Month: May 2010

Despite my photographic frustration at Malheur, I had a good time and am looking forward to returning there, hopefully at least a couple more times this year and staying longer when I do return. A day isn’t nearly long enough to see what’s there, unless it’s snowing and sleeting.

Here are three of my favorite shots that I haven’t already posted. I’ve been hearing about a Redheaded duck several times locally, but have never seen it. However, when I saw this duck in the background while photographing the Ruddy Ducks, I knew immediately that I’d never seen one before and realized, at the same moment, that it must be the Redhead in full breeding colors. Luckily, I also happened to see it during one of the few breaks in the clouds.

Another favorite also happens to be a shot of birds I’ve never seen before. In fact, I didn’t “see” them until I was sitting in front of my computer long after the trip. When they flew over, I actually thought they were a flock of cormorants, not realizing differently until I actually was deciding which pictures to delete. Next time I’ll be hunting for White-faced Ibis on the ground.

The last shot is one of birds I was expecting to see in Toppenish on my return visit. When I first saw these in the distance, I thought it was a flock of gulls, but as it got closer it was quite clear it was actually a large flock of White Pelicans.

While my favorite bird shots are shots of individual birds flying, shots like this are one of the main reasons I keep using my old 400mm telephoto instead of the newer 500mm lens with a doubler. I find it much easier to get shots of flying birds with a hand-held lens rather than a camera mounted on a tripod.

The more serious I become about photographing wildlife, the more I realize the limitations and the trade-offs you make every time you choose a camera or lens, no matter how good or expensive it might be. I’m constantly pushing the limits of my equipment, trying to meet my needs rather than meeting the needs of the equipment.

I’ve been trying to get shots of a male Ruddy Duck in breeding colors for several years now, and, despite the clouds, I had every chance to do that while in Malheur. I must have spent an hour watching several male Ruddy Ducks courting the ladies. I’m still not sure exactly what the courting ritual consists of, but raised tail feathers seemed like one sure sign,

as well as this charging habit, which I observed repeatedly, though I’m still not sure if it was meant to impress the female or intimidate other males.

If standing up didn’t win the lady,

males seemed perfectly willing to throw themselves at their mercy.

After all that, the little guy can probably be forgiven if he appears a little cocky after he wins the lady’s attention.

Although I grew increasingly concerned by the deteriorating weather as I approached Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, it was difficult not to be impressed by the headquarters itself, particularly by the wildlife that was attracted to the feeders on the grounds.

I think this is the best picture I’ve ever gotten of a California Quail

even though I’ve seen them in many different places, including my son’s backyard.

There was a flock of Yellow-Headed Blackbirds, another bird I rarely see,

though I’ll never feel quite the same about them after watching them at the feeder.

Unfortunately, by the time I actually got out on the refuge, the weather had turned ominous,

definitely not camera friendly.

Although I was pleased that my camera did as well as it did to capture photos under such adverse conditions it was obvious pictures weren’t going to be as good as I would have hoped they would be.

I’m still amazed the camera captured raindrops like this under such difficult lighting conditions.

Unfortunately, things got worse. I missed several beautiful shots after I was caught out in a driving sleet about a half mile from the car. I carefully wiped down the camera and lens when I got back, but it took me several shots to figure out why everything I shot looked like it was taken in a deep fog.

I finally had to remove the filter and warm up both the lens filter and the lens itself before picture-taking returned to normal.