I have featured this grackle before. The last time he appeared on my blog he was taking a bath. Once he had finished splashing around he flew into a nearby tree and began drying himself off. I continued taking pictures until he finally flew away. I take shots of these birds whenever I can. They are alert, deliberate, intelligent and uncommonly good looking!
When I started doing nature photography I tended to focus mainly on birds and insects. This summer I decided I wanted to take more wild flower shots and capture their beauty as well. The first two photographs were taken with my 105mm macro lens using a flash and soft box. This lens lets me get nice and close to my subject, the flash helps to freeze motion and provide some light fill and the soft box softens the light. The third photo was taken with my telephoto lens. I began by cropping the photo but decided that the background added interest and depth to the photo and modified my crop considerably. I made a few adjustments to the highlights and exposure to make the central flower more vibrant.
On a hot day last week I took cover in the shade and saw this wood duck family close to shore. The light was perfect and each duck stood out sharply. The chicks looked relaxed, the adult on alert. The young were born sometime in June. They learn to fly at about seven weeks, until then they stick close to their mother.
A long title for a tiny subject. I’d stepped out today hoping to photograph some wildflowers. I spotted a slew of these daisies and as I lifted my camera to my eye I noticed this tiny fly on the edge of the petal. The subject of the photo quickly changed from flower to insect. I snapped away hoping the fly would turn towards me. That didn’t happen but I did manage to catch the reflection on its wing. A pretty good outcome I’d say.
The Canada Goose gets mixed reviews: they can be messy, noisy, territorial and damage crops (not one of our most popular exports!). There are times though when I appreciate the Canada Goose and this is one of those times. The bird had just taken a drink when it seemed to pause and stare at it’s reflection. I took this photo in early October when the trees were beginning to change colour and caused the effect on the water that you see here.
When I saw this solitary wood duck looking out on the lake, she reminded me of a Mom waiting for her kids to come home. The ducklings in the second photo weren’t actually hers and were a bit young to be swimming around unsupervised (their mother was just out of view). So in the end I guess the first duck was just having a look around.
Sometimes nature saves the best for last. After a couple of hours of wandering around on a hot muggy morning with nothing much to show for it we came across this heron. It had its back to us at first but slowly turned sideways concentrating on the water. The lake is full of small catfish and he waited patiently for one to swim by. We were happy to be standing in the shade and waited along with him. Before too long he caught one and I walked away the first decent shots of the day.
As the summer wears on the variety of dragonflies increases. On hot summer days the birds might be scarce but the insect world is in high gear and there is no end of colourful subjects to take. This dragonfly landed in the open and was well lit, I couldn’t ask for more! I spent some time trying to identify it without any luck. If anyone knows what it is I’d love to hear from you.
It’s been a good year for wood ducks at our local reserve. This female is leading a good sized brood around the lake. Wood ducks have up to 11 eggs per clutch and as there are more than 11 ducklings in this picture (a few are hidden behind the adult) she might be minding another’s young or her nest could have been occupied by another duck’s eggs, a result of egg-dumping. The chicks stick very close at first, a good thing too because they are very vulnerable to turtles and other predators.
One of the wonderful things about wild flowers is that they will take root wherever there’s a bit of soil. You can spot them growing in laneways, along the sides of highways and country roads, and forests of course. Their colour and scent add beauty to the landscape and their pollen attracts insects, another benefit. The flowers here are quite different. I was struck by their unique shape and colour; the vibrant yellow of the Salsify and the more muted colours of the others.
I was standing on a platform with a group of other photographers trying to take photos of a heron that was just out of my lens’ range. As I was having no success with the heron I looked about to find something else of interest. The painted turtle in these photos was swimming around a few feet below me and kept raising his head above water. As I didn’t have a polarizing filter on my lens the water looks a bit murky but I don’t think it detracts from the final result.
I came across this well-fed rabbit as it grazed along the footpath. It didn’t follow typical rabbit behaviour when startled by people – it didn’t freeze or bolt. It just continued feeding and then stopped and looked at us (we were never further than seven to eight feet away). We figured it must have been a young rabbit and had not learned to fear people or predators yet. This reserve has a fair number of hawks and other raptors, I hope it learns that lesson soon!
* After some useful information from a fellow blogger, I no longer believe this rabbit is a cottontail (see my exchange with Eliza Waters in comments)
There are many varieties of skippers. The least skipper is the smallest of Ontario’s butterflies (17-26mm or approx. 1 inch). I spotted this butterfly among some wild flowers that bordered a suburban bike path. It’s a pleasant area to walk as the city has let the natural setting flourish beside a pedestrian and cycling route. I took my 105mm macro lens with me that day hoping to get an opportunity for some insect shots. I was happy I did.
It’s always nice to capture these insects on an interesting plant or giving you the eye, something I think I did in both of these shots. I was carrying my long lens that day, hoping to photograph some birds but saw these willing posers instead. Just like new plant life that seems to crop up daily, every few days I see different kinds of dragonflies and damselflies. I think they’re beautiful subjects so I’ll be featuring more of them over the course of the summer.
A few posts back I featured a grackle taking a bath at the same spot in the river. Once it had left the shallows this robin took its turn. Other than cooling them off, it seems that a bath keeps a bird’s feathers in good shape and makes them more agile in flight. The robin’s exuberance was very appealing and it remained long enough for me to take these shots. I wonder who is going to show up here next?
Butterflies can be a particular challenge to photograph but this comma was an exception. I took this shot on a cool day in May so the butterfly moved more slowly than it would when the weather is warmer. It remained in this pose long enough for me to take several shots. The natural light was ideal and shows off its iridescent colouring. The season for butterflies is short in Eastern Ontario, so I don’t miss an opportunity to photograph them. I was using my 200mm lens that day; sometimes having a bit more distance between you and your subject works to your advantage.
Wood ducks return to our region in late March and remain until the first severe frost. This photograph was taken in early May and the ducks are in their finest breeding colours. Along with american wigeons, wood ducks are among the most colourful ducks in this part of Canada. We haven’t seen many broods this spring and we’re hoping that things are just a bit slow. Wood ducks build their nests in the cavities of trees, which explains their name. The other day we saw a female fly into a nesting hole in the same tree that was also occupied by a pileated woodpecker’s nest! If the duck is sitting on a nest we should be seeing her young anytime now.
I always check for painted turtles swimming along the shoreline or sunning themselves on the fallen logs. As their name suggests they have colourful markings and are the smallest turtle species at this reserve. The snapping turtle and blanding’s turtle (both of which I’ve featured in earlier blog posts) are larger. We’re looking forward to seeing some hatchlings, it shouldn’t be too long now!
This little squirrel was aware of my presence but he wasn’t going to abandon his snack and run away. I guess he hoped that if he stood very still I wouldn’t notice him. Not a chance of that as the lighting was perfect and he stood out so sharply against the green of the grass. I took a couple of shots and left him to his snack.
Every March as the snow melts, the Ottawa River overflows its banks making the walk to the river’s edge impossible. As there had been so little rain this past spring we thought it likely that the water had receded. As it had we followed the path to the edge of the river and found this grackle in the shallows. The bird was totally engaged in his bath and even though we were standing within feet of it, I was able to take this series of shots. I’m not sure who was having more fun, the bird or us!
Another sign of spring is the arrival of the tulips, they appear just after the crocus no matter the temperature. It’s not unusual to see them sprouting up even with snow still on the ground. Happily, these shots were taken on a warm May day. I used my wide angle lens for long shots of the flower beds. However, given all the people out enjoying the tulips (and getting in my frame) I had more success with the shots taken at a closer range and would have preferred my 105mm lens that day.
None of these photos feature true bugs. The spider is an arachnid and the other two are insects. The damselfly was taken with my 70-200mm lens, the fly and jumping spider with my 105mm. I use my longer lens most of the time with an eye to taking bird and other wildlife shots. I find that I can get pretty decent close-up shots of insects with it as well although I have to crop the image more. With a bit of encouragement from “my partner in crime” I have been getting more familiar with my macro lens, extension tubes and flash. The spider and fly are recent shots taken with this set up. I’ll be using it more often.
At first I thought this was a sparrow but after a bit of research I believe it’s a female red-winged blackbird. Both the male and female blackbirds are striking, although quite dissimilar looking. It’s nice to find something in a photograph that sets it apart, in this case the bird’s head crest adds some interest. The bird was well into the woods when I spotted it so the photograph was quite dark. A few adjustments to the contrast and exposure brightened things up.
I was keen to get out with my 105mm lens and and do some close-up/macro photography after a very long, cold winter. We spotted the first dragonflies in our area a few weeks ago, their colouring is getting more spectacular as the days pass and there are increasing varieties of them to photograph. I came across this meadowhawk along the trail and did my best not to cast a shadow which I knew would chase him off. Happily he didn’t spook and I managed to get this shot.
It’s a great time in our favourite reserve. Young animals are starting to appear. We’ve seen some geese with offspring but so far these are the first of the ducklings. The adult female looks pretty content with her lot as do her chicks, if ducks could grin I’d say these were! The merganser is a diving duck that feeds mainly on fish. We watched as the adult dove to fish and the chicks followed her lead.
The bay-breasted warbler is the third warbler variety I have featured on my blog. Like the palm and yellow-rumped warblers, the bay-breasted is a challenge to shoot as it flies in and out of the pine trees, your neck is on a perpetual pivot to get one in your camera sight. This handsome bird is in full breeding colours but I think he moved further afield to find a mate as we only saw this species for a couple of days in the reserve.
This variety of nuthatch is less common in Eastern Ontario than the larger white-breasted nuthatch. They are little acrobats, moving up, down and sideways along the tree trunks. This bird was in deep shade but I took many shots as it was a cooperative subject. The photo was dark out of camera, only the plant material near its beak was nicely lit. I made some contrast and exposure adjustments in Lightroom and Photoshop to get the photo you see here.
This attractive squirrel with its reddish coat and white underbelly is larger than a chipmunk but smaller than the grey squirrel. They are very territorial and I often see them chasing the much larger eastern greys through the woods. They will stand their ground with people too, this little guy a case in point.
This gosling and his brood are the first chicks we’ve seen this spring. We came across the chicks and three adult birds as they filed out of the lake. I believe we were looking at a blended family as a few of the chicks were larger than the others. Like myself, other photographers at the reserve are waiting for more young to appear. It shouldn’t be long now. I’ve noticed a lot of single male ducks on the lake, the females must be sitting on the nests.
On a sunny day last week we came upon these turtles basking in the sunshine. The Blanding’s turtle (the turtle with the yellow throat and domed shell) was sharing the log with the much more common painted turtles. Very often turtles will slip back into the water as you walk past. Happily this particular spot was far enough away that the turtles continued to soak up the rays as I took my shot. A note about the Blanding’s turtle – it’s a threatened species in Canada. Wildlife experts are working with landowners, conservation groups and local authorities to protect their habitat.
Palm Warblers are a new species for me. A friend in the reserve told us that there were warblers in a grove of pine trees and pointed us in their direction. The birds kept flying through and around the tree boughs catching insects as they flew past. I kept panning the trees hoping to catch sight of one. I think warblers are among the most challenging of birds to photograph given their quick movements. Their striking colours set them off against the green of the pines and with a bit of luck and patience I was rewarded with these photographs.
We came across this beaver towards the end of our walk. Instead of taking our regular route back we decided to walk along the river’s edge. Given that it was mid day we weren’t expecting to see a beaver as they are mainly active at night. Looking down the river bank we saw it feeding at the shoreline. We were very close and it must have been aware of us but tolerated our presence. The beaver stopped eating for a bit, took a swim and returned with something else to snack on. You never know where a different path might lead!
These photos were taken in late March when the trees were still bare of leaves. The crimson red of the cardinal on that bright cold morning was a sight to see. He was pretty easy to track and flew from the shade into the sun all within several metres of me. I couldn’t have asked for a more obliging subject!
The common grackle is another bird I look forward to seeing in the spring. If the lighting is right their colouring is pretty dramatic and their brilliant yellow eyes give them a determined look. It’s always nice to catch a bird doing something, in these shots it appears to be gathering nesting material. Although they cause a lot of crop damage, in the wild they are fun to watch and photograph.
This mallard was hard to miss as I walked along the path. It wasn’t too cold that day so I couldn’t quite figure out why he was all puffed up. Maybe the duck was showing off, realigning its feathers, looking defensive or just sleepy. Whatever was going on I had never seen a duck strike this pose before and took a shot.
Another seasonal migrant, hearing the blackbird’s song in early spring gives all of us “Northerners” a lift! I usually see blackbirds perched on rushes or in branches. I spotted this bird on a log and it stayed put while I took some shots. Although their diet consists mainly of seeds, other plant material and insects, they will also eat small frogs, snails and mollusks. I think this bird was about to go on the hunt and wasn’t going to budge because I was close by.
Two weeks ago Yellow-rumped warblers began appearing in large numbers. These photographs were taken over a period of a few days. These birds are another welcome sign of warmer weather and are one of the many birds that pass through on the spring migration. They are colourful and easy to spot but never stay still for long enough. I like the different poses of these three, they seem to be trying to say something.
One of my first blog posts featured a male mallard on the same lake just as the ice was beginning to form. This is another of the shots I took that day. The lighting was particularly nice as the duck gingerly made her way along the ice. I thought the shot would lend itself to black and white and I used Tonality Pro in Photoshop to create the monochrome version. This is one of my first photos in black and white and I will do more in the future as I find it can make for a more detailed and nuanced image.
I took this photograph last summer at the edge of the river. The bird kept flying in and out of the light but I kept my eye on it and this is the result. I love spotting a new bird and hope to see more of this variety over the course of the summer as flycatchers breed here in the warmer months before they migrate south.
I took this photograph on an overcast day in late November. It reflects the mood of the season, no longer summer and not yet winter. The lake where this was taken is home to a wide variety of water birds. While there might be a few disputes amongst themselves, geese and ducks seem to get along for the most part. Or maybe it’s just that they ignore each other!
BELINDA GROVER PHOTOGRAPHY 