavior

     Northern Gannet  • Morus bassanus – Bonaventure Island, Quebec, Canada:  My first trip to Bonaventure Island off the Gaspe’ Peninsula of Quebec, Canada was in 1983. My visit was prompted by a book by George Harrison titled Roger Tory Peterson’s Favorite Birding Hotspots. I was stunned by the number of birds I saw, which at the time numbered 35,000 pairs. In 1984 while visiting with RTP in his studio I showed him slides from that trip. When I told him that 35,000 pairs of Gannets nested on the island. He seemed surprised and told me the story of when he had visited the island in the early 60’s. At that time he told me, only 15,000 pair of Gannet nest on the island. Roger was pleased to here that the birds had increased and told me he would like to return and see the colony again. I’m not sure if he made it back, but if he did he would have had a great time shooting photos.
I returned to Bonaventure again in the summer of 2003 and the number had increased to 55,000 pairs of birds. Now, on my recent trip this summer I discovered that the number of Gannets has grown to more than 65,000 pair of birds. It’s hard to imagine the scene and the photos here do not give justice to the number of birds on the island. The Gannets nest on the ocean side of the island, and the rookery stretches at least three-quarters of a mile. The two group photos shown here, stretches only a quarter of a mile or less. The air is constantly filled with Gannets and the noise of the squawking birds is deafening. Yet worse, and depending on the direction of the wind, the smell can be stifling.
The trip to the island takes only about 15 minutes if you take the direct boat from the mainland, but the walk over the island to the rookery takes about 45 minutes (according to the park service personal). It took me an hour and fifteen minutes with a fifty pound camera pack on my back and carrying an eight pound tripod to cross the island. It seems that the entire trip was up hill. The funny thing about this is that, the return trip seemed uphill as well. At one point I thought I was in an Escher drawing!
My first day out was a bust. I landed. Then walked across (1 1/4 hour trip) the island. When I arrived at the rookery the ranger told me I would have to go back to the dock (on the other side of the island) because the island was being closed due to high waves. So it was back across the island to return to the mainland.
The next day I was back on the island. It was a beautiful day and I shot tons of photos. The colony was unbelievable and is a must see for anyone interested in birds. I can truly see why Roger Tory Peterson called it one of his favorite birding hotspots. It is certainly one of mine!

Additonal Pic for July 12

Pronghorn Antelope

Pic of the Day

Pronghorn Antelope – Wyoming: While driving from Yellowstone to New York I drove across Wyoming on US 26. It was one of the most beautiful stretches of highway I have ever driven. Wildflowers were in bloom and the grasslands were covered with blue lupine. Pronghorn Antelope were ever present. As I was driving down the road I found this pronghorn close to the road. Most pronghorn ran away immediately when I stopped the van, but this one lingered giving me the opportunity to shoot a few images. I also saw Golden Eagle, Mule Deer and various species of perching birds on the route.
Nikon D300, Nikkor 500mm f4, Digital Capture, ISO 200

Pic of the Day

   Teton/Snake River – Teton National Park, WY: I love black-and-white photography. Like most people my age I got my start in photography doing black-and-white. While I love shooting black-and-white film this image was a digital capture. I admit I am no Ansel Adams, but when I travel to a location where he has shot one of his famous images I am compelled to shoot from the same location. On my recent trip to Teton National Park I stopped at the location where Ansel Adams shot his famous Teton image. Not knowing the exact spot where Adams shot his image I positioned myself with a point-of-view similar to that of Adams. My original digital capture was made in color, then converted to black-and-white. From that point I used the curves feature of photoshop to adjust the contrast of the sky and mountains. Wish I had taken my film camera!
Nikon D3, Nikkor 24-50mm zoom set to 32mm, Digital Capture, ISO 200, Converted to Black-and-White