A Good Morning

Sometimes, I think few words are needed to tell the story.

In August, I look forward to the appearance of  beautiful spider webs in the wildflower fields.  Today was a dewy morning with bright sunlight, so they were like jewelry dancing in the light.

But, I was after birds.  The first one was a small Eastern Wood-Peewee along a marsh dike on an Elderberry bush. It is a Tyrant Flycatcher, so it was likely after insects around the bushes or just using the top of the bush as a perch to hunt.

I was particularly looking for the Elderberry bushes because Cedar Waxwings like to feed on them.

I ran off a LOT of shots to finally catch one with a berry in its beak.  After three trips to feed, the flock settled down and the action was over.  So, I  went over to check some marsh areas.  Not a colorful bird, but I find the Double-crested Cormorants to often be a stately presence as they dry their wings in the sun.

I finished off the day with a sandpiper, likely a Lesser Yellowlegs.

 Not a bad  way to spend a Sunday morning.

Paul

Not what I expected

Went up to Montezuma last week expecting to find a lot of shorebirds starting their fall migration.  They had missed the message, but I found an unexpected bit of beauty on the main pool.

The edges of the marsh were dotted with beautiful pink.

Lovely, isn't it?  Swamp Rose-Mallow.  Belongs in the Hibiscus family.  Take a close look.

The day wasn't a total miss.  Also saw this Great Blue Heron come up with a rather sizable Bullhead.

Looks like a pretty tenuous hold to me.  It must have a strong clamp.  I wanted to see how he could handle this catfish's barbs, but the heron retreated into the cattails. Seems close to the limit of what he can swallow.

Paul

Chasing a Ghost..

I recently went on an outing to count populations of the unusual Black  Tern.  It is unlike most Terns that frequent coastal areas in that it prefers fresh water marshes, where it hovers to spot prey and then dips down to pluck small fishes and invertebrates from the water's surface. Its flight is as unpredictable as a butterfly in the wind, and it is small.  The idea of photographing them in flight became a compulsion for me. It was necessary to use the unheard of shutter speed of 1/1250 second.  The rate of misses was a humbling experience, like chasing a ghost.  I finally got a few to share.

All this said, they are a beautiful and graceful little flyer as they sweep across the shallow marsh looking for prey.  They still have nestlings to feed in early July.

 On spotting activity, they shift into a hover mode.

Quickly, they plunge down to snatch the prey from the surface, and if successful, they will immediately fly off to their nesting colony.   This time it caught a small minnow.

The loss of habitat had reduced the Black Tern, until conservation efforts encouraged a rebound. Now, I will always be looking to see these little acrobats and enjoy the show as they return each summer.

Paul Schmitt