Pretty Puffins

Another awesome critter that charms nature photographers when they make their way to Alaska is the horned puffin (Fratercula corniculata).  These comical members of the auk family nest in rocky colonies along the coasts of Siberia, Alaska and British Columbia. 

 

 Similar in looks to the Atlantic puffin, the horned puffin is larger and lacks blue coloring in his beak.  They are named for the fleshy horn above their eye.

 

 

Horned puffin are monogamous and raise one chick per breeding season. We thought that by the time we visited all of the chicks would have fledged. Only a few adults remained on the rocky colony, most were out at sea. As we took one last cruise around the puffin colony we found this last little fledgling ready to join his friends at sea.  I loved seeing his little beak - looking similar to the over-sized paws on a golden retriever puppy.  Super cute!

A Lesson in Stepping Back

Sandhill Crane portraits (L: Bosque del Apache, New Mexico R: Jensen Beach, Florida)

There is a natural progression to the life of a wildlife photographer.  When we start out we're just glad to have an animal in our frame.  As we grow we begin to watch the background, we change our angle, we get closer to our subject and then suddenly we discover the joy of a beautiful portrait.  It seems then that all we want are full frame portraits with stunning detail in the feathers and fur and soft, sweet backgrounds in beautiful golden hour light.  There is no doubt that an animal portrait when done right can make the viewer gasp in appreciation. 

Yet, how many portraits of the same animal do we really need?  What does a portrait tell us about that animal, it's environment or how it interacts with it's surroundings?  The next logical step is back. 

Sandhill Cranes waking from their night roost pre-dawn. Platte River, Nebraska

Sandhill Cranes take to the skies as the sun rises over the Platte River, Nebraska

Quick Field Outing

Caitlin gently lifts the new-born from the nest

Caitlin shows off the newly-born plover chick

I'll get back to Svalbard next week but wanted to share a couple of shots from a quick field outing with biologist, Caitlin Nilsen of the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory.  Caitlin is the Waterbird Director with the SFBBO and monitors the bay area population of snowy plovers.  

The second sibling emerges

This morning I dragged Jaymi Heimbuch, a talented writer for TreeHugger (Twitter: @JaymiHeimbuch), away from her warm bed at an ungodly hour to accompany me to the plover breeding grounds near Hayward, California.  We caught up with Caitlin and headed into the restricted reserve in search of a nesting site she suspected might be ready to hatch.  When we arrived the first of three speckled eggs had already been breached.  The resulting chick was snuggling the remaining two eggs.  Plover chicks are mobile and able to feed themselves very shortly after hatching.  Once they are on their feet they are nearly impossible to catch.  However, this one needed a little more time to dry off, warm up with mom and gain a bit more strength before we could safely give it some "birdie bling" and so we backed away and Caitlin treated us to a tour of the reserve while we waited, complete with an overview of the restoration project.  

After two hours we returned to the nest and found the chick looking fully twice it's hatching size.  He now resembled a cute little cotton-ball.  While Caitlin carefully placed the color-coded bands on the chick, Jaymi and I were delighted to witness the second sibling break from of it's egg.  Caitlin and her team receive a limited number of unique band sequences per season so only one chick from this nest will receive the bands.


To learn more about the Snowy Plover Recovery Project, including ways you can help and where to report sightings of banded plovers, please visit http://www.SFBBO.org.

A quick check to make certain mom is watching before putting the newly banded chick back with it's sibling. Snowy Plovers are perfectly camouflaged on the salt ponds.  Do you see the nest with the second chick beginning to hatch?

Weekend at the Ranch

California Quail peeking through the grasses

 Just back from a lovely weekend at my friends ranch in Monterey County where we hosted the category winners of the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory 2010 Click Off Photo Contest.  We had wonderful weather, tasty food and wine and lots of cooperative birds.  There were also a few not so cooperative - do titmice ever sit still?

Spotted Towhee

We are looking forward to opening this year's photo contest for entries on June 1!  Start getting your California bird photos together if you'd like to join us at the ranch next year!

Scrub Jay

Too many legs

I finally got to take my new gear into the field today. I was worried I would get rained out as I drove down the peninsula but Mother Nature smiled on me and the clouds gave way the minute I hit Palo Alto.
The Avocets are raising their chicks in the Baylands right now and the tiny little cotton balls are everywhere! They snuggle up to mom or dad whenever they get cold and then run out and feed in the mud. I had to laugh at all of the legs sticking out from beneath the parents.

When I arrived, I watched as another photographer raised the alarm call - two parents screamed and played broken wing in the street trying to lure him away from their chicks hiding in the pickle-weed. He backed away quickly and soon the family was reunited and searching for food. I watched from a distance for a while, noting where the family groups were and the alarm raised when cars drove by and decided that a blind was in order to avoid stressing the birds.
My Kwik Camo throw blind was perfect for the job. I sat on the ground with the blind covering me and my gear... A few cars stopped to stare but the birds walked right in front of me, babies and all, without a care in the world.

It's going to take a while to get used to all the new controls but the gear performed wonderfully. I think I'm going to like being a Nikon-girl again.

Rainy Day in Paradise

What else can one do on a rainy day in paradise but photograph birds??? With the techniques I learned in Texas with Alan I was able to get great photos of the birds here without running all over the property chasing them. I sat with a cup of coffee beside me in a very comfy chair and waited for them to come to me. I just hope the garden staff doesn't get too upset about the perches I "liberated"... I made certain they weren't from obvious spots on the trees.... :)

Three Days in Roma

I just spent three amazing days in Roma, Texas with acclaimed bird photographer, Alan Murphy. What an incredible experience! I can tell you unequivocally that three days is not enough time. I was able to photograph twenty-six different species and I learned to identify several by their calls... Alan has been a birder his entire life and has avidly studied avian behavior. Add to this a propensity for perfect planning, a wonderfully artistic eye and the patience of a saint and you've got yourself an amazing photographer AND TEACHER.

The workshop was about more than getting pretty images to take home. Alan taught us techniques to use right in our own backyards. Every step of the way he explained what he was doing and why... from perch selection to placement... every call, every wing flap... Alan knew what birds were out there, when they would appear and what perch they would choose.

I can't wait to start playing in my own backyard... which I always assumed was too small to get anything good... Alan has changed my mind!

Check out my Flickr page for more Roma, Texas birds.

Bird Photography the easy way...

"It's like shooting fish in a barrel." "As easy as falling off a log." "A slam dunk." "Duck soup." "Easy as pie." "Like shooting ducks on a pond."

Or it's supposed to be. Most people think of wildlife photographers as hardcore hikers who roam the woods alone in a constant quest for the perfect bird or animal. I like a good hike as much as the next guy but I rarely achieve the number of quality images from a hike as I do from a good sit down.

That's right. Hurry up and wait... and wait some more. Birds need three things... Shelter, Food and Water. Provide those and they WILL come. It doesn't always work out as you would expect. I live in San Francisco. I put out four different kinds of seed mix, I have trees in my yard and I bought a pretty bird bath and kept it filled with clean fresh water. Not an easy feat when the raccoons are washing up in it every night. I brought in exactly three species of bird... Pigeons, house sparrows and a single cockatiel.

My friend Bruce has a much better set up down the Penninsula. His ranch is up in the hills with lots of lovely oak trees and chaparral. There is a spring that he uses to keep a drip line feeding two small ponds. They are barely 3 feet by 3 feet but that's big enough for the bird. We set up two doghouse blinds and settle in for the morning.

The hard part - these little guys move FAST. Just getting focus, let alone finding their eyes is hard work. It's hot and the blinds act like a sweat lodge so lots of water is a must. But there is nothing like the thrill of seeing these beautiful birds up close and personal and knowing that you aren't doing a single thing to disturb them.

1. Oak Titmouse, 2. newly fledged Acorn Woodpecker, 3. White-breasted Nuthatch, 4. Spotted Towhee