Shooting Close to Home

I’ve been shooting close to home for the past couple of weeks.  Last week, I was at the National Audubon Society Sabal Palm Sanctuary looking for a rare masked duck…saw it but couldn’t get close.  This week, I have photographed a pair of altamira orioles going to and from their nest.  Some of those shots were ok, but the background was busy.  We raised our scaffold to eye-level, so I expect the next shoot to be very productive.

I am ordering a few cold-weather apparel items for this fall’s Bosque del Apache Photo Tour.  Let me know if you would like to go.  Bosque is a fabulous photo location in  November-December.

Earlier today, I tried ordering a Canon Flash Booster and discovered it is another of the items we can’t get right now because supplies were interrupted by the tsunami.  My old flash booster with the 2 lb. battery gave up the ghost.  It was not a Canon brand item and was way too bulky to suit me.  I hear great things about the Canon booster which just requires 8 AA batteries.

Here are a couple of shots from the south Texas area.  Click in the upper right portion of the photos to enlarge them and to get a sharper, brighter image.

Entrance road to the Sabal Palm Sanctuary in east Brownsville, Texas.
Entrance road to the Sabal Palm Sanctuary in east Brownsville, Texas.
Those palms (above) overhanging the Palm Sanctuary’s entrance road are native Sabal Palms.  That grove is one of the few sites remaining in south Texas where the palms have not been cleared.  Several conservation organizations and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are restoring other sites to palms.  There are also resacas (ox bows) of the Rio Grande on the Sanctuary which provide habitat for many birds and other wildlife.
This Great Kiskadee was resting in a black willow near its nest over a resaca at the Sabal Palm Sanctuary.
This Great Kiskadee was resting in a black willow near its nest over a resaca at the Sabal Palm Sanctuary.
Roseate Skimmer resting on grass at the Santa Clara Ranch.
Roseate Skimmer resting on grass at the Santa Clara Ranch.
Altamira Oriole leaving the nest.
Altamira Oriole leaving the nest.
Altamira Oriole exits its sack-like nest in a south Texas liveoak.
Altamira Oriole exiting its sack-like nest in a south Texas liveoak.
If you can take the heat, this is a great time to be at the south Texas photo ranches…
Lots of birds are visiting the waterholes and blinds at Dos Venadas Ranch right now as the summer heat forces everything to stay close to water.
Scissor-tailed Flycatchers and other birds are visiting the waterholes and blinds at Dos Venadas Ranch as the summer heat forces everything to stay close to water.
Have a good week in the field!
Larry