At the Rookery

Yesterday morning, we decided to check out the Great Blue Heron rookery on Big Sewickley Creek Road. Naturally, we drove around for quite a while until we found it. And then we had to turn around another couple times to park our car. I set up my tripod and camera on the edge of the road, right by the guard rail. It was a bit nerve-wrecking to think about all the cars that passed behind me. Most of them slowed down, however, to see what in the world we were looking at. We attracted quite a following. Seeing all the nests perched on tree tops was quite impressive. We never counted them, but there must have been nearly 20 of them. The photo shows a heron adding a stick to an already huge nest. But then, they are huge birds. Every once in a while, a fight erupted between two herons over whatever it is herons fight about--territory probably. Occasionally, one bird would fly off to catch some food and I had my camera ready. However, the rookery was only "relatively" close by. Even with a 400mm lens it was hard to focus on something that only filled part of the frame. In the end we left vowing to come back when the creek is stocked with fish. Spring birding has finally begun.

Gone birding

This week, my husband had to take some old vacation days before he lost them. So on Tuesday morning, we went to North Park to do some birding and photography. Unfortunately, there weren't many birds around. We had better luck when the lake was frozen. The gulls were too far out in the lake to get a good picture of. At last, we gave up and went to our favorite place, the Shaler shelter, where there is a little wetland area. I managed to get some great photos of--Canada Geese. Not exactly a rare bird around here, but it was the first time I took really good photos of one. For some reason, they're hard to focus on. Not this time, even though my approach through dried reeds sounded more like small explosions. The two birds were safe across the little creek and didn't seem to mind posing for me. Other than that, we saw three mallards and a red-winged blackbird in the distance. I can't wait to see some migrants passing through.

March Madness

March is going by pretty fast. My talk at the garden club went very well and I even sold some greeting cards afterward. I am also working on several story ideas. One of these projects led me to the National Aviary the other day where I received a fascinating tour of the animal hospital. I hope that my proposal will be accepted because it would combine my passions of birds, photography, and writing. The gift shop manager was out sick so I don't know yet whether I can sell my photos at the gift shop. Next week, I will participate in the Ladies' Night Out at Soergels Orchards in Wexford.
I am also planning on attending the first Festival of the Birds at Presque Isle in May. My goal is, of course, to write a story about it; but I also want to learn where to find certain birds so I can return later and photograph them without so many people around. I have no idea how many birders will attend the festival but it sure was difficult to find a room in Erie.
We are still experiencing family problems and are therefore, once again, dog-sitters to a very energetic (= high-strung) Jack Russell Terrier. Did I mention she is high-strung? Last night, my husband took her outside and she encountered our neighbor's Labrador. She took off after the Lab like a shotgun and pulled the leash out of my husband's hands. Had it been me, I could have injured myself since she would have likely knocked me on the ground. Brandi is having a good time in our backyard with all its mole tunnels and other critters. Our cats are taking the dog's presence easier than the first time. I, however, am not used to having an animal follow me around wherever I go. The cats' reaction is more like, "So you're home, big deal!" Oh well, this too shall pass. Happy Easter!

News

February is finally over and once again, I have to say, "good riddance." It has been one of the worst months in my life and the reason is not because I am now eligible for the AARP. I would like to move my birthday into summer because not only did it pour buckets on my recent birthday, but then it snowed so hard that we couldn't even go out and have a nice dinner. Family problems and the weather are weighing down on me and my only consolation is that I am now busy with several projects.
I currently have an exhibit at the Mt. Lebanon library which will be up until March 31. Yesterday, I received the March/April edition of Pennsylvania Magazine and found that I have a full-page photo of an Eastern Fox Squirrel in it. Next week, I am giving a talk at the Moon Garden Club. The subject is how to attract birds to your garden. I will, of course, also cover butterflies (but not squirrels since they come anyway) and hope it will be enlightening for everybody.
I also have an appointment at the National Aviary and hope that I can offer my photos in their gift shop. In addition to that, I am working on another story idea.

Migrant

Yesterday, we ventured out to North Park lake to catch some rare rays of sunshine. The lake was almost entirely frozen. Only near a dam there was an ice-free area where several Canada Geese congregated. One was even sitting on the ice as if it were breeding. Near the geese my husband spotted a duck-like bird. It swam around the ice-free water but did not come close enough to take a good photo of it. I did take some record shots because otherwise we are never able to identify strange birds once we get home. This one, with a white stripe and outline on its bill and a "bump" on its head, flubbergasted us. Only after we looked through several bird books did we identify it as a ring-necked duck. We learned that this duck only spends time here during migration. I guess this one got an early start on migration and took a breather at the lake.
On the backyard front, I wished that the bird count had been last Saturday because I spotted over a dozen cardinals near out feeders. The worse the weather, the more birds we get. However, a couple weeks ago I heard and then saw several red-winged blackbirds. Migration must be around the corner!

Backyard Bird Count

As a relief from the stresses of life, I decided to participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count. They couldn't have found a better day than last Saturday for the count: The weather was sunny and the snow-covered ground lured many birds to our four feeders. Here is a list of the birds we saw:
1 Mourning Dove
1 Red-bellied Woodpecker
2 Downy Woodpeckers
1 Hairy Woodpecker
6 Blue Jays
1 Black-capped Chickadee
1 Tufted Titmouse
1 White-breasted Nuthatch
1 Caroline Wren
2 European Starlings
5 White-throated Sparrows
2 Dark-eyed Juncos
7 Northern Cardinals
1 House Finch
6 American Goldfinches
I did not look out the window constantly but once I watched as a Blue Jay picked up a sunflower seed from a feeder, flew to a tree and fed it to another Blue Jay. Love is in the air. Literally!
On the homefront, we are now a dog-less household again. Our house gueast, a very active Jack Russell Terrier, is gone. It was a very stressful time since she kept chasing our cats around. And she didn't smell too good either. If we ever had any desire to get a dog, we're cured now. Our two cats fit our lifestyle much better--and they come with their own wash and rinse cycle.

Adventures of Dog Sitting

Today is Valentine's Day, but we don't feel very romantic. The hair ball that our cat spat out this morning was pretty much the highlight of our week.
For reasons I cannot divulge here, we have become sudden and somewhat reluctant dog sitters. The dog is a high-strung Jack Russell Terrier named Brandi. This wouldn't be so bad if we were a no pet family. But we have two middle-aged cats who don't take too well to intruders, particularly the "in-your-face" kind. Brandi wants to be friendly and is met with hisses. The first week was particularly bad since the weather was windy and rainy and we learned that Brandi gets scared when it rains. We didn't get much sleep therefore--and then the phone rang at 2 o'clock Friday night. I would have paid real money for a good night's sleep.
Things have calmed down now and we let Brandi loose in the house more often. In fact, I think I've been adopted. She follows me everywhere. The best part is that she now sleeps through the night. This morning I caught her growling at our washing machine. I guess she has never seen a frontloader before. Oh well, this too shall pass.

Bird Day

Yesterday was a bird day for me. During late morning I heard bird chatter outside and checked what the commotion was about. There was a female turkey under one of our bird feeders, gobbling up the seeds that fell on the ground. By the time I grabbed my camera and went out the front door to not disturb it, it was gone. But then I saw a turkey flying from one of the tall trees on our hillside down to the bottom of the hill where it joined another turkey. Wow, what a sight! I had never seen a turkey flying from a tall tree before. I didn't know they could fly this high.

After lunch I went to the Aviary to get some bird photography done. I had not taken my camera there for a while. The photo above of a Troupial is the best I got and it posed for me several times to make sure I got a good one. I had great fun "shooting" all the different birds but I can't wait to get out in nature again to add some more species to my stock photo list.

Published Again

The year 2008 is off to a good start. I just returned from the mailbox with my contributor copies of Pennsylvania Magazine of my article "Painting Noses." The big surprise was that the article was slated for publication in September 2008 so I didn't expect to see it yet. The editor ended up using six of my photos, a new record for me. I'm happy to say that the photos came out very nice. While my specialty is bird photography nowadays, the images show some pretty big birds, KC-135T tankers to be exact.
In November, Allegheny West magazine published a two-page story about my bird photography. I was recently asked by a garden club whether I would like to give a talk about how to attract birds to a garden. I gladly accepted the challenge because it gives me an opportunity to share my love of nature and wildlife with like-minded people. Our little butterfly garden attracts not only monarchs, tiger swallowtails and other butterflies, but also various insects, hummingbirds and goldfinches who eat the coneflower seeds in fall. My talk will take place in April so I'll plenty of time to prepare for it. Who knows what other opportunities it will lead to?
In our own backyard, the recent snowfall has brought many birds to our feeders, particularly juncos. Where do they all come from and what do they do when the weather is nice? We also noticed that our "resident" Cooper's Hawk (which I once photographed on our bird bath) is still in the area. I guess hawks have to eat too, but I hope it doesn't eat too many of the birds we feed.
I'm busy marketing my photos and look forward to the challenges and opportunities of the new year.

Ramblings

At the craft shows I attended recently I was often asked, "What camera do you use?" As if cameras take photos by themselves. It would make more sense to ask what lens I'm using. While it's true that a certain focal lens is necessary for bird photography, I can take good travel photos with an advanced digital camera. A person who always cuts off his subject's feet or shoots trees growing out of people's heads can't take a good photo even if he owns the most expensive pro camera. It's the photographer, not the camera, who takes the picture.
Many people think that digital photograph is automatically manipulated. The only time I "manipulate" a photo is when I decide that cropping will enhance the photo or I'll remove a disturbing branch or flare in the background. Sometimes, the background itself is the problem. Most often, though, I decide beforehand which background will work best and move around my subject to get the best possible photo. For me, digital photography is a great way to organize and distribute my photos and saving big bucks along the way. Happy shooting!

Successes

After attending some craft shows with dismal results I was pretty disappointed. An art show at Sweetwater Center for the Arts in Sewickley proved to be more successful. I sold three out of the five images I was allowed to submit. That alone would have been great news, but it got better. I had offered my images at two stock photo agencies in England without any sales so far when I checked my account and found that I had made a sale. Before I recovered from the excitement, I checked again a few days later and learned that I had made another sale! This time, my image will be on the cover and the inside of the publication. I just wish I knew the names of these publications so I could brag about it. Naturally, I submitted more images to this agency.
I also wanted to have a presence in an agency here in the U.S. that specializes in outdoor activities and am happy to report that they accepted me. Such good news brighten up the gray, dreary days of December. I can't wait to get out there again and take more bird photos, but I'm using the indoor time wisely to get my images out into the public.

Taking Stock

I recently put together a selection of images for a stock agency to consider for their library. When going over the images, I realized that this wasn't a very good year for adding new species to my bird stock photo list. However, it was a good year for frogs. Everytime I went to the nature center to photograph birds I ended up taking photo after photo of the countless bullfrogs that populate the pond in the summer. I'm hoping that next year will be better for my bird photography.
Our bird feeders are very busy this time of year. This is the first time that some robins are staying here well into December. They are joined by the usual suspects, such as diverse woodpeckers, cardinals, tufted titmice, chickadees, goldfinches, and juncos. Occasionally, a flock of starlings or red-winged blackbirds will decend on our trees. The squirrels, of course, take great advantage of our generosity. Oh well, they are darn cute.

Birding

Yesterday may not have been a great day for hunters weatherwise, but it was a good day for birders - from the safety of our house. It rained buckets yesterday but the worse the weather, the more birds show up in our neighborhood. For the past few weeks, I've noticed flocks of Cedar Waxwings perching on a couple of tall trees on the hillside that belongs to our yard. They never visited our feeders and I wondered what they were doing here until I realized that one of the trees back there is covered with a vine that's full of berries. Aha! I thought I could finally get a photo of a waxwing eating a berry but it's not that easy. For one, these birds prefer lofty heights, and another, the weather is always gray and dark when they descend on our trees.
These aren't the only birds around here lately. The robins are still around and the juncos and White-throated Sparrows have arrived from Canada already. Flocks of starlings and crows show up from time to time, swooping down on lawns like locusts. Add to that the usual suspects that visit our feeders this time of year and we have a virtual aviary in our neighborhood.

Birding

Fall has been pretty boring for birders but that is changing now. Last weekend we saw a mockingbird in our backyard, a bird that had never visited here before. This morning, we spotted a large flock of Cedar Waxwings in two of our trees. The weather change must have driven them through our area because we had never seen any around here. A couple of robins were also stopping over. When the lighting was sufficiently bright for photography, I ventured out to photograph the birds that visit our feeders. Alas, only the usual suspects showed up. I did get a great close-up shot of a Downy Woodpecker. Well, tomorrow is another day and I am still hopeful to see some Rose-breasted Grosbeaks or more Cedar Waxwings passing through.

The Days Are Packed

A week ago, I received a call from Allegheny West Magazine. They wanted to interview me because of my talk at the Robinson library back in July. I was thrilled. The article will be in the November issue and I can't wait to see it. The publicity comes at a perfect time since I'll be participating in four arts and craft shows this month. The first one is tomorrow at John McMillan Presbyterian Church in Bethel Park.

Autumn Splendor

To say that I've been busy lately is an understatement. Not only have I been helping during my sister-in-law's move to Pittsburgh and settling in, I am also preparing for several holiday arts and craft shows. The first show, at Bedner’s Greenhouse in Cecil, was a moderate success. The next show will be at John McMillan Presbyterian Church in Bethel Park on November 3. I have also just been accepted for the Holiday Mart at Sweetwater Center for the Arts in Sewickley. This show runs from November 25 - December 2, but I don't have to be present. Now I'm trying to figure out what other shows I can squeeze in. Did I mention that we are also painting our basement?
Sunday was such a beautiful autumn day with the trees dressed in their best reds and oranges that my husband and I decided to take a ride up to Moraine State Park. My hopes for some photogenic reflection shots were fulfilled when we discovered not one, but two little coves where the autumn trees reflected perfectly in the water. After a picnic lunch, however, our luck ran out and the lighting was just too bright to catch any of the sailboats on the lake with a decent background. Better luck next time.
Yesterday I went to the little cemetery that abuts our building plan because I wanted to photograph the beautiful old trees there. I was not disappointed. Two big yellow trees dominate the center of the old cemetery which is surrounded by bright orange trees and others that are still green. Because the weather report calls for rain for the next few days, I fear that most of the leaves will have dropped from the trees by the end of the week. I made the best of it while it lasted.

Quiet Time

I went to Beechwood today, despite the heat, because I wanted to drop off a framed photo at the gift shop where I sell my photos. I arrived there after being stuck in traffic on Route 28 and vowed never to go there again on a Friday.
The trails were almost deserted and I spent a quiet time at and near the pond. Although we're currently experienced August-like heat, I spotted several signs of autumn: fallen leaves everywhere, and a white-throated sparrow. Are they back from Canada already?
After a hectic week, I truly enjoyed the quiet time and photographed an entire mallard family (mommy, daddy, and a juvenile male) while they rested on the rocks near the water. Usually they fly or swim away as soon as I get into photographing distance. This time, I was able to hide behind some wildflowers near the waterline. Other than that, I saw mostly sparrows and cardinals. I have not taken as many great bird photos as I have last year.
I am getting ready for a couple of art shows. The first one, Art under Glass, will be held at Bedners Greenhouse in Cecil on Saturday, October 13. The second show will take place on Saturday, November 3, at John McMillan Presbyterian Church in Bethel Park.

Traffic and car woes

Last week was interesting, to say the last. On Wednesday, we celebrated our eighteenth wedding anniversary with a dinner at an almost empty restaurant. The food was good, but the fact that there were more waiters than guests was a little disconcerting.
To get away from some stressful issues and to hopefully photograph some migrants or butterflies, I ventured out to Beechwood last Friday. Bad idea! I was stuck in traffic three times on the way to and from the nature reserve and any thought of relaxation went out the window. Had I known that I would hit two traffic jams on the way home, I would have never left the house. To top it all off, I didn't see any birds or butterflies there. Where have they all gone? I did see a wooly bear, though.
Sometime last week, I must have driven through a freshly painted line because my car is all white on the bottom of the passenger side. To assess the damage, I pulled the car out of the garage and decided to finally check out that rattling noise my car makes whenever I start it. I still don't know where the noise comes from, but my husband and I found a whole winter's supply of peanut shells scattered all over the engine room. With the aid of a vacuum cleaner, an old toothbrush, a barbecue skewer and other long sticks, we were able to get most of the debris out of there.
Lesson learned: Don't store any open bird feed in your garage!

Walking down Memory Lane

When I returned from my trip to Germany, my husband told me that I needed to clear some space on our computer or he would do it for me. So I spent the hot, humid days of August glued to the computer, getting rid of thousands of bird photos I had taken during the last few years. I guess I had planned to delete them once I got better ones and then forgot about it. While I saved my best images on CDs and on an external hard drive, I'm a bit paranoid about losing anything. Besides, I like to work with them on the computer without having to go through all my CDs. I'm not sure how much space I actually freed up on our hard drive since it's not the .jpegs as much as the .tif photos that take up room. I save each photo that I consider a keeper as a .tif before reverting it to .jpeg again if I want to use it for something specific (such as forwarding it to my stock agencies or getting prints made from it). JPEG is a lossy format and each time you open a photo, the image data gets compressed and the image deteriorates. Therefore, it is advisable to save all good photos as .tif first.
Going down memory lane was very interesting, though. For one, I realized how much my photos have improved since I first started photographing birds. I also like to go back and revisit them to check what time of year I photographed a certain migrant. For example, last year I photographed a junco on November 5. I gasped, because that's less than two months away. Where has the year gone? It seems like they just left, especially since it was so cold in April that their departure was delayed. That means also that it's almost time to stock up on bird feed and clean the feeders.

Late Summer Rambling

My last trip to Beechwood was not very fruitful. My best photo was that of the lone monarch I saw there. We have more of them at home. I did see, but not photograph, a warbler, a wren and some cedar waxwings. Butterflies were scarce that day, but so it goes.
Our own little butterfly garden is a hotbed of activity. We're having a good crop of monarch larvae this summer and also milkweed moths and bugs. Amazing that a poisonous plant such as milkweed (we have butterfly weeds and milkweed) can support so much wildlife. We're also seeing bumble bees and honey bees, all kinds of butterflies but not as many swallowtails as in the past.
I'm seeing and hearing more birds in our yard, including a pileated woodpecker. The male hummingbirds appear to have departed, yet the young ones are still around fighting over the nectar. They're also visiting our flowers, particularly the zinnias. I'll definitely plant those again next year.