Category Archives: wildlife

Little Birds

There are plenty of interesting birds when you visit Hawaii. The large birds that live on the cliffs like the frigates and boobies are cool as are the Nene, the state bird of Hawaii which is a rare type of goose. However, there are a few other birds that are plentiful to see and, where we stayed, it wasn’t difficult to find a lot of them coming to visit. Some were even rather brave about landing on the balcony while we were sitting there.

Two types of bird caught my eye on a regular basis. One was the red-crested cardinal and the other was a mynah bird. The cardinals showed up pretty regularly. According to a friend of mine, they have a duller color to the crest when they are immature and then it becomes fully red when they are adults. We saw plenty of the immature birds and a reasonable number of those that don’t make fart jokes!

The mynahs are less dramatic but, with the right light on them, they still look pretty good. They certainly made for something to keep an eye on while we were otherwise taking it easy!

Onset of Fall Colors

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When talking about fall, the most obvious photography option is foliage. A favorite spot to go to see the fall colors is the Morton Arboretum out at Lisle. The full colors had not come into their own but, with a number of trips coming up for work and pleasure, I wasn’t going to have a chance to get out there before it was all likely to be over. When it is done, it is done very quickly. Therefore, an early visit seemed worth a shot.

We were certainly too early. However, there was still some interesting color developing with some of the trees. You could see what was going to look very good before too long so, while the conditions this year might not have been ideal for fall color, I suspect the large number of visitors they get at this time of year won’t be too disappointed. We got there later in the day to make the most of the nicer light and had a wander amongst some of the trees. Irrespective of the color or time of year, the arboretum is one of the more pleasant places to be.

I also wanted to play around with the fish-eye amongst the trees. This was something I had been thinking about for a while so had a quick roam amongst some of the stands. However, it was getting a little late so I had to get some quick shots. This is something I will come back to try again and spend more time finding the sort of trees that might suit what I have in mind.

Underwater Shooting

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Something I have never done before is snorkeling. Having grown up by the sea, I am not sure why this would be but perhaps it is down to the lack of reefs with plenty to see. Snorkeling is very popular on Kauai and I figured I should really try it out. I grabbed a mask and snorkel at a store in Hanalei and headed out to the reef at Tunnels. Having never used a snorkel in anger, I was a little unsure of how I would get on. After a bit of practice breathing while having my face underwater, I started drifting around the reef.

At first there was nothing special to see but suddenly I found myself surrounded by tropical fish. They were everywhere and seemed not terribly perplexed by my presence. It was like being in a documentary except it was right in front of me. Time went by very quickly without me realizing it.

I decided to take along the GoPro with me while I was swimming about. With so much activity in front of you, it is something that you really want to be able to share. The GoPro is a great little device but it is not the perfect solution for underwater filming. Basically, filming underwater is not straightforward and requires good planning and the right equipment. The light is flat and the colors muted. I was chatting with a a pro underwater photographer and we compared notes about what we need for our respective areas.

Having said all of that, I did get some footage so here you go with a sample of what I saw.

Bay Area Birds

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A while back I was in in the Bay Area and was near SFO. While the area is a good one for getting shots of the airliner traffic heading into the airport there, it is also a great spot for seeing some birds. The tidal flats are a popular spot for a bunch of shoreline birds. There are also some large birds like egrets that hang out there.

Pelicans are another type that show up pretty frequently. Coyote Point is a good spot for the pelicans since they like to soar along the ridge formed by the point and come right past you. I wasn’t there to specifically take pictures but I did manage to grab some of them as they came by. Hummingbirds also hang out on the point but I didn’t get any shots of them this time. However, there is always another chance!

Butterflies

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This is another one of those posts that is about not having your camera with you. We went out to the Botanic Gardens for a walk around since it was a nice day. They have a temporary exhibit in the gardens that is showing butterflies. It is one of those tent structures with double doors so that they can check you don’t have any unwanted guests on your clothing when you leave.

I didn’t have my camera with me but I did have the phone. It would have to do. The butterflies were gorgeous to see. So many varieties and beautiful colors and shapes. It would be even better if the visitors paid a small amount of attention to the rules such as not trying to pick them up but I guess some people are idiots and there is nothing you can do about that.

I want to head back before the display is finished. Whether our schedule will allow that or not, I don’t know. I do hope I can go back. Watching a butterfly emerge from its chrysalis and inflate its wings was quite incredible!

Baby Bison

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Regular readers know that I am always keen to catch some photography opportunities with wildlife. Baby wildlife is even cuter so that is something that will get me to visit a place. One good wildlife spot but maybe one that is not so obvious unless you know the area is Fermilab. This is a research facility located west of Chicago. It does a lot of research in particle physics and it is home to the tevatron, a particle accelerator that was the most powerful in the world until the Large Hadron Collider was built at CERN. The tevatron has now been shut down.

All of this leads to the fact the facility has a lot of land, most of which is not used for research. This makes it quite a haven for wildlife and visiting to take a look around is very easy – as long as you stay in the public access areas of course. Plenty of creatures make their home in the facility. One extra thing is a farm that raises bison. I have no idea why this is part of what goes on there but it does. Breeding season has come and the herd had a few new additions. We popped along to see them.

Baby bison are very cute whether they are roaming Yellowstone or in a field in Illinois. We found the herd quite close to the road and so we could get a good view of the youngsters roaming around. Some were staying close to mum but others were exploring a bit more on their own. They will be big very quickly so it was nice to catch them at this age.

Goodbye Wicket

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I have always had a soft spot for hippos. No idea why but something about them has always interested me. I don’t think it has anything to do with Disney and tutus but you never know what your subconscious is trying to conceal. I don’t even hold it against them that they are the largest killer of humans in the animal kingdom in Africa (I am assuming that bugs and viruses are not included when that stat gets rolled out) and a creature of which you should be very wary. In fact, I love those menacing looking teeth when they yawn!

Therefore, I was rather sad to get an email from the Brookfield Zoo announcing that Wicket, the zoo’s lone hippo has left. We also have a couple of pygmy hippos but Wicket was basically alone and they have decided to move her to another zoo in Colorado so she can be with other animals. They are going to focus the efforts at Brookfield on the pygmy hippos instead.

We were at the zoo a few weeks ago when Chris was visiting. We stopped by to see Wicket. I got some shots of her as she floated – barely breaking the surface in that classic hippo pose. Chris has good memories of her too. On a previous visit she left the pool and walked across the enclosure doing something in quite a dramatic way that led to her being known as a hippoo thereafter!

I hope she likes her new home but I’m sorry to see her go. Have fun Wicket!

What Animals Are in Your Local Park?

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With a lovely spring weekend day, the city provides a lot of opportunities to hang out and enjoy yourself. One of these is Lincoln Park. Not a long walk from us but certainly a quicker bus ride gets you to the park. It is amazing how quickly the spring transformation is underway. The trees are rapidly filling out with leaves and the wildlife is also making itself obvious. There are certainly worse places to be on a weekend.

If you want to ramp up the wildlife, the park also has the zoo which is free to visit. It had been a while since we went there so we decided to take a look around. Since you can wander in and out at will, you don’t always end up looking at everything and this time was no exception. We did visit the big apes which is always a great experience. Taking in the bats was something I hadn’t done for a while as well.

We could have looked at more but I had a strong urge to find some lunch so instead we went exploring of a different kind. Maybe not as difficult as living in the wild but the results were certainly good.

Cranes – Probably Not Here!

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A sign of spring is when wildlife starts showing up that you haven’t seen for a while. I had a couple of experiences within a day of each other of exactly this. One seemed perfectly reasonable but the other was probably not the best idea. We were walking in a state park up in Wisconsin when we heard a lot of noise. At first I thought it was geese but, as the huge flock of birds approached, it became obvious that they were cranes.

The cranes flew around a lot as we walked, some were high but others were quite low. We walked on with not too much more attention to them as they honked their way around the area. However, the following day I was down at O’Hare. I saw something large and wispy in the sky and realized that it was a flock of birds. As they came closer, lo and behold but more cranes were coming to town!

Now, O’Hare is not exactly a bird friendly location. Having flocks of pretty substantial birds in the vicinity of so many aircraft did not appear to be a particularly good combination. The birds swirled around for a couple of minutes, fortunately a little higher than the aircraft on approach. Then they drifted off in a different direction and i didn’t see them again. Not a great idea but, thankfully, no harm done this time!

Winter Zoo Time

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A sunny winter weekend is often a good chance to check out the zoo. Since a lot of the animals are not fond of winter weather, there are only a few that will be outside at this time of year. Consequently, the zoo doesn’t charge for entry so it is good for those after a cheap day out. We are members anyway so it doesn’t make a difference to us but it is good to go anyway.

During our previous visit the Snow Leopards had been pretty active. We were hoping to see them again – they aren’t too bothered by the cold – but we also wanted to see what else was about. Since you aren’t paying, you can make a short visit without feeling like you should make a full day out of the admission price. As it happened, the Snow Leopards were soundly asleep while we were there but there were other things to see.

The Tiger was showing more action that is normally the case. This is one cat that likes to sleep. However, we timed our arrival well and saw a fair bit of movement. Tigers are also fine with the cold of course. Bears are similar. Both Polar Bears were about and one of the Brown Bears was wandering around its enclosure.

We also saw a few birds wandering around the place. The Pelicans were out near one of the ponds and another group of birds (I am thinking Guinea Fowl but you can correct me if I am wrong) were also strutting around. The light was very nice so not a bad afternoon.