Nature Photography (Formally Spring is in the Air)

[Gwangi]

@Gwangi, those photos are gorgeous, especially the one of the deer and the ponies. I'm with you--I'm happy to see sika deer, even though they're not native. It's been a while since I've been over to the eastern shore. I'll have to plan a trip in the spring.

@brettnj, thanks for being responsible with your owl photos, I've heard some horror stories about what some photographers do to get shots. Best of luck getting a great horned owl! Can't wait to see it.

Thanks! It has been a while since I've been to the western shore. It's amazing how different things are depending on which side you're on. I need to get over there and look for some fossil shark teeth!

[brettnj]

Thanks, G.

And DW, I naively thought when I started shooting that my peers would love and respect animals but it's certainly not always the case, including with respect to many of the most well known and thought of as best photographers in the area.

I made a few small missteps early on, mostly based on ignorance, but I'm extremely comfortable with my ethics overall. No (And all of this occurs--a lot.) baiting of any kind (except feeder birds and the guys I feed in my yard), certainly no electronic calls, no approaching too close (though this can be subjective), no flipping for herps, no literal chasing of mammals, virtually no repeat shoots of sensitive species once successful shot is obtained, avoid super sensitive species/situations all together, no location sharing of sensitive species (or virtually anything else at this point), and no entering contests since there are no standards for ethical shooting beyond an individuals' word--which is of course worthless if one is already shooting unethically.

Limits what I can achieve but antithetical to actually caring about animals/wildlife.

[Gwangi]

Thanks, G.

And DW, I naively thought when I started shooting that my peers would love and respect animals but it's certainly not always the case, including with respect to many of the most well known and thought of as best photographers in the area.

I made a few small missteps early on, mostly based on ignorance, but I'm extremely comfortable with my ethics overall. No (And all of this occurs--a lot.) baiting of any kind (except feeder birds and the guys I feed in my yard), certainly no electronic calls, no approaching too close (though this can be subjective), no flipping for herps, no literal chasing of mammals, virtually no repeat shoots of sensitive species once successful shot is obtained, avoid super sensitive species/situations all together, no location sharing of sensitive species (or virtually anything else at this point), and no entering contests since there are no standards for ethical shooting beyond an individuals' word--which is of course worthless if one is already shooting unethically.

Limits what I can achieve but antithetical to actually caring about animals/wildlife.

The lengths people will go to towards getting a good picture are astounding. Their lack of empathy for the subject they're photographing or the environment around them makes you wonder why they do it to begin with. It makes me think of fishermen that leave their trash on the bank...how can you be out there in nature, obviously enjoying it, and also treating it with such disrespect?

I see it a lot around here, especially at the wildlife refuges and on Assateague Island. We had some screech owls hanging out along the wildlife drive a couple winters ago and is was no challenge finding them, because they had their own paparazzi. And I'm not going to pretend like I didn't stop, look, and photograph these owls but there were people essentially camping out there for the day so that they could get a picture of it yawning or opening its eyes or whatever. These people would clog up the road and just absolutely ruin what makes a place like that special to begin with. And don't get me started on how the people treat the wild horses on Assateague Island...

I'm pretty comfortable with my ethics as well. I still flip for reptiles and occasionally capture them but I'm not flipping heavy cover that might crush something, and I'm always putting habitat back as it was. Aside from that, my code of ethics is similar to yours.

[brettnj]

Well, G, let's just say that if I was standing there when you did that and there was a desirable subject, I'd hope to get a shot... So already my altruism is crumbling...      ;  )

My top goal herp species are Eastern timber rattlesnake and Northern pine snake, so no chance I'd be flipping anything anyway where the former (and by relative habitat association therefore, the latter) can be found...

[Gwangi]

Well, G, let's just say that if I was standing there when you did that and there was a desirable subject, I'd hope to get a shot... So already my altruism is crumbling...      ;  )

My top goal herp species are Eastern timber rattlesnake and Northern pine snake, so no chance I'd be flipping anything anyway where the former (and by relative habitat association therefore, the latter) can be found...

There's just no way I can walk past a piece of promising cover without lifting it, it's in my blood. Especially if it's a piece of plywood or tin. Since moving to the area though I've found herping to be much more difficult than it was when I was living in NY. Except for turtles, I have good luck with those.  But I'm obviously not finding turtles under boards and tin.

Put out my trail camera in my backyard tonight. Fingers crossed for something worth posting tomorrow!

[brettnj]

I get it. I love turtles most of all, but I'll likely never get a bog turtle shot and others I either have or take for granted I can get at some point.

For snakes we have the pine barrens. But if you don't know exactly how/where/when to look for them, it's pretty much just a huge barren pine forest...

Good luck with the cam.

[Gwangi]

I get it. I love turtles most of all, but I'll likely never get a bog turtle shot and others I either have or take for granted I can get at some point.

For snakes we have the pine barrens. But if you don't know exactly how/where/when to look for them, it's pretty much just a huge barren pine forest...

Good luck with the cam.

There's a lot of habitat around here that's similar to the pine barrens. Large tracts of mostly loblolly pine that's, well, barren. I still haven't figured out where to find snakes there, but that is where I find a lot of spotted turtles and various frogs. Since it's warming up there will be pictures of those here soon. Never seen a bog turtle but after years of searching NY for spotted turtles, and coming up empty handed, I'm thrilled to now be able to find them regularly here.

Anyway, here are some waterfowl from this weekend's adventure. Yes, we were feeding the ducks, but not bread. Never bread. Cracked corn. Species include Canada geese, mallards, American wigeons, lesser scaups, and canvasbacks. Most of these ducks are only here for the winter and will be migrating elsewhere soon.

[Gwangi]

On Valentine's Day the weather was just right for some field herping and hiked my spotted turtle spot. Sure enough, I found two of them. Beautiful turtles, the yellow spots on their black shells look like stars in the night sky. Elusive and declining in numbers, I consider myself fortunate to live near a healthy population of them.

Turtle 1





Turtle 2







And I had my trail cam out the other night too and captured two red foxes. This is the first time I've gotten both foxes at once and on the video I captured I was able to observe some interesting body language between the two. Here's hoping there are kits in the spring. I might know where the den is and if so I might try to put the cam there.

[brettnj]

I've never been but know that duck location on the river. Photographers from New Jersey go there (like they do Conowingo for eagles) for canvasback (which we typically get only sporadically and in very small numbers and in locations not well suited for photos) especially. I was lucky to get a single one here a bunch of years ago so didn't have to make the trip.

I'm lucky enough to have a (protected) vernal pool with a nice spotted population about ten minutes from home as well. But another (adjacent to a garter snake hibernaculum) was bulldozed. Had I known I'd have relocated as many as I could. Can barely stand the thought of it.

I know the location of the largest population of bog turtles in New Jersey. So small you can throw a rock across it. But the habitat is so fragile you can't even step into it, so little hope of ever getting a shot there.

As much as I love animals I never knew until I started picking up from other photographers that herps can be found under certain conditions in winter. I've done amphibian migrations a few times in February and March.

It's frustrating that there are experts who can go out and find all these snakes but all I've done is waste a ton of time and money on gas and gotten my car stuck in the sand (and also totaled en route once) repeatedly trying for them.

I took the camera out for the first time in a very long time (Usually I shoot multiple times per week.) for a common goldeneye at a new location that proved not conducive to getting a shot. But at least I'm getting back out there.

There are still some alternate duck shots I'd like to get but there's little available to me at the moment. But with the warm weather hopefully I'll find something to shoot soon. Long shot, but thinking about a mink den...

[Gwangi]

Wow, I'm somewhat amazed that folks from NJ are driving all the way into Maryland for these ducks. It is a locally popular spot but I wasn't aware of its broader popularity. It's a great spot to see a lot of waterfowl up close that you usually only get to admire from far away. And a step up from the city park as far as diversity goes. Before living here I never would have thought I would some day be feeding cracked corn to anything other than a mallard or goose, let alone canvasbacks.

The location of these spotted turtles is also protected as designated Chesapeake Forest Lands, thankfully. And also about 10 minutes from my home. It's one of my favorite spring herping spots. When I lived in NY I visited a lot of vernal pools with healthy populations of Jefferson and spotted salamanders, wood frogs, spring peepers etc. but no spotted turtles. Now I'm here and there are spotted turtles but no salamanders. An even trade, I suppose. But I miss those spotted salamanders.

In NY I was able to find snakes and amphibians every month of the year as long as there was a warm spell. I remember finding red-belly and Dekay snakes on Christmas eve one year and red-backed salamanders I could find every month of the year. In Maryland I've observed turtles basking every month of the year, even swimming under ice. It wasn't until I got into herping that I also realized winter herping could be a thing.

In NY I could find a lot of snakes, dozens on the right day, guaranteed. Smooth greens, milks, garters, red-belly, ring-necks, Dekay browns. But I also knew where the hibernaculums were and there was plenty of shale and other flat rocks laying around that I could look under. Totally different in Maryland. No rocks whatsoever (I imagine the same for NJ) and no hibernaculums where snakes congregate. It's all flat land too, so there are no exposed outcrops or hillsides. Add to that the ticks, mosquitoes, deer flies, and chiggers, on top of heat and humidity and I find little incentive to herp here like I did in NY. There's greater snake diversity here but I can't find them and it gets to frustrating for me to try. Hognose is at the top of my list, they still elude me. But I also need the eastern king, coastal plain's milk, scarlet snake, copperhead, etc. So, I feel your pain, I know your situation is the same as mine. And from watching Youtube herping videos I also know that the pine barrens are a frustrating place to herp.

Good luck with the mink den! That sounds exciting.

[brettnj]

I don't look for salamanders because again I don't flip but I know from growing up here that we have red-backeds everywhere. I'd know where to at least look for newts but beyond that, or eventually doing another migration, I've mostly let go of the idea of photographing or ever seeing any of the other species, including blue spotteds and tigers.

I'd love to get a spadefoot shot. Very happy to have gotten my pine barrens tree frog. Still need a bullfrog. Their numbers have declined so much here. I have a 30 x 40" photo printed on acrylic of an American toad hanging in my living room. Love toads.

We do have mountains and therefore rocks in the northern part of the state from the Delaware Water Gap across to the Palisades, etc. But yet again, no flipping. I live in an isolated sandy area and we actually have hognoseds a mile or so from home.

You have to meet the right people to get help with the snakes, but the right people wouldn't help without some way of trusting you. So I'll be out there again this spring, wasting time and gas and hopefully not getting stuck in sand...

Mink den. If by exciting you mean that after ten trips I saw mink twice for a combined total of about 3 seconds...then yes, exciting...  ;  )

[Gwangi]

I don't look for salamanders because again I don't flip but I know from growing up here that we have red-backeds everywhere. I'd know where to at least look for newts but beyond that, or eventually doing another migration, I've mostly let go of the idea of photographing or ever seeing any of the other species, including blue spotteds and tigers.

I'd love to get a spadefoot shot. Very happy to have gotten my pine barrens tree frog. Still need a bullfrog. Their numbers have declined so much here. I have a 30 x 40" photo printed on acrylic of an American toad hanging in my living room. Love toads.

We do have mountains and therefore rocks in the northern part of the state from the Delaware Water Gap across to the Palisades, etc. But yet again, no flipping. I live in an isolated sandy area and we actually have hognoseds a mile or so from home.

You have to meet the right people to get help with the snakes, but the right people wouldn't help without some way of trusting you. So I'll be out there again this spring, wasting time and gas and hopefully not getting stuck in sand...

Mink den. If by exciting you mean that after ten trips I saw mink twice for a combined total of about 3 seconds...then yes, exciting...  ;  )

For salamanders you could also walk the roads on rainy nights in the right habitat. I used to do that but because I'm afraid of running over amphibians I'm usually apprehensive about driving on rainy nights. The tradeoff is that you can move amphibians out of the road, but how many am I accidently running over just to get to the location?

I see spadefoots every year in my yard. Last year I watched one get eaten by a garter snake. And the first year I lived here the yard flooded so much that spadefoots were breeding in my lawn. I loved it. I hope it happens again but it's now been five years since we got that amount of rain. Lots of bullfrogs too, interesting that yours are in decline. Very common here. The species I need to find are cricket frogs, narrow mouth toads, barking tree frogs, and carpenter frogs.

I'm trying to meet the right people. I even started a local herping Facebook group and even though it has over 1,200 members I still haven't made meaningful connections. I don't blame people for not giving out their spots, I don't. lol

Any sighting of a mink, no matter how brief, is exciting.

[brettnj]

That's what I meant by migration. And the ones I know are managed so no chance of running anything over. A small fairly local one is well publicized for educational purposes and you park off the road which is blocked by the police. Maybe dozens of individuals. A more distant one solicits volunteers as it is a well travelled road that the county won't close and there are thousands of crossings including I believe, endangered species, on the right nights.

People often say things like wasn't it just fun to see such and such, and yeah, it is, but when the goal is a great shot and you put so much into it, it's simultaneously epically disappointing and frustrating...

And very cool re: the spadefoots. They have a wide range in the southern half of the state but again, I'd not know where, when, how to look...

Good thing for birds...

[ceratopsian]

We went to the Isle of Sheppey at the weekend to a private nature reserve.  It's not local but in our region.  Kent, marsh and tidal.  Think Dickens' Great Expectations!  The area is a strange mixture of industrial and wild.  The reserve, Elmley, is famous for its owls - four types and all hiding while we were there, though we saw a blob in the grass that was almost certainly a Short-Eared Owl.  Missed the Little Owl by minutes!  Also famous for a large population of Marsh Harriers, which were almost hunted to extinction here in England.  We saw one send a flock of coots splat-diving with arching spray into one of the ditches, and then hovering over them.  Too far for a decent shot in such dull conditions though.  Better luck with an obliging kestrel - such a wonderful rich chestnut palette:



and an equally obliging Lapwing - a bird that is declining overall in England.  I used to see them on farmland when I was a girl, but not any more.  Still good numbers in marshy reserves we visit though:



And finally, a picture of "local colour" - the ruined schoolhouse (where the Little Owl can often be found!)



Today we were more local: Rainham Marshes, alongside the Thames.  It was before the tide came back on so an excellent walk along the river wall.  A large flock of Dunlin that periodically took to the sky, so close we could hear the whir of their wings:

[ceratopsian]

The foraging Dunlin:



Plenty of Teal - one of my favourite ducks, partly because of the superb pattern of vermiculation on their flanks - and partly for their waddling feeding habits:



Also Redshank and Avocet.  And some "little brown birds" too.  These I find more difficult - sight isn't as good as one ages!  But here's a Pipit.  Always hard to ID but on balance, Rock Pipit, on a spectacular patch of lichen:

[Gwangi]

Thanks for sharing @ceratopsian, very lovely pictures. Just last week there was a lapwing sighted in Baltimore Maryland. It was the first reported for Baltimore and the 4th for Maryland. I did not make the trek to go see it.

[Stegotyranno420]

Its finally snowing in my area well atleast in the hills.

[Gwangi]

That's a lovely view @Stegotyranno420. We're supposed to get some snowfall today but I don't think it's going to happen.

[Gwangi]

More turtles!

Eastern painted turtles





Northern Red-belly Cooter





Spotted Turtles

[ceratopsian]

The vivid colour on the second photo is quite astonishing!