More Barred Owl Images

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Stephen L Tabone

Early last week, I located the pair of Barred Owls again that I had photographed two weeks earlier. Like the first time, they seemed as curious about me as I was of them. They stayed within a safe distance, yet close enough to enable me to once again photograph them. While photographing the pair of owls as they perched in nearby trees, one of them (I assume the female) flew to her nest on top of a large, old and very tall, dead tree. There were many trees in between me and the nest, making for a difficult shot. I got a little closer, but stayed far enough away not to startle or disrupt her. I was able to capture her tail hanging out of the nest before she nestled further into the nest and out of sight.

The first time I photographed the pair of Barred Owls, it was a cloudy overcast day. This time, the sky was cloudless and a beautiful, bright blue. There also were more leaves on the trees. Next time, it may be even more difficult to photograph the owls, because the trees will be fully leafed out. Nevertheless, I now know precisely where the nest is located, and I hope to be able to photograph their owlets in about a month.

The first three below images are sequential, and show one of the owls as it leaped off a tree limb and flew in my direction.

Below are two more images of the Barred Owls. In the first, the owl was looking me over as I photographed it, and the second image is a closeup profile shot.

Below is the female in the nest with her feathers perturbing out from the hollow of the tree.

While out photographing the owls, I noticed a Canada Goose on her nest (below). She also was keeping a close eye on me.

If you read my last article, you know that I was exhibiting my photography on Sunday at the annual Bluebell Festival held at Merrimac Farm Wildlife Management Area. Given the limited attendance, because the bluebells bloomed very early this year, I had a very successful day and enjoyed sharing my photography with the attendees.

My next article, which I will post in a couple of days, will be of a pair of Ospreys that I photographed last week at Leesylvania State Park building a nest and mating.

Posted in Bird Photographs, Nature, Spring Photographs, Wildlife | Tagged , | 10 Comments

Annual Bluebell Festival Is Today, April 15

Posted on April 15, 2012 by Stephen L Tabone

Today, April 15, is the annual Bluebell Festival at Merrimac Farm Wildlife Management Area located near Nokesville, Virginia. The festival is open to the public from 10:00 to 4:00 and includes a number of nature related activities and a nature art show featuring local photographers and artists.

I will be exhibiting and selling 50 prints, all matted and some framed, including framed prints of the above Barred Owl and below bluebells. The weather today is going to be perfect for this outdoor, nature event. Hope to see you at the festival.

A brief article in the WoodbridgePatch about the Bluebell Festival can read at: http://woodbridge-va.patch.com/events/bluebell-festival-at-merrimac-farm

The schedule of festival events can seen below or at: http://www.pwconserve.org/merrimacfarm/bluebellfestival/

Besides preparing for the festival, last week I was out shooting more photographs of the Barred Owls, and a pair of nesting Ospreys and spring blooms at Leesylvania State Park, and I also made a day trip to Shenandoah National Park to photograph the spring growth and views from Skyline Drive. I will be posting a new articles this week (after I get my tax return finished).

Posted in Merrimac Farm Wildlife management Area | 1 Comment

Full Moon Photographed with Nikon D800

Posted on April 8, 2012 by Stephen L Tabone

Who has not been captivated by a full moon?  It is a powerful force of nature, and when there is a full moon, it has an impact on the earth in many ways. People since the beginning of time have been captivated by it. In fact, the moon has been a central part of many myths and legends across different cultures precisely because of how powerful it is.

On Thursday last week, did you see the full moon?

I first saw the full moon as it was shining brightly through trees on the horizon (above). It looked magical and amazing. It was a cold evening here in northern Virginia. The air was clear and brisk, and there were absolutely no clouds. It was a perfect evening to photograph the full moon.

As the moon rose above the trees, I photographed it with my Nikon D800 and 600mm lens with a 1.4 teleconverter. The results were spectacular. If you click on the above image, the craters and other features of the moon are very clearly visible.

This weekend, I photographed the pair of Barred Owls again and captured the female sitting on her nest. I will post those images later in the week. Yesterday, I photographed a pair of Ospreys building their nest at Leesylvania State Park. Spring is definitely here, and I am enjoying it, along with the birds.

Posted in Nature | Tagged , , | 14 Comments

Barred Owls

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Stephen L Tabone

Last weekend was a very special weekend for me. Special, because I was able to see, hear and photograph a pair of Barred Owls, and Owls are my favorite bird species. Throughout history and across many cultures, people have regarded Owls with fascination and awe. Few other creatures have so many different and contradictory beliefs about them. Owls have been both feared and venerated, despised and admired, considered wise and foolish, and associated with witchcraft and medicine, the weather, birth and death. So, I am not alone in my fascination with Owls.

For me, the problem with Owls has been finding and photographing them in the wild, that was until this weekend.  However, I have previously photographed a Great Horned Owl and a Galapagos Barn Owl. Owls can be difficult to photograph because they are mostly nocturnal. That was different for me this weekend, when I found a pair of Barred Owls in the late afternoon. What also made it very special was that they were not afraid of me, and I was able to get several very good photographs of them.

The opening image was taken during one of the many times the Owls flew directly and closely over me. The area where they were located was heavily wooded, a perfect environment for the Owls, but difficult for me to get a clear shot at them most of the time. While I was photographing them, they put on quite a show flying all around me, landing in various trees and hooting loudly.

Barred Owls do not migrate and typically live in wet woods and swampy forests, which is where I found this pair. They are about 20 inches in length, and from my images you can see that they are large, stocky and dark-eyed.  They nest quietly during the day, and emerge at night to hunt rodents, birds, frogs and other small animals or sometimes fish.

I believe I also found their nest, which is a large cavity in a big old tree. The female will most likely be laying 2-4 eggs that will hatch in about 4 weeks. During that time, the male will do all the hunting and return with food for the female, and eventually for the owlets. The owlets will fledge in about 4-5 weeks. I hope to be able to photograph them as they raise their young. If I am successful, I will be posting the images on this blog.

By the way, this was also the first real test for my new Nikon D800 camera body, and I am very pleased with its performance. Unfortunately, it was late afternoon on a very overcast day (poor light), and I traveled light, not knowing what to expect, bringing only my versitle 28-300mm lens. Next time, I will be better prepared and hopefully will have better light. But even if I do not ever see that pair of Barred Owls again, I am very thankful for that opportunity and still excited from the experience.

Posted in Bird Photographs, Nature, Wildlife | Tagged , , | 13 Comments

Nikon D800 Images of Bluebells at Merrimac Farm Wildlife Management Area

Posted on March 31, 2012 by Stephen L Tabone

Last weekend, I went to Merrimac Farm Wildlife Management Area (WMA) to photograph the Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica).  Virginia Bluebells are bulbous perennial plants that only grow in early spring before the canopy closes (i.e., the trees are leafed out and shade the forest floor). After the canopy closes, the Bluebell plants totally disappear until next spring. Therefore, the opportunity to photograph them is very short.

At Merrimac Farm WMA, the Bluebells grow in the flood plain of the Cedar Run. The deep green of the Bluebell plants with their blue and occasional pink flowers is a brilliant and beautiful sight and contrast to the otherwise dormant forest.

On the morning that I was there, it was very overcast and eventually began to rain. The filtered light actually worked well by limiting the dynamic range of dark and light tones. Unfortunately, I had to stop photographing when the rain started, but it held off long enough for me to get the images in this blog article.

This visit to Merrimac Farm WMA also was my first opportunity to use my new Nikon camera body, the D800, which I picked up two days before. As I am discovering from its use and confirmed by recent independent test reports, the Nikon D800 is a fantastic camera, which is evidenced by the images in this blog article. (These are low resolution images for the Web and not the high resolution images captured by the D800.)

If you live in the northern Virginia area, on April 15, the Prince William Conservation Alliance will be holding its annual Bluebell Festival. I encourage you to attend to see the Bluebells and enjoy the festival, as well as some of my photography, which I will be exhibiting at the festival.

While photographing the Bluebells, I also photographed some of the Spring Beauties (below) with my Nikon 105mm macro lens. Spring Beauties are tiny flowers that also bloom in the spring. They are about 1/4 inch in size, and their unique beauty, when viewed up close, is most likely how they got their name.

Posted in Merrimac Farm Wildlife management Area, Nature, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 9 Comments