Male Wood Duck

Posted on January 11, 2013 by Stephen L Tabone

Wood-Duck-on-Wakula-River

One of my photography goals has been to photograph a male Wood Duck and to ideally photograph it in a natural setting and with sufficient light to produce a good image. As you can see by the two images in this article, I achieved that goal in December while in Florida, and I am still excited about it! The male Wood Duck is one of North America’s most colorful waterfowl with its distinctive multicolored iridescent plumage and red eyes; so you can see why it was high on my photography goal list.

Although my two images are very good (in my opinion), I would have liked to have had more time and better circumstances to capture the duck’s image, as well as an image of the male’s mate. The female was also on the river. They are usually seen in pairs, but the female was ahead of the male, and when they saw the boat that I was in, they quickly swam out of sight.

I was very lucky to get these images because I was on a crowded (full capacity) boat used by the State of Florida at the Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park to provide tours of the Wakulla River. The boat included many children, and they and their parents got very excited when an alligator or manatee was spotted, which happened frequently. The children and a few adults ran around the boat from front to back and side to side, depending on where the gator or manatee was located. There was shoving, shouting, screaming, pointing, waving, and point and shoot camera flashes. It was chaotic at times, not the way I enjoy nature photography.

I was on the boat because a friend emailed me on my way to Carrabelle, Florida, which is on the Gulf Coast, to visit another friend. Her email said that she was at Wakulla Springs the day before, and she had seen some Wood Ducks. The timing was perfect, since I was only about 10 miles from Wakulla Springs; so I immediately changed directions.

I called my friend from Carrabelle, and we met at Wakulla Springs State Park and took the boat tour with high hopes of seeing the Wood Ducks. I had never been on these tour boats and did not know what to expect. I would have preferred to be on a kayak or canoe, alone and quiet, but the tour boat was the only option.

After buying the boat tickets, we had to wait about an hour before the boat returned and we were able to board it. We waited, second in line, to be able to select the best seat possible to get a shot if we were lucky enough to see a Wood Duck. I chose the starboard side, since it would be facing the river’s shoreline, where the ducks most likely would be located.

It was not until the last section of the river, as the boat approached the spring head, that I spotted a pair of Wood Ducks tucked in close to the shoreline behind and under various tree and plant growth. At the same time, the people on the boat were scrambling in all directions because someone shouted that they saw a large alligator and a manatee. Eventually, some spotted the Wood Ducks too, but the boat kept moving and the ducks were hustling to get out of sight.

Wood Ducks are very skittish to include those that frequently see people. They often take flight as soon as they see people, who are perceived to be a threat, and rightfully so, because Wood Ducks are hunted in the United States and Canada. It is beyond my comprehension why anyone would harm such an incredibly beautiful bird.

Prior to going to Carrabelle, I tried a few times to photograph Wood Ducks that had been seen on Prairie Creek Preserve in Gainesville, but as soon as the ducks saw me approaching, they flew quickly away. They were impossible to photograph. Due to those “near misses” and the chaos on the boat, you can understand why these images are special and cherished.

Wood-Duck-on-Wakula-River

I photographed the Wood Duck after knocking several children to the ground and elbowing myself and camera in between people–just kidding, but I did feel a bit like George Constanza on the Seinfeld episode with the clown and fire at a children’s birthday party. The images were captured using my Nikon D800 with a 70-200 f2.8 lens and TC20 teleconverter.

Posted in Bird Photographs, Nature, Wildlife | Tagged | 9 Comments

Great Horned Owl

Posted on December 16, 2012 by Stephen L Tabone

Great Horned Owl DXO

I normally wait until I have reviewed and processed all of my images from a photography outing before posting them to my website and blog, but I am so excited about seeing and being able to photograph a Great Horned Owl that I want to share it right away. The above Great Horned Owl was photographed at Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, Gainesville, Florida, yesterday (December 15) at sunset.

When I arrived at Paynes Prairie, I heard the owl hooting in a heavily wooded area near the entrance to La Chua Trail. I have heard Great Horned Owls in that location many times during visits to the Prairie over the last few years, but have never been able to see or photograph them. I was hoping this visit would be different.

I was down the trail photographing wading birds in the setting sunlight, when the two Paynes Prairie volunteers, that were working the visitors trailer, came down the trail to tell me about the owl. I quickly shouldered my camera gear and hustled up the trail to where the owl was spotted. Unfortunately, it was far away and across the large sinkhole along the trail and perched on top of a very large dead tree. Although far away, its very small silhouette was unmistakeable as a Great Horned Owl.

I positioned and aimed my Nikon D800 with a Nikon 600mm lens and TC14 teleconverter, and using the manual mode, I began photographing the owl. I adjusted the camera’s settings a number of times as the light changed and tried to keep the ISO setting as low as possible while maintaining an appropriate shutter speed. Fortunately, the owl stayed on top of the tree, while I fired off a number of shots and only quit when it was too dark to get anymore images.

I will eventually process more images of the owl, as well as other images of sunrise and sunset on the Prairie and the other birds that I photographed. I expect to return to the Prairie, as well as other refuges and preserves over the next few weeks. In the meantime, I hope you have a wonderful holiday season.  Mine certainly has started out very well.

Posted in Bird Photographs, Nature | Tagged , | 8 Comments

American Bald Eagles at Conowingo Dam

Posted on December 9, 2012 by Stephen L Tabone

American Bald Eagle in Flight with Its Fish Catch

On November 29 and December 4, I went to the Conowingo Dam on the Susquehanna River in northern Maryland with a friend and fellow photographer to photograph the American Bald Eagles that spend the winter on the downside of the dam. The dam is about 100 miles from home, and to get there at sunrise, when the eagles are most active, requires leaving home very early. For me, one of the challenges to Nature photography is getting up in the middle of the night, but it is usually worthwhile and very rewarding getting to see and photograph wildlife, like the eagles in this article.

American Bald Eagles are opportunistic feeders, but their main diet is fish. Not all eagles migrate, but since fish is their preferred diet, those in the north migrate south in late fall when rivers, lakes and other waterways begin to freeze. That is why at times there can be over 100 eagles near the Conowingo Dam, because the downside of the dam generally does not freeze, and where when the dam opens to run its turbines, fish flow through the dam along with the water, and the stunned fish are easy pickings for the waiting eagles. The large number of eagles in this concentrated area make it one of the best, if not the best, locations to photograph American Bald Eagles along the east coast.

American Bald Eagle Flying over the Susquehanna River

The eagles are very active when the dam is open and the river is flowing through it. When the dam is closed, the eagle activity is very limited. Above, an eagle spotted a fish and began to dive toward the river. They swoop down, lower their legs when close to the water, open their talons, and when successful, grab a fish and take off with it under their tail.

American Bald Eagle Diving toward River

American Bald Eagle Catching a Fish

Not every attempt for a fish is successful, but in the above image, the eagle is taking off with its catch.

American Bald Eagle

American Bald Eagle Flying with Fish

After coming up from the river with its catch, the eagle flew in my direction (above and below images).

American Bald Eagle Flying with Fish

Most of the time, the eagles fly off to the other side of the river to eat their catch, but occasionally, they fly directly overhead toward the trees behind where I and other photographers are located.

American Bald Eagle Eating a Fish

Below an eagle is perched in a tree, watching other eagles and the river below.

American Bald Eagle Perched in a Tree

You probably have heard the term “screaming eagle.” At times, eagles do sound like they are screaming, which is very loud and used to communicate with other eagles. Below is an image of an eagle screaming.

Screaming Eagle

To see more of my eagle images, I posted an article in October that can be seen at https://stevetabone.wordpress.com/2012/10/13/american-bald-eagles-at-conowingo-dam/ or go to my website at: http://stabone.com/p922753828

Posted in Bird Photographs, Nature, Wildlife | Tagged , , | 14 Comments

A Fall Day at Leesylvania State Park, Virginia

Posted on November 5, 2012 by Stephen L Tabone

This weekend, to get some fresh air, get out of the house, and maybe find something worth photographing, I went to my standby little piece of the natural world, Leesylvania State Park (LSP), in Prince William County, Virginia. It is within 5 miles of my home, and there is always something to see there any time of the year.

When I arrived at LSP, I drove through the park to see if there was anything unusual happening–and there wasn’t. I was not surprised, nor disappointed, because I knew I would eventually find something photo-worthy.

After parking, I went to Bushey Point with my Nikon D800 and 28-300mm lens, prepared for anything. I carried a small backpack with my 70-200mm (with a TC-20) and my 24-70mm, just in case. The first thing that caught my attention was all the fall colored leaves on the Bushey Point trail leading to the Potomac River. Although there was some green and fall colors left in the trees, there was no doubt that most of fall colored leaves were now on the ground (above image).

There was nothing special or unusual going on at Bushey Point, other than the Potomac River being lower than I had seen it all year. I was expecting to see the river’s shoreline covered in debris from hurricane Sandy and the river above its usual level, but the opposite was what I found. So, I thought I would experiment and photograph some of the colorful leaves on the ground with the intent of creating abstract images of the fallen leaves. I slowed my shutter speed down and with camera on a tripod, I took the first, above, and below images.

When I entered the boardwalk over a wetland, I met a friend, Judy, and during our conversation, she told me that she had just seen a Golden-crowned Kinglet and showed me the image of one on the back of her camera. The kinglet’s bright yellow striped head was very clear in the image. There was no doubt what it was. I hoped that I too would see one and be able to photograph it.

Shortly after leaving the boardwalk, I heard small birds high in the very tall trees. I could see a small bird darting from branch to branch, never sitting long in any one spot–not longer than a couple seconds. Each time it would land, I would quickly realign myself and camera, and occasionally get off a shot.

When the small bird came down from the tree tops and perched on a nearby branch, I was able to see it more clearly in my camera’s view finder, and it was a Golden-crowned Kinglet! And, it was checking me out. The kinglet was fast and kept flitting from branch to branch. Below is a shot of the kinglet just about to land on a branch.

After the kinglet had enough of me, it took off, and it was shortly replaced by the bird in the below image. I believe it is a White-eyed Vireo, based on other images. It did not stick around long either.

As I was leaving Bushey Point, I noticed a deer in a nearby wooded area. As I took aim, I could see some nearby movement that turned out to be a pair fawns. They also took notice of me and quickly departed.

As mentioned when starting this article, there always seems to be something happening at LSP, my nearby little piece of the natural world, that is surrounded by sprawling suburbia.

Posted in Autumn Photography, Bird Photographs, Leesylvania State park, Nature, Wildlife | 10 Comments

Canaan Valley, West Virginia

Posted on October 22, 2012 by Stephen L Tabone

Three weeks ago, I spent a long weekend (Friday – Monday) in Canaan Valley, West Virginia, with two friends, who also are avid photographers. After about a 4 hour drive from northern Virginia, through area after area of peaked fall colors, we arrived in time to register the RV, set it up, and get to the top of Dolly Sods for sunset. As you can see from the above and following images, our timing was perfect to capture the late afternoon sunlight illuminating the Dolly Sods Wilderness plateau and surrounding areas.

Dolly Sods is a rocky, high-altitude plateau, ranging from 2,700 to over 4,00o feet. It is located in  in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia in the Monongahela National Forest. Dolly Sods Wilderness encompasses 17,371 acres within over 32,000 acres of forest. When on the highest elevations of the plateau, there are wide sweeping views of the mountains to the east. The views are breathtaking and sunrises can be spectacular, depending on the weather and cloud cover.

Dolly Sods also has unusual landscapes. The landscape of the plateau is typically found in Canada with stunted red spruce trees, wind carved boulders and cliffs, heath barrens, and grassy meadows from years of logging and fires. Considering the devastating history of the area, the beauty is even more amazing.

There was enough time to shoot east to capture the sun lighting up the fall colored trees and mountain ridge lines, before turning toward the setting sun.

The sunset was spectacular. Unfortunately, Dolly Sods must be directly under the flight path for aircraft from the DC area heading west, because there were contrails everywhere in the sky.

When the sun gets close to the horizon (one or two sun-widths), it sinks quickly, requiring attaining the right location within a couple minutes of sunset. I hurriedly worked my way through a heath barren of waist to shoulder-high huckleberry, rhododendron, and cranberry plants to get to a location that would be composed of some of the plants, trees, and of course, the setting sun. It turned out to be a good location. The sunset was incredible.

The next morning, we were on Bear Rocks on Dolly Sods plateau before sunrise. Bear Rocks is located on the eastern edge of the plateau, overlooking the Shenandoah Valley, and the Shenandoah Mountains in the distance. The wind was blowing and gusting around 30 mph (guestimate), and it was in the 40s (another questimate), but watching the horizon begin to glow and seeing the sun quickly rise and disappear in the colorful clouds was worth the challenge of getting and being there–I do not have the words to do it justice. The below images captured some of the beauty.

As you can see, views from Dolly Sods are spectacular, but they also can easily be very different, with a thick cloud cover and rain.  That is how our next visit was, heavily overcast/cloudy, and raining on and off. Nevertheless, it still looked amazing, but it was either wet or not well lit. I still enjoyed being there. Below is a panoramic image comprised of 7 images taken from a rock outcropping and looking east toward the Shenandoah Valley.

The next morning, we went to Elekala Falls. The weather was perfect for shooting the falls, overcast and occasional light rain. I was wearing knee-high boots and able to walk through the water to shoot the falls from many angles. Elekala Falls are beautiful, with its high rock walls, moss and leaf covered rocks and boulders, and swirling pools of water. Below are three photos of Elekala Falls. According to one American Indian tale, the falls are named after an Indian princess that threw herself over the falls.

Another highlight of the trip was Blackwater Falls. The Blackwater River flows over the falls, dropping 62 feet. The flow over the falls was very light that day, as compared to when the river is raging. We may not have had a raging river, but we had fall colors surrounding the river and falls. Simply gorgeous.

I went to Blackwater Falls last year in the winter, when the falls were frozen. It was very challenging getting to them in the snow and ice, but it was worth it.

The final two images…for those of you still reading…were taken in Canaan Valley Wildlife Refuge in an area with wetlands and beavers. In the first image below, the beaver lodge, which was very large, is on the left. We did see an adult and young beaver, but we had just packed up our gear and were leaving, when they appeared. They knew that.

Above is the sun setting at the beaver pond, as we were leaving.

The above images and others can be seen on my website at: http://stabone.com/p754217942

I have been reviewing and processing my eagle images from last weekend. It was also a good trip and will be the subject of another blog article. If you would like to see those images, as well as others recently taken at Conowingo Dam, they can be seen at:  http://stabone.com/p922753828

All of the images in this article were taken with a Nikon D800 and predominantly with a Nikon 24-70mm lens.

Posted in Autumn Photography, National and State Parks, Nature, sunrise, Sunset | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments