Nature Photography (Formally Spring is in the Air)

[Pliosaurking]

Here's a photo from my grandparents backyard from a while ago. The house sits on a bank which is about 10 or so feet above the woods and swamp.
Pictured is 2 blue jays, one of which is hidden behind the Stump and a male Northern Flicker. Both are some of the nicest birds in my area.

[Gwangi]

Thanks for sharing! Bluejays and flickers are always great to see. I have them around me too.

[Gwangi]

I'm determined to keep the thread alive, for now at least. Here are some pictures from my recent trip to the local wildlife refuge. I don't have one of those gigantic, multi-thousand dollar camera lenses (yet) so I have to make do with what I've got. Spring is in the air, at least where I live, so pictures of cool reptiles, amphibians, and inverts are likely to show up.

Bald eagles and turkey vultures on a deer carcass. I took a bunch of these but I'm just going to share one of them.



Northern pintail ducks



Raccoon



American coot



American bittern



Great blue heron



Northern shovelers



Ruddy duck

[ceratopsian]

We have Pintails here too. The most elegant of our ducks I think.

I get decent results with a bridge camera.  Not perfect but pretty good.

[Gwangi]

We have Pintails here too. The most elegant of our ducks I think.

I get decent results with a bridge camera.  Not perfect but pretty good.

Yes, the pintails have quite the extensive range. Good for them! They're one of my favorite ducks. Elegant indeed. The ruddy ducks and shovelers are favorites of mine too so it was a good day for me.

[ceratopsian]

Ruddy ducks are not popular over here as they are intruders and interbreed with natives. Shovelers are a joy. So often peacefully sleeping!  But occasionally we get huge rafts of them feeding en masse.

[Gwangi]

Ruddy ducks are not popular over here as they are intruders and interbreed with natives. Shovelers are a joy. So often peacefully sleeping!  But occasionally we get huge rafts of them feeding en masse.

I had no idea that ruddy ducks were invasive anywhere! They're native here and not a problem, although I don't think they're popular with duck hunters. They're only local to me in the winter. I think they're adorable and fun to watch.

[Doug Watson]

Bald eagles and turkey vultures on a deer carcass. I took a bunch of these but I'm just going to share one of them.

Where's the snow, we just had a two day thaw and I still have two feet on the lawn.
Great shots but I have to know what happened with the vultures when the eagle moved in did they back off? I love the geese looking on behind.
With that road there I am guessing the deer got clipped by a car and made it that far before expiring?

[Gwangi]

Bald eagles and turkey vultures on a deer carcass. I took a bunch of these but I'm just going to share one of them.

Where's the snow, we just had a two day thaw and I still have two feet on the lawn.
Great shots but I have to know what happened with the vultures when the eagle moved in did they back off? I love the geese looking on behind.
With that road there I am guessing the deer got clipped by a car and made it that far before expiring?

No snow @Doug Watson! I live in Maryland now, on the eastern shore. We haven't gotten any snow accumulation this year. It flurried for a few minutes one day and that was it. We're lucky to get even one snowfall a year, and if it does snow it melts off in a couple days. I love it!

The vultures and eagles seemed to mingle without much conflict, although there was an occasional squabble. In which case, the vultures gave way to the eagles. Since you seem interested I'll just go ahead and post some more pictures. Yes, I assume the deer was a road mortality. It may have made it that far, or perhaps it was dragged by coyotes or something. Actually, I imagine it may have been moved by refuge staff.

I can't help but imagine that the geese are thinking "better the deer than me."




















 

[brettnj]

Not sure that I ever noticed this thread in all the years I've been here. Will have to look at it a bit more later today.

I've been photographing wildlife (mostly, as the thread requests, here in New Jersey) for almost 20 years, getting more serious and selling my work at shows for the past 10 or so.

My best images are here...
https://flickr.com/photos/brettklaprothwildlifephotography

And my artist statement here...
https://flickr.com/people/brettklaprothwildlifephotography/

My favorite subjects (and my worst, most brutal shoots ('cause, winter, cold...)) are ducks. I've managed all of the state's non-extralimitals and a few of the visitors.

Wanted to do better by a few and also pick up with geese this winter but so far between the weather (mostly gray skies) and logistics (The birds I want just haven't been here...) it's not been conducive.

Brett

[Doug Watson]

I live in Maryland now, on the eastern shore. We haven't gotten any snow accumulation this year. It flurried for a few minutes one day and that was it. We're lucky to get even one snowfall a year, and if it does snow it melts off in a couple days. I love it!

The vultures and eagles seemed to mingle without much conflict, although there was an occasional squabble. In which case, the vultures gave way to the eagles. Since you seem interested I'll just go ahead and post some more pictures. Yes, I assume the deer was a road mortality. It may have made it that far, or perhaps it was dragged by coyotes or something. Actually, I imagine it may have been moved by refuge staff.

I can't help but imagine that the geese are thinking "better the deer than me."

 

I thought you still lived in NY State, lucky you.
Yes I was hoping for more shots thank you. I have seen turkey vultures on roadkill but never out in a more natural looking spot and especially never with eagles. Reminds me of a scene from the Serengeti with carrion birds on a Wildebeest. I also have never seen more than one Bald Eagle at a time. Thank you for the shots.
Maybe I'll start posting nature shots again but I am a little gun shy from the last time.

[Lanthanotus]

I wish I had eagles or vultures in my vicinity..... at least I could spot (though not take great photos) of a few of the very few Bearded Vultures of the Alpes during our summer vacation in Switzerland.

Think I said it before, but your shots are outstanding @brettnj . I myself do a fair bit of wildlife photography (though only during our winter journeys through the southern hemisphere) and I know how difficult some of these shot are to take. Damn good work!

[brettnj]

Oh, gosh. Maybe I did see this thread and post a link years ago. My apologies for the redundancy if that's the case.

Thanks very much for the kinds words (And the sorta heads up...), Lanthanotus.

[Dusty Wren]

@Gwangi, do you see sika deer where you are? I'm sort of fascinated that we have such a robust population of sika in Maryland.

Thanks for resurrecting this thread. I see a lot of wildlife on walks with my dog, but I don't often have a camera with me. So I'm enjoying everyone's posts about their local fauna. @brettnj, your photos are outstanding. The owl photos especially; it's hard enough to see an owl, let alone get a photo.

Just to contribute something, here's a whitetail sticking her tongue out at me from a recent walk:



 

[brettnj]

Thanks very much, DW. And yes, owls are very tough. I got help with almost all of their locations--not something that happens often since there are major ethical concerns but all of my shots were taken appropriately. An adult great horned has been my number one goal species for the past few years. Gonna take some incredible luck to get one.

Also, DW and G, I (am not sure how I) had no idea there were sika deer in Maryland. With the hundreds of local contacts I have on Flickr, I'd think I'd have seen shots over the years.

[Gwangi]

Thanks for sharing your portfolio @brettnj, very impressive work! Being in NJ you're encountering a lot of the same wildlife I encounter, just taking better pictures of them.  It inspires me to do better, lol.

@Doug Watson I moved from NY to MD about 5 years ago. Mostly to get away from the brutal NY winters, and also to live closer to the ocean. Bald eagles are very common here, especially in the winter. We have resident eagles that never leave and then those that migrate here in the winter. This area has one of the highest densities of bald eagles on the east coast! We also have a large population of both black and turkey vultures. I saw turkey vultures in NY but no where near as often as I do here. Every roadkill carcass has a swarm of vultures and an eagle or two. The first time I saw it I was also reminded of the Serengeti.

@Lanthanotus, you may not see vultures very often but it's awesome that you have bearded vultures. They're stunning!

@Dusty Wren, yes! I do see sika deer around here. They are quite elusive but I've gotten pictures of a few. Lovely picture of that white-tail. As common as they are I'm still always excited to see one.





@brettnj, yup! We have a robust and growing population of sika deer. I know that they're not technically supposed to be here but I still love that they are.




EDIT: @Doug Watson I forgot to ask, what do you mean "gun shy from last time"? What happened? I remember you posting in this thread years ago, I hope you will again.

[Doug Watson]

@Doug Watson I moved from NY to MD about 5 years ago.
EDIT: @Doug Watson I forgot to ask, what do you mean "gun shy from last time"? What happened? I remember you posting in this thread years ago, I hope you will again.

5 years, wow, that must be how long it has been since I have been on this thread.
I had all my nature shots on this thread on Photobucket and there were a lot, so I lost all those links when Photobucket started charging. I have been hesitant to start posting a lot of images again because I find it is a lot of work and don't want to see them all disappear again. I use Postimage now when I want to post a shot but I don't do it often, not at all on this thread.

I had no idea about the Sika Deer in the USA, interesting.

[Newt]

Great stuff, guys! I remember seeing Sika deer when I went on a family vacation to Assateague Island as a kid; they waltzed right through our picnic area while we were eating. Is that where the shot with the ponies was taken, @Gwangi?

I haven't been doing much nature photography lately but this thread is inspiring me to get back to it.

[Gwangi]

@Doug Watson I moved from NY to MD about 5 years ago.
EDIT: @Doug Watson I forgot to ask, what do you mean "gun shy from last time"? What happened? I remember you posting in this thread years ago, I hope you will again.

5 years, wow, that must be how long it has been since I have been on this thread.
I had all my nature shots on this thread on Photobucket and there were a lot, so I lost all those links when Photobucket started charging. I have been hesitant to start posting a lot of images again because I find it is a lot of work and don't want to see them all disappear again. I use Postimage now when I want to post a shot but I don't do it often, not at all on this thread.

I had no idea about the Sika Deer in the USA, interesting.

Well, I admittedly haven't been posting here much in the last 5 years either. It was in part due to the frustration caused by Photobucket so I understand where you're coming from on that. I use Imgur now.

Yes @Newt, that picture was taken on Assateague Island. 

[Dusty Wren]

@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.