Pic of The Day

    Those of you who follow the blog know that I have been traveling and shooting over the spring and summer. My journey has taken me from Alabama, north to Michigan, as far west as Idaho, then south to Patagonia, Arizona and finally home.  I have decided to post images in the order of location as we traveled.  Thus, the first images I post are from Michigan,  The state in which I did my undergraduate work, and cut my teeth in photography.  Michigan is one of my favorite states; its landscape is most condusive for bird and nature photography.
       We have spent 42 days on the road and I have lots of images to post.  I will try to post every couple of days, so please check the blog often…….but, "the best laid plans of mice and men”…….  Bobby

     Zebra Butterfly, Heliconius charitonius – Sarett Nature Center; Benton Harbor, Michigan:  The Zebra is a common butterfly throughout many of the Gulf States.  I encounter my first Zebra on Anhinga Trail in Everglades National Park back in 1978 on the first trip my wife and I took together in the glades. 

     The Zebra is very common in the Everglades and was designated the Florida state butterfly in 1996.  It is commonly found in hammocks and thickets.  The zebra I saw back in “78” was a striking butterfly with its yellow stripes on black wings.  There must have been hundreds flying about and I did get the opportunity to shoot images back then.  Every time I head to the glades in spring I am on the constant lookout for this fluttering beauty.

     For this image I did not have to go to the glades.  On my way northward in early June I made a stop at Sarett Nature Center in Benton Harbor, Michigan.  For its second year, Sarett has established a butterfly house.  The butterflies are those found in the southern states.  The butterfly house provided me with great opportunities to photograph these flighty creatures just as soon as they emerged from their cocoons. 

     After shooing for more than an hour I found these “love birds,” or should I say, “love butterflies,” hanging in perfect symmetrical balance against a non-obtrusive background.  I used a tripod and the depth-of-field preview button to check sharpness from the front to back of the butterflies.  Keeping the butterflies in focus while maintaining an out of focus background was essential to the visual success of the image.

Of all the images shot at the butterfly house, this was my favorite.  My trip had just begun, and was off to a great start!

See other butterflies from this trip posted on the blog by selecting these links: http://bobbyharrison.blogspot.com/search?q=Julia and http://bobbyharrison.blogspot.com/search?q=Julia


Nikon D7000, Nikkor 300mm 2.8, 1/320sec. @ f5.6, on tripod

Pic of the Day

     

     Western Grebe with chick – Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge; Brigham, Utah:  When I arrived at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge I was quite shocked.  I had called the week before and was informed that the water levels were not as high as last year at this same time.  I was expecting low water, but not what I found.  Last year held extremely high water, and the birds were everywhere, nesting right-up to the road.  This year the water is extremely low.  Areas that held nesting stilts and avocets last year are dried and cracked.  However, Impoundment 2 holds lots of water and lots of birds, so shooting is very good.  Also, birds are more advanced in nesting and age of young this year.  Last year I saw no fledgling grebes, but this year they are everywhere. 

     I shot this image of a western grebe chick hitching a ride on mom’s back this morning.  Birds are not as quite as close as I like, but with a little patience the birds will eventually come quite close.  I will work here another day or two and then head toward Nevada.

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/1,600 second @ f6.3, ISO 400

Pic of the Day

     Kirtland’s Warbler – Grayling, Michigan:  This is another image of the same warbler in the last post.  Here are a few facts about the Kirtland’s Warbler:

•  First identified in 1851 from a specimen collected near Cleveland, Ohio and collected on Dr. Jared Kirtland’s farm. (obviously a migratory bird on)

•  Nesting ground was not discovered until 1903.

•  Kirtland’s nest on the ground under jack pines that are 5-20 feet tall which range from 6 to 22 years old.

•  A pair of Kirtland’s require at least eight acres of dense young jack pine forest.

•  Females lay 4 to 5 eggs, and the chicks remain in the nest for 9 to 10 days.
•  Kirtland's winter in the Bahamas.
•  Wintering grounds were not discovered until the early 1990's

•  Cowbirds are a threat to the Kirtland’s, as cowbirds parasitize Kirtland’s nest.

•  A cowbird removal program was instituted in 1972.  Prior to the removal program cowbird parasitized     70% of the Kirtland’s nest.  After the first year of the program cowbird parasitizing dropped to 7%.

•  The ongoing battle to save the Kirtland’s Warbler from extinction is waged by the U.S. Fish and   Wildlife Service, The U.S. Forest Service, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, and the U.S.     Geological Survey.

Most fact posted here are from the following website:

http://www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/birds/Kirtland/kiwafctsht.html

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/1,000sec @ f5.6, on tripod

Pic of the Day

     Kirtland’s Warbler on Jack Pine – Grayling, Michigan:  After flying from the Bahamas this fellow went right to work establishing a nesting territory among the Jack Pines in the upper part of lower Michigan. 

      Jack Pine Warbler, is another name for the Kirtland’s, as the Jack Pine ecosystem is the only habitat this bird uses to nest.  The bird is a ground nester and prefers trees that are about 4 to 20 feet in height to nest under.  This bird was in perfect Kirtland’s habitat with trees 8 to 12 years old and 4 to 10 feet tall. 

      The nesting grounds of the Kirtland’s is closed to the public so I had to take the tour to have any hope of getting shots of the bird on it’s nesting ground.  This is the fourth time I have driven to Graying to see the bird and this time was the first encounter that left me with some nice photos of the bird.   After shooting a male singing in a deciduous tree I came across this bird singing while perched in a Jack Pine.  This bird put on quite a show and gave me the opportunity to shoot a lot of images.  I went on the tour 3 more mornings, but none gave me better shots.  I’ll post a few more Kirtland’s over the next few days.  


Nikon D7000, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/1,600 sec. @ f5

Pic of the Day

     Downy Woodpecker – Magee Marsh, Ohio:  While there were a lot of Neotropical migrants moving through Magee Marsh, there were also other species moving around the marsh as well.  This Downy Woodpecker happened to stop at a snag that had a perfect uncluttered blue sky background.  After pecking on the snag for a minute or so, the downy began stretching its wings, giving me the opportunity to shoot some great action behavior. 


Both:  Nikokn D7000, Nikkor 500mm f4 with 1.4 converter, 1/500 second @ f 7.1 

Pic of the Day

Blanding's Turtle, Magee Marsh

A local name for the Blanding's Turtle is the "yellow-neck" turtle

     Blanding’s Turtle – Magee Marsh, Ohio:  Standing on the boardwalk at Magee Marsh a woman approaches me and says, “did you see the Blanding’s Turtle?”  Instead of saying, What’s a Blanding’s Turtle (because I had no idea what a Blanding's turtle was), I said no, where is it.  “Just after you get on the boardwalk, on the left.  It’s the turtle with the yellow neck.  It is very rare, it’s only found here in these ponds,” she said. 

     So, I had to see this turtle.  I made my way back to where the boardwalk started, and the turtle was just where she said it would be.  It was easy to locate.  The bright yellow underside of the neck and head lit up like a beacon in the dark.  I shot some images, but there were too many branches in the way, and the turtle was quite far out in the pond.

     With a little research I discovered that the Blanding’s is an endangered species and is on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List, but it is not as rare as the lady had indicated.  It’s range centers on the Great Lakes and stretches from central Nebraska and Minnesota eastward through southern Ontario and the southern shore of Lake Erie eastward to northern New York state. 

     Blanding’s Turtles reach upward to 9 inches wide and 10 inches long.  This turtle was about as big as they get.  They live up to eighty years and do not reach breeding age until they are 14-20 years old.

     Everyday I walked the boardwalk, I looked for the Blanding’s turtle.  While I never got the image I wanted, I did get a few record shots.  The ones posted here are quite cropped.  Maybe next year I’ll get a better one.

Pic of the Day

     Yellow Warbler – Magee Marsh, Ohio:  On my last day at Magee Marsh while shooting birds along the boardwalk I encountered this fine example of a male yellow warbler.  Male yellow warblers, as their name implies are yellow, but with elegant red streaks that fall from the top of the breast to its underside.  Richard Crossley, author of the Crossley ID Guide, stopped where I was shooting and ask what I was seeing.  As I rattled off a number of different species a yellow warbler flew to a perch just above us and began singing its heart out.  Richard, looking at the warbler asked, “do you know the Latin name for the yellow warbler?”  No, I don’t, was my reply.  “It’s Dendroica petechia”, then he told me that petechia is a medical term.  Petechia is minute hemorrhaging of vessels just under the skin causing red spots or streaks.  

Dendroica petechia, it’s a good Latin name for the yellow warbler.

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/320 second @ f9 

Kirkland's Warbler Group (KWA)

Kirtland's Warbler Group (L to R)
Bobby, Beverly, Cindy, Nick

     Kirtland’s Warbler Group, or KWG as we prefer -- at Magee Marsh:  Okay, that’s what we called ourselves after spotting the Kirtland’s Warbler (see the May 9^th post).  The four of us who first spotted the Kirtland’s got together on the boardwalk  Friday morning May 11 and took the above photo.  Our photographer was none other than Richard Crossley, of Crossley ID Guide fame.

Below is the first image I shot of the Kirtland’s.  Though the image is cropped,  the extension tubes did give me a close-up.  If you want to see a full frame of the bird click here for the May 9^th post.   Thankfully I was able to get the extension tubes off in time to get the shot.

Kirtland's Warbler (head shot)

Richard Crossley (L) with KWG

Pic of the Day

     Wild Azalea --  Horse Cove; Alabama:  Spring rapidly came to North Alabama this year, at least two weeks earlier than normal.  With spring the wild flowers, dogwoods and wild azaleas have burst into bloom surrounding my home with a plethora of color.  This morning I took some time to photograph some of that color.  

     There are 15 different native wild azalea on the east coast, this one appears to be Rhododendron periclymenoides.  This wild azalea is from one of the four azalea plants that I have found on my property.  For years I have seen the wild azaleas as I drive up and down my driveway, and I would make plans to take a photo.  By the time I got around to shooting the image, the azaleas had withered and dropped.  Finally after 31 years I shot some images.  These two are my favorite.  

Top:  Nikon D7000, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/250sec. @ f7.1
Bottom:  Nikon D7000, Nikkor 500mm f4, 1/400sec. @f6.3

Who's Looking

     Welcome viewers from Cyprus!  Cyprus is the 109^th country from which viewers have logged onto Bobby’s Photo Blog.  Thanks for logging onto the blog and please come back often.  Bobby 

Pic of the Day

     Roseate Spoonbill – Alligator Farm, Saint Augustine, Florida:  As mentioned in previous post, the Alligator Farm at Saint Augustine, Florida, is a great place to photograph nesting wadding birds.  Among the nesters are the beautifully colored Roseate Spoonbills.  This spoonbill was shot as it flew to its nest in the rookery.   As the bird swooped over the boardwalk, it stretched its wings wide as it glided to its landing.  The flight path was at the perfect angle for me to shoot the spoonbill against the bright blue sky.   With the light behind the bird, the thin skin of the arm and feathers became translucent.  The translucency clearly shows the wings elbow, wrist, and phalanges.  Also visible is the delineation of primaries, secondaries, and greater, median and lesser wing coverts.  It’s like having bird anatomy 101 in a single photo.

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 300mm f2.8, 1/1,000 second @ f10

Pic of the Day

     Mountain Bluebird – Moraine Valley; Rocky Mountain National Park: Moraine Valley is perhaps one of the best places that I have ever visited for Mountain Bluebirds.  The birds are very approachable and provide great opportunities for shooting.  This bird and its mate allowed me to stalk and take photos for an hour and half while conducting its normal daily activity.  The birds at Moraine are well adjusted to the park visitors. 

     I shot this image while the bird perched on a branch against a bright backgrounds of clouds.  To expose the bluebird with detail, instead of a silhouette I over exposed the CCD by more than 2 stops.  Over exposing the background produced a near white backdrop for the bird, while rendering the bluebird with detail and accurate color.

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 500mm f4 VRII, 1/200 sec. @ f6.3, Gitzo Tripod and Arca Swiss monoball head.

Pic of the Day

     Black-necked Stilt – Farmington Bird Sanctuary; Farmington, Utah:  Driving through the Farmington Bird Sanctuary I saw this Black-necked Stilt aimlessly wandering in a circle.  I stopped, used my van as a blind and began shooting.  I took numerous images, but with each image I shot I was perplexed over the behavior.  There seem to be no reason for the aimless wandering. 

After about five minutes of shooting another stilt that I had notice feeding about a hundred feet away suddenly took flight and flew directly to the bird I was photographing.  As soon as the new stilt alighted the bird I had been photographing flew off and the new arrival walked about three feed into the nearby grasses and settled onto a nest.  The behavior of the bird I had been photographing now made sense. 

The male had been protecting the nest from potential predators while the female was away feeding.  


Nikon D7000, Nikkor 500mm f4 VRII, 1/250 @ f8

Pic of the Day

     Sandhill Crane – Bosque del Apache NWR, New Mexico: These sandhill cranes silhouetted against the rising sun are bathed in golden light which can only be seen about five minutes after sunrise and five-minutes before sunset. I call these few minutes, “The Golden Five”, the light I most prefer for shooting. While snow geese on the refuge fly to feeding grounds before sunrise, cranes are late risers and linger until the sun crosses the horizon before taking flight to feed in the surrounding grain fields. As the sun peeked over the eastern mountains, the Phragmites grasses on the far shore glowed as the landscape turned gold with reflected light.

Nikon F5; 300mm f2.8 Nikkor lens, Provia 100 film