These goslings got their start this past June, the month when new bird life begins to appear in my corner of the world. We enjoy new beginnings then and now, the official start of the year. Happy New Year everyone!
Tag Archives: Nature Photography
IN THE MARSHLAND (THREE PHOTOGRAPHS)
White water lilies are more common on our waterways but I do like to see yellow pond lilies. Their colour is so striking and where they appear you usually see pickerel weeds as well. A frog would have added an extra touch of green, more to come…
NORTHERN CARDINAL
Cardinals rarely look placid particularly when their heads are on a tilt fixing you with a stare. This and their colouring make them great subjects. We see them in our woods all year round. On a cold snowy day seeing this red flash in the trees is always a bright spot.
AT HAND
I took this photograph with my 70-200 mm lens. I do a lot of close up photography with it. As I’ve written before, I usually go out with one lens for the day. I had planned to photograph wildlife but I saw this shot and tried it. It goes to show that you don’t necessarily need a macro lens to do this kind of photography. If the subject is within range, I’ll always give it a go.
RED SQUIRRELS (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
The first photo was taken in the fall and the second barely a month later; the landscape changes rapidly with the seasons. Red squirrels can be found all year long and seem to shadow you in the winter when food is scarce. In the photo below the squirrel found the seeds that someone had left and stayed put as I approached. I didn’t want to disturb him, so I took this photo and then left him to his meal.
RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH
Nuthatches are flighty birds but this one stayed still for a while so I was able to take several photographs. He wasn’t foraging for insects when I photographed him so he remained upright instead of striking the usual sideways or upside down pose. Although considered quite common I rarely see a red-breasted nuthatch and was very pleased to see this one.
GOLDEN
This scene is a perfect antidote to this late December day. I thought the image looked like a corsage designed by nature. The photo to me is less about the spider and the flower and more about the colour and delight of summer.
AMERICAN BLACK DUCK (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
I took this photo in October. This duck like most others has long since flown south. The American Black Duck is vastly outnumbered by mallards in our waterways and I don’t see more than a few pairs all season. They appear less gregarious than mallards and are often in pairs or enjoying a solitary swim. There’s a lot to be said for their quiet, elegant ways.
CHICKADEE CHEER (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
I always look out for these birds on my walks through the woods. They’re usually found along the path often flying away just as you put the camera up to your eye. These photos were taken in the spring and summer but chickadees are around all year and a little easier to photograph in the winter when they’re looking to be fed.
SERVING OF SUMMER (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
I live in Ottawa, the capitol city that is often ranked the coldest in the world. It’s hard to believe that only a few short months ago the nearby fields were covered in flowers. Here’s a sweet reminder of what’s to come.
TOP OF THE WORLD (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
Nothing compares with ducks for their natural enthusiasm! Ducks appear frequently on my blog and mallards most often, as they are the most common duck (and bird) in this area. We have more exotic avian visitors during the warmer months but for dependability, good looks and charm mallards are my pick.
END OF SEASON (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
These two were taking a last swim before heading south for the winter. You often see geese and wood ducks swimming in the same general area but these birds seemed to be buddies. The water takes on a lovely cut glass quality in November; the reflections of the sky and bare tree branches provide the colour.
DUCKSCAPE (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
I haven’t done much landscape photography and it’s a type of photography I’d like to work on. Of the two photographs of wood ducks in this post, I think the first might be considered landscape-like. I like to provide context in my nature shots and with such an irresistible canvas my crop was minimal. I think the second photo speaks for itself.
BALTIMORE ORIOLE (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
Baltimore Orioles migrate to our area in mid to late May and this bird was right on schedule. He must have found something tasty to eat as he remained in the tree as I continued to take photographs. I thought we might also see his mate as we were there for a while. We didn’t, maybe he was unattached or she was busy elsewhere.
MORE WIGEONS (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
There’s never too much of a good thing at least when it comes to wigeons. A few more photos of the wigeon pair that I featured last week. I think the reflections in the lake compete for the viewer’s attention. The changing colours turn the normally murky water into a remarkable canvas.
UNDERCOVER (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
Queen Anne’s Lace has a long flowering season, from late spring until mid fall; beautiful anytime of year. They’re covered in snow now but will return next May in their spring green.
I set up my Fuji XT-1 to take five bracketed shots at different exposures. For processing I used Photoshop HDR Pro. It combined the shots for a nicely exposed image. I finished with a few of my usual adjustments in Photoshop.
GIVE ME A BEE
I featured this bee on my blog earlier in the year, although this is a different image. Opportunities for photos like these are scarce these days, given it’s -21C with windchill! It’s going to be a long winter………….
AMERICAN WIGEONS
Every year in the late fall we see a few wigeon pairs migrating through our area. It’s one of the more pleasant aspects of the changing seasons. When this pair swam apart I got several shots of each swimming through nice fall reflections. More to come.
LOOK BACK (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
Frequent readers of my blog might be aware that I’m no fan of winter. As the temperature drops, I make far less excursions to our local reserve. Happily I have a number of photos taken in the warmer months of the year yet to post.
AFTER YOU
I’ve sat on this image for quite a while, not sure whether to post it or not. I usually like to crop closer in to my subject(s) but in this case, I decided to focus on the rugged terrain and the challenging conditions these painted turtles face at our local reserve. I assume they made it safely across but I had to be somewhere that afternoon so I couldn’t wait around to find out😊.
MALLARD IN LATE FALL
I watched as this mallard trod carefully on a fine sheen of ice that had formed on the lake. It was late afternoon and I was taken by the light. At this time of the year no matter how grey and wet the day the golden hour truly is golden.
WHAT’S IN A NAME
An attractive little bird, it landed close by and remained long enough for me to photograph it. This was taken in early spring, and it’s a migrant species. I believe it’s a phoebe, but please correct me if I’ve got it wrong.
SKIPPER
The skipper butterfly is a favourite of mine for its beauty and for the way it positions itself on grass and reeds, almost making the photograph. Skippers are most numerous in mid summer but I’ve seen them earlier and later as well. This past May, as I walked along a path that cut through a field, I saw one, then another and within several feet upwards of 50 feeding on wildflowers. They must have very recently emerged. What a delight that was!
PRETTY IN PINK (AND WHITE) – TWO PHOTOGRAPHS
Trilliums appear in our woods in spring and have a relatively long growing season, blooming through April and May. It’s another species that is supposed to be quite common yet I haven’t seen them that often. On this occasion they were dotted along the pathway, ours to enjoy.
IN BETWEEN
November’s here, a dark and brooding month. The waterways are still open but who knows for how much longer. This duck was enjoying a quiet paddle but kept a wary eye on me as I took this photo.
FALDEROL (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
This photo was meant to be a practice shot. One morning while at the reserve, I checked the back of my camera and noticed a lot of the images were out of focus. I hadn’t used my 70-200mm in a while, so I wondered if it was me or if the lens was the problem. I pointed the camera at these leaves (which were perfectly still) and pressed the shutter release. This is the result. Flighty birds taken at too low a speed caused the blurry images. Not my lens😏.
MALLARDS (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
Two mallards enjoying the calm before the snow begins. When I took these photos last week we were enjoying a mild stretch, the ducks seemed to like it too. As I write this, wet snow is falling. Although most ducks will fly off soon, a hardy few persevere throughout the winter. No snowbirds (Canadians who head south for the winter) are they.
RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH
I hadn’t been to our local reserve in a while so I was particularly happy to see this Red-breasted nuthatch close to the entrance. A bit smaller than the white-breasted variety and not as numerous in our woods, this little guy was very active, flying and landing briefly in the surrounding trees. A nice start to our walk.
SUMMER DELIGHT (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
The warm weather is long gone in these parts but a quick look through my photo catalogues brought to light these summer delights. The colours, scents and quality of light for a few short months each year make any walk, at any time, a pleasure.
DUCKTAIL (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
This back view of the wood duck made me think of the ducktail, a haircut that was popular in the 50s. You don’t necessarily have to get your subject face on to get a decent shot. I liked the duck’s puffed up chest in the second photo too, as if his “do” wasn’t enough to impress the ladies😊.
MORE FUN WITH FROGS (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
As the warm weather ends and frogs begin hibernation, I thought it would be fun to have another look at these wonderful subjects. There is a cove at the reserve that was a perfect spot to photograph a variety of frogs. After a summer windstorm, access to it was blocked by fallen trees so we had to go further afield for photo opportunities. It would be nice if the management of the reserve does a bit of clearing next spring so that we can enjoy these little creatures nearby once again.
CHICKADEE
Chickadees forage well on their own all summer long, so we don’t see as much of them until the weather gets cooler. They’ll soon become our constant companions. When I took this photograph earIy last month I was lucky that the bird sat still long enough for me to take its picture. Often they don’t!
THE ANT AND THE PEONY
In June when the peonies begin to bud the ants arrive in droves. The buds secrete a sap that attracts the ants. Once the flowers bloom the ants disappear with no harm done to the plants. I had my 105mm the day I took this photo, I had hoped for some flower shots and got a “twofer” instead!
WOOD DUCKS
This wood duck pair was enjoying a quiet swim around the lake. The photo was taken in May when both were in full breeding colours, no young yet for these two. Parenthood was still a few weeks away.
DRAGONFLIES (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
If the weather cooperates we usually see the first dragonflies at the beginning of May which was the case this year. The photograph above is one of the early bloomers, a clubtail. The second dragonfly, a meadowhawk, was taken in July but I’ve seen them late into the fall. I hope to see a few more before the season ends.
NUTHATCHES (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
I usually see these little acrobats in the trees and only occasionally foraging on the ground. These two were approaching their meal differently. You only truly appreciate their diminutive size when spotted on the ground. Beautiful little birds that we enjoy year round in this part of the country.
SKIPPER
I have rarely come across this variety of skipper. The orange ones are more common in my area. Any time a butterfly remains still long enough to take a photo is a good day. Spotted in early July.
RED SQUIRREL (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
They are our smallest squirrels and yet the most assertive of the lot. It’s funny to see red squirrels chase the larger greys around the park. I’m not sure if it’s because they’re territorial or they just enjoy it. Maybe it’s a bit of both. This little guy was giving me the eye, I blinked first and moved along.
A GLANCE BACK (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
On this cold grey day, summer seems like it’s been over for weeks not days. In looking through my catalogues I found these two photographs I took earlier in the year, when the whole summer stretched before us. We’ll still get some nice temperatures before the cold really sets in but on a day like today a little summer cheer is welcome.
A FONDNESS FOR FROGS (TWO PHOTOGRAPHS)
I do like frogs, something I came to realize when I took up nature photography. You have to appreciate their patience and skill in the hunt, their ability to hide in plain sight, their comical expressions and those eyes. With the cooler days upon us, we haven’t seen them for a while. I imagine they’re preparing for their long winter of hibernation until next spring…
BELINDA GROVER PHOTOGRAPHY 