Exploring Our Backyard - Phipps Bend

If you've read my blog before you might remember that I am participating in a photography challenge to take at least one photo each week that meets a weekly challenge.  This week's challenge is to make a photo in your own back yard.  I did that, taking a photo of some potted plants.  On Thursday I took the challenge a little further and expanded my "back yard" to Hawkins County Tennessee and the Phipps Bend Wildlife Preserve.

Those who have lived in this area since the late seventies and early eighties will remember Phipps Bend as the site of a TVA nuclear power plant that was never completed.  The project was 40% complete when it was abandoned in 1981, leaving the skeleton of cooling tower base and a few buildings.

Abandoned Cooling Tower Base

Since then, the Phipps Bend Industrial Park has grown up next to the TVA site and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has also created a wildlife preserve between the old site and the Holston River.  A 3-mile out and back hiking trail/gravel road snakes along parallel to the Phipps Bend in the Holston River.  This easy level hike passes by beautiful ponds, wetlands, wide grassy fields, and the river.  We were there to see and hopefully photograph some wild birds.

What we found was a beautiful area full of wildlife, flowers, and yes, some colorful birds.

Yellow Flag "Batman"  Iris

Oxeye Daisy

 With the exception of one hiker and two equestrians on horseback, we didn't see any other people.  We did see more than a dozen white-tailed deer in the tall grass and one large snapping turtle on the trail.

Can you see me?

Indigo Bunting

Orchard Oriole 

These are just a few of the photos I made on this trip.  My bird photography skills need some work and we have plans to go back next week to try again.  I am more happy with some of the other photos from this trip.  I am trying something new to share these photos.  I have made a 2:40 slide show that shows my 27 favorites from that day that tell a story.  I hope this works and you enjoy the show.

The Early Bird

"Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark."

Rabindranath Tagore

Indian Poet

The best time to take photos outdoors is the hour around sunrise or sunset.   If you want to avoid other people in your photo, dawn is the perfect time.  Few people will be up and about at sunrise.   It's my favorite time to make photos.

The problem with taking photos at dawn is I have to head for my destination long before I know what the conditions will be like.  Will the sun paint the clouds with brilliant reds, oranges, and yellows or will the sky be overcast and gray?  I have found that weather forecasts will give a general idea what to expect, but often the moment the sun breaks the horizon will be very different from the forecast.   I have to get up when it's still dark and see what is in store when I get there.

Blue Heron in Morning Light

On a recent trip to visit my family in South Florida June and I got up early and left the house while everyone was still comfortably asleep.   Our destination was Wakodahatchee Wetlands.  This is a favorite place to photograph birds in a natural setting.  Boardwalks snake throughout the wetlands, making it easy to get close to birds, gators and other wildlife.  On this morning, there were fewer birds than what we had seen in the wetlands before.  Mid-December is a few weeks early for nesting activities and brilliant mating colors that present many photographic opportunities.  However, there were still enough birds to fill all our available time and the rising sun bathed the scenes in a warm soft light, like the photo above.

We don't always have the gift of sunrise colors on every outing but if we didn't get up while it is still dark we would never get to experience the beauty of a sunrise and the beautiful colors of dawn. 

“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” 

Corrie ten Boom

Life On The Rocks - Common Murres

I'm not a fan of the beach (just ask my family) but the coast of Washington and Oregon is very different from what we are used to on the coast of Florida and the Carolinas. The Pacific Northwest coast has numerous coves, bays, rocky coast lines, and even waterfalls.   One feature I found interesting is the sea stacks, which are blocks of erosion-resistant rock isolated from the land by sea. Sea stacks begin as part of a headland or sea cliff. Relentless pounding by waves erodes the softer, weaker parts of a rock first, leaving harder, more resistant rock behind.

Three Arch Rock

Three Arch Rock is an example of a Sea Stack about 1/2 mile off the Oregon shore near Oceanside where we spent a couple nights.  Another example is Pillar Rock off shore of the Cape Meares National Wildlife Refuge.  We could get closer to this rock and get a good look at the residents of this inhospitable place.

Pillar Rock at Common Murres

Common Murres are penguin-like birds that live in the cooler northern oceans.   Common Murres nest on the tops of these sea stacks in colonies so dense that there may be 20 nesting pairs in one square meter.

Close Quarters

Nesting on a Blue Egg

Common Murre eggs are pointed at one end; when pushed, they roll around in a circle, preventing them from rolling off into the ocean. The variation in egg color and markings allows parent Murres to recognize their own eggs when they return from sea.

These birds are abundant along the coast, which makes them easy targets of eagles.   We talked with some birders at Cape Meares and learned that eagles will swoop down and grab a baby or even adult right off the rock.  Sometimes they will land just a few feet away to eat their meal right in front of the other birds.  

Later that day we were down at Yaquina Head Natural Area in Oregon when we heard Sea Gulls making a racket and chasing a young Bald Eagle.  You can see this eagle has a Common Murre in it's talons and blood and feathers on his beak. 

 

The surprising thing is it was the Sea Gulls that were harassing the Eagle.

Life is pretty rough on the rocks.

If you're interested in seeing more photos from our trip to Washington and Oregon and hearing more about the photography, join me at the Twin City Photo Club in Bristol Tuesday September 3.  I'll be doing a program using photos from this trip.

One Fruit of The Spirit & Shooting Birds

Click on any photo in the blog for a larger view.

No, I haven't taken up bird hunting.  In this case I was shooting perching birds in the backyard with my 400mm zoom.   These little guys are a challenge to shoot because they fly so fast and are so small it hard to catch them in the frame and in focus.   Those big egrets are a breeze compared to these little speed demons. 

Today's bird blind was the kitchen. We have a bird feeder on a post in the backyard.  I opened the kitchen window and shot from the inside out towards the feeder.   My old Sigma 80-400 does not focus near fast enough for these birds and there is no way I could follow them in the view finder.  I set up on a tripod and pointed the camera at a point just to the left or right of the feeder where I could catch them in their flight path.   I guessed at the focus using the feeder as my reference. 

I learned that the Depth of Field (DOF) of a 400mm lens on a Canon 7D at f/11 focused at 25' is just over 6".   Most of the time it wasn't bright enough to get that large an f-stop and I had to make do with 5.6 - 7.1, which gave me a DOF of 3" - 4".   That means the bird had to fly through a space less than 4" deep and about 2' wide.

Most of the time it was cloudy and when the sun did come out it was behind the birds, making them a dark silhouette against the bright green field behind them.   I got out a large reflector and propped it up to bounce that sunlight back towards where I hoped the birds would fly.  I later discovered the birds used the reflector for target practice.

I found the birds were most active at the feeder when the sun was behind the clouds and it was too dark for a good shot.  When the sun came out the birds were no where to be seen!

I was able to get one decent shot of a Purple Finch (above) and a few of the Pine Siskins. There were also Gold Finches, Towhee, Chickadees, Cardinals, and Tufted Titmice but I didn't get them today.

Watching these graceful little creatures has a calming effect.   It's a good thing because this was an exercise in patience.  There was a lot of time standing and waiting for the birds to fly to the right spot.  When I loaded the results on the computer 90% of them were out of focus, only part of the bird was in the frame, or there was no bird at all.   
  
The title of this blog hints at one of the key factors in wildlife photography - patience.   "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law." - Galatians 5:22-23.  You can't rush wildlife photography.  Patience may be the biggest contributing factor to getting decent wildlife photos.

When shooting wildlife it's good to remember this saying by Ralph Waldo Emerson - "Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience. "

You Looking At Me?

Last year I was reading a magazine for nature photographers.  Part of that issue was a survey asking the photographers about their favorite place to photograph.  It was fun to read and see how many of the top places we've been to, including Canadian Rockies, Rocky Mountain, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Arches, Zion, and Acadia.  One of the top spots is in our own back yard -- The Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  June and I decided we have been neglecting our park and we need to spend more time in the GSMNP.  As a result, my Smokies Gallery is now the largest on my website.

Last weekend we took another get away trip to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  It was a great weekend to spend time together and recharge our batteries in the woods.  As John Muir said

Forney Ridge Trail to Andrews Bald

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energies, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves."

We hiked to Hen Wallow Falls, Biked the Cades Cove Loop at sunrise, spent at least 30 minutes waiting for a mother bear and her three cubs to move so we could continue our ride, hiked to Andrews Bald after a rain, caught a great sunrise at Clingman's Dome, and another great sunrise from the Foothills Parkway outside Townsend.  Believe it or not, there are still wildflowers blooming in August.

In addition to the black bears, there were numerous white tailed deer, including several bucks.   This one wasn't too sure about the photographer in the high weeds.

You Looking At Me?

We were blessed with peace and quiet on our trip to The Smokies.  Yes, you can find peace in the park if you get away from Gatlinburg, start early, leave the main roads and explore the trails deep into the woods.

There are 17 new photos from this trip in the Smoky Mountain Gallery for you to enjoy.  Check them out and enjoy some of the beauty of our park.

Great Egrets Are....

I'm making my way through the 1,200 photos from the Florida wetlands earlier this week.  I'm now down to 300, which means the other 900 weren't worth the bits on the disk.   I'm not through yet, but I've made good progress.

I thought I would follow up the last post with some more photos of Great Egrets.   As you can see, in addition to being beautiful creatures, Great Egrets are

Shy

Graceful

Hard Working

Stealthy



Coordinated






We were blessed with beautiful mornings with magnificent birds.  What a great opportunity to enjoy creation.   I hope you enjoy these photos.  Be sure to click on the images for a larger view.




More photos from the wetlands are available in the Florida gallery.

Just Back From West Palm Beach and The Wakodahatchee Wetlands

We spent a few days visiting family in West Palm Beach this week.  I got out shooting three mornings while there - once to Green Cay Wetlands in Boyton Beach and twice to Wakadahatchee Wetlands in Delray Beach.  These are both great places to photograph birds in a natural habitat.   Green Cay is a nicer facility with a 1.5 mile elevated boardwalk and a Nature Center but Wakadahatchee is by far the best place for photographing the birds.   I've been three years in a row now and highly recommend both. 

I took over 1,200 images the three mornings and now have to process through those to narrow down to the few keepers.   It will take several days to get through but I'll eventually post them in my online gallery.  For now, here's one of a Great Egret at Wakadahatchee. This bird was in breeding plumage wtih delicate ornamental feathers on it's back and the green skin around it's eyes.

Great Egret at Wakadahatchee Wetlands

1/400 sec, f/5.6, 250mm

Click the photo for a larger version.

More photos from the wetlands are availale in the Florida Gallery.

Happy Thanksgiving

Here's hoping everyone has a Fantastic Thanksgiving Day.

This was taken in Zion National Park back in March 2007.   I updated it a bit with a trial version of Nik Viveza.   All the Nik software is on sale right now.   I've been using the Nik Define 2.0 package for a while and have been very happy with it.   They have a new HDR tool that results in realistic images.  I'm thinking about getting the entire package.  

Butterflies!

When we went to the Pinnacle Nature Preserve Area on September 5th we were surprised by the number of butterflies on the mountain.   When we went to the Smoky Mountains September 7 - 9 we saw even more.   Turns out it's Monarch migration season.  These little guys are on their way to Mexico where they winter each year.   Some travel as far as 3,000 miles!   The Monarch's we saw may have started as far north as Nova Scotia.

We stopped at an overlook along the Newfound Gap Road and discovered a field of wildflowers that was full of butterflies, including this Monarch (right) and Common Buckeye (left). 

Nearby we found several Pipevine Swallowtails (blue with orange spots under the wings) on some bushes, maybe pipevines.   Because adult butterflies are poisonous to predators from all the pipevine they eat as caterpillars, most birds avoid them, which could explain why we saw so many.

The Pipevine Swallowtails, like other butterflies, have an unusual habit of "puddling". Puddling is when many butterflies are seen at one spot, such as a shallow puddle, mud, or animal poop. When we drove into Cataloochee we found hundreds of these beautiful butterflies on the dirt road, many flattened by car tires. It was difficult to drive down the road and not run them over.

 
 
Perhaps the prettiest we saw this day was this beautiful orange Gulf Fritillary.  It seemed to pose for me.  I noticed many of the butterflies were happy to sit still, which seemed unusual.   I don't know if they were resting up for the long journey, enjoying the sun and flowers, or it was just nearing the end of butterfly season.
 

I used to think spring time was the time for flowers and new growth.  Now I'm seeing these God Signs in the late summer and early fall time.  What a blessing to live so close to the Smoky Mountains.   We are going to be back again and again.



If you're impressed with my knowledge of butterflies, don't be.  I used the Discover Life website to look these up.

Kingsport Greenbelt

June and I had to run out to Hobby Lobby to buy more supplies for matting photos and took some time to walk the Greenbelt.  We were hoping to find Wood Ducks and Night Herons, but they were no were to be found.  Instead we were treated to baby Mallards, wildflowers, bees, and lots of birds!  

The Greenbelt is a great place for a stroll, run or bike ride.   It's also a fantastic spot for nature photography.   You can park right next to the path and travel a paved flat path for miles and miles.  It's one of the best features of Kingsport.

More photos available in the Greenbelt photo album.


Stay tuned for more shots from the Greenbelt.

Wakodahatchee Wetlands December 2009

Seems like when ever we're on vacation, June and I will get up at completely unreasonable times to drive somewhere to take pictures at sunrise. Why would we do such crazy things on vacation? I do it because the golden hour just before and after sunrise is the best time for outdoor photography. The light is low making long interesting shadows. The light is also softer and has a warmer color. As long as the weather cooperates, it's the best time of the day to take photographs outside. I guess June gets up this early on vacation because she loves me :)

While visiting family in West Palm Beach, we got up early one morning to go to the Wakodahatchee Wetlands in Delray Beach, which is a great place to photograph birds. Wakodahatchee means "Created Waters" in Siminole Indian. The wetlands were created by pumping treated waste water into the wetlands. The birds naturally migrate and nest in the wetlands. We saw Great Blue Herons, Green Herons, Anhingas, Cooper's Hawks, Egrets, and many other birds. There were even a few gators lurking around. They have built a system of boardwalks that allow you to walk among the wetlands to get close up views of the wildlife.

My photos from this trip are available http://www.thesiggins.com/Earth-Sea-and-Sky-1/Florida/13630510_8hY5W#994658109_agyMd

More information about the wetlands is available at http://www.pbcgov.com/waterutilities/wakodahatchee/