Riparian Preserve 8.24.10

There has to be something fundamentally wrong with a place that is so hot you sweat at 5:30am - so began my day, standing in the shade of a tree trying to photograph the Goldfinches with sweat running into my eyes and down my back! It is surprising how personal comfort affects concentration and technique - it was something I was aware of as I was shooting and it was re-inforced when I uploaded my images at home. No matter, practice is practice I reckon - and so, here are today's selection:

Goldfinch (Click to enlarge)




















Exif: 1/100", f8, ISO 200, 600mm, Manual mode.

Eurasian Collared Dove (Click to enlarge)




















Exif: 1/500", f8, ISO 200, 600mm, Manual mode.

Snowy Egret (Click to enlarge)

Exif: 1/500", f10, ISO 200, 600mm, Manual mode.

White Chinese Goose (Click to enlarge)

Exif: 1/500", f16, ISO 200, 600mm, Manual mode.

Dragonfly (Click to enlarge)

Exif: 1/500", f16, ISO 200, 600mm, Manual mode.

Riparian Preserve and Tres Rios 7.19.10

I got cancelled from work last night, so I was able to get up nice and early for a drive down to Gilbert. I tried to catch some different subjects so that this blog does not fill up with Egrets and Stilts!

Here are this mornings efforts:

Gila Woodpecker (Click to enlarge)




















Anna's Hummingbird (Click to enlarge)


Afterwards I took a run past Tres Rios on the way home. It looks like the Turkey Vultures are out in force at the moment and the ponds are a danger area as I found out when a Dragonfly squadron started diving at me from the skies!

Turkey Vulture (Click to enlarge)


Dragonfly (Click to enlarge)

Riparian Preserve 6.24.10

I decided to take a chance with the heat this morning and travelled out to Gilbert. Surprisingly, there was quite a lot of birdlife and not many photographers. I was able to spend a leisurely 2 hours strolling between the ponds without fear of disturbing anyone.
By about 8.30 am it had become too warm to stay out, even being in the shade was very uncomfortable.
Here is a selection from the trip:

Great Blue Heron (click to enlarge)


Snowy Egret (click to enlarge)


Neotropic Cormorant (click to enlarge)




















Costa's Hummingbird (click to enlarge)


Mallard (click to enlarge)




















Great Egrets (click to enlarge)




















Dragonfly (click to enlarge)


Pond Slider Turtle (click to enlarge)

Tres Rios 5.25.10

I tried a new place this morning, a place that is a lot closer than the Riparian Preserve. Unfortunately, it is a lot smaller and the photographic opportunities were a lot less. There was plenty of bird life, but the ponds were either overgrown or totally exposed. The other problem was that in order to have the sun behind me for the photography I had to walk past the ponds first - which meant that the more skittish birds were already on the wing when I was positioned properly. I did intend to wait for them to return, but the mosquitos were out in force - and although I was covered in anti-mozzie spray the little blighters do have a tendency to explore my ears and nose, which is very uncomfortable!!
Anyway, these were from today:

Black Crowned Night Heron (click to enlarge).




















Dragonfly (click to enlarge).


Tomorrow, if I wake up early enough, I will head out to the Riparian Reserve again.

Gilbert Riparian Preserve 5.17.10

I took another early morning jaunt out to Gilbert this morning. This time I set off at 4am and arrived at 5.30 before most people got there. It was a good opportunity to take my gimbal head for a spin... I like it a lot, but I am going to have to practice with it as some of my distance shots came out a little on the soft side. I still managed plenty of satisfactory shots and I think that the preserve is fast becoming my favourite place. I am looking forward to seeing how the bird species vary month by month.

These are my personal faves from today:

Dragonfly (click to enlarge).

Great Blue Heron (click to enlarge).

Green Heron (click to enlarge).

White Chinese Goose (click to enlarge).