Camera Critters #284

I have often seen a beautiful butterfly while wandering around central Oregon, but have never been able to get a photograph of it…until recently.



This beautiful lep is a Milbert's Tortoiseshell.  I found it hanging around the yellow buds at Fireman’s Pond in Redmond, Oregon.

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Camera Critters #283

From what I have read on the internet, this dragonfly, the Variegated Meadowhawk, or Sympetrum corruptum, has been on a migratory move.

I guess I was lucky to capture this possible female of the species as it stopped by Fireman’s Pond.



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Camera Critters #240

The Belted Kingfisher has always been a difficult subject for me.  Since I don’t shoot from behind a blind, and the kingfishers is a skittish bird, it is hard to get close for a good photo.

Recently, I was at Fireman’s Pond in Redmond, Oregon, when I noticed a bird hovering on the other side of the pond.  I knew immediately what it was and began heading towards it.

As I got closer, the kingfisher turned and flew across the pond and landed on some wires along the far shore.  Again, I began trekking towards the kingfisher.  As I got about 100 feet or so away, he took to his wings and flew to the other side of the pond, landing in a tree.

And again, I began walking towards it…only to have it flush to the opposite side of the water.

As I stood there cussing out the bird, and trying to figure out how I can get a good shot of it, I developed a plan of action.  I would use the brush along the shoreline as cover and stealthily approach the bird in order to get a good shot.

It didn’t work…he saw me when I was a little more than 100 feet and off he flew.  But this time, he turned and began hovering.  Moments later he dove (I couldn’t see the end result of the dive due to the brush I was still hiding in).   Then he rose back into the air with a small fish in his bill. 

Landing on a power pole about 150 feet, the kingfisher began to enjoy his meal.

I wasn’t able to get close for good photos, but my camera does allow me to crop rather tightly and still produce a decent image for my post. 









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Camera Critters #236

Earlier this year, I grabbed my camera and headed to Fireman’s Pond.  It has always been a favorite spot of mine.  I’ve gotten photos of dragonflies, damselflies and birds.

On this particular day, I noticed a small bird flitting around the reeds and took off after it.  When it finally gave me an opportunity to image it, I fired off a couple of shots.

This is the first image, and my first sighting of a Marsh Wren.  At the same time, I was able to get a tasty morsel the wren was eyeballing.



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Camera Critters #223

Yellow-headed Blackbirds are some of my favorite birds.  It is mainly the males which are brightly colored (see the post here) that I enjoy imaging.

However, I couldn’t pass up this female blackbird when I saw her. 


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Camera Critters #220

One of the many critters I have been waiting to photograph is the dragonfly.

Although I have seen several dragonflies, until a couple of days ago, I wasn’t able to get a picture of any.  But a trip to Fireman’s Pond changed all that.

I first noticed several darners patrolling the area.  As I watched and hoped one would land so I could create an image of it, this Eight-spotted Skimmer flew by and landed about six feet in front of me.



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Camera Critters #215

One of my favorite birds in this area, is the Yellow-headed Blackbird.

Their bright and dark colors contrasting in the sunlight, make them a sight to see.

A week ago, I went to Fireman’s Pond to check on dragonflies.  I was lucky enough to see my first of the season.  However, I came across a fearless blackbird at the same time.

This guy was ten feet away from me, watching every move I made.  As I began shooting images of him, he began singing.  Well, what the Yellow-headed Blackbird considers singing.  Hear its voice here.



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Camera Critters #210

During a recent visit to Fireman’s Pond in Redmond, Oregon, I was able to photograph one of my favorite waterfowl species.

Personally, I call them Daffy Ducks because of their extremely large bills, but most people know them as Northern Shoveler, or Anas clypeata.

The shoveler is the duck in the foreground.  Behind it is a non-breeding plumage American Wigeon.

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Camera Critters #192

I may get a lot of flak by saying this, but the Mud Hen is one ugly bird.

Also known as the American Coot, this blackish bird with a white bill is easy to identify when seen.  Although primarily a waterfowl, it isn’t in the duck family.  It's closest relatives are rails, which are marsh birds.

I see Coots all the time.  In the water, they appear rather graceful (although still ugly), but on land…well, I think the phrase “Duck out of water” was coined after first seeing this bird waddle around.

Enough of their story…8v)  It’s time to show off my better images of the old coots.

Coot feeding young

Coot feeding on pond-weed

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Camera Critters #177

A couple of Camera Critters ago, I showed y’all a Dotted Blue butterfly.  It has markings similar to a variety of small blue Lepidoptera found in my area.  In case you have forgotten, here is the Dotted Blue again.

I always try to photograph these little leps whenever I can.

Several weeks ago, I was going through some of my photos and noticed one I had forgotten about (I take a lot of photos and have a limited memory  8v).  I looked at the image and my first thought was, "I did image a Dotted Blue before.”

Then I looked closer at the butterfly and saw the outer fringes of the wings are not dark in any part of the fringes.  I also noticed the dominate outline of the wings.  I had read before about a blue butterfly in the west which has evenly colored fringes.  It’s a Rita’s Blue.

However, a Rita’s Blue is not found in this area.  I’ve checked a number of different blue butterflies, and find nothing to match, except the Dotted Blue.  That means I did photograph one before the one above.  See for yourself and if you know a definitive identity of it, let me know.

 

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Camera Critters #173

Since my favorite dragonfly hunting area is currently difficult to get to, I have been exploring other areas which in the past were fairly productive.

One of those spots is Fireman’s Pond in Redmond, Oregon.  Several years ago, one corner of the pond was alive with dozens of dragonflies and damselflies.  However, I had been there a couple of weeks earlier and the pickin’ were slim.

But not on my last visit.

I first thought the above critter was a Blue-eyed Darner.  However, I wanted verification, so I sent the image to my ‘expert.’  He identified the dragonfly as a Paddle-tailed Darner.

What makes it a special image, is it is the first I have seen of this species.  Scratch another off the life list.

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Camera Critters #172

I go to a nearby pond often.  It’s a great place to find dragonflies and damselflies.  However, sometimes I find other critters there…like Osprey.

I haven’t seen any this year so far, but in the past, I have.  And I have even seen them fly off with fish in their talons.

Here’s the Osprey is getting a good grip.

And finally, the trout is secure and off they go to feed.

One of these days, I hope to get a shot of one hitting the water as it grabs a fish. 

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Camera Critter #121

A couple of days ago, I was at one of my favorite spots looking for odonata (dragonflies, if you’re wondering).

I didn’t see any, but along the shoreline there was a large gathering of wildflowers and within them…bees.

I enjoy watching bees do “their thing,” especially bumblebees.  While watching the bees, I noticed two different types of bumblebees.

One had a small, single yellowish-white stripe near the end of the abdomen, and the other is typical of most bumblebees I see in my area.  It had a yellowish-white stripe further up from the end of the abdomen and on top of that, an orange stripe.

But bees gave me good looks and the time to get a decent photo (even after I had screwed up my initial settings as I shot the top bee’s photo).

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Camera Critter #119

Does lightning strikes the same place twice?

Can history repeat?

If you ask me, the answer to both questions is yes!

On July 7, 2007, I was walking along a spit at what I called Dragonfly Corner of Fireman's Pond in Redmond, Oregon. As I came near the end of the dry land, I noticed an Eight-spotted Skimmer sitting on the top of a reed in the water. I raised my camera and shot the image below.

Fast forward to July 15, 2010. I was again at Dragonfly Corner at Fireman's Pond, and again, I was walking on the spit. As I neared the end, in almost the same spot, I noticed another male Eight-spotted Skimmer sitting on the tip of a reed in the water. Remembering the shot three years earlier, I raised my camera and produced the following image.

Although they look similar, they are not the same critter...same species, but different bug. However, I almost captured the same image I captured three years earlier.

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Camera Critter #93

The other day, a friend of mine stopped by and said, "Let's go shoot something." So I grabbed my camera and off we went. Since we both like photographing aircraft, our first stop was at the airport waiting for incoming and outgoing flights.

When the action died down, we decided to check a few other spots around town. At our next stop, Fireman's Pond, we got out of the car and every duck and goose in the area came running. Since they are accustomed to people feeding them, they surely thought my friend and I were going to do the same thing.

However, as the domestic goose led the pack towards me, they all stopped when I raised my camera and fired off a couple of shots. I guess the goose decided it was time to express its displeasure at me for not having any food and spread its wings, then honked rather loudly at me.

As it finished 'chewing' me out for not bringing food, it turned to the side, bared its teeth and I swear growled at me. I didn't know how much trouble I was really in until I looked at the photo of it later at home. 8v)


Those are some nasty looking teeth for a bird.

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Camera Critter #79

I have several favorite spots in the area for shooting. Along the Dry Canyon Trail is one place. Another is Fireman's Pond near the airport.

I go there for dragonflies and waterfowl, but sometimes I come across larger birds, such as Osprey. I have found three nest sites within a mile of the pond and am sure the nest owners often visit the pond. I have seen upwards of four birds there at one time.

However, one day I came across a single bird which circled the pond, made several unsuccessful dives and then returned to circling above. Later, as I was checking out a dragonfly on a nearby weed, a large shadow passed over me. I looked up just in time to see the Osprey take wing after a successful dive.




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Camera Critter #45

A couple of days ago, our wonderful owner of this meme, tagged me for something someone tagged her for. It was a Photo Meme and my entry can be seen here.

In the post, I mentioned it wasn't the best image of that series, so I decided I would post the best one from that particular series and the best shots of that day's shoot. The images were all shot on April 17, 2008 at one of my favorite areas in Redmond, Oregon -- Fireman's Pond. So, here they are.

This first image was the best one from that series which provided the photo I was tagged for. I managed to get the warbler in a good pose.

Yellow-rumped Warbler

The next shot was taken about 100 feet from the shot above, off the side of a small man-made peninsula at the pond.

Song Sparrow

Another tree near the parking lot at the pond, was the site where the warbler image below was taken. In my opinion, a much better shot than the first image, what with fewer distraction of tree branches.

Yellow-rumped Warbler

In a tree in the picnic area of the pond, I located the sparrow below. There were also some Dark-eyed Juncos in the area, but I wasn't able to get any decent images of them.

White-crowned Sparrow

The sparrow below was an exciting find for me, as it was the first time I had seen one of these sparrows in the area. It was also found near the picnic area.

Savannah Sparrow

Although there were a lot of birds in the area, the major species are (except as noted) seen here. It was a good day of shooting for me, and I hope everyone enjoys them as much as I enjoyed shooting the photos.

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Photo Meme

It appears that someone has tagged me for a Photo Meme.   So, after seeing Misty Dawn's photo, I decided I would play also.

Rules are simple (according the originator of the game)...go to your photo folder, selected the sixth folder and the sixth photo in the folder.  Sounds interesting...I wonder what is in my Sixth and Sixth...

Ahh...yes...a singing Yellow-rump Warbler.  The photo was taken on April 14, 2008 at one of my favorite places in Redmond, Oregon -- Fireman's Pond.

I fired off maybe a dozen shots of this guy.  However, this was not one of the better shots.  8v)

Photo was originally shot in Canon RAW, converted to JPG and resized to 1000 pixel width.  Otherwise, it is as shot.

Camera Critter Meme #27

One of the best things about being a nature photographer, is you get to learn a lot about the critters you see most often. For this week's Camera Critter Meme, I would like to show how various insects in my part of the country, mate.

First is a pair of Common Ringlets. I came across this pair along the Dry Canyon Trail in Redmond, Oregon, last year. I first saw the pair flying around and couldn't figure what it was...until they landed near me.


Continuing with critters found along the Dry Canyon Trail, a few weeks ago, I hit the jackpot, so to speak, of finding mating pairs. On a blooming sage brush, I found this pair of Soldier Beetles. They seemed to know what they were doing.

Not far away, on some wild oats, I noticed a pair of Shield Bugs doing what comes natural.


Then, as I was heading up the stairs which allow access to the canyon, something told me to go back and look closer at the base of the steps. I'm glad I did, for I never would have seen this pair of Robber Flies in the process of mating.


The next critter is the Western Meadowhawk. It is a common odonata in my area and can be found near water and in arid areas. I found this pair at Fireman's Pond.


Several days after seeing the meadowhawk pair, I noticed a pair of Blue-eyed Darners in the reeds along the pond. Notice the difference in positioning for the activity.


And finally, as I was walking along the far side of Fireman's Pond last summer, I noticed an attached pair of bluets flying low over the water. I watched the pair head towards me and land on the remains of a nearby plant. With camera in hand, I was able to capture this sequence of events as a pair of mating Tule Bluets proved, that even in the insect world, mating is an an act of love.




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Camera Critter Meme #18

Critters...critters everywhere and this week's Camera Critter Meme is no exception.

One day in July of 07, I was wandering around near Fireman's Pond. Most of what a person sees in this part of the high desert is dull green sage, light brown weeds Juniper trees, blackish rocks and gray, weather-worn stumps. So when I caught a glimpse of red on a sage brush, I zoomed out the lens, squatted down and fired off a number of shots.

When I finished, I continued on my way, looking for critters both big and small to shoot.

That evening when I returned home, I opened up the series of shots of the Seven-spotted Ladybird Beetle and a smile crept over my face.

Not only did I get the beetle, but I got a virtual feast for it as dozens of Aphids were everywhere on the plant. Had I seen those little green, garden menaces when I shot the photo, I probably would have stayed around for some action shots.