Down to the Final 3

Cedar Waxwing in ice covered tree

Jeffersonville, Indiana January 2009

The Nature Conservancy ( Nature.org) has opened voting up for the final three photos for their Christmas card, and the one above is one of the finalist! WOO-HOO!!

An odd visitor

A European Starling with Partial Leucism showed up at our feeder today. At first glance I had thought a European Magpie had somehow got let loose into our area.
Regardless, he was a very interesting bird, and seemed much more aggressive than his "normal" counterparts.

A lesson to be learned....

Study the photo above well. Please take note of the perfect timing, the sharp focus with just enough blur to convey the sense of movement....
You are looking at a photo of a Northern Harrier (AKA Marsh Hawk), who was startled in flight by a pair of passing Sandhill Cranes that flew passed the hawk.
The Marsh hawk reacted by flaring to the right, outstretching his legs and razor sharp talons, his beak slightly opened as if he was about to say "what the hell?!", Note the reaction of the Sandhill crane closest to the hawk, as it flares to the left, and turns its long neck towards the hawk, its beak wide open calling out a sound that would warn others of the danger he has just encountered. All of this is set against a perfect azure blue autumnal sky, with Fields of golden corn stalks below the birds, stretching back to the horizon to a line of leafless trees rising up on a ridge.

This was the .NEF file on my Nikon, a company I now have major issues with. I first looked at the picture as my family and I pulled into a restaurant to have some lunch after a morning of watching the Sandhills during their annual migration through Ewings Bottoms, Indiana. I was in awe, it could have easily been the very best nature photo I have ever taken with a few minor tweaks to the raw picture file to adjust the exposure a bit to bring out the details in the feathers on the surprised hawk.

Did you see all of that in the photo? Of course you did not! As I stood there in amazement wondering if this actually my camera I had been looking at the pictures on, I showed the photo to my daughter, got a very satisfying grin spreading across my face and decided if this was the only picture I got that day, that week, that month, it was worth the 150 mile round trip we had driven that day looking for the cranes.

So true to form when my stupidity takes over, I silently give myself a mental high five, and the proceed to DELETE THE PHOTO! So why do I have an issue with Nikon now? That's simple, instead of asking only twice if I am sure I want to delete the file, it should have asked 4 or 5 times!!

When we went into the eatery, I started clearing out bad photos, ones that were to blurry, or just drab, when I came across that one nearly perfect photo, I saw it, I shared it with my family and I proceeded to delete it.

Needless to say my wife and daughter got a good laugh out of it, I threw a good fit because of it, and I have no started "locking" any photos that I think have potential every chance I get!

Nycticorax nycticorax

Adult Black-Crowned Night Heron

Meet one of my favorite birds, the Black-Crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), the Heron with the largest habitat in the world. Its range covers five continents, and still manages to show up here!

A medium sized bird that is almost always found near water, it has no problem hunting for crayfish, fish, amphibians, and snakes in both daylight as well as night.

For some unknown reason, years ago I started calling them "deadly" night herons, and I often have to stop and think before I talk to people about them, I guess I got the nickname for them from their sinister hunched over appearance, and well as the blood red eyes sported by the adults.

Juvenile Black-Crowned Night Heron

The best place to catch these guys around here is the Falls of the Ohio State park in summer, where with a little patience and sitting still near the shallow rapids near the spillway, they will come in close to you, wade and hunt in the rapids fairly close to you.

As summer winds down, and fall sets in, a good population of this majestic little guys can be found hanging out near the bald eagle exhibit in the Louisville Zoo, I have seen them there as late as winter proper, and they will become so comfortable with people that they will sit perfectly posed at eye level as close as 10 feet away. However, just be aware that a juveniles will readily vomit the contents of their stomachs if they are frightened, so it would be a very goo thing to keep your distance! (unless of course you would like to be splattered with regurgitated fish!)

So with a range spanning over 5 continents, coastlines, jungles, tropics and temperate climates, urban environments to isolated environments, this is one tough bird and a testament to the power of evolution and adaptability, no wonder it is one of my favorite birds.

Then and Now; better or worse?

THEN

1) Practika 35mm slr w/ a 50mm-300mm lens (about $450 for both second hand)

2) A good fairly straight, fairly strong stick about 3 feet long (free)

3) For more daring adventures a decent Topo Map and a lensatic compass (about $18 total)

4) a worn out comfortable copy of a Audubon Society's guide to Birds of the Eastern US ($15)

5) A pair of typical leather, somewhat waterproof hiking boots ($35)

6) couple pairs of cotton "hunting" socks ($6)

7) Army surplus "ruck sack"($12)

8) canteen with tap water ($8 for canteen about 2 cents for water)

9) Couple rolls of 35mm Kodak film [36 exposure] ($8)

10) "snacks" beef jerky, crackers, maybe a candy bar ($4)

11) Film developing of about 35 carefully timed, carefully framed shots ($10)

12) Telling someone you're heading out and will be back around 6pm (free)

Then Total: $566 to have everything you needed for a good time out doing nature photography

NOW

1) Nikon D90 DSLR ($1100) Sigma 50-500mm lens ($1059)

2) Carbon fiber collapsible trekking pole w/ 3 bases for rock, mud and water crossing ($100)

3) Handheld GPS hiking receiver w/ color map display ($275)

4) Apple iPhone ($250 w/ a new 2 yr contract) with Peterson field guide to birds app ($19)

5) Waterproof gore-tex insulated upland Field boots ($189)

6) Couple of pairs of "wicking" medium duty hiking socks ($35)

7)"Adventure" grade photography backpack ($76)

8) 38oz stainless steel water bottle ($25) & a couple bottles of natural filtered spring water ($5)

9) two 16gig Secure SDHC memory cards ($55 each)

10) 5 High energy, organic nutrition bars ($3 each)

11) Going through about 500 randomly shot photos and posting them to an online photographic community (basically free), Printing out the best 10 or so at home ($4)

12) Subscription to Cell phone service with smart phone capability to stay in constant contact with the outside world at all times and to be able to check the news, weather, email, and face book account when things are slow in the Field ($125 per month)

Now total: $3137

I can remember the "good old days" at my younger age when the average person felt they could have a good day of nature photography with just a few items, a little time, and a ride a little ways down the road to a "good spot". Things seemed simpler, and you had to work harder to get those amazing shots that makes your friends say "ooooh!" or "wow!". We would toss everything into the back of an old 1976 Jeep CJ5 3 speed, and drive a few miles outside town, park the jeep at the end of a gravel road, and only take out what you needed, and left the rest just sitting there in the open topped jeep, find our way to a certain valley between some steep hills off of 111 south, and sit quietly and wait, and watch, and when the timing was just right, the light was good, the creatures cooperated you snapped of a few carefully aimed photos. When the day was done you hurried to get the film developed, and would have to wait an agonizing 48 hours to pick up the film from the little yellow shack that sat in the New Albany Plaza that you drove up to. You got home a little later than expected, but that was okay, and everybody talked about their day while sitting around the dinner table together.

After the 48 hour wait, you cringed as you realized half of your pictures we really not that good, and of the ones that were good, only a couple were really good, and if they exceptionally good, you would take the negative back to the photo shack and get a BIG print, a whopping 8x10, and then had to wait a few more days to see if the 8x10 print turned out. And you just couldn't wait to call up a friend and meet at Joe's coffee shop over a simple cup a black coffee to talk about the latest comings and goings, and to show your pictures to them as they showed their to you.

Now, I am a technology geek and addict, so I am not knocking the amazing modern world we live in, or its gadgets too much, but I often wonder, as we drive through unfamiliar back roads, following the guidance prompts on ye ole GPS receiver to guide us to the precise point where a friend had posted a recent picture of a reticulated big-deal bird the previous day, what is missing here? So we drive down the road listening to our choice of hundreds of radio stations piped in via satellite, and pass the time

As the GPS chimes in that we "have reached our destination", and as we fire up the portable GPS and have to wait an ungodly unreasonable minute or two for it to track and lock on to the satellites floating out in space to pinpoint our location down to about 12 feet, we call our family on our blue tooth phones, to say we're here, and get the rundown on what we have missed in the last half hour or so, you get a couple of text messages from this person or that person to let you know they updated their face book wall to include such shocking news as " I cant find my favorite socks".

The portable GPS chimes that it has locked onto to signal, and indicates its 1.1257 miles to reach

Lat. 38.1867, long. 86.2774, and maps out a route to get there, as we sling on our camera backpack full of lenses and gadgets we would never even need to this trip, take the face plate off of the HD radio, lock it in our glove box, put the cars GPS in there too for good measure, make sure the windows are rolled up and lock the all wheel drive utility crossover vehicle up, and set the alarm via the key fob, we pull out the IPhone, send a text we are "going into the wilderness now", and set off after consuming an organic, high energy nutrition bar.

Guided by satellite navigation, you get there soon enough, and you have all ready shot 50 or 60 shots of random photos, BUT WAIT! What was that strange bird call we just heard, check iBird that allows you identify birds by their songs, and in an instant everything you could possibly want to know about the Fluffy Headed Whatever bird, plus comparisons to similar species across all of north America pops up!

As you shoot pics, you can instantly review them, and delete the ones that are not up to snuff, and with the cool little cord going from the GPS on the shoulder strap of the photography backpack to the DSLR, the Lat/Long data of where you were able to shoot 50 shots of the Fluffy Headed Whatever Bird down to an accuracy of 10+/- feet is embedded in the Exif data of the photo so everyone can see just how you had your settings.

The day winds down, and you hit a button on the GPS and it tells you you have 1.260 miles to reach the starting point for this track, you set out and upgrade your online profiles via cell phone from the middle of B.F.E., Indiana that you have successfully captured a photo of the Fluffy-Headed Whatever Bird, and head home and grab some food from the drive thru.

Instead of meeting with your buddy at Joe's coffee shop, you upload your photos to a web based photography community and send instant messages back and forth with brdngBob645 who resides in Auckland, New Zealand about your day.

As nice as technology can make things, sometimes it is refreshing to go out with just a 35mm, an old stick you pick up, and a worn out old bird book....

Vanguard of the Invasion

Early Tuesday morning I was met with the first of what will probably soon be thousands of invaders who will soon be swooping and soaring around large parking lots, small ponds and lakes, and all along the Ohio River.

Ring-Billed Gull in Flight

That's right, the weather up on the Great Lakes must be just bad enough to push out the first of the Ring-Billed Gulls ( Larus delawarensis ). Before much longer these loud, sometimes obnoxious, but quite smart, and very entertaining birds will be here in large numbers.



Ring-Bills are a medium sized Seagull, with yellow legs, with white under-wings and belly and head, gray upper wings with black tips, and a yellow bill with a black ring around the end of the its bill. (Hence, Ring-Billed Gull).

Adult Ring-Billed Gull

Juveniles are similar in size, but they are of a color that would make them appear to be a dirty mottled grey, with streaking on its chest and flanks, and its legs are a pinkish color.

Juvenile Ring-Billed Gull

Though they will probably get rather boring rather quickly to many birders, keep a sharp eye out, because often mixed into the flocks of ring-bills will be the occasional Herring Gull, a couple of Bonaparte's Gulls, and a Tern or two.

Caspian Tern (Sterna caspia)

Personally I love these loud, rude birds, last year I was able to photograph and record two tagged Ring-Bills, and one that Had been banded. And their antics always seem to cheer me up when the winter days get bleak.

In addition to their character, the return of the Ring-Bills signal to me its time to keep a close eye out for "oddity ducks", I have all ready been able to get some good photos of Hooded Mergansers ( Lophodytes cucullatus ) and Greater Scaup ( Aythya marila ) in Clarksville.

It wont be too long now that it will time to pay close attention to rafts of ducks on ponds and the river, as unusual (to here) ducks like White-Winged Scoters, American Wigeon, and not to mention the Wood Ducks will be in their full splendor!

Okay, you've set up your feeders, and got birds...

One basic, sometimes overlooked, but very important issue relating to bird feeders and baths is keeping them clean.

Think of it in terms of a buffet open to the public. If it was not cleaned on a regular basis, the chances of getting sick eating there would sky rocket, its the same with our feathered guests visiting our feeder and bird baths.

Taking the time to clean your feeders and your bird baths can make a huge difference in the health of the birds that will come to rely on you for their primary source of food.

Taking the feeders down and giving them a good rinsing at least every two weeks is a very good practice to get into. If your feeders are more heavily used, perhaps clean them once per week.

If the feeders are getting "dirty" with droppings, cleaning them with a solution of 10% chlorine bleach and 90% water, giving them a thorough cleaning in this, rinsing them very well with clean fresh water and letting them air dry before reuse is a good practice as well.

For me, the hardest chore is keeping the ground clean below the feeders. Ground feeders are attracted to the seeds that are dropped or discarded by the birds at the feeders (some ground feeders would include Rock Pigeons, Mourning Doves, etc.). If the birds on the feeder are dropping other things, like dookies, with those seeds, it can spread illnesses to the ground feeding birds.

Under my feeders is generally stone, it can be rinsed easier of bird droppings, and I can use my leaf blower / vacuum to suck up the seed hulls and any eaten seeds. The blower / vac crushes and mulches the hulls and seeds, and I generally dump this mixture into my compost heap.

Bird baths should also be periodically cleaned, and fresh water kept in them. For the most part, I keep mine filled with water from a rain barrel attached to my downspouts, but mainly the birds use my garden pond for water, which is filtered via mechanical filtration as well as UV germicidal light filtering (kills all free floating bacteria and algae).

Of course, I still get a grin on my face when I stop to think about the time the feeders and garden pond attracted a quite unexpected guest, and we lost 6 beautiful Koi to a visiting Green Heron who though the garden pond was his feeder!

Pyrrharctia isabella

Woolly worm photo by Charity D

Call them Woolly worms, call them Banded Woolly Bears, call them winter forecasters, but these guys are actually the caterpillar form of Pyrrharctia isabella, or the Isabella Tiger Moth.


Classic folklore holds that the more brown the bands on the woolly worms are the worse the winter will be. Reality is the brown band on a woolly worms grow wider as the caterpillar matures, they are not "born" with wide bands pending a bad winter.


The Isabella Tiger Moth is a small to medium size moth that transforms from the Banded Woolly Bear to the adult moth in late spring, and the cycle begins again with the eggs of the Isabella Tiger Moth hatching in the late summer early fall.

Isabella Tiger Moth Adult

Photo by Linden G.

Recent Spotting!

*stock photo from my flickr photostream

Sandhill Cranes were spotting flying over Jefferson County, Indiana over the weekend! Time to keep an eye on Ewing Bottoms outside of Brownstown, Indiana!

Spotted at Harrison County Forest

My husband made an early Sunday morning visit to the forestry, now known as O'Bannon Woods. Just inside the entry gate, in the cedar trees next to the restrooms on the right as you enter, were a number of Cedar Waxwings and Eastern Bluebirds, feasting on the cedar berries.

Black Oil Sunflower

Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus Bicolor)

Aside from controlling the feral cats that sneak into my yard, the best thing I think I have done to date to help attract more birds to my feeders has been to switch strictly to black oil sunflower seeds in the feeders.

When we used the mixed seed, which always seemed to consist of more cracked corn that ended up on the ground, we would only attract the same old usual birds, house sparrows, European Starlings, an occasional Northern Cardinal, and Mourning doves feeding on the ground.

A couple of Downy Woodpeckers would regularly visit the suet feeders, and an odd Blue Jay would show up to make some noise and chase other birds around.

Since the switch to Black oil sunflower seeds, the most prominent visitors are a family of Tufted Titmouse (pictured above), there are at least 5 individual birds, who have now grown so accustomed to my presence by the feeders that they are not shy at all about landing a foot or two away to snatch a seed, fly up to the tree, eat the seed, and repeat.

One more adventurous of them will nearly land on me, and will fly right in my wife's face!

In addition to the titmouse, there have been some larger species of woodpeckers showing up, and regularly. A Northern Flicker, a Red-Headed, and a Red-Bellied Woodpecker have been regular guests.

Red-Bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinis)

*disclaimer, not the red-bellied that has been visiting

Carolina Wrens have also been visiting, as well as House Finches, Carolina Chickadees, and one fleeting glimpse of what I swear was a tiny little brown creeper, however he was not feeding on the seed, but was paying very close attention to a large piece of driftwood sitting by the small water pond we placed by the feeders.

The cost of feeding exclusively black oil sunflower seeds is more, and the mess from all the hulls and the sprouting seeds can be a pain. But it is well worth it for the wider variety of birds that it attracts, and keeps coming back!

We have three main feeders, two on posts, and one hanging on the front of the house, they are all placed where the birds have easy access to cover (butterfly bushes), water (the little pond), and a good clear view of where the previously mentioned feral cats tend to go.

As a side note, unfortunately, feeding feral cats will not diminish their "need" to hunt, it is a natural instinct despite how well they are feed to hunt. After all they are an apex predator, just a smaller version!

Rain, Rain, Rain...and hunter orange

One definite gift all of the rain has brought us this year has been superb fall colors. Though the peak of the colors hit this week end, its still not to late to get out and enjoy some of the splendor of the fall colors we have this year.

Muscatatuck is vibrant, but strangely devoid of birds right now. A lot of that is due to archery season for deer, and a plethora of hunters driving to and fro.

If you choose to get out and enjoy the woods, it is advisable to wear some hunter orange. NEVER rely solely on thinking there is no hunting in an area.

A hunter orange hat, or vest is a cheap investment, but it stands out like nothing else and definitely sets you apart from a great distance, and readily in the woods and fields from a deer.

More Helpful Indiana Birding Links

Wanted to alert readers to some helpful links to track migratory patterns in our area and learn what other local birders are seeing. One of my favorites is the Indiana Birding List, and here's info on reading and subscribing. I find the daily digest is the best format:

To read an older IN-BIRD-L Posting, try the permanent archives
search interface at: http://listserv.indiana.edu/archives/in-bird-l.html

To post to this mailing list, you must be subscribed.

To subscribe, send a PLAIN TEXT (not HTML) email to: listserv@listserv.indiana.edu
With a message body (not subject line!) of: subscribe IN-BIRD-L FIRSTNAME LASTNAME
where FIRSTNAME and LASTNAME are your real first and last names.

To contact the listowner, send an email to in-bird-l-request@listserv.indiana.edu

Steve Pancol, an Indiana birder, also has a very informative site located at:

http://stevepancol.com/

A hidden gem

The Loop Island Wetlands in New Albany is a hidden gem for bird watching, particularly shorebirds and waterfowl.

Located along Silver Creek and bordered to the south by the Ohio River, there are tow large ponds on the property, the largest of which is a little over 40 acres.

Species of shorebirds here that can be seen and photographed include Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, Green Herons, Double Crested Cormorants, Killdeer, Lesser yellow legs, and Solitary Sandpipers.

The list of waterfowl include, Canada Geese, Mallards, Wood duck, Blue Winged Teal, and in the winter you can see Mergansers, Widgeon's, sometimes you can catch sight of White Winged Scoters.

Also in the 50 acres of the property you can spot Pileated Woodpecker, Downy Woodpeckers, Northern Flickers, Osprey. Red-Tailed and Red-Shouldered Hawks, I have never seen myself, but have been told that a few Northern Harriers have been spotted around the loop as well.
Of real note is somewhere hidden (and hopefully stays that way) is a tree that is called home by some Bald Eagle. After a conspicuous absence for most of the year, at least on has been spotted recently not to far from the Junction of Silver Creek and Ohio River.

Feathered creatures are not the only ones to call the loop home. A regular visit to the Loop named Steve was able to get a fabulous photograph a while back of a Coyote walking on frozen pond in the winter.White Tailed Deer, Raccoons, Virginia Opossums, Grey and Red Squirrels, Rabbits, voles, Ground hogs, and ground squirrels round out the mammals.

And a variety of water turtles, and eastern box turtles, along with ribbon snakes, Garder Snakes, fence lizards, broadhead skinks, five lined skinks and northern water snakes are present for the reptile category.

Amphibians are represented by American toads, Bull frogs, leopard frogs, and grey tree frogs are just a few of these guys around. I have not seen any, but I am quite sure there are plenty of salamanders lurking in the waters and under the leaves and logs as well.

The Near future calls for plans for the "Greenway" to cut through the loop with a proposed two lane road cutting through what is called the Dueling Grounds near the Ohio River.


With the entrance located just east of the intersection of Silver and Main Streets in New Albany, it offers a close to home chance to see some of the wildlife that we routinely drive a 100 mile round trip to places like Muscatatck or Big Oaks, perfect for a late afternoon quick trip or an early morning trip before the start of week end yard work.

Bring a good pair of grippy boots though, as the mud can sometimes get quite slippery. For the most part, the hiking is flat, with the exception of a few small hills and a couple of very small creek crossings. As far as photography equipment is concerned, generally a good 300mm lens is sufficient, as things tend to be rather close if you are quiet and patient. But a pocket point and shoot with a decent zoom will suffice as well.

http://www.loopislandwetlands.com/

Little time...

I haven't had much time in the last week to get out much, and the next few weeks may be more pressing, but I was able to say hi to a few feathered friends during my comings and goings...

Wood Ducks (aix sponsa)
Pileated Woodpeckers

American Crow

Red-Shouldered Hawk

Killdeer

Raptors

Recently there have been a lot of raptors about.

Muscatatuck has been good for Barred Owls, especially towards the rear of the property near the T intersection by Myers Cabin. Spotted two Mature Bald Eagles in that general area as well.

Also there have quite a few Re-Shoulder Hawks, Red-Tailed Hawks, Coopers Hawks, and American Kestrels about along the Ohio River in Clarksville and Jeffersonville.

Lapping park in Clarksville has also been pretty good as well. Spotted two Coppers Hawks, a young Red-Tailed, and a Kestrel in pretty short order.

As far as other birds, finally got the shots of the Pileated Woodpeckers I have trying to get for so long off of Bugaboo road. Two healthy Pileated's were chasing each other around a dead tree. I was able to get some decent pictures, but it was very cloudy, raining, and starting to get dark, But it was better than nothing.

The feeders out front of my house has seen a growing increase in Tufted Titmouse, and the Goldfinch are becoming more scarce around the thistle feeder.

Welcome

Through the lens is a bit of deceiving title for this blog.
The intentions of this forum is to provide a place for local nature enthusiasts to share tips, tricks, and information regarding all sorts of outdoors activities, but it will be geared more towards nature photography and birding.

We live in kind of unique area here, sitting about halfway between the Mississippi flyway and the Atlantic Flyway, quite a few migratory birds and waterfowl come through this area every year, not to mention our resident population of various species of birds, waterfowl and shorebirds.

From the annual appearance of Ring-billed Gulls that signifies the beginning of winter, to the mass migration of Sandhill cranes which can be seen in the tens of thousands just a little bit north of here in the late fall and again in the late winter early spring, there are many opportunities for fantastic bird watching and nature photography.

I would also like this forum to be a clearinghouse for information from real users about local trails, parks, camping, and paddle sports.

I hope to have several other people I know whose interests span different aspects of enjoying nature to make posts, share information and help to answer any questions.

This may be very successful, and then again, it may flop! But in the meanwhile it will be fun to take that first step...