outdoor photography

Northern Waterthrush Well I've been away from blogging for a while, but not away from birding.  I've been visiting Mead Gardens frequently as migrants have been trickling in.  The birds are teasing me right now--there aren't high numbers of species, but it's fun to see what I can.  I've been dead set on photographing both waterthrushes this fall.  As of today, I have photographs of both, but I'm only really happy with the Northern Waterthrush above.  The Louisiana Waterthrush below is my first photograph of the species, but I hope that it gives me a chance for a better shot. Louisiana Waterthrush If you're not familiar with waterthrushes, these warblers can be very difficult to tell apart, even for very experienced birders.  The Northern Waterthrush has some streaking on the throat and often a yellowish color on the belly.  The Louisiana has a bolder white stripe above the eye that is thick behind the eye with no yellow on the belly (though w...

Dragonfly I went to Mead Gardens yesterday morning for about an hour before work. It was pretty slow--I saw several Common Yellowthroats, along with the usual Mockingbirds, House Finches, Great Crested Flycatchers, Carolina Wrens and Cardinals.  As I was getting ready to leave, though, things started to get good.  In a tree by the lake, there were several American Redstarts and a Magnolia Warbler becoming very active.  It would have been nice to see what else may have come around, but I had to content myself with that Magnolia Warbler.  Not a bad morning, though, if you ask me. Monarch Butterfly Magnolia Warbler Common Yellowthroat Here's a list of the 25 species I found this morning between around 8am and 9am: Wood Duck 2 Wood Stork 1 Great Blue Heron 1 Great Egret 1 Turkey Vulture 1 Osprey 2 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 Mourning Dove 3 Chimney Swift 3 Red-bellied Woodpecker 1 Downy Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker 1 Great Crested Flycatcher 3 B...

Northern Parula This morning I went to Central Winds Park on my way to work for about an hour.  I had a pretty good time.  I went the trees between the playground and the lake, and I found three Northern Parula on and near the ground.  As I watched them, it became clear that one was young and had just left the nest, and the parents were feeding it.  It could fly but apparently still dependent on its parents for food.  I also found about 5 American Redstarts including 2 females.  And, I finally found a Blackpoll Warbler--my first of the year and my first photos ever.  It seems a rule with me that my first photos of any species are terrible (back-lit, grainy, etc).  This morning, my Blackpoll photos were a notch above terrible, so I figured I'd risk sharing a couple. Northern Parula with a treat for the kiddo Blackpoll Warbler Blackpoll Warbler Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly (Black Morph) ? Trumpet Vine...