A green heron walks along the rocky shore of a water channel. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3: 1/800 sec. at f/7.1
Yesterday I finally got some good views of a green heron that has been reported in Redwood Shores, CA over the past few weeks. I had been out looking several times to no avail, as this is a somewhat uncommon bird for the area. He was perched across a narrow man-made water channel in decent light. Once I moved down to water level to photograph, he began walking along the shoreline with his crest extended. At first I though I might have interrupted his solitude, but he turned and paced back and forth in front of me for a while. He was probably just looking for a better place to fish.
I have been working for this shot for quite some time. It was a personal mission of mine in the second half of 2010 to find and photograph a burrowing owl. I knew there were many living in the Bay Area, particularly the south bay, but finding one proved to be more difficult than I thought. A dozen or so scouting trips to Mountain View (which has produced good numbers in previous years) yielded nothing. Finally in December, thanks to a hot tip by Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society (SCVAS) Executive Director Bob Power (thanks Bob!), I found the one pictured here, at the edge of Shoreline Golf Links.
A burrowing owl stares out from its burrow, eyes barely above ground. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 1000. Evaluative metering +1: 1/160 sec. at f/5.6
After scouring the area of the reported sighting for a while, I finally saw him barely peeking his head up out of his burrow. It was then I realized why I never found one before – to the naked eye, the burrow and owl looked like just another pockmark in the grass, or at best a small gofer hole. The owl’s head looked like a clump of dirt. It was only when looking through my largest lens that I could resolve two yellow eyes staring back at me.
I skirted the burrow to give it a wide birth, and set up slightly behind a small tree, so as to break up my form. With all my movement, I definitely had the attention of the owl, and I wanted to see if he’d settle down once he realized I wasn’t an immediate threat. My tripod was set up with the legs fully retracted and splayed out, so that the lens was only about a foot off the ground. Then I sat down behind my camera and made myself comfortable, knowing it could be a long wait.
The obligatory burrowing owl standing straight-on shot! Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 1000. Evaluative metering +1: 1/160 sec. at f/5.6
After about 5 minutes, I could tell the owl was relaxing, as he had stopped staring at me, and was now swiveling his head back and forth, presumably looking out for predators. I was hopeful, as I really wanted him to feel comfortable enough to pop out of his burrow and into the open, as those photos would be much better than just a head in a hole! Finally, after about 20 more minutes, he did just that, and I was able to capture the photos you see here.
A burrowing owl stands on a small berm overlooking its burrow. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 1600. Evaluative metering +1: 1/250 sec. at f/5.6
After a few minutes of posing, he flew a short distance away. This was followed by more head swiveling, until finally he left altogether. Satisfied with my session, I packed up and headed home, happy to have finally accomplished this goal.
On a technical note, I have to recognize how amazing the Canon 7D is in terms of low noise. Some of these shots were taken at ISO 1600 – with proper noise reduction in post processing, they print beautifully. In addition, the 4-stop image stabilization in the EF 800L lens is hard to beat. Even shots as slow as 1/160 seconds came out razor sharp!
A pied-billed grebe sinks his head and fluffs his wing feathers in a display of courtship. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1: 1/320 sec. at f/8
A couple of weeks ago, I witnessed a pied-billed grebe courtship display for the first time. These tiny birds are already pretty darn cute – but when they are wooing each other, they seem even cuter.
Pied-billed grebe courtship behavior is much more varied and subtle than the extravagant display of other grebe species. It has been witnessed year round, not just during mating season (which this is not.) To impress a female, this male pied-billed grebe ruffled his feathers and sunk his head and neck down flat against his body.
Fluffed wing feathers, sunken head, and calling are all part of the pied-billed grebe's courtship display. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2/3: 1/400 sec. at f/8
Circling his object of desire, the grebe called out into the air. I photographed this grebe for a short time, until I finally took my eye away from the camera (sometimes photographers can get tunnel vision) to see who else was involved in this ritual. It turned out to be none other than…
A female ruddy duck sleeps as she floats through the water. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1: 1/320 sec. at f/8
A female ruddy duck! And a sleeping one at that. Apparently she was thoroughly unimpressed with the pied-billed grebes advances. I couldn’t help but feel bad for the little grebe. He was definitely barking up the wrong tree, and wasn’t going to get lucky any time soon.
A confused pied-billed grebe shows his courtship display as he swims circles around a sleeping (and unimpressed) female ruddy duck. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1: 1/200 sec. at f/8
Normally, the next stage in this ritual would be for the female to repeat the behaviors of the male, joining him in calling back and forth. Sometimes the female then flattens herself against the water in a submissive posture, while the male raises his head and neck in a dominant display, referred to as the “triumph ceremony”. However, in this poor grebe’s case, he wasn’t getting the response he desired. After circling the ruddy duck a while longer, he evidently realized his misfortune, packed it in, and swam away.
I captured this herring gull last month at Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge. I had a good combination of nice late-morning lighting, glassy water (creating a mirror-like reflection), and a neat, clean gull.
Gull identification can be quite challenging (gulls and sandpipers give me endless ID trouble!) Certain characteristics to pay attention to include wing tip pattern, eye color, bill markings, and leg color. What really makes gull identification difficult is that fact that you can line up five gulls of the same species, and they can look completely different from one another. Juveniles can have different eye and leg color as their adult counterparts, as well as vastly different feather patterns and coloring. Additionally, breeding season can also change a gull’s appearance. While these same issues exist for many other birds as well, I find them particularly challenging with gulls, as so many gulls look similar.
