bird – Page 15

October 23, 2013

Fall Season Hoodies

A male hooded merganser swim through calm water reflecting the colors of fall

No, this is not a Gap or Old Navy ad – I’m talking about Hooded Mergansers in colorful fall color reflections! Hooded Mergansers are one of my all time favorite ducks (and those who know me know how much I love ducks!) I photographed this mating pair recently as they swam through a narrow channel bordered by deciduous trees, their leaves turning red and gold.

A female hooded merganser sleep on the surface of calm water reflecting the colors of fall

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One difficulty photographing in this kind of light is making sure the main subject (the ducks) and the surroundings (water reflections) are well balanced in brightness. Especially difficult with Hooded Mergansers is the male’s bright white head feathers contrasting with its black face. Trying to capture details in the black feathers while holding detail in the white takes not only the perfect exposure, but also the right amount of front lighting. This is one species that doesn’t do well in backlighting.

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As usual, I tried to photograph at a very small angle of declination to the water surface. However in this particular channel, the slope to the water is very steep, and impossible to place the lens only inches above the waterline, which is my preference. (And no, I didn’t want to climb into the water!) Therefore, I had to raise the rig high enough so that I could sit behind it and see through the viewfinder. It is times like these that I think about getting a right angle viewer for my camera. That would allow be to sit above my camera on a slope, instead of behind it, bringing the lens closer to the level of the water.

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At any angle, and in almost any light, these are beautiful birds. For more photos, be sure to check out an older merganser post.

October 6, 2013

The Uncommonly Common Starling

A European starling perches on a length of barbed wire

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Everywhere I go for bird photography, I see starlings. Sometimes alone, sometimes in huge flocks, these birds are very common throughout much of the world. Here in the US, they are known as European Starlings (as they are native to Eurasia), elsewhere as Common Starlings, and in Europe, simply Starlings.

Because of their ubiquity, they are generally regarded as pests or just ignored by the general population. However, closer inspection reveals a beautiful feather display and a strange and sometimes unbelievable vocalization. Adults have an iridescent black feather coloring, and in winter, it becomes speckled with white flecks. At the right angles of light, the black feathers reflect a glossy green or purple.

A European starling perches on a branch of a white-barked tree

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They can be excellent mimics, repeating various bird songs and sounds from the environment. Each bird has its own repertoire with more proficient birds having a range of up to 35 variable song types and as many as 14 types of clicks.

Here is a sample vocalization from a common starling:

Taken individually, they can be a quite striking bird. But real amazement comes from their behavior in a flock, or murmuration. Changing speed and direction based on their closest neighbors, they fly as one shape-shifting organism, with the ability to perform a beautiful aerial ballet. A YouTube video gained popularity a few years ago showing off this behavior.

The next time you see one of these birds perched in your neighborhood, take a moment and admire them for the interesting species that they are.

September 9, 2013

Pelican Palooza

Several american white pelicans swim together, alternately dipping their heads under water to pull up a bill full of fish

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I stopped at one of my local spots to photograph birds and was rewarded with an abundance of not only one pelican species, but both species that are regularly seen in California – the American White Pelican and the Brown Pelican. Usually I don’t see both in one area, but here they were at Shoreline Park in Mountain View, each doing their own thing.

First, I saw a half dozen white pelicans swimming together, and fishing simply by dunking their heads underwater and scooping up great billfuls of water. In this way, they were able to catch small fish, but on a fairly regular basis.

A fish attempt to flee the confines of an american white pelican's bill. — A fish attempt to flee the confines of an american white pelican’s bill.

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Most of the time, at least one pelican would remain above water while the rest would go for fish. They would rotate this way, dunking, scooping and eating. At some points however, I saw all pelicans in the group go under at the same time. I waited to see if I could get them lined up, and finally I saw a moment of symmetry in order to capture this photo.

Four american white pelicans line up, all of them fishing at the same time. There was a nice symmetry to this image, which was calling very strongly to be rendered as a black and white fine art photograph.

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Next it was on to the brown pelicans, who were circling above Shoreline Lake, and going through much more effort to fish. A pelican would circle for a while, keeping a close view of the surface of the water.

A brown pelican circles through the air above a lake, looking for fish to dive for

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When it saw a movement of fish in the lake below, it would stop its forward flight and sort of hover in air.

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At this point, it would plummet to the water surface in a dive, completely submerging its entire body underwater. The success rate of fishing this way seemed lower than the white pelicans, but perhaps when the diving did work, it rewarded them with bigger fish. It was fine by me, because their activity rewarded me with many flight shots and photographs of the birds on the surface of the water.

A brown pelican flies low and flat over the surface of the water after it takes off from the surface

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After a dive, the pelican would drain its bill of water, and swallowing any fish it caught. Occasionally, I was rewarded with a vigorous head throw.

After diving for fish, a brow pelican dries its feathers with a vigorous head throw.

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After a couple of hours of shooting, I was pretty pelican’ed out and I packed up to leave. But it was great to see both species side by side on a single morning.

May 21, 2013

California’s Newest National Park – Pinnacles

Legislation to make Pinnacles National Monument a national park passed the United States Senate on December 30, 2012

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Recently I made my way down to the newly minted Pinnacles National Park, California’s ninth. Legislation to make Pinnacles National Monument a national park passed the United States Senate on December 30, 2012. Located just southeast of Hollister, it is an easy day trip from the San Francisco Bay Area.

A California Condor perches on a branch in front of a rock wall, Pinnacles National Park

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This area is known for being a possible location to spot the rare and endangered California Condor. At present, there are only 226 total California Condors in the wild. The species was nearly decimated in the 60s and 70s with the introduction of DDT into the environment. In fact, in 1987, there were only 22 condors left in the world, all of them in captivity. I was amazingly lucky to see one perched close to a trail, offering point blank views for several minutes.

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Unfortunately, I was in the middle of a 5 mile hike with some serious elevation, which meant carrying my big lens wasn’t appropriate. I had a full frame camera, with a 70-200mm lens attached. Luckily, I was helped by both the close proximity of the bird, and its sheer size. They have a wingspan of up to 10 feet, giving them the largest wingspan of any North American bird. Some of the larger specimens have weighed in at 31 pounds.

Pinnacles National Park features many rock spires dotting the landscape. The Pinnacles are part of the Neenach Volcano which erupted 23 million years ago near present-day Lancaster, California. The movement of the Pacific Plate along the San Andreas Fault split a section of rock off from the main body of the volcano and moved it 195 miles to the northwest.

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As far as national parks go, Pinnacles is very small. However, it contains some important and interesting geological history. The Pinnacles are part of the Neenach Volcano which erupted 23 million years ago near present-day Lancaster, California. The movement of the Pacific Plate along the San Andreas Fault split a section of rock off from the main body of the volcano and moved it 195 miles to the northwest.

Light steams down through the ceiling at the entrance to Bear Gulch Cave, Pinnacles National Park

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The park is home to several talus caves, which are home to at least 13 different species of bat. Trails are built through the caves and can be explored by flashlight.

It would probably take two full days to explore the highlights of this park (and by explore, I mean including several lengthy hikes to hit some of the peaks). Spring seems like a great time of year – try to catch the wildflowers in bloom. Summer would likely be too hot, easily reaching over 100 degrees. It will be interesting to see if visitation increases due to its new “promoted” status from a monument to a park.