Nature Photography (Formally Spring is in the Air)

[Doug Watson]

Here are my birds part 2.

A couple Snow Geese in the spring on their way back North.


A Canada Goose in May.


Some Scaups and a Canada Goose in May.


The next three shots are a sequence showing an Osprey catching a Black Crappie. I missed the actual plunge by a tail (my shot just shows the tail) so the first shot is the Osprey hovering high above the lake. When it sees the fish it dives head first completely submerging itself.


This shot shows the Osprey emerging from the water with the Crappie.


This shot shows the Osprey flying off with the fish. Shortly after emerging in mid flight the Osprey gave its wings a couple of big flaps to shed the water.


This is a Turkey Vulture skimming the tree tops.


These are Wild Turkeys. Back in the 80s the government started a reintroduction program now they are everywhere.


This is a Ring-Necked Duck in eclipse plumage.


A preening Black Duck.


Close up of a Caspian Tern with some Ring-Billed Gulls


Caspian Terns with Ring-Billed Gulls.


A Common Loon. If you have been to Canada this is the bird on our dollar coin, the Loonie. If you have been in our wilderness in summer you also may have heard its haunting call.


This Loon is scanning below for fish, if it sees one it will dive and chase it down.


This Loon is on its nest on a small island.


When we returned she was off the nest so we zipped in and out and took a shot of the eggs. We followed their progress over the summer and only one survived.


This is a chick on mamma's back. It is capable of swimming itself so it is either tired or mother thought there was danger.


This is an immature Loon just before the flight South for the winter.

[triceratops83]

I think at this point all the beautiful photos in this thread could make a book on the wildlife of North America. Some stunning shots here!

[Doug Watson]

I think at this point all the beautiful photos in this thread could make a book on the wildlife of North America. Some stunning shots here!

Thanks, for the Eastern part anyway. I have shots for our trip to the badlands and the rockies somewhere. I think I was taking slides back then. Jasper National Park in the Rockies is amazing for large mammals we saw Bighorn Sheep, Mountain Goats, Elk, Bison, Black Bears (no Grizzlies unfortunately) and Coyotes. We even saw two bull Elk grazing on the lawn of a gas station when we were out for a walk. We came around a hedge and whoa they were right in front of us. Luckily not in rut and were more interested in the grass.

[Gwangi]

Oh those loon photos are fantastic. Most of the loons seen around here are passing through during their migration, some even overwinter on the lakes here which remain mostly ice free. A few breeding pairs are scattered around the region. Hopefully in the future there will be more of them!

[Doug Watson]

Oh those loon photos are fantastic. Most of the loons seen around here are passing through during their migration, some even overwinter on the lakes here which remain mostly ice free. A few breeding pairs are scattered around the region. Hopefully in the future there will be more of them!

Thanks that's the beauty of a kayak, first you are pretty silent, second unlike a canoe you sit very low so I think you look less human to the birds and they seem to tolerate us more. I have had Loons pop up almost within reach right beside us. Of course the minute you grab for the camera they are gone.

[Doug Watson]

This will be my second last entry here until I get new shots. This is part 1 of my mammals from my region. First up are deer.

This is a big 8 point buck that I spotting still lying down in the early morning.


The same buck standing up. This is a protected woodlot about 5 minutes from my home and it has a healthy population of deer. There is a huge 10 point buck that a friend has photographed, so far I haven't caught him.


A doe eating some water plants at Murphy's point.


The same doe.


A Doe having a lie down. Those are horse flies on her muzzle, they are our largest biting flies and when they take a chunk out of you, you feel it. I was amazed this poor doe hardly flinched.


Another Doe showing how orange they can get in the summer. Take note STS.


Another pretty doe.


My last Doe, I love the whiskers.


A young Bull Moose in Alonquin park, its antlers still in velvet. We have them locally in fact almost every summer one will wander into downtown Ottawa and cause havoc. They usually try to tranquilize them but sometimes it ends in tragedy. They are so big they can cause a lot of damage.

[triceratops83]

Beautiful Shots! How close will a deer let you get to it before it bolts?

[Doug Watson]

Beautiful Shots! How close will a deer let you get to it before it bolts?

Usually closer in the kayak, in this shot my wife is probably 10 to 15 feet away. It also depends on where they are. We used to hump our way into a lake that had no access by car or boat and the deer there were very approachable. We ran into one doe on a trail and got within 5 feet before she stepped off the trail and even then she wasn't in a hurry. In places with more interaction or hunting if you are on foot probably 100 feet before they take off. That doe that was lying down did let me get pretty close but I was at my stealthy best.

[triceratops83]

Whoa! I never would have imagined you could get that close. Are there National Parks or areas where they are accustomed to people? With Kangaroos/wallabies, wild ones won't let you get within about fifty metres, but in parks, golf courses etc. they are either indifferent or approachable. I think deer have been introduced in Australia, but not up here in the north. I imagine encountering them in the wild is a very pleasant experience.

[Doug Watson]

Whoa! I never would have imagined you could get that close. Are there National Parks or areas where they are accustomed to people? With Kangaroos/wallabies, wild ones won't let you get within about fifty metres, but in parks, golf courses etc. they are either indifferent or approachable. I think deer have been introduced in Australia, but not up here in the north. I imagine encountering them in the wild is a very pleasant experience.

The deer and other animals in National & Provincial Parks are more approachable but they still like to keep their distance. At Murphy's Point provincial park if you stay in your car you can pull right up beside a deer eating at the side of the road but the minute you get out of your car they will move off. At Jasper and Banff in the rockies you can get even closer to some of the big game and some idiots have gotten themselves in trouble because of it. Especially with Bison.

[triceratops83]

some idiots have gotten themselves in trouble because of it. Especially with Bison.

I spend a lot of time in national parks, and it bothers me that you can always find evidence of modern foolishness in the most tranquil environments. Everywhere I go there are broken alcohol bottles and vandalism. When you mention "idiots" and "bison" I can envision a scene involving a video camera and laughing men acting like children. A local news story from a few years back mentioned fishermen (who, around here, think they own the wilderness) who hanged a small crocodile from a tree. If these people have such contempt for nature then they should just stay in the pub. Sorry about the rant, but I can see people blaming the bison if something unfortunate happened in the scenarios you mentioned.

[Doug Watson]

Sorry about the rant, but I can see people blaming the bison if something unfortunate happened in the scenarios you mentioned.

Rant away, unfortunately when people and a 2000 lb bison get together often one or the other or both pay the ultimate price. Just before we got there my brother-in-law said someone climbed the fence along the highway that is meant to prevent animal/vehicle accidents and went too close to some bison to get a better photo. The man was gored by a bull and park staff were called. They fired warning shots over the bull but it refused to move so in order to save the man they had to shoot and kill the bison.

[Doug Watson]

Here is the last of my mammal shots and the last shots until I take some new ones in the wild.

This is a beaver another of our national icons. This one was the biggest I have ever seen it looked almost as big as a capybara. It was resting on the shore when we came by


Same beaver as it slipped head first into the water.


This is a porcupine that came down to the lake to eat some aquatic plants.


I came across this porcupine on a hike and at this point he had had enough of me taking pictures, reared up, started clicking its teeth and swishing its tail. I got the point and let it be.


This is a swimming muskrat.


This is a mink that I followed along the shore. It caught a water snake and ate it while I watched.


This is another Mink that I followed, this guy caught a crayfish (like a small fresh water lobster) and ate it in front of me. This shot is after he finished eating.


Same mink.


This was a mother mink that was transporting her babies from an island den to a den on the shore. Here she is on her way to the island.


Here she is on her way back with a baby on her back. When she got to shore she carried it by the scruff of the neck.


Here is a River Otter looking out from between the branches of a beaver lodge.


A Deer Mouse


This is an Eastern Cottontail Rabbit sitting behind my vegetable garden. We also have the larger Snowshoe Hare. The Hare turns white in the winter the Cottontail stays brown.


This is one of several Eastern Chipmunks that lives on our property. We feed them sunflower seeds and can get so tame you can feed them out of your hand and pet them. We don't let them get that tame since not everyone in our neighbourhood is like us. We also get Gray/Black Squirrels and Red Squirrels.


This Raccoon showed up last spring and was eating the Chipmunk's seeds.

[Gwangi]

Thanks for taking the time to share all of these. I spent a portion of my teenage years living across the street from a beaver pond. I had a video camera at the time and look lots of VHS footage but nothing I can share here and no pictures. That place was a haven for wildlife, even saw my first and only bobcat there. I tell you, I certainly don't take digital cameras for granted. What a wonderful tool! I'm not sure I would be interested in photography as much as I am without one. I have more pictures to share in time. Hopefully you get some more great shots this year Doug!

[Doug Watson]

Thanks for taking the time to share all of these. I spent a portion of my teenage years living across the street from a beaver pond. I had a video camera at the time and look lots of VHS footage but nothing I can share here and no pictures. That place was a haven for wildlife, even saw my first and only bobcat there. I tell you, I certainly don't take digital cameras for granted. What a wonderful tool! I'm not sure I would be interested in photography as much as I am without one. I have more pictures to share in time. Hopefully you get some more great shots this year Doug!

Thank you Gwangi, I used to take 8mm film, then video of wildlife, also took tons of slides that are packed away in a closet. Someday I must get them put on disc. But the digital camera is a Godsend. No more wasted film or the wait to get them back from the developer. Thank you for the nudge now that I can post images one of these days I'll start posting my dino toy collection. That will be more work since my collection is in one of my work spaces so I'll have to pull some out a bit at a time.

[Newt]

Spring is most definitely not in the air this week, so I'll put up some wintry pics instead.

Some starlings from last week, before the snow hit:




And lots of birds in the snow:

American Robin


Hermit Thrush


Eastern Bluebird


Eastern Phoebe


Tufted Titmouse


Carolina Chickadee


Red-tailed Hawk


Carolina Wren


Fox Sparrow


White-throated Sparrow


Eastern Towhee


Northern Cardinals


House Finches


Downy Woodpecker


Yellow-bellied Sapsucker


Northern Flicker


Red-bellied Woodpecker


The bird I was most excited to see was this Rusty Blackbird, foraging in a spring:


And some non-birds:
Hornet nest


Fox Squirrel

[Doug Watson]

Spring is most definitely not in the air this week, so I'll put up some wintry pics instead.

So where are you? Even with the snow you must be fairly far south from me because a lot of the birds you have in these shots summer up here but get the heck out of here before it gets too cold. We usually only see our first Robin of the spring around March 12. We just came off of a week of steady minus 25 Celsius, minus 30 to 40 with the wind chill if you believe it such a thing.
Great shots, I especially love the male & female Cardinals, what luck getting them posed together like that.

[Newt]

Thanks Doug! I'm in Middle Tennessee. We normally have pretty mild winters here, but last night it was down to -5 F (about -20 C). Everyone's freaking out about the low temps and the snow (we usually only get an inch or two at a time; we have about 8" now). We're not prepared for this kind of weather! I can't imagine a week's worth of weather even colder than that.

We have robins year-round; if anything they're more common, or at least more conspicuous, in winter, when they form big noisy flocks. They might as well be blackbirds. I've been hoping to see some of the northern birds that don't usually make it this far south, like red-breasted nuthatches and white-winged crossbills. No luck so far.

[Gwangi]

I can see bits of green in your pictures too so I knew right away you weren't as far north as I am. I live in NY but clearly you're being hit by much the same weather as we are. I should post a picture of my picnic table because it's almost entirely burred in snow! Hopefully the weather breaks soon, I'm getting burnt out!
But anyway, great variety of bird pictures you've got there! Despite what most people believe the local robins don't migrate out of NY either. They just group up in large flocks and take to the forests where they're seldom seen. I've stumbled into a few flocks during winter hikes before. I always consider red-winged black birds the true harbingers of spring, and they're one of my favorites in part because of that! Snow or not, they should be here in a couple weeks.

[Newt]

I've got your redwings! They and the grackles and cowbirds have been visiting my feeder since the snow fell - they don't usually come to it, the snow must have made them desperate.

I don't feel like it's spring until the toothwort starts blooming.