The eagles and the ducks got our attention but the gulls were also around on the Mississippi. Gulls don’t tend to get much interest but, if you have been standing around for a while waiting for something to happen, the gulls start to be a bit more interesting. Is this the bird shooting equivalent of going ugly early? They even did some diving for us close in so I guess I should be a bit more grateful. We put it down to tracking practice and we will stick with that I think.
The eagle trip to the Mississippi provided plenty of times when the big birds were either elsewhere or just sitting in the trees wondering what to do next. This meant either doing nothing ourselves of having a practice on the other wildlife passing by. There were a few ducks in flight. Since these are small targets, they have to be reasonably close to make a shot even worth trying. However, a couple of times they came close so why not?
It has been a couple of years since I last made a trip out to the Mississippi to take pictures of the bald eagles that fish out there. Last winter it was pretty warm and my schedule was a bit busy. Warm weather means the river doesn’t freeze up and the birds can fish anywhere they like. When it gets cold, the ice means fishing is harder to do and they tend to gather at the dams along the river since they will usually have some open water just downstream.
This winter hasn’t been consistently cold either but it has been a while and I don’t know whether I will still be here next year so, with a good looking weather forecast, I decided to go. I was not alone in this with the number of people at Lock and Dam 14 in Iowa far larger than I have ever seen before. Combined with the relatively open river, this meant the people were healthily outnumbering the eagles.
However, there were a few birds in the air at various times. Sadly, with a lot of open water, they could choose where to fish. Also, the wind was coming from across the river so they tended to make their fishing runs away from us. Consequently, there were lots of eagle butt shots to be had but not many front views. Even so, I was with some friends so it was a good day to be out and there were a few shots that made the trip a success, even if I didn’t get anything as good as I have managed in previous years.
I was out shooting with my friend Hayman in the San Francisco Bay area. Our primary goals were aviation (of course) but one of the nice things about the Bay is that some cool wildlife also lives there. I am always keen to see the pelicans that live there. They will often be seen cruising along the shoreline. Occasionally you will see them fishing as well. The plunge into the water with wings folded back is very impressive.
I suspect if you grew up with them around, you wouldn’t be so bothered and maybe view them as nothing more than a larger seagull. However, I didn’t grow up with them so they always get me interested. This day wasn’t the best to try and shoot them but I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity whenever one (or more) flew by. Hopefully I will be back in the Bay before too long and I might make an effort to focus on them for a change.
When you are in a place like Yosemite, your are very aware that you are in an environment where nature has the upper hand. However, you do think the wildlife will still be wary of man. That is not true at all though. A few times while I was walking, I came across herds of deer. I always think of deer as skittish creatures – hardly surprising since around here they are considered a target by many – but these guys seemed not only used to humans but bored with us. As long as we didn’t do anything too quickly, they continued on unfazed.
This even extended to Yosemite Valley itself. I was taking some shots of the valley when a small group crossed the street and walked right past me to get to their next snack. I watched them for a while and then headed back to the car. There I saw a buck in the tall shrubs with a buddy not far behind. When he wanted to come in my direction, he did exactly that.
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!
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.
We repeated another part of the trip from last year when we went out to Kilauea lighthouse. This is a peninsula which not only provides a good navigation reference but is also a great spot for watching some bird activities. The birds roost on the rock faces and head out to sea to fish. However, some are less inclined to do the hard work.
The frigate birds prefer to wait for the boobies to return from fishing and then harass them into dropping their catch and scooping it up themselves. Out by the lighthouse is a great place to watch this happening. The lighthouse itself is undergoing restoration at the moment and is covered in protective material. It doesn’t make a good photography target for the time being. Glad I saw it last year! however, the fencing around it apparently was popular with a young booby. Not sure why he would choose that when there is so much human free space around but there you go!
There were also some dolphins swimming around in the bay below us. They were a long way off and hard to spot but it was still exciting to spot them. I could really spend ages out on the headland. The wind blows you about but the birds are so close and the view is so good, it is hard to find a good reason to leave!
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!
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!