Pic of the Day

Magnolia Warbler, Setophagq magnolia:  Magee Marsh,  Ohio

      This is another one of the beautiful warblers that can be seen migrating through Magee Marsh during the spring migration.  There were a lot of magnolias this year and this male put on a great show for photography.  I am already looking forward to retuning to Magee next year.

Nikon D800, Nikkor 500mm f/4,  1/640 second @ f/8

Pic of the Day

Magnolia Warbler, Setophaga magnolia: Magee Marsh, Ohio

     Just one of the many warbler species to be seen from the boardwalk at Magee Marsh.  Only 5 more months till the little jewels will be passing through Magee again.  Looking forward to the trip already.
Checkout "The Biggest Week in American Birding" site at: http://www.biggestweekinamericanbirding.com

Pic of the Day

     Magnolia Warbler – Magee Marsh, Ohio:  Another of the many magnolia warblers that I saw at Magee.  Though not singing his heart out as the male in the post for May 13, this little fellow struck a handsome pose before flitting off into the brush.


Nikon D7000, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/250 @ f4, Fill Flash

Pic of the Day

     Magnolia Warbler – Magee Marsh, Ohio:  If you been following the blog you know that I have been at Magee Marsh on the south shore of Lake Erie photographing migrating birds.  This image is a sing male magnolia warbler.  Magee is a great place to get close to the birds, but the backgrounds can be tough.  This image was taken as the bird moved through the bushes a eye level, but out-of-focus branches create real distractions.  I used a shallow depth-of-field to minimize the distractions.  In this case it helps, and creates a pleasing image. 

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/200second @ f8, fill flash (approx. 12 feet from subject)

Pic of the Day

     “I’m All Shook Up” – Magnolia Warbler – Magee Marsh, Ohio:  During the last few hours of shooting at Magee Marsh the rain was falling light, but steady.  The warblers moved about the low hanging branches providing ample opportunity to shoot.  This beautiful male Magnolia stopped on a branch to rid water from its feathers and preen.  The actions of the bird were vigorous as each feather was passed through its bill.  Once the preening was finished it shook it entire body as a way to settle all of its feathers into place. 

     The slow shutter speeds captured the movements of the body while the head, which remained almost motionless remained sharp.  When I saw the image I could not help but think of those famous lyrics of Elivis!

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 300mm 2.8 with 1.4 tele-converter and 30mm of extension tubes

Pic of the Day

Magnolia Warbler -- Magee Marsh, Ohio

Red-eyed Vireo -- Magee Marsh, Ohio

     Magnolia Warbler, Red-eyed Vireo,  – Magee Marsh, Ohio:  I arrived at Magee Marsh on the southern shore of Lake Eire on the 14^th.  Clouds covered the skies, but the cloud cover was thin enough to allow a soft, but bright light to illuminate the migrating warblers I was photographing.  There were lots of warblers, and a good variety.   There were Prothonotary, Black and White, Blackpoll, Magnolia, Yellow rumped, Wilson, American Redstart, Black-throated Green, Black-throated Blue, Bay-breasted, Chestnut-sided and Cape May.  There were also Red-eyed, Warblering, and Blue-headed Vireo.  There was a slew of other passerines.

     In addition to the birds, I ran into Matt Mendenhall, associate editor of Bird Watching magazine.  After a morning of shooting birds Matt and I met for a late lunch and had a great conversation about birds, birdwatching and kids, not necessarily in that order.  I also ran into Richard Crossley of Crossley Bird Guide fame.  Richard is a very nice fellow, we had a great time talking birds, photoshop and photography.  He was also at the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge today autographing his new, earth shaking, field guide.

     This Red-eyed Vireo and Magnolia Warbler were photographed on the boardwalk at Magee Marsh.  The vireo was captured as it looked under leaves for insects and the Magnolia was captured as it bounced from tree limb to tree limb searching for food.  This might be the peak of warbler migration here at Magee Marsh.  The day was very, very good.  I’m here for another day to photograph the birds and then I'm off to Canada where I hope to meet them at Point Pelee on the north shore of the lake.