It’s Been a While…
I’ve been slackin’ on the posting. Work has been incredibly busy, and I’ve had no time to go out and shoot photos. It’s been hectic, to say the least. But I brought the gear to work the other day, went in a couple of hours before I was scheduled, and took some shots…
Cooper's Hawk
Jeremy and Cindy examining a Golden Eagle
This Golden Eagle was found hopping on the ground, unable to fly. An early exam revealed dehydration, near-emaciation, and all of his primary feathers broken on one wing. The flesh and tendons are viable, no signs of electrocution, and was given subcutaneous fluids, and fed gently. He is recovered well enough to be transported to a facility with on-staff veterinarians and raptor specialists, and after full-recovery, he will be brought back to us for release.
Love Dove-European Collared Dove
This dove came to us as a tiny baby. We raised her up, big and healthy, and tried to release her, but she came back and hangs out at the center. There are other doves in the area, and they all get along well, so we’ll let her stay…
Roadrunner
This young Roadrunner is completely wild. He has never been a patient at the center, and doesn’t appear to be even remotely injured. He just hangs out in the desert behind the center, and has gained enough confidence to allow us to approach him…sort of. We don’t get closer than a few feet, but I have passed directly underneath him whilst he was perched on this branch several times, and he is less than 6″ above my head, so…pretty bold Roadrunner…
"Quoth the Raven, 'Nevermore!'"
First Flight of Freedom
Lenore came to us as a little nudie baby, orphaned, naked, cold, and starving. She grew into a big, healthy, beautiful Raven. I was quite fond of Lenore, and shared pictures of her a few weeks ago. She’s a big girl now, and we released her the other morning to be free as she can be…
Thanks for looking!
Birds and a Panamint
Yup…more birds, and a BEAUTIFUL Panamint I found with my daughter…
-
- Panamint rattler-Crotalus stephensi
That little Panamint was awesome. He was being harassed by a Raven that was evidently trying to keep him in the road to be run over. Lucky for the snake, not so much for the Raven, we were the first car to come along, so I scared off the raven, grabbed my snake hook, and moved the little guy out of the road.
Thanks for looking!
Sure Signs of Spring
So I was outside this evening shortly before sunset, and I noticed my almond and peach trees were just glowing beautifully with fresh blossoms. So I grabbed my camera and my 105mm macro lens for some shots…
I have 2 peach trees. One provides LOADS of smaller, white fleshed peaches, and the other provides fewer, larger yellow fleshed ones. These are all from the white-flesh tree…
Then I saw this guy buzzing around my almond tree…
He knew he was further than I wanted him to be, so he flew down to the peach tree for a closer look…
That’s it. Just some sure signs of spring from my front yard. Thanks for looking!
Blue Jays in the Yard
These birds are loud, cantankerous, and slightly offensive with their behavior, at times. But they are always beautiful, and their brazen attitudes make them decent photo subjects. These two were romping in the front yard, picking at peach pits…
Couple of ornery Blue Jays
This little guy got curious, and came in fairly close, letting me get a couple really decent shots of him…
Watching me...
Getting braver...
What are you?
You can almost see the quizzical nature of his glance, as curiosity wins out over fear, and he comes up to check me out. Really cool birds…as long as I’m already awake…
Thanks for taking the time to look!
Spring Time Re-visited
I was tooling around in Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo Ultimate 12 today, and stumbled upon some very interesting pictures that I took this past spring and, for whatever reason…I just never processed them to share.
So I did that today…and here they are!
Duelling Duckies
These two Mallard Drakes were battling each other, each vying for the attention of a single female, who sat idly by on the shore preening herself, as if the commotion wasn’t happening. She was good at playing coy, I can tell you. And these Drakes were ready to kill each other for her attentions…
My Good Side
This gull flew back and forth in front of me several times from only a few yards away, right at eye level. I can’t tell if he was interested in me, or something in the water, but he certainly had no problem presenting me with numerous opportunities for a good photo.
Perfect Form
This gull just soared overhead for several minutes. Now…I’m fairly proud of this shot. See…this was taken using a 150mm lens, which, for in-flight bird shots…is NOT a big enough lens. I managed to get this guy perfectly in the frame. This one is not cropped. It came out of the camera with this composition, and I think it is one of my best flight shots to date. Can’t fathom what possessed me to pass on processing it before.
So that’s about it for now. I found a few interesting images from this past spring that I’m going to play with. If I find anything good…you’ll be the first to know about it.
Thanks for stopping by!
Hummingbird Babies
There are a bunch of hummingbiord feeders in my apartment complex. And thus, there are a lot of hummingbirds.
Earlier in the spring, I saw a nest just outside my front door in a tree. I live on the second floor, so as I walk out onto my porch, I am eye level with a nest that is about 15′ away. I knew it would come in handy…
I saw the female sitting in ther nest a LOT about a month ago. about a week ago I heard chirping, but no mother. Today…I saw 2 feathered babies, probably only a few weeks from fledging and taking off on their own. So I snapped a couple pictures…
"What you lookin' at?!"
"It sees us!!" "No it doesn't. Just sit still and it will go away..."
Two adorable little baby hummingbirds. I’ve no idea what kind they are, but I got individual photos of the parents earlier in the spring feeding from a neighbor’s feeder:
Father getting a drink
Mother being VERY cautious approaching the feeder...
I saw the above 2 birds at the nest site earlier in the spring. While I didn’t actually observe the mating process, I did observe what I assume to be a courting ritual in and around the nest site, and I observed the female sitting in the nest, presumable on eggs, several times. If anyone can positively ID the species, I would greatly appreciate it!
Thanks for looking!!
More Hummingbirds
Anyone that has tried to take photos of flying hummingbirds, knows that it can be a right pain in the ass. But sometimes…the images are worth the effort..
Of course, it helps to have a variety of feeders around at the right level. If the opportunities are there, and the birds are flying around…eventually you’ll get some decent shots.
Thanks for looking!
Must’a Been Fate
I went outside for a smoke a little while ago, and the sun was just going down. For whatever reason, I grabbed my camera, even though there are no good landscape or sunset opportunities around my house. Plus…I didn’t grab the tripod, so whatever I took would have to be with a flash. But…I did see those creepy bugs last night, so…what the hell, right?
It was fate. I know it was…
I’ve tried to catch hummingbirds in flight many, many times. Everytime, they have either darted off when I got within “range”, or the photos are not quite as sharp as I’d like.
I heard this odd buzzing sound behind as I smoked my cigarrette, and turned and saw 2 hummingbirds feeding from a very nearby feeder. So I casually and carefully walked as close as I could until they flew off.
I waited until one of them got their nerve back and came over for a drink. They both kept buzzing back to check it out, and eventually, they took turns flying in for a drink.
This little one decided to hang out, have some dinner, and let me snap some photos. I was lucky enough to get within good “striking range”, and even though I had my flash on full power, he didn’t take off. I got some decent pictures, too, I think.
Anyhow…it must’a been fate what made me grab my camera…
Thanks for taking the time to look!!
Birds of Prey
OK…This is gonna be a long post…
I went to visit a very good friend of mine this weekend. We had a blast. She works at the West Coast Falconry Academy, which gave me a wonderful opportunity to photograph some really, REALLY cool birds of prey…hawks, falcons, owls…you know the type…
Yellow Headed Vulture
Barbary Falcon
Eagle Owl
Saker Falcon
Barbary Falcon
Saker Falcon screeching
Kaylee and a Barbary Falcon
Kaylee and a Harris Hawk
Kaylee and a Saker Falcon
Saker Falcon
Harris Hawk
Harris Hawk
Harris Hawk catching food tidbits from mid-air
Little Sparrow
I
Wild Great Horned Owl with 2 babies...eyeballin' me...
I have a TON more pictures of the raptors, but I haven’t processed them yet. I’ll save them for later.
Thanks for taking the time to look!
Breakfast with a Hawk
This Karma, the Red Tail Hawk:
Karma
Karma should not be alive. About 3 or 4 years ago, Karma was found in the desert, in 110*F heat, all of his primary flight feathers pulled from his wings, extremely dehydrated, and unconscious. He was brought in to be rehabilitated, and after intensive recovery care, they discovered that he was suffering from some sort of spinal injury and/or nerve damage. He couldn’t fly, couldn’t perch properly, and had no chance of being released to the wild. So he became an “Education Bird” for the center.
About 8-10 months ago…Karma started taking short hops and flapping his wings and perching better. Over the last 6 months or so, he has been flying off tether over short distances, and responding to glove training and lure training.
Karma is a miracle bird. He should not even be alive, yet here he is, in all his glory, flying ever so gracefully and beautifully.
Enjoy these pictures of Karma. Mother Nature is a beautiful lover, but can be ever so cruel. This one was saved.
Landing on a baited lure
Looking strong
Taking off from the glove
Pulling up for a landing
Feeding on a tidbit. I got lucky on the lighting in this one...
He sees something...
Coming in for a landing
Taking off from the glove
Another perfect take off
Instead of landing, he grabbed the tidbit from Art's hand and made an immediate U-turn...
...and flew STRAIGHT at me! I got lucky..this one is in focus...
…Sometimes you gotta know when to shoot the picture…and when to duck…
Thanks for joining me and watching this incredible bird re-learn how to do what he is supposed to do. At the end of the day, Cindy, the head of the rehab center, invited me to join the Educational Team, and help with the reptile education…and to work with Karma. I might just have to take her up on that offer…
Cherry Blossoms…
…and a seagull…
I spent lunch at the park, yet again. I like the park because there is always something to take photos of. Even the ones I don’t share, help me improve, and with literally hundreds of ducks, sparrows, crows, blackbirds, seagulls and what not, not to mention people, kids playing, variable lighting conditions, and countless background distractions…well…and hour lunch at the park is worth it’s weight in gold in terms of photo experience and experiments.
So here are some cherry blossoms and a seagull that I liked from today:
Cherry Jubilee--f/5.6; 1/320; ISO 200
A Blossom's Best Friend--f/5.6; 1/800; ISO 200
Solitary Perfection--f/5.6; 1/500; ISO 200
Incoming Gull--f/7.1; 1/2000; ISO 400
Thanks a bunch for taking the time to look!
Shitty Day? Take Some Pictures!!
Man, did I wake up a grumpy old shit today!! I hate the world and everyone in it today, and to be perfectly honest, I have no idea why. Just a rotten mood, I guess…
But I can’t think of anything that helps me feel better than getting a few good pictures, so I spent lunch at the park again, and even managed to get out for a sunset shot.
f/11; 1/1000; ISO 100
f/9; 1/60; ISO 100
f/10; 1/640; ISO 100
f/5.6; 1/250; ISO 100
f/7.1; 1/320; ISO 100
All in all, I really shouldn’t bitch. I live in an area where I am able to go outside for a half hour or so and find perfect photo opportunities, and I can reliably shoot beautiful sunsets every week. Couple that with the fact that I managed to make it through the day without getting an Assault Charge, and my shitty day wasn’t really all that bad…
Thanks for looking!!
Lunch in the Park, Part 2
Took my lunch to the park again today. My focus today was trying to catch birds in flight. There is a hawk that lives in the park. It is either a Sharpshin or a Cooper’s…I don’t know. My raptor identification is not up to par. They have too many legs for my taste. Doesn’t matter…I didn’t see him today anyhow. But I WILL get pictures of him flying and, hopefully, hunting before the end of the summer…
I did manage to catch a crow and a seagull in flight. There were some other more “odd” flying creatures at the park today, too…
f/5.6; 1/800; ISO 100
f/9; 1/800; ISO 100
f/9; 1/400; ISO 100
f/9; 1/400; ISO 100
And one of the more strange flying creatures in the park today:
f/6.3; 1/500; ISO 100
Thanks for taking the time to look, and as always, your comments are welcome and appreciated!
