Hazy Day

I scurried out for a walk yesterday morning, in spite of the lowering clouds.  I guess I thought that if I could just get out into the woods in time, the rain would hold off just for me, and I could get in a full walk.  No such luck.

When I arrived at Pigeon Creek Park, everything seemed gray and still.  Then I got out of the car.  Something about the overcast sky gave a luminosity to the changing leaves, and everything green seemed to glow with a faint inner light.

The air was filled with chirps, trills and chips.  There were sparrows, cardinals, goldfinches, red-winged blackbirds, and even crows and jays.

I spent some time trying to I.D. a new bird I heard among the dead and dying cup plants, that towered over me like a forest in their own right, but again - no luck there.  I taped the sound in hopes of identifying it later, when I got back home.

A squirrel kept running up and down the path, like a mad man.  I wondered what he was up to, but figured it had to do with seeds and nuts.

The goldfinches were as secretive as ever, dashing about in their perfect camouflaged suits.

The goldfinch is right in the center of this photo, in the angle of the center forked branches.

A black-capped chickadee came a little closer.

The woods were glooomy.

A couple of frogs who were pond-side gave me a start as they leaped away from my advancing footsteps.  I guess they were as scared of me as I was of their sudden movement in the bushy grass..

Coming out of the woods and onto the river, I took a look at the the arched shore, hoping for new waterfowl, or any waterfowl to photograph.  Not much was stirring but a couple of pairs of mallards - far down the beach.

I knew the killdeer were out there too, but I just couldn't see them.

I went out to the first point, walking into grey nothingness.  The water was the same color as the sky.  Rain began to fall.  A nuthatch tapped quietly on the tree nearest me, seeking insects under the bark.

As I turned back to the sandy shoreline, a sandpiper just couldn't stand it anymore, and burst from its cover in the marshy grasses - a blur of brown and white.

Another bird flew across my field of view, and landed on a bare branch - a northern flicker.  I love the splash of red they wear on the napes of their necks!

It was then that I heard a faint call.  It sounded like it came from out over the water.  I wasn't sure what kind of a call it was - and no birds were in sight.

The sky was bare, so I scanned the shoreline, looking for possible herons and egrets.  It didn't sound like a heron's grumpy croaking, but I don't know what kind of sound they make when they are happy or interacting with loved ones.  So I looked - but saw nothing.

After some time, I heard the call again, muffled and faint.  Then saw a big bird in the sky - making a beeline for the tree tops.  It was so far away, I couldn't tell what it was, even when I zoomed in on it with my camera.

A couple of minutes later, I heard more calling and saw two birds racing away from the tree tops.

At first I thought it might be a smaller bird mobbing a crow away from its nest, or a crow chasing a hawk.  I even wondered if it were a hawk and a vulture having a squabble, but the calls didn't match any of these birds.  That's when I guessed these might be eagles.  Eagles have that distinctive ratcheting kind of call.

It wasn't until I got home and zoomed way in on the photos that I was able to see the white heads and realized that yes, this was a pair of bald eagles.

Are  they nesting on that point off Pigeon Creek Park?  Have they just arrived from the north, or do they live here year round?

 Or, are these the ALCOA eagles, Liberty and Justice?  The plant is about a mile downriver, near the tower and smokestack pictured here:

I'll probably never know.  But here's a link to the ALCOA eagle website for your reading pleasure.  You can also get to their eagle cam from here:
 http://www.alcoa.com/locations/usa_davenport/en/info_page/eaglecam.asp

Finally!

Finally - I got a hawk!

This sharp-eyed fellow
 was sitting way up in my neighbor's tree in the back yard, and I was lucky enough to get a couple of shots of it.

For me, hawks are very difficult to photograph.  If I get anywhere near them, whether in my car or on foot, they fly away before I can get the lens cap off.  When I saw this one out the back window, I got my camera ready and crept into the garage.  I opened the back door very quietly and stood inside the garage to get the first picture.

I ventured a few steps into the yard and his head snapped toward me instantly.  Even over the long distance between us, I felt a tingle and realized I'd been spotted by a predator.  Good thing I'm too big to be his lunch!

He quickly up and flew away, wanting nothing to do with me.  After some preliminary research, I believe this is a Red-tailed hawk.  This is a wonderful first for me, after over a year of hunting.

Shooting Eagles

Last week I spent a couple of pleasant hours in the company of other photographers on a board walk along the Mississippi, photographing bald eagles.  There were friendly, quiet greetings as each person showed up and set up their tripod or staked their claim to a bit of fence railing as we all looked out over the river.  Latecomers were gently ribbed for sleeping in.

"What'sa matter, Bob?  Your alarm clock not go off?" (Chuckle, chuckle.)

Quiet conversations were interrupted by the soft click and whir of cameras as an eagle swept into view from time to time.  One high point was a burst of activity with seven eagles descending on the river all at once.  There were so many swirling around, I didn't know which one to focus on!  

After that, there was some friendly bragging and one-upping as members from the same photography club kidded one another.  

"Did you get the shot?" asked one fellow.

"Oh, I got it.  Filled the whole frame!" replied the other.

"Yeah, but was it in focus?" teased the first.  

"Sharp as a pin, you better believe it," defended the second.

Pictures were brought up on camera screens and shared around.  Amazing stuff.  National Geographic quality.  And then, from the fishing platform, two eagles swooped down to a log in the river and settled there briefly.  They are a mating pair, and have drawn the attention of the other photographers all week.

There was a gentle hurry down to that end of the board walk in an effort to get in close enough for a good shot without startling the regal pair.

It was a satisfying experience to be out there with other like-minded folks who prize the beauty of nature and the wonder of God's creations.

Photo Flash Mob Protocol

Pulling into my favorite nature walk area, I found a double row of cars parked in the usually empty lot.  "Ahh, yes" I though, "It's eagle time."  Dozens of visitors from points around the globe lined the boardwalk along the river.

Remember those standardized test questions asking, "Which item does not belong?"  Yep. That was me, in my red stocking hat, with my little EOS Canon Rebel.  Stepping gingerly onto the boardwalk, I began making my way through the crowd, thinking I would cross the lock and head out onto the nature trail as usual.  Little did I know - that was not going to happen.

My lack of photo flash mob protocol was palpable.  Within steps I began to modify my plans, and pulled off my hat.   Here's what I learned about what you need to do if you go to shoot eagles:


3.  Dress Down

Wear camo from head to toe.  Do not wear red, hunter orange, or any other bright color.  Frostbite is preferable to the shame of frightening the eagles away due to shocking fashion buffoonery.

Camo is in this season!

2.  Carry a Big Camera

Use a camera longer than your arm, mounted on a tripod taller than a middle school child, costing more money than it would take to feed a small nation for several weeks.  If not, the other photographers will treat you kindly, and may pat you on the head, but understand that you are simply out of your league.
.

Massive cameras

1.  Never Approach the Fishing Platform

Eagles were fishing from three trees at the tip of a peninsula.  One poor soul made the mistake of walking under those trees, and was castigated by shouts from several photographers.  Loud, disgusted shouts.  If you commit such a faux pas, you might want to leave the world of photography behind and go live under a rock, because you may never live it down.

Fishing platform.  The dark shapes in the trees are bald eagles.

A fellow walking under the trees

Good thing I'm a quick learner.  I skipped the walk and bellied up to the rail, snapping away.  I learned to wait for the good light, that eagles like to fish into the wind, and that there is no point wasting memory card space on tail shots.

Fishing & Fighting

"The eagles are coming!"  That's what I think every time I go to battle with hobbits every winter.  In January you are sure to see bald eagles congregating below the dams - the more ice the better!  Getting decent pictures of them is the hard part.

In this first photo, a juvenile (notice his white tail feathers have not come in yet) had just snatched up a fish.  Before he could make off with it, an adult swooped in to steal it, in an aerial version of Steal the Bacon.

After a couple of feints at the juvie's prize, the younger bird was rattled enough, or tired enough, to drop his dinner.

The older eagle swooped in to catch it as it fell - but missed!  High drama on the river!  The fish fell back into the river, and no one got to eat it.

In this other shot, a mature baldie fished out this prize, clutched in his talons.  It would be enough to see him through the freezing night that was coming on fast.

Central Park's Resident Red-Tail

Speaking of red-tailed hawks, here is a great book I found recently.  It's such an awesome book!

It's the true story of off-color red-tailed hawk, the Pale Male, who adopts Central Park and its environs as his territory.  In an interesting and beautiful way, it covers his mates, their challenges and offspring, and his fame.  

Written by Janet Schulman, this is a wonderful book for children, but adult readers will enjoy it just as much.  (I don't know about you, but I've got a penchant for picture books, even at my age.)  The super illustrations by Meilo So, combined with the real life facts in the text, make a great story.  Look for it at your local library!

Spring Break

I took advantage of one morning the boys and I both had off together, and asked them if they wanted to go for a walk with me.  I tempted them with breakfast out afterwards.  Jason opted to stay home, but Ajax was game.  We hopped in the car and away we went.

It was a colder morning than it looked  We were glad for our knit caps and fleece jackets.  The wind was thrashing across the river, lock and marsh the whole time.  Only when we were on the west side of the island did the trees shelter us a little, but they also blocked us from most of the sunshine!

Right near the footbridge we saw a bald eagle.  What a treat!  I thought those had all gone.  Our mild winter and early spring meant the ice did not last long on the river.  I was delighted to see this remaining eagle, and was glad to share the moment with Ajax.  When I was a girl, seeing a bald eagle in the wild was a rare thing.

This one swept across the marsh and disappeared over the island, but we found him when we got down to that end of the trail.  (We have protected areas for eagles along the river here, but this area is not one of them.)

As we walked, Ajax pointed out a landmark he had nicknamed while working on the trail project last summer - "Triangular Trouble".  It is an exposed section of tree root.  He had to look out for it as he pushed his wheelbarrow full of mulch along the trail.

It was fun learning about this old memory of his on the trail.  It was also fun having him along on the walk.  It's not often that I get a buddy to go with me.  And I was true to my word.  I treated him to breakfast and we even brought home something for his brother.