I got to Lake Park at about 7:30am this morning, and though it wasn’t really busy, I saw birds right away. First off, before I post photos, I should say I’m only certain of the species on a few of these. Any help would be appreciated. I did consult both Sibley and Peterson’s Warbler guides.

The first bird I photographed was this Swainson’s Thrush. Though I was just told it could be a Hermit’s Thrush. You decide;

Let’s hope I got that one right.

He was right by the bridge at the North end of the park. I walked to Wolcott statue and back without seeing a whole lot. So then I went down into the ravine and though it was dark, there was quite a bit of activity. Lots of Nashville Warblers, one Black & White Warbler, one Blackpoll Warbler, one Ruby-throated Hummingbird, and several White-throated Sparrows;

After coming up from the ravine I walked the bushes and found what I think is a Tennessee Warbler;

I also had a Yellow-rumped Warbler in a tree;

I started walking back over the bridge towards Lake Park Bistro and stayed there for awhile. I had to be patient but was rewarded with some nice looks at what I think is a Cape may Warbler. I had a difficult time telling the difference between Blackburnian, Yellow-throated Green, and Cape May. So if I misname any please correct me.

This one I left unnamed;

Cape May Warbler

I’m saying this guy is a Blackpoll Warbler, but I could very well be wrong.

Walking back towards the first bridge I had some nice looks at another Nashville;

The next guy was feeding on the ground near the Nashville. I think it’s a Palm Warbler;

Then came a Magnolia Warbler;

Again, I’m saying this is a Blackpoll, but you tell me;

And right before I left I saw a couple Thrushes. First the Swainson’s and then the Gray-cheeked;

I also saw lots of Redstarts but haven’t processed the photos yet.

If I’ve gotten any of these wrong, please let me know. I’m still learning.

This morning I walked out into my backyard with my camera to see if there were any good birds back there. Yesterday I had seen a couple warblers of undetermined species and a Northern Waterthrush feeding in the grass. Immediately I saw a good sized hawk sitting on the bridge that crosses the creek, which comes off the Milwaukee river near Kletsch Park. I thought it was a Red-tailed Hawk because of the size, but after looking at the photos, I’m pretty sure that isn’t the case. Here are 3 photos showing different parts of the bird. The bird was sitting in the shade with a very bright background, so the photos aren’t that great but you should be able to get the idea. I’d say Cooper’s Hawk, but it seemed really big. I’d love some feedback on this on what the ID is on this guy.

I spent most of the morning and some of the afternoon at the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center photographing hawks, falcons, owls, and one Turkey Vulture as part of their first Raptors In Focus and photography contest event. The event was very well organized and I can’t say enough good things about the staff and volunteers that participated. The day, as well as the image count,  flew by. 1100+ photos later I was tired and sore and ready to go home. But I also felt, and this may sound odd, fulfilled. I was able to get close to, and learn about birds I normally wouldn’t be able to. I learned their ages, their history, their diet and habitat. I heard their stories. Every bird at Schlitz is injured, imprinted, or habitualized. The dedicated staff and volunteers meticulously take care of these birds, making sure they are healthy and well fed. And in turn, these birds don’t just sit around. They are used to teach children, and adults, about raptors and their importance to the ecology. It takes a special person to find a Turkey Vulture beautiful, but when you realize how important these birds are in removing carrion from the roads and forests, they become a bit less ugly.

The day started with an overview of the days events. There were six overall stations; Owls, Small Owls, Falcons, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawks, and Flying area. Each photographer got to choose five of the six. I chose Falcons, Flying, Red-tailed hawks, Owls, and Small Owls and I went to those stations in that order. Three before lunch and two after.

I started my day out with the Falcons. First up was the Peregrine Falcon. All of the birds I saw today were beautiful in their own unique way, including the Turkey Vulture, and the Peregrine Falcon was no exception. I had gone into the day knowing that I wasn’t looking for full body shots of these birds. I knew the birds would have jesses (strips of leather attached to the feet) and be tied to a handler. Though the handlers did a fantastic job of trying to keep the straps and themselves out of the way.We were fairly close to the bird, but I used my 150-500mm Sigma for this bird, and for the rest of the birds. I did switch to the 85mm f/1.8 at one point but quickly changed back. The Peregrine gave me some nice looks, but I kept on getting the reflection of the sun in it’s eye when it turned it’s head to the side. I did manage a few shots without the reflection when it would look straight at me.

Next up at the same station was the American Kestrel. For the Kestrel, I had to keep the lens at 500mm. It’s a very small bird. But what it lacks in size, it makes up in beauty. It’s a very colorful bird. Though I didn’t get as close as I would have liked to the Kestrel, I did get some nice shots. The bird seemed comfortable and I would rather have that than be closer.

The next station was the Flying area. They had two people standing opposite each other, maybe 25 feet between them. They brought out the Turkey Vulture, which if you haven’t seem one up close is impressive. This bird loved to feel the sun on it’s wings and would stretch out it’s wings so it could soak up the sun. Its wingspan is as wide as I am tall. Six feet. The flying part was having the Turkey Vulture fly from one person to the other. They made several passes. But the distance was short, the angle was bad, and it happened much too quickly. I got a couple photos, but nothing I’m really excited about.They brought out a Harris’s Hawk next. It’s a gorgeous bird. I would have liked to see it fly just to watch it, let alone photograph it. I got some nice shots of the Harris’s Hawk.

The next station was the Red-tailed Hawks. I was overly excited about the Redtails, but it ended up being one of my favorites, second only to the Small Owl station. They had two Red-tailed Hawks at this station which they brought out one at a time. They were both beautiful birds. I say that over and over, because it’s true. I got some really nice looks at the first bird, but it was the second that made a real impression on me. The second Red-tailed Hawk, RT, is missing an eye. Lost in a fight in the wild. It’s hard to look at. There’s just an empty socket. But the bird appears healthy and happy in every other way. I took a lot of photos of RT, both showing his good eye as well as his missing one. And I have a couple where he is looking right at me. With just one eye and a socket.

The stations were both owls. The first being a Barred Owl and a Great Horned Owl. I was able to get close to both owls and got some nice looks. But I had trouble with shadows and getting the shots I wanted. Both owls were cooperative though and I did manage to get a few decent shots.

The last station was my favorite, the small owls. The first owl the brought out was an Eastern Screech Owl and I was surprised by how small it actually was. I was happy with the shots I got. The second was a Northern Saw-whet Owl. I knew this owl would be small, but it’s really small. I got some of my favorite shots of this owl. A very cooperative bird.

All in all, I had a really great day. I hope that Schlitz Audubon does this again.

To learn more about this event or Schlitz Audubon Nature Center, please go here; http://www.sanc.org/

Now for some photos, in the order that I saw them. I hope you enjoy the photos as much as I enjoyed taking them.

Well, this blog post has been a long time coming. It’s taken me awhile to post something new here, first of all because life has been crazy busy (all good stuff fortunately). Secondly, because I’ve been kicking around what I’ve wanted to write about. I think I’ve figured that part out, but let’s get news out of the way.

Last time I updated, I was about to go on vacation to Western Massachusetts, The Berkshires, Pittsfield, my home. I haven’t lived there in almost 20 years, but it will always be home for me. It’s place that always feels the same even though it continually changes. You may not believe this, but the air in the Berkshires actually seems fresher. And it’s breathtakingly beautiful in all seasons. I’m not saying Wisconsin isn’t home, because it is. The Berkshires is just in an entirely different category than most other places. Anyone who has ever spent time there would tell you the same thing. The vacation was fantastic. We got to see and spend time with family who we get to see only a couple times a year at most. I got to go to Mt. Greylock, go to the bird sanctuary,  and see the houses that I grew up in. We had dinner at The Dakota. I got to do some nature photography and relax. It was a great time.

My photography highlights (that’s what you really are here for) had to be the Gray Fox I saw the morning we were to leave to come back to Wisconsin.

I saw this guy while waiting for a Pileated Woodpecker to show up. I had been hearing the woodpecker all week, and caught brief glimpses of it. I even got photos of a pair of them the day before, though it was too dark and I got nothing usable (or showable for that matter). Well, they didn’t show up that morning, but the guy above did. My heart started to race when I caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of my eye. At first I thought he was a small coyote. He was considerably bigger than a Red Fox. But the more I looked, I realized what I was photographing. The whole scene played out in less than a minute. Brief but exciting. In fact, it still excites me. These animals are rarely seen, especially in that far north. Hopefully it won’t be the last time I see this beautiful animal.

Two days after we got back from vacation, Katie and I closed on our first house. We started moving stuff soon after and I’m happy to say that we are fully moved in now and it’s starting feel like home. We have a great backyard, especially for me. There are several bird feeders and houses that the previous owner has left for us. We have a couple nesting House Wrens and visiting Blue Jays, Chickadees, Cardinals, and Mourning Doves. Just a bit ago I saw a young 4 point buck across the creek and a couple weeks ago we saw a doe and 8 point buck back there. The previous owner says that Eastern Screech Owls will nest in the boxes come winter. I’m looking forward to that.

Anyway, I should finish this up because I’ve been sitting at the computer for far too long.

I’ve been to Horicon Marsh a couple times since coming back from vacation. I never get tired of making that drive. Here’s a couple photos from yesterday’s trip.

One last thing. I’ve been listening to Ryan Adams for quite awhile now and one song lately has made me think about and be thankful for the wonderful friends and family I have in my life.  Without them I would never be able to blossom.

Blossom by Ryan Adams

Without anyone to love you
What will you blossom into?
Without anyone to hold you
How will you grow?
And in the Wildwood trees
The wild wind blows
And the nighttime crushes the hurricane rose
And with no one to care for you
Who knows
Blossom for me rose
You’re the picture of my love
Blossom for me rose
Stretch out underneath the stars
And when tomorrow comes
I will hold you up
Little blossom, shining in the sun
Without any place to go to
What will your soul return to
Without anyone to keep you
Where will you go
And in the shadows of the past
Where you’re spinning so fast
It’s hard to see it coming
And it never lasts
And with nothing to judge your life by
How will you know
Blossom for me rose
You’re the picture of my life
Blossom for me rose
Stretch out underneath the stars
And when tomorrow comes
I will hold you up
Little blossom, shining in the sun
Without anyone to love you
What will you blossom into
Without anyone to hold you
How will you grow

To listen to this song, please go here; http://www.last.fm/music/Ryan+Adams/_/Blossom

It’s been a good few days of photographing. And not for just birds. I’ve been so focused on photographing birds that it was nice to shoot some family photos on Saturday morning. Thankfully it wasn’t as warm as it is today. We had a really good time and I got some really nice photos. Here’s one of my favorites;

Thanks Jason and Penny and family for a really good shoot.

On Sunday I drove up to Horicon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge and had a pretty good day of photographing. I started by photographing a Great Egret in not such great light. Then I was surprised when I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I got my camera around in time to snap a few photos of 4 River Otters crossing the road.

Then I got this nice Common Yellowthroat singing.

After that I got the thrill of a lifetime when I got the chance to photograph a wild Whooping Crane. I had seen some captive before, but never in the wild. The Whooping Crane was pretty far away for most of the time that I photographed it. But then it took off and flew almost right over my head to the other side of the road. I was very pleased to get this photograph.

Almost forgot. I also saw a pair of Trumpeter Swans with some cygnets.

I went back to Horicon today and failed to see either the Whooping Crane or the Trumpeter Swans. But I finally managed to get some nice shots of a Yellow-headed Blackbird. Now, it will seem strange, but I think I was almost as excited to photograph the Yellow-headed Blackbird as the Whooping Crane. Not quite.

Today will be my last trip to Horicon for awhile. Not for lack of wanting to, but life is about to get crazy. Maybe I’ll post a blog from Massachusetts next week.

So, here I am. Again. I’ll try to be around for awhile this time.

I went up to Horicon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge this morning after dropping Katie off at work. I’ve been going up there a couple times a week for the past few weeks. I just like going there. It’s far enough that I can plug in my iPod and listen to music (Ryan Adams all day, including right now) and close enough that my back doesn’t hurt from being in the car too long. Plus, I’ve been wanting to photograph Yellow-headed Blackbirds. They aren’t a particularly exciting bird, but I’ve become fixated on them. And until I get a photo I’m pleased with, I’ll continue to be fixated on them. Just the way I am. I did manage to photograph one today. Much too far away for a decent image, but a little success nonetheless. I did have an unexpected treat with a very close encounter of a Great Egret. The photos I took today of the Great Egret made the entire trip worthwhile, for me anyway. I’ll post a couple here in just a sec.

I’ll probably continue to go to Horicon until something else catches my interest. The thing I love about going up there, is that everytime I go there’s always something different to photograph. I always come away seeing a bird that I hadn’t seen before. Which isn’t that difficult with me being fairly new to the birding thing. And even though the Yellow-headed Blackbird was far away, it still got my blood pumping. That feeling, I know, will increase when I get a closer shot of the bird. I’m hoping that’s soon.

Anyway. It’s been a long day. Time to get back to ‘The City & The City’ by China Mieville.