Dealing with the Summer Heat!

July 26, 2011 lditto 2 Comments

Photographers, the hummingbird photography workshop begins in seven weeks? Did you know this is going to be a great opportunity for you to get some of the best bird photographs you could ever hope for? Three slots are open and will be filled on a first come, first served basis. When I get your deposit, you are officially booked for the workshop. So, move on over to the photo tour schedule on this web site, read about the workshop, and email or call me to register. I look forward to showing you how it is done.

The heat wave has driven a lot of us underground for most of the summer. Although I’ve been chilling in front of the computer during most of June and July, I did get out last week to check on the fawn crop. You probably know that white-tailed deer breed rather late in south Texas, so a lot of the fawns aren’t born until June and July. There were a lot of fawns out there on Friday morning, but it was so hot that the mamma deer are taking their babies to the shade about 20 minutes after the sun comes up. Nevertheless, I got a few keeper shots to show you.

Last year, I looked for fawns a little later in the summer and found some buck deer with nice, velvety antlers at the same time. It has taken me a year to get around to working on those photos, so I have two batches of deer photographs to share with you this week.

Click on the right side of each photo to go from one photo to the next. This also will cause the photos to open into a larger, sharper format.

Doe and fawn white-tailed deer at sunrise.

This doe was on her way to the shade just a few minutes after sunrise. The photo was taken with a Canon 1D Mark III and Canon 100-400 mm lens from the window of my Durango.

Being aware that the heat and high humidity could cause condensation on the lenses, I had reduced the amount of air conditioning in the car during my 90 minute drive to deer country. Nevertheless, it wasn’t enough. My 500 mm lens was so fogged up, it was an hour before I got the glass clear enough to shoot. You can guess where the deer were by then. So, the lesson for all of us is that during the winter or summer, try to get the car or camera storage area as close to air temperature as possible an hour or so before you plan to begin photographing. Otherwise, you will only be able to watch from the sidelines while the glass returns to the ambient temperature.

The little guy above had a lot of running he wanted to do before his mother took him to the shady woods for a nap. Luckily, he decided to stop in front of me on a little rise with nice shadows in the background.

The fawns above were so eager to feed that they lifted mom right off the ground. Any time you are photographing young animals, keep your finger on the shutter release because something interesting what will happen.

Fawn and doe share a touching moment. — Fawn and doe share a "touching" moment.

This fawn rested its chin on mom’s head for a brief moment. They may have been grooming each other or just fulfilling a need to touch.

I hope you can tell by looking at some of the previous shots that they were taken from a low angle. I was photographing while sitting on the ground to improve the perspective. When you are doing wildlife photography, most of your photos will be more appealing if taken from a low angle; so wear old clothes you don’t mind getting dirty or wet with morning dew.

A shot similar to this one was in a newsletter last year. I wanted to show you several shots of fawns and this is one of my favorites (shot from the car window). The photo was cropped to give us a better view of all four deer.

A few years ago, I watched fawns at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge feeding on aquatic vegetation in two feet of water at an alligator infested pond. The gators seemed to be cruising for bull frogs that day and the deer finished their feeding unharmed.

Both of these buck photos were taken last year, but I have seen some nice antler development this year, too.

September bucks just beginning to shed their velvet.

If it doesn’t cool down in the next few days, we will look at more photos from the archives in our next report.

Stay cool,

Larry

Hummingbird Workshop and Recent Photos

June 30, 2011 lditto 1 Comment

*** I am selling my Canon 500 mm Image Stabilized lens. The new ones have a recommended retail price of $8,400. As you know my used one takes a mean photo and you can have it for $4,500, Contact me if you are looking for a lens. It comes with the neopreme, camoflage cover plus that incredible Canon case and lens cover.

Click in the upper right area of a photo to make it open in a larger, sharper format. Then you can advance through them like a slide show.

Black-chinned Hummingbird male at Turk's cap flower.

In less than 90 days, I will be hosting a hummingbird photography workshop at the Barnhart Ranch and Nature Retreat between Beeville and Goliad, Texas. Last fall, hummers were swarming at the ranch in late September, so we are counting on a repeat performance. If you haven’t done hummingbirds with 5 high-speed flashes, you haven’t really done hummingbirds. We will be capturing their crazy antics and in-flight hijinx at about 1/16,000 of a second.

If you want to join me for the hummingbird workshop, just click on my website (www.larryditto.com), then click on “photo tours” and check out the details. Of course, you can skip that part and email me. I will send you some details for the September 23-23 workshop.

These oriole photos were shot from atop a scaffold about 10′ off the ground using a Canon 1D Mark III camera, 500 mm IS Canon lens mounted on a Wimberley head atop a Carbon Fiber Gitzo tripod. On the flight shot, I prefocused a foot in front of the nest and shot at about 1/2000 second to capture the bird in focus as if flew away from the nest.

Altamira Oriole about to enter its sack-like nest in a live oak tree.

For the oriole perch shot, I used a little fill flash set at -2 2/3 f stops of power on a Canon flash with a “Better Beamer” attached.

Besides orioles, I’ve been shooting at the Santa Clara Ranch photography blinds. You will note the stark appearance of the backgrounds; until this week, it had only rained .1″ in the last three months. The brush had shed its leaves to conserve water. In recent days, the ranch has had a 1″ rain and more is falling today, so the brush will be green and blooming for awhile. Here are some recent wildlife shots from the Santa Clara:

Young Mexican Ground Squirrel at a photography blind pond.

Honey bee buzzing a male Painted Bunting as it prepairs for a bath.

"Don't look back, something may be gaining on you"...Satchel Page

Northern Cardinal male landing on a guayacan bush.

It takes a lot of shots to get birds landing with the wings spread and everything in focus. This photo was done with a 500 mm lens, but something with less telephoto power works better so that you can have some cropping space around the bird. I prefocused on the perch and began shooting at 10 frames/second as the bird approached.

Courtship feeding ritual on Northern Cardinals.

This courship feeding ritual is much prettier with the birds on a tree branch with colorful blooms in the background. I was fortunate to get the shot at all and there are no pretty perches around the ranch this summer. Instead, birds are doing what they do at the ponds

Buff-bellied Hummingbird drinking at a Turk's cap flower.

Buff-bellied hummingbirds show up occasionally at the the Barnhart Ranch, so we will be looking for some variety while shooting there in September. Rufus, black-chinned, ruby-throated and buff-bellied hummingbirds could be in the mix. The workshop is half full (we are only taking 4 shooters on this one), so sign up soon.

See you next week,

Larry

Shooting Close to Home

June 16, 2011 lditto

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.

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.

Roseate Skimmer resting on grass at the Santa Clara Ranch.

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

Oklahoma Photography Destinations

June 7, 2011 lditto

As many of you know, I consult with ranchers who are considering commercial photography operations, thus I spent this past weekend visiting the Selman Ranch at Woodward, Oklahoma and the Coffman Ranch on Quartz Mountain at Granite, Oklahoma. Both have tremendous potential!

The Selman Ranch has lesser prairie chickens and many other species including redheaded woodpecker, belted kingfisher, gray fox, Harris’s sparrow. While Sue Selman, some neighboring ranchers and I visited a potential photo blind site, a pair of redheaded woodpeckers were active at a nest cavity about 8 feet off the ground in a dead cottonwood. I can’t tell you how I was wishing for my camera and tripod. The nest location was ideal.

At the Coffman Ranch, I was introduced to beautiful granite mountains with huge boulders and a population of collared lizards the locals call “mountain boomers”. In the spring and early summer, the male lizard (about 15″ long) is tourquois colored with an orange head. They were magnificant, numerous and approachable. Robert Coffman’s ranch has numerous small ponds and scattered groves of mesquite, post oak, and hackberry. He is in the process of developing a bird list, but we saw black-chinned hummingbird, Bewick’s wren, yellow-billed cuckoo, wild turkey and painted bunting. Robert has plans for a blind on one pond where hooded mergansers winter consistently, so I’m hoping to return this winter!

The ranches have ample accommodations for photographers and they will do the cooking. Sue is quite a chef and Robert makes the same claim, ha. Actually, we had a great fish fry one evening and a hearty breakfast the next morning, so photographers won’t leave either ranch suffering from weight loss.

There wasn’t much time for photography during the consultation, but here are some sample photos from these ranches. Once their blinds are in place, I will put together a trip and invite you to join me.

Click in the upper right portion of any photo to see it in a larger, sharper format and to advance from one photo to the next.

I haven’t determined the species of this cactus, but it was abundant at the Coffman Ranch and grew in large colonies on the granite mountain. This shot is at sunrise before the cactus blooms opened. The photo was taken with a Canon 1D Mark III and 16-35 mm lens on Arca Swiss monoball and Gitzo 1348 cf tripod from ground level. I always wear knee and elbow pads for this type of photography.

: Granite outcroppings and lichens on Quartz Mountain at the Coffman Ranch.

Quartz Mountain on the Coffman Ranch lies at the west end of a range of granite peaks that extend from the Wichita Mountains near Lawton to Granite, Oklahoma, a distance of approximately 60 miles.

Harris's Sparrows winter on both ranches. This one sits on a water pump jack at the Selman Ranch headquarters.

Lesser Prairie Chicken males booming on the Selman Ranch lek in early April.

The Selman Ranch has a lesser prairie chicken lek where photographers sit close enough to capture great action at sunrise from late March to May. Occasionally, a male ring-necked pheasant (below) will arrive at the lek before daylight to battle the male chickens. Although confused about his species identity, this bird provided a nice photo opportunity for us as we awaited sunrise in our pop-up blinds at the edge of the lek.

: Ring-necked Pheasant who thinks he is a lesser prairie chicken.

The pheasant shot was done before sunrise with the 1D Mark III Canon camera and 500 mm IS Canon lens on a Wimberley head and Gitzo 1348 cf tripod from a Cabelas popup blind.

I will be working at some of the south Texas sites this coming week, trying to capture nesting altamira oriole, red-crowned parrots and masked duck. Wish me luck.

Larry

Waiting at the Waterhole

May 29, 2011 lditto 1 Comment

When you live in south Texas, you get used to hot, dry weather. Well, you don’t get used to it, but you learn to live with it. This spring has been as hot, dry and windy as most of us can remember…the brush has dropped its leaves to conserve moisture and the animals have all gathered at the waterholes. So, I wait at the ponds to get in on the action.

Two weeks ago at Steve Bentsen’s “Dos Venadas Ranch”, I had a splendid afternoon of shooting from one of photo blinds. I totally missed an opportunity to photograph an armadillo bathing (rolling onto his back like a puppy)… I had forgotten to turn on my backup camera with the smaller lens. By the time I got ready, the ‘dillo was out of the pond and headed for cover. I did get my act together by the time the birds began arriving.

Last week, I was at Beto Gutierrez’s “Santa Clara Ranch” with two clients for three days of shooting. A bit of good luck came our way in the form of a stray thunder shower that deposited about .1″ of rain in that part of the brush country. It was enough to make the cenizo brush explode into purple blooms. All I needed to do was place a few blooming branches around the pond for color.

Don’t forget to click on the upper right or left portion of the photos to enlarge them for a sharper, brighter view.

Even rabbits stop to smell the roses...cenizo.

I always try to have a second camera with my 100-400 mm lens attached and ready while I’m sitting in a photography blind. I am usually photographing birds with the big lens, but when a mammal drops by, the zoom lens is the right choice.

Cottontail Rabbit surrounded by a hint of purple cenizo blooms blurred in the foreground.

Cenizo is a common brush species in south Texas. It has gray, ash-colored leaves and purple flowers. Hence, it is called “cenizo”, Spanish for ash-colored.

Black-crested Titmouse looking for sunflower seeds placed just below the cenizo blooms.

Hen Northren Bobwhite scratching for seeds below the cenizo. — Hen Northern Bobwhite scratching for seeds below the cenizo.

A few purple blooms add more color to the scene where a male Painted Bunting comes to drink.

Western Coachwhip snake at a Santa Clara Ranch water hole.

In my book, snakes are always difficult to photograph, so a sprinkle of purple cenizo blooms around the pond was a big help as this small western coachwhip came to drink.

A Groove-billed Ani in front of the cenizo for a drink.

A young Mourning Dove perched on a fallen tree at Dorothy's Pond on the Santa Clara Ranch.

Painted Bunting male in the shaded woods at Dorothy's Pond. — Painted Bunting male in the shady woods at Dorothy's Pond.

A young Bullock's Oriole male exploding from a pond at the Dos Venadas Ranch.

Northern Cardinal exploding into flight from a Dos Venadas Ranch pond.

One of the greatest thrills I get from photographing birds is seeing the flight photos that can be obtained by working close to an active waterhole on a hot day. I watch the direction most birds are going when they finish drinking and set up the next shot to anticipate the bird heading in that direction. Then, I just pull back on the telephoto power, read the bird’s body language to anticipate take-off, and try to commence shooting a burst of high-speed shots as the bird leaves the pond. It certainly worked on the photos you are seeing here. Several scissor-tailed flycatchers came in to drink on this afternoon. The strong spring winds made it a little easier than normal to capture the birds on take-off.

A scissor-tailed flycatcher on the wing reveals much more color than is visible when the wings are folded.

I hope to capture painted buntings coming and going over the next few days. Wish me luck.

Larry

At Last…A Fallout!

May 10, 2011 lditto 1 Comment

April 20 is always close to being the peak of the spring songbird migration through south Texas. Unfortunately, this spring a constant, southerly wind carried most of the birds right on over us. It was last week, early May, before a “fallout” finally occurred at South Padre Island. It was a little late to see great numbers of birds, but three days of brisk north wind forced a nice diversity of birds to seek refuge on the island. It was a wonderful photography event!

Here are some of the beauties that flew to my lens last week:

Click on the photos to make them open in a larger, sharper format.

American Redstart male twitching about in search of a bug.

I saw more redstarts at South Padre Island last week than in the past ten years combined.

Female Baltimore Oriole feeding at Coral Bean flowers in the South Padre Island Convention Center thicket.

This Chestnut-sided Warbler's urgent need for food brought him within my arm's length on several occasions.

A Buff-bellied Hummingbird taking its turn at the Coral Bean blooms.

Most of these photos were taken with the Canon 7D camera (set for high speed shutter action…8 frames/second), a 500 mm IS lens, 1.4X teleconverter, ISO between 400-1,000 depending on the light, while maintaining something close to 1/2,000 second shutter speed @ f 5.6 – f 11. Most of the time, I was using fill flash with a Better Beamer attached. I almost always shoot with flash power reduced – 2 2/3 f stops from full power. For shooting songbirds, I recommend using a 25 mm extension tube between the lens and camera to allow extra close focusing. Mine was on the blink last week, but a good cleaning revived it. *One of the pins was sticking and couldn’t spring into normal alignment as the extension tube was attached to the lens. Remember that when yours decides to fail.

Bay-breasted Warblers are always to come by at South Padre. This one gave me several shots, but it never looked at the camera. — Bay-breasted Warblers are always scarce at South Padre. This one gave me several shots, but it never looked at the camera.

This bird was one of a flock of tired Dickcissels arriving at the Convention Center as we were unpacking our photo gear. — One of a flock of tired Dickcissels arriving at the South Padre Island Convention Center as we unpacked our photo gear.

I saw a flock of Dickcissels arrive as I was getting my gear unpacked for an afternoon shoot. They were so tired I was able to move in for a close-up before they whirled away.

Magnolia Warbler male searching a thistle plant for invertebrates. — Magnolia Warbler male searching a thistle plant for insects.

Magnolia Warblers in spring plumage have always been my favorite. Their contrasting yellow and black plumage and black necklace are striking. This bird returned to the thistle plant on several occasions and even hovered long enough for this photo.

Magnolia Warbler hoveing at a thistle bloom while picking off insects. — Magnolia Warbler hovering at a thistle bloom while picking off insects.

A Grey Catbird in search of ripe Berlandier Fiddlewood fruit.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird male feeding at sunset.

Each time this male ruby-throated hummingbird came in, I blazed away, trying to capture that incredible throat at a good sun angle to bring out the irridescent red. Just before the sun set, I got the shot.

Two days later, Steve Bentsen and I spent a morning on his ranch trying to call birds with another friend, Richard Moore. A little after sunrise, we got this Black-tailed Gnatcatcher. The rest of our trip was a dry run, so assumed that the extremely dry weather is causing many species to delay breeding.

It is critical to position the camera to capture a bird in front of a smooth, clean background. This bird wouldn't land on "my" perch, but he did land at a spot with a nice background. — It is critical to position the camera to capture a bird in front of a smooth, clean background. This gnatcatcher wouldn't land on "my" perch, but he did land in front of a nice background.

I am thankful for that one “fallout” this spring and for having the chance to photograph it. It is a thrill to share the experience with others who appreciate nature’s beauty.

Larry

Busy April

April 30, 2011 lditto 2 Comments

April was a busy month for me. First, I helped conduct some workshops at FeatherFest/PhotoFest in Galveston. Then, I guided other photographers on one of the south Texas photo ranches. After that, I went to South Padre Island and the Ozona, Texas area to lead photo tours and workshops. Then the month ended with a media event at Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge. The Cincinnati Zoo education team brought an ocelot by the refuge for a few minutes and allowed us to photograph it. So, the hectic month ended on a high note.

April was unlike those of most other years. While the rest of the country was getting blasted with powerful weather systems, Texas was toasty and extremely dry. One of our favorite bird events, a migration “fallout” of songbirds at South Padre Island didn’t happen because the cool fronts just weren’t reaching us. The weather man promises a good cold front next week, so you know where I will be Monday morning (if the Lord is willing and the creek don’t rise)… South Padre Island!

Next week, I hope to get busy preparing a photo tour schedule for the coming fall, winter and spring, so keep watching this web site.

Here is a good sampling of the photos I got from all those April trips:

Remember to click on the photo to see an enlarged and sharper version. You can advance through the photos by clicking in the upper right portion of each photo.

Black Skimmer pair in a courting chase at Galveston Island.

Black Skimmers landing in formation on wet beach at South Padre Island.

Black-necked Stilt feeding along the edge of the Laguna Madre at South Padre Island.

I captured the stilt photo while lying in wet sand and shooting from a bean bag on a frisbee. In the spring, I always try to have my wading shoes, bathing suit and an old t-shirt for low-crawling in the sand to get these eye-level views.

These dunlins held a tight formation while whirling about the tidal flats on South Padre Island.

Great Blue Heron chasing mullet in the shallows of the Laguna Madre at South Padre Island.

Unlucky mullet speared by a great blue heron.

In the photo above, the bird is angling away from the photographer, but it best shows what a great blue heron can do with that sharp, powerful beak.

A more photogenic pose of a great blue heron hunting in the freshwater marsh at South Padre Island's Birding Center boardwalk.

Laughing gull bathing in the Laguna Madre at sunrise.

Who says Laughing Gulls can't read. This sign is on the South Padre Island Birding Center boardwalk.

I cloned away some screws along the top of the sign. They were connected with monofilament line to discourage perching birds, but they weren’t working.

Laughing gulls and black skimmers skim freshwater ponds near the lower Texas coast to drink.

This displaying great-tailed grackle was the first bird I saw at South Padre Island. He's not exactly what I was after, but I couldn't resist the display.

Baltimore Orioles were arriving at South Padre about the same time we drove in (April 19). I was able to lure this male onto a good perch by using an orange slice placed just below the perch. Unfortunately, we couldn't get the birds to feed actively until well after the warm morning light had passed. — Baltimore Orioles were arriving at South Padre about the same time we did (April 19). I was able to lure this male onto a good perch by using an orange slice placed just below the perch. Unfortunately, we couldn't get the birds to feed actively until well after the warm morning light had passed.

This nice blackpoll male arrived at my South Padre Island perch well ahead of the other birds and while the light was rich.

Male ruby-throated hummingbird feeding at bottle brush blooms by the South Padre Island Convention Center.

Small birds like this Tennessee Warbler feed on insects among the fiddlewood leave at South Padre Island Convention Center. Larger fruit eaters like rose-breasted grosbeaks and orioles feast on the ripe fruit.

This warbling vireo spent the morning of April 20 foraging among the leaves of huisache and tepeguaje trees at the convention center.

Western Tanagers normally are rare visitors to SPI during the spring migration. This year we saw several cooperative males.

An excited male mottled duck in the shoreline foliage of South Padre Island's Birding Center marsh.

My trip to the Hoak Ranch near Ozona, Texas included taking the photo group to historic Fort Landcaster. Even in ruins, the fort is a majestic locale for late evening photography.

A little "star burst" effect as the setting sun slides past a chimney in the Fort Lancaster soldiers' quarters.

One of the sharp-eyed photography students at the Hoak Ranch Workshop spotted a mating pair of western coachwhip snakes. In parts of west Texas, coachwhips take on a reddish color. — A sharp-eyed photography student at the Hoak Ranch Workshop spotted a wary pair of mating western coachwhip snakes. In parts of west Texas, coachwhips take on a reddish color.

Zone-tailed Hawks often fly with vultures and blend in with the flock.

This zone-tailed hawk glided past the Hoak Ranch patio in late afternoon. After springing to the car for a camera, I managed to get a few, shaky shots of this bird riding the air currents before sunset. — This zone-tailed hawk glided past the Hoak Ranch patio in late afternoon. After sprinting to the car for a camera, I managed a few, shaky shots as the zone-tail drifted into the sunset.

My last photos in April were of this female ocelot (below) posing on a mesquite branch at Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge.

Captive ocelot furnished by the Cincinnati Zoo for an educational tour of south Texas where fewer that 50 of the endangered cats still survive in the wild. — Captive ocelot furnished by the Cincinnati Zoo for an educational tour of south Texas where fewer than 50 of the endangered cats still survive in the wild.

I hope you enjoyed this little look into my busy spring. It was a lot of fun. Thanks to all of you who were a part of it.

Larry

Busy Spring in South Texas

April 15, 2011 lditto 2 Comments

April has been a busy one. I just got back from doing several workshops at FeatherFest in Galveston, then I spent three days guiding on the Santa Clara Ranch, and next week I’m off to South Padre Island for a spring migrant birds instructional photo tour. Immediately after that workshop, I will be leading a workshop on the Hoak Ranch near Ozona, Texas.

The Caddo Lake Instructional Photo Tour had to be cancelled for this spring…just not enough participants. It has always been the most productive and fun of all the photo trips I lead, so it was especially difficult having to pull the plug. If you have been wanting to do that one, set aside some vacation time for the first week of May 2012.

For those of you who shoot with Nikon equipment, I know of a couple of great lens buys. Contact Sherry ( sherhal@aol.com ). She has a Nikon 300 mm f4 and a Sigma 50-500 mm zoom, both less than a year old (the Sigma is only 2 months old) and like new. The lenses are excellent but her husband surprised her with a new Nikon 400 mm f2.8 just a few days ago, so she is eager to sell the other telephotos.

Here are some shots captured on recent trips. The mud dauber photos were lots of fun because I got into the macro world of bees and wasps for a couple of hours (it was a slow day in the bird blind).

Click in the upper right portion of the photo to enlarge if for a larger, sharper view and to move on to the next photo.

Mud Dauber and escort with a ball of mud

I got this shot with the 300 mm lens, 1.4 X teleconverter and 25 mm extension tube. To stop the motion, used the following settings: ISO 1250, 1/2000 sec. @ f10 with the Canon 7D camera. Of course, this is really a high speed, multi-flash type shot that should be done at f 22, but I made do with what I had.

Mourning dove take-off with water flying

It usually takes 10-20 trys to get a good take off shot of birds at the water hole, but the reward is great when it all comes together. I shot this one with the Canon 1D Mark III and Canon 100-400 mm lens at 400 mm setting, 1/3200 sec. @ f 5.6 with the ISO set at 500.

This male common yellowthroat was very nervous, but eventually got a bath. He is one of the early migrant songbirds to reach the Santa Clara Ranch this spring.

Eastern Cottontail keeping those toenails clipped.

Grooming is always tiring, so one should stretch out an relax after such hard work.

Eastern Cottontail resting in the cool dust of the south Texas desert brushlands.

A handfull of corn just isn't enough to satisfy two javelinas so something has to give. — A handfull of corn isn't enough to satisfy two javelinas, so something has to give.

This Audubon's Oriole perched on one of the few guayacan plants to bloom this spring.

I had to hunt long and hard this spring for a guayacan bush with blooms that might make a good perch for bird portraits. The Audubon’s orioles have temporarily altered their winter routine and begun nest building.

This pair of Long-billed Thrashers regularly visit the photo blind water hole, even while nest building. — This pair of Long-billed Thrashers regularly visited the photo blind water hole, even while nest building.

The Roel Ramirez Ranch at Roma, Texas still boasts large numbers of south Texas birds at the photo blinds.

This colorful verdin looked stiking atop the blooming guayacan bush. Water and fresh orange slices attract the guys to south Texas photo blinds.

Golden-fronted Woodpeckers readily land on guayacan bush perches, too.

This coming week, we hope to see lots of Royal terns and songbirds at the South Padre Island Photo Tour.

During the South Padre Island Photo Tour, we plan to get eye-to-eye with the Laguna Madre beach terns, shorebirds, and gulls. These breeding terns were captured with the Canon 1D Mark III and 500 mm IS lens atop a bean bag cradled in a frisbee. I got a little damp on the underside, but it was fun. Nevertheless, an 80″ plastic body-skid for beach photography would be nice.

Thank you, Lord, for your beautiful creation.

Larry

NANPA Came and Went

March 20, 2011 lditto 2 Comments

Green Jay landing on feeder beside flowers

Last week, McAllen hosted the North American Nature Photography Association’s annual Summit. It was a great opportunity to learn more about photography and to see the work of some great photographers. It’s funny though, that those of us who live here think we do a great job of advertising the photo opportunities and birding in south Texas. To my surprise, many of our visitors said they had never heard of McAllen or its bird resource. Of course, I wasn’t surprised that those who attended the Summit had a lot of fun; many even allowed a few extra days for photography. On Monday, I guided two ladies for a one-day trip to the Santa Clara Ranch. Sandy Richards of Alamo, California said “it was the best day of photography I ever had!”.

The following day, Dave Welling, Allen Dale and I headed up river about 120 miles in search of the elusive white-collared seedeater. Allen had photographed them about 5 days earlier and got some pretty nice photos. But for Dave and me, they are still “elusive”. Enough said! Allen saved the day by taking us to Falcon State Park where we photographed scaled quail and a pair of roadrunners building a nest. I can’t wait to visit that location again next month.

Yesterday, I spent a couple hours at the Edinburg Scenic Wetlands hoping for photographs of green kingfisher. Ditto on the “elusive” part, but the duck photography was great. With the migration under way, I hope to get back there soon.

Here are some of the birds I photographed this week. You will note that I added a flowery prop to one set to punch up the color. I simply placed the flowers in a location where I wanted the birds to land, placed a perch twig behind the flowers, and put half of an orange (out of sight) at the bottom of the perch. Several birds fought over the orange and the activity was intense all morning.

Remember, click on the photo and it will open to a larger, sharper format. Then you can click the upper righthand area to advance through the photos.

Alert Audubon's Oriole landing in flowers, s. Texas

The shots with pink flowers are all at the same setup. The flowers are bouganvillas. I used the 100-400 mm zoom lens to allow room for capturing landing birds through a rapid fire sequence of shots. In a wetter spring, there would be enough native flowering plants to color up the background without hauling my wife’s potted plants to the ranch.

The green jays and Audubon's orioles occasionally fought over the fruit hidden below the perch. — Green Jays and Audubon's Orioles occasionally fought over the fruit hidden below the perch.

One could manipulate the green jay’s eye and insert a clear one to create a prettier photo, but the nictitating membrane shows that birds blink like we do when threatened by the striking beak of another bird.

If flowering shrubs are available, they make more colorful, interesting perches than do non-flowering branches. — If flowering shrubs are available, they are more colorful and interesting perches than a stump or bare branch.

Long-billed Thrasher repositioning feet on a perch in south Texas brush

When a bird lands on my setup, I often keep focused for several seconds in case some interesting action or posturing occurs. In this case, the wings spread as the thrasher turned to face me.

Scaled Quail drinking from an over-turned trash can at a brush country camp site.

Desert birds, and probably most others, can be trained quickly to take their water from man-made devices. In this case, a camper at Falcon State Park simply overturned an unused trash can and filled the bottom with water for the birds. You may know scaled quail as blue quail and cotton-tops.

Greater Roadrunner with a leaf for the nest.

This greater roadrunner wasn’t much help with the nest building. While its mate gathered and installed sticks, this one pecked around at the light stuff but never did much real work. This is what I look like when there is housework to be done.

Drake blue-winged teal in flight — Drake Blue-winged Teal in flight

Several blue-winged teal are spending a few days at the Edinburg Scenic Wetlands. I got this shot using a 500 mm lens and 1.4X teleconverter with the Canon 7D camera set to ISO 800, 1/2000 second @ f 4 in early morning cross-light.

Blue-winged Teal drakes (males) stretching.

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks at sunrise.

These whistling ducks were easy to approach for a sunrise shot at the Edinburg Scenic Wetlands. The wetlands are an excellent place for waterbird and butterfly photography, especially for local photographers who don’t have the time for a long drive to other habitats.

That’s it for this week. I hope all of you are enjoying good spring weather.

Larry

Spring is Workshop Season

February 28, 2011 lditto 3 Comments

Spring wasn’t slow arriving in south Texas…one week we were in the 30s and the next week temperatures shot all the way up into the mid-90s. Green leaves are popping out all over the place. All this warmth reminds me it is Photo Tour/Workshop season again. Next week, the North American Nature Photography Association will hold their annual Summit in McAllen and several of us locals will be leading short photo trips. In April, I will be doing workshops at FeatherFest in Galveston, then I’ll scoot back to south Texas for a Photo Tour on South Padre Island as migrating songbirds are arriving. Right after that, I will drive out west for the Hoak Ranch near Ozona, Texas. Then, it’s on to Caddo Lake in east Texas the first week of May.

Just to remind you of what you are missing, several photos from South Padre Island and Caddo Lake follow this little discussion. There is still plenty of room for South Padre Island and a spot or two remain open for Caddo Lake. That one may fill before the weekend is over, so zip me a note if you have been meaning to register. The FeatherFest workshops are full as is the Hoak Ranch Workshop. Nevertheless, you should let me know if you want to be on the waiting list. Someone could drop out at the last minute.

Remember to click on the upper right portion of a photo to open it in a larger, sharper format. From there, just keep clicking along to see all the photos as a slide show.

Male Baltimore Orioles always draw a crowd of photographers at the woods on South Padre Island.

Rose-breasted Grosbeaks always make an appearance on the island in mid-late April.

Black-bellied Plovers will be feeding along the beaches on South Padre Island in April.

Black-bellied Plovers and Ruddy Turnstones will be moulting into their breeding plumage as they prepare to head north from South Padre in April and early May.

It is not unusual to see several male indigo buntings feeding together in the brushy habitats on South Padre Island in April.

During mid-April, various terns and gulls are breeding on beaches and mud-flats of South Padre Island.

We will spend at least one day of the South Padre Island Photo Tour photographing along the shoreline and from the World Birding Center boardwalk.

There is almost a half mile of boardwalk over salt and fresh-water marshes at the SPI World Birding Center.

The Caddo Lake Photo Tour is by pontoon boat which can quitely cover hundreds of acres during each of our 5 outings. The first bird we photographed last year was the Cedar Waxwing. The trip is timed to coincide with the arrival of north-bound migrating songbirds and the early part of their breeding activity.