Greetings! I went up to the Ridgefield NWR on June 14, 2012, and arrived around 7:15 a.m. It’s another cloudy spring day but pleasant. I’m always wary that this can be a favorite time for mosquitoes to come out and attack me. They seem to like the shady area of the woods the most, so I’m on guard when I drive through the Ash tree forest. Since I’m shooting mostly from inside the truck, I always have my windows down–and bean bags mounted–to facilitate quick shooting. This makes me an easy target.
Let’s move on now to the shots I got today (not really “today,” but back on June 14).
First up, I spot the two fledged Great Horned Owls but only one is in a position that offers a photo opportunity. These photos show something on its right eye that he needs to take a lot of care removing if he uses his talons! (7:38 a.m.)
[Please click on the thumbnails below to see larger, more detailed images].
Here’s a young duck, possibly a Mallard, posing for me. (7:41)
Then I come across a mature Bald Eagle flying low and upsetting a bunch of Red-wing Blackbirds. (8:08 – 8:15)
This is likely the mother eagle heading to the nest with a catch of some kind–it looks like another bird of prey for breakfast.
A shot of the eagle nest from the road (around 400-500 feet). (8:16)
Near post #4 trots this young coyote on the road. (8:31)
And, a Red-tailed Hawk checking me out. (8:40)
Here’s a set of bunny poses! (8:57)
A cute juvenile Pied-billed Grebe was close to a parent at South Rest Lake. (10:44)
An awesome Bald Eagle gives me a fly-by. (11:04)
Another shot of the nest with both eaglets visible. (11:11)
Heading over the bridge to go home when this Western Scrub Jay poses for me on a post. (11:28)
I wanted to mention that Canon has released Canon 7D firmware, version 2.0.0, in early August. Get it at this link. I tried it on a recent shoot and shooting full size RAW frames, I got a burst maximum of 26, up from around 15, before the buffer filled up. The firmware has other features, too. Check out my August 8 blog post called New Canon EOS 7D Firmware Update Released – Version 2.0.0, for more information. So if you use a 7D, you can upgrade it for free!
That’s it for today! Thanks for stopping by and see you next time on The Blog!