BELINDA GROVER PHOTOGRAPHY

The ring-billed gull is the most common of gulls and not a bird I often think of photographing. Someone by the waterfront had been feeding the ducks and the gulls were flying overhead hoping to benefit too. I took some photos as they circled around. The second shot was taken at a local park. I thought the red maple leaf added a bit of interest to the scene. It seems we often overlook the ordinary when we’re taking photographs. The more I take photos the more I appreciate the importance of composing in-camera and thinking about how I’m going to edit the photo. At this rate I’ll never run out of things to take!

These photographs were taken over the course of the year. Cardinals are one of several species in my area that don’t migrate, you are as likely to see them in spring as in the winter.  I shot the male and the young female near the entrance to the park. There must have been a nest close by because over the the summer there were always cardinals in the area. I hope to get out more frequently with my camera this winter, the reward of doing so can almost make the minus double digit temperatures bearable!

It was nice to see this woodpecker out in the open. Normally I see them darting along tree trunks or on the fly. The bird remained in the same area for quite a while looking for insects. The photos were taken in late May and if you look closely at the tree stump in the second photo you will see the skins (exuviae) shed by recently emerged dragonflies.

I often see this pair in the same spot on the lake. They don’t swim with the other ducks so they tend to stand out. They resemble mallards in shape and size but not in colouring so I assume they must be hybrid ducks. These photos were taken on an overcast day and I liked the way the water formed interesting patterns as the ducks swam towards me. The solitary duck looked like a good subject for a black and white treatment. I used Lumenzia in Photoshop to create the effect.

This was one of several shots I took in mid October before the Great White Egrets headed south. We’ve seen them yearly at the reserve but never in such great numbers or so close by. In the past they would remain in the middle of the lake and I never managed to capture more than a stark white blur. This year was different and like the Great Blue Heron I featured a few posts back, this egret posed beautifully on a beaver lodge well within my sights. I have a few more shots of this bird wading in the shallows which I’ll be putting up in the next little while.

These photographs were taken in mid-October when the autumn leaves had reached their peak. The reflection in the water was spectacular. The lake was teeming with ducks, all I had to do was wait for some to swim through the water with the most pleasing reflections and these two did. The photos only needed modest post processing adjustments, mainly to compensate for exposure and brightness issues.

There are a couple of beaver lodges at the lake. We didn’t see any beavers that day but we did come across this Great Blue Heron making itself comfortable on top of the lodge. It was looking pretty sleepy, maybe it had just eaten and felt like a rest. We stood at the shoreline within 25 feet or so from the heron and with my 300 mm I was able to get some nice clear shots. When we left, the bird appeared to be completely asleep.

The white breasted nuthatch is a very dextrous bird. They will often turn sideways and upside down on surfaces as they hunt for food. I have watched these birds and photographed them for quite a while now and have yet to see a bird pose as perfectly as in first photo. I thought I’d try it in b/w and was quite pleased with the results.

The first photograph was taken late last Fall as the wigeons were migrating south. They remained at the lake until the first frost and returned briefly in the Spring before heading to their northern breeding grounds. When I set out earlier in the week I was hoping to see them once again and luckily I spotted this second pair. Their colouring is less striking than last year’s couple (post-breeding stage). As the season begins to wind down the wigeons are the most welcome of visitors.

The first two photographs were taken in May when the trees were just beginning to bud. The third photo was taken in late summer. Chickadees can move at incredible speeds so the bare trees in early spring made it easier to focus. As winter wasn’t that far in the past they would linger a little longer to see if I had any seed. We didn’t see them in great numbers over the summer as there were plenty of natural food sources for them. Luckily the plant in the last photo was in plain sight and I watched as first a warbler and then this chickadee stopped by for a bite. With the cooler weather here they’re following us along the path again, and I’ll be posting more photographs of them before too long.

Wood Ducks seem to be in competition with the fall foliage at this time of year. The leaves haven’t yet reached their peak but the ducks are at their finest. The mature and juvenile ducks are everywhere you look, creating flashes of colour as they glide along. The autumn light and trees create beautiful reflections in the water and I took some photos as the duck swam by. The reflections creating a perfect canvas for these marvellous ducks.

This cardinal was moulting and still had a few feathers out of place. A handsome bird though and he stood his ground, curious and hoping I had some seeds for him. We have seen a cardinal on this stretch of path before and I believe this was the same bird because of its boldness. Unlike many cardinals that fly away as you approach them, this one was a great poser and after taking my fill of photographs I walked away before he flew off.

It was quiet at the reserve where I took this photograph. The larger birds were out of my lens’ range but these ducks were nice and close. Although the days are still mild, the angle of the sun and quality of the light is different than it was just a month ago. It lends a more muted feel to the photograph which I rather like.

I’m fond of these little birds with their oversized heads and nasal calls. They’re often seen moving sideways or upside down on tree trunks; I was happy to catch this nuthatch in an upright position. It was in a dark part of the forest so I made a few exposure adjustments in Lightroom and corrected a slight green colour-cast in Photoshop.

We have seen several Great Egrets over the past few weeks at the reserve we visit. When I came upon this individual it was perched on top of a beaver lodge, around 50 feet from where I stood along with some other photographers. I’m sure it saw us but didn’t seem to mind. It turned and stretched and preened for quite a while then hopped off the lodge and waded in the water. Although there are a few Egrets at the lake, I think I’ve been photographing the same bird each time I visit as it’s always in the same general area. This is the first in a series of Great Egret posts that will appear on my blog.

The Canada Geese are back in record numbers. They return to our area in late March to breed. Once their goslings are raised they fly off and then return in the fall until the first frost. Many consider them pests; they can be messy, large and loud but there’s something you have to like about these birds. They’re graceful in flight and in the water and do mug for the camera.

This heron’s “fancy pants” and prominent yellow eye markings caught my eye. It was perched in the shadows and seemed to hold my gaze. It wasn’t fishing when I caught up to it, it just stood there and obliged me with a couple of photographs. The photo was a bit dark out of camera so I made some exposure, shadow and contrast adjustments in Lightroom and reduced the noise with Macphun Noiseless CK.

When I saw these two gulls perched on rocks in the river I was reminded of the game of skipping stones – the game of throwing a flat stone across the lake to see how many times it bounces off the surface. Their mottled colour and pink legs and beak identify them as juveniles. The river where I took this shot often hosts a number of herons and egrets but none were about that day. It’s good to keep in mind that even the most common of subjects can make for an interesting photograph. In this case it began with the memory of a game I played a long time ago. I thought the colour image would lend itself to a black and white treatment so I’ve posted it as well.

This mallard was sharing the log with a few other ducks who were not doing much of anything. Most seemed to be asleep. She caught my attention, being the most alert of the group. As she struck this pose I expected her to take a drink from the lake but instead she returned to her former position. I guess she was just having a bit of fun.

I featured this heron a few posts ago when he caught a water bug. In this current series he was fishing for a bigger prize and after patient stalking caught a small fish. There have been several green herons at the reserve this summer. As they keep returning to the same shallows I have been lucky to spot them many times and have taken more photos than I do most years.

Herons are wonderful looking birds at any time but to see them in flight and to witness two flying in tandem was a sight to see. I took these photographs with my 300mm lens and a teleconverter but I still could have used more reach. However, given the herons’ speed and my distance from them I’m pretty pleased with the results. I had seen a heron a day earlier when I had followed a path to the water’s edge. As I bent down to see past overhanging branches, a heron banked within several feet of me startled by my presence. That was the closest I had ever been to one and had I had the time to put my camera to my eye, it would have been too close to focus!