Larry at Larry's Images.com: 5/1/11

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Mohican Wildlife Weekend

Bald Eagle (probably the male)

We had the Mohican Wildlife Weekend in the area last weekend. I decided to go on the pontoon boat ride on Clearfork Reservoir last Saturday Morning. We went to the only place you can view the Bald Eagle nest now (from the water). The nest, pictured below, was behind a tree which is beginning to sprout leaves.

Bald Eagle Nest

What the people on the boat thought to be the female was in the nest. She was busy feeding the young. It has been substantiated that there are at least two eaglets.

As we traveled past the eagles, we saw other birds. Someone said they saw the male eagle fly by but I did not get a good shot. I did get a usable shot of the Cormorants.

Double-crested Cormorants

They are diving birds when they feed. They were swimming in one location beside a log. I did not observe the feeding behavior. I did not observe a nest which looks much like an eagle nest but smaller.

I should also mention that I attended the keynote on Friday night at Gorman Nature Center. John A. Ruthven gave a very interesting talk/drawing about the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. John is part of the group who is searching for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker in the Big Woods of eastern Arkansas. They go and stay in a motel in western Florida panhandle. They paddle into the swamp searching.

John A Ruthven

I have been reading about this effort for several years. The Ivory-billed has supposedly been extinct for a number of years. In February, 2004, Gene Sparling, a kayaker observed and described an Ivory-billed from the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas. "Science", as John Referred to it, would not accept the proof. John is part of a group searching for conclusive evidence that the Ivory-billed still exists. It was most interesting to hear his talk and watch him make the drawing as he talked.

I must add another of John's phrases. He said that when you are looking for the Ivory-billed you look for a "skunk in a tree". I believe that he meant that the bird is black and white like a skunk.

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Monday, May 2, 2011

Shooting a waterfall.

Water Fall Stream Feature

Ever wonder how the water could have such a silky texture? Chuck Hagan taught me this technique. You must use slow film or a low ISO on your camera. A polarizing filter or neutral density filter help to block light forcing a slower shutter. I did not use filters on this one. You need to get your shutter speed below 1/15 second. A small aperture also helps do this.

Water Fall Stream Feature

With a higher ISO and faster shutter, it looks like this.

Water Fall Stream Feature

I like both effects. Thanks Chuck for your help!

Sunday, May 1, 2011

First comes the egg!

Frog Eggs

These are the frog eggs that I found and photographed. They are called Frogspawn according the Wikipedia. One female laid all of them.

Tadpoles

Later I found these tadpoles swimming about. Wikipedia has a slideshow showing the development from the egg to the tadpole. Isn't spring wonderful!