Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

I drove from Long Island, New York to Monterey, VA on Tuesday May 19 and met Dean Newman in hopes of photographing Golden-winged and Mourning Warblers.   On the clear, still morning of May 20 we photographed what I thought was a singing male Golden-winged but when I viewed the images on my laptop I realized that it was instead a 2nd generation back-cross Brewster’s Warbler, the result of hybirdization between Blue-winged and Golden-winged Warblers.  Dean was disappointed that we had missed golden-winged and reminded me that blue-winged is out-competing golden-winged for breeding habitat and that golden-winged populations are declining precipitously as a result.

The next morning we tried for the elusive Mourning Warbler only to find that they had not yet arrived on territory.   We did well with a male Chestnut-sided Warbler.  We lured him into range by judiciously playing its song on an i-pod speaker combination.   Dean and I decided to head for his home in Maryland in hopes of photographing Ovenbird, Wood Thrush, and Hooded and Kentucky Warbler. 

The woods there turned out to be deep and dark.  I managed only one keeper photograph the first morning so I changed my Auto Train reservation from Monday to Saturday and headed to Lorton, VA after our Saturday morning session in a park near Prince Frederick, MD.  The trip home was restful and uneventful and I arrived in Indian Lake Estates two days earlier than planned at about noon on Sunday, May 24.  

http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=37180

My next post will be a trip summary. 

This Brant was photographed with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1 2/3 stops: 1/320 sec. at f/6.7. Fill flash at -2 stops with the Better Beamer. Brant feed almost exclusively on sea lettuce and eel grass.

I had a wonderful visit with my Mom, Hazel Morris who is 86.   She lives with my younger sister in Holbrook, NY.  I made it to Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge on a foggy Saturday morning and was surprised to find lots of Brant by the North Channel Bridge.  On my visit to the refuge proper only a single Tree Swallow was a cooperative subject.  After lunch, I drove to the Marine Park Golf Course and walked the course.  I had first set foot on the course probably 50 years ago before it was even opened officially.   It was built on top of a garbage dump and was not much of a course back then, long and pretty much wide open.   I was surprised to see that the course had matured beautifully and that the greens were superb.   I was even more amazed to see many large flocks of Brant on the golf course.  In all they surely numbered more than 5,000.   While the bays of Brooklyn, Queens and Western Long Island are the epicenter of the wintering population of this species, I had never seen so many Brant in a single day in all the years that I lived and birded in New York; the species is doing quite weill.

On Monday May 18, I drove my Mom to downtown Brooklyn to see the hospital where she was born, the first house she lived in, and other spots in the old neighorhood.  She was amazed to see how much had changed.   After lunch at Juniors Restaurant on Dekalb and Flatbush, we headed to the Marine Park section of Brooklyn, visited my elementary school (PS 207), Grandma Selma’s house, and the house where I had lived as a child.  All in all it was a great day filled with many fond memories for both my Mom and I.

This Brant was threatening another. It was photographed with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 640. Evaluative metering +1 2/3 stops: 1/200 sec. at f/5.6 in Manual mode. Fill flash at -2 stops with the Better Beamer.

This Tree Swallow was photographed with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/80 sec. at f/11. Fill flash at -2 stops with the Better Beamer.

Though the end of the branch was broken and a thinner perch would have been ideal, I could not resist this cute and cooperative subject.  He sat for more than 10 minutes for a portrait session.

The feeders at Rondeau Provincial Park near the Vistor Centre at the head of the Tulip Trail are rife with birds, but photography there is difficult at best on sunny days.  On my last day of photography in Ontario, with Graham Smith and Angie, it began to drizzle at about 3:30 and was raining pretty good by 4pm.  Agie found an adult Cooper’s Hawk perched for us on the Tuip Trail and after photographing it, we headed for the feeders in the low light and began photographing from under the overhang at the back of the feeder area to stay out of the rain.  There are few clean perches in the trees and bushes there but with patience and high ISO settings, we were able to get some good stuff. 

This male American Godlfinch was photogrpahed with the Canon 800mmm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 800. Evalutive metering +2/3 stop: 1/60 sec. at f/5.6. Fill flash with Better Beamer at -3 stops.

This immature male Baltimore Oriole was photographed with the Canon 500mmm f/4L IS lens, the 1.4X II TC, and the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/250 sec. at f/6.3. Fill flash with Better Beamer at -1 stop.

This image was created at a feeder set-up (see below).  An orange half (on which the bird was feeding) and the small bit of branch upon which it was impaled, were removed from the image with a series of Quick Masks and some Clone Stamp and Patch Tool work.  You can learn to do all of this and more in Digital Basics: https://store.birdsasart.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=252

This female Rose-breasted Grosbeak image was created with the same rig as above. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/640 sec. at f/6.3. Fill flash at -2 1/3 stops with Better Beamer.

I like a log on the back of the feeder table to prevent the birds from landing there consistently without presenting any photo opps. 

White-breasted Nuthatch. Same gear as above. ISO 640. Evaluative metering +1 1/3 stops: 1/200 sec. at f/8. Fill flash at -2 1/3 stops with Better Beamer.

When working at a feeder set-up on cloudy days you are free (as I did here) to photograph birds on natural perches on the periphery of the set-up.   On sunny days this is much more difficult to do as you would have to move your tripod a good distance in order to attain the proper sun angle (with your shadow pointed right at the bird).

This is the campground feeder set-up from my last day at Rondeau. Graham Smith of Toronto whom I met on BPN hired me for a private day. Along with his girlfriend Angie, we had a wonderful day that lasted about 13 hours! This image was created with the Canon 24-105mm IS L zoom lens at 24mm

Note the Blue Jay landing on the spike perch and the male Rose-breasted Grosbeak atop the small log on the left side of the large log.  You can learn a ton about feeder set-ups by studying this image closely.  (As always, click on the images to enlarge them.)   And you can learn a lot more on creating feeder set-ups in the Practicalities chaper in my e-book, “The Art of Bird Photography II” (ABP II, 916 pages on CD only):  https://store.birdsasart.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=19

Quiz: 

#1: What are the plastic bags for?

#2: Why the logs on the ground?

#3: What is the vertical perch on the left for?

(Post your answers in comments please).

Today, I am taking my 86 year old Mom back to the neighborhood where she was born in downtown Brooklynnear DeKalb Avenue and Ashland Place.   Then we will take a drive down memory lane (in this case Flatbush Avenue) and visit the old neighborhood and the house where I was raised:  2046 East 38th St in the Marine Park section of Brooklyn.  Our phone number was NI(ghtingale) 5-7760.    No area code.  Amazing.

Well, my poor warbler luck continued at Pelee this year.  While there were a very few warblers most were up high.  The beach on the west side of the tip that used to be great on some afternoons is totally gone, eroded away by storms.   When there was a bird down low there were often 10-30 birders in close proximity.   The woodlands along many of the trails that used to be somewhat open are now overgrown with very few clean perches and lots more clutter than I remember.   The one bit of positive news is that the beach on the east side of the Tip has been somewhat restored, nourished probably by the same storms that took away West Beach.   It would not shock me to learn that there was a wave day within a day or two of my leaving.

With Pelee pretty much dead I spent three full days photographing at a feeder set-up in Rondeau Provicial Park about 50 miles west of Leamington.  Though there were no Red-headed Woodpeckers coming to our set-up we had lots of action and lots of good opportunities.

This American Robin was photographed with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 500. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/400 sec. at f/7.1.

It was rare to get a robin up on a perch so having one on the bark facing that I placed atop our log perch in early morning light was a big thrill. 

This male Rose-breasted Grosbeak was photographed with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens, the 1.4X II TC, and the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 320. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/400 sec. at f/10.

We had several males of this species on the set at the same time.  One of them, and one of the two females, were amazingly cooperative subjects.

This White-crowned Sparrow was photographed with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens, the 1.4X II TC, and the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 320. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/400 sec. at f/8.

Creating images of the birds just as they are about to jump off the perch is a challenge.  If they are facing you, you are pretty much dead as far as focusing accurately and having enough depth-of-field.   I was lucky here with this bird almost parallel to my position.

I drove for fourteen hours (702 two miles) yesterday and got to my Mom’s house in Holbrook, NY at 8:05 pm.  Yikes!  As always, you can click on each image to see a larger version.  I will post a few more images in a day or two.   Thanks for all the good kidney stone wishes.

ps:  The final Galapagos spot was filled.

It is a little known fact that many international BIRDS AS ART IPTs, Photo-Cruises, and Photo-Safaris fill without ever being announced to the public.  They are sold out by advance word of mouth and from our BAA Friends List. 

The Galapagos 2009 Photo-Cruise had been sold out for more than a year and in fact, I already have many spots sold for the 2010m trip.   I received an e-mail today from a registrant will be unable to attend.  I am therefore, urgently looking for one male photographer to fill the last spot on this July’s trip.  I do expect this spot to sell almost instantly once it is announced via BAA Notes tomorrow.  Here are the basics:  July 11-18 on the boat.  Fly to Quito and July 9th, spend a day in Quito on the 10th (a travel delay insurance day), fly to the archipelago on the 11th, fly back to Quito on the 18th, and fly back to the US on July 19th.   We have the very best guide on the planet, a wonderful ship, and a killer itinerary that visits all four of the great photography islands.  We are almost always the first group on each island in the morning and the last group off each island in the evening.  The cost of the trip is $6999 and includes everything but soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, the crew and guide tips, and your flights to and from Quito. The flights to and from the Galapagos are included.   Linda Robbins (the Hummingbird Queen) will be co-leading this trip. 

The 13 folks who are signed up are among the nicest, sweetest folks you could ever hope to meet.  If you are not a happy person and a comfortable international traveler, please do not apply <smile>  As there is only one slot, first come will be first served.   If you would like to join us we will need a n immediate $1,000 deposit via credit card with a phone call to 863-692-0906 followed the next day with a check for payment in full.   (If Jim does not pick up the phone tonight, please leave a message so that you will not lose the spot.)  We will keep a waiting list in case the first to respond does not come through. 

If you would like additional details you can e-mail me at samandmayasgrandpa@att.net but it will likely be too late….  If you have dreamed of getting to this fabled photographic location, please do not hesitate; call Jim the moment that you read this and leave your deposit.

Late on Friday afternoon I got on the ground to photograph some Canada Goose goslings asleep on a dock.   As I raised up I felt a sharp spasm in my lower back on the left side.  This has happened before so I did not think much of  it.   It did not hurt me at all when I got up or any more that evening.  

At 2:30 am on Saturday I awoke with a somewhat vicious pain in my lower back, left side.  I assumed that it was a muscle spasm, similar to those that I used to have nearly two decades ago.  My back has been great ever since I had major spinal surgery in 1991; thank you Dr. Francis Gamache Jr.  I tried some moist heat and stretching but it did not help at all.  I could not get comfortable in any position.  Within an hour I began to experience a bloating pain in my lower left abdomen.   I tried calling my health advisor in San Diego at 2:30am his time but his cell was off.  I called my chiropractor in Lake Wales, waking him at 5am.  He explained that a bad muscle spasm could affect surrounding organs and that made sense to me, but within the hour, I knew that something was not right with my body so I drove myself to the emergency room at the local hospital and forked over $500 Canadian for my visit. 

Twelve hours and five minutes later I was released after finally learning that my pain had been caused by a kidney stone travelling from my kidney to my bladder.    I passed the stone without any pain last night without even knowing it.   I am pretty much of  a pain wuss but I will admit that this episode was quite painful.  From speaking to other folks it seems that my pain, however, was on the mild side.  My medical care was good but very slow.   I sat in pain for five hours before I saw a doctor despite complaining of increasing pain, and it was another hour until they got the IV going.  The non-narcotic pain meds hit the spot.   An X-ray that showed nothing and a CAT scan that showed the small stone in the bladder took hours and hours and hours. 

During my stay I did get to speak extensively with Dr. Cliff Oliver in San Diego and he instantly diagnosed my problem as a kidney stone  and provided comfort and advice throughout the episode.  I took today (Sunday) off resting and doing more than 100 posts on BirdPhotographers.Net.   I am feeling great and ready to get back in action at Pelee tomorrow.  I hope that there are some birds….

This male Yellow Warbler was photographed this afternoon at Pt. Pelee National Park, in Leamington, Ontario, Canada. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the 1.4X II TC and the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +1 2/3 stops set manually: 1/320 sec. at f/9. Fill flash with Better Beamer at -3 stops.

After three straight 8 hour driving days, I arrived in Leamington on Thursday afternoon.  Today I walked about 5 miles with 20+ pounds of gear; made only the one good image above.  Several times my heart raced as I had a gorgeous male warbler, once a Cape May, and several times a Black-throated Green, right in my wheelhouse: on a clear perch at close range in nice light only to have the bird refuse to turn its head and then fly to a totally obstucted perch nearby.  Welcome to warbler photography!  You can of course click on the image above to see a larger version.  I did lots of work with this image to remove a foreground branch that intersected the bird’s body.

BIRDS AS ART is proud (at long last) to announce the opening of our new On-Line Store.  To learn more about the store and about the 10% off sale, check out BAA Bulletin #289 that is now on-line here:  www.birdsasart.com/bn289.htm

Right now I gotta get to sleep as we are gonna try to make the first tram to The Tip again and hope for a fallout of migrant songbirds.

I first visited Johnny Cozad’s ranch in Linn, TX about four years ago and enjoyed some fine raptor photography: Harris’s Hawk and Crested Caracara.  Not sure of the month but it was more winter than summer.  Johhny and Jane Cozad are out of town so I stayed in a Super 8 in Edingburg, TX and drove the 25 mintues up to Linn each day. Jesus, their ranchhand, was a huge help as always.  And the Cozad’s recently put in an amazing swimmming pool and a jacuzzi.  Each day after lunch I took a three mile walk in the searing heat with the two dogs, Lorna and Bull.   Everytime that they saw a cattle trough, they bolted to it and jumped in. I was not so luck but as soon as we got back to the house I jumped right into the pool.  

Chris Dodds and I worked hard on our feeder set-ups and they got better each day.  I dropped Chris off at the McAllen, TX airport at 4:02 am this morning.  I am planning on photographing at the ranch one last morning and then starting the long trip to the north and east. Here I come Ontario!  I hope to visit Warbler Woods just north and east of San Antonio tomorrow afternoon.

Below are some of my favorite images from the Cozad ranch.  If you would like to arange a visit, click here: http://www.cozadranch.com/.  As always, you can click on an image to see a larger version.

This male Painted Bunting was photographed with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens, the 1.4X II TC, and the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 500. Evaluative metering at zero: 1/400 sec. at f/13. Fill flash at -3 stops with the Better Beamer.

I am usually not a huge fan of over-the-shoulder poses but could not pass this one up as these birds have such beautiful colors when you get the dorsal view.  The very best head angle for these poses is perfectly square to the camera.  Note that I used lots of extra depth of field to ensure covering the whole bird.

Same gear as above. ISO 500. Evauative metering +2/3 stop: 1/80 sec. at f/13. Fill flash at -3 stops with the Better Beamer.

This bird sat still long enough for me to be able to lock down the Mongoose Head.  That allowed me to make a sharp image at 1/80 sec.  This bird was resting in the shade in a mesquite tree just to the left of our set-up. It pays to keep your eyes moving whenever you are photographing birds or nature….

Same rig again. ISO 400. Evaluative metering -1/3 stop: 1/800 sec. at f/9. Fill flash with the Better Beamer at -2 2/3 stops.

At times, we had more than a dozen beautiful male Northern Cardinals in view at one time.   Well, I have got to do some packing now so it will be good night for now.  More images from the Cozad ranch as soon as possible.