Another year almost over. In the words of a famous songwriter:

So this is Christmas
And what have you done
Another year over
And a new one just begun
[John Lennon]

Happy Holidays from our family to yours!


Natalie and Lucky


Rich aka Vasille

I had the opportunity to shoot some raptors as a birds in flight workshop. The workshop was held in Belchertown MA, at Sky Meadow. You may recognize that as being Les Campbell’s place. The raptors were provided by a falconer Brian Bradley. Some of the raptors included a Male Kestrel, Harris Hawk, Barn Owl and a Gyrfalcon.
Here are a few shots from the workshop.

BARN OWL


GYRFALCON


HARRIS HAWK


BARN OWL


BARN OWL IN FLIGHT

It’s that time of year once again. Time to spend time with the family and reconnect, here in New England its also a good weekend to get out and see what migrant birds one can find. I plan to take the gear out one day this weekend and look to see what I can find. Huh it will help to burn off some of those calories! I was looking through my images for some shots of turkeys and I was surprised to find that I really didn’t have many. I guess next time I come across them I’ll actually have to photograph a few. hahaha
The wild turkey has made a big come back here in the Northeast. It was once hunted to near extinction. But controlled hunts and restricted areas helped bring this bird back to its plentiful existence. Here is what a real wild turkey looks like the kind the pilgrims actually killed, cleaned and ate. No it’s not a Butterball!

Did you know that vultures have one of the largest wingspans of all birds? To see these birds gliding gracefully in the air is just amazing. Vultures feast mostly on carrion. In Connecticut for many years only the Turkey vulture flourished. But in the last 10 years or so the Black vultures have been sharing the territory. How do you tell them apart? Look at the head, for one the black vulture has a black head, the turkey has a red head. Also look at the tail, the black vulture has a short stubby tail and the turkey's is a bit longer. Also the feathers on the turkey are a little more on the brown side. When these birds are in flight look for them to rock from side to side a sure indication that what you see is a vulture.

TURKEY VULTURE


BLACK VULTURE

I had a chance to head out to the lake today to see what I could find.
I came across a small flock of Golden-Crowned Kinglets. They are usually found in spruce or white pine and other conifers. They always seem to hang out in small groups of less then ten, the flock I found was a group of three. These guys pick very small insects off the ends of branches and they will often hover or hang upside down while they are foraging. I was lucky to see all these behavior traits today which helped me determine the exact species.

GOLDEN_CROWNED KINGLETS



While driving home from the lake I noticed this hawk perched in a tree keeping watch over the field below. This hawk is a Red-Shouldered and usually hunts from a perch in the forests or in clearings. These hawks feed on reptiles, small mammals and some birds. In spring you can even find them foraging for frogs along the edges of ponds and lakes. They are also very vocal and if you find one I'm pretty sure you will hear it too. I did in fact hear this one calling several times while I was photographing it.

RED-SHOULDERED HAWK


While I was out at the lake today I came across a few antler rubs. Antler rubs are common during deer mating season. Bucks will rub their antlers on trees to mark their territory and to make noise. Bucks have tiny scent glands on the top of their head so when they rub they are leaving their scent, hence marking their territory. By the looks of these rubs this seems to be a good size buck.

ANTLER RUB

Many people have commented this year that there have been very few birds at their feeders. Where did all the birds go? Rest assured they didn't disappear. This year we had an over abundace of rain in the summer months, this led to a bumper crop of seeds, acorns and nuts of every kind. So with so much natural food in abundance there is no need for the local birds to frequent your feeders. But as the weather turns colder and there is snow or ice covering the food supply the birds will be back looking for that seed you put out for them. So be sure that if your seed has been sitting in your feeder for a long time clean it out, remove the old seed and any mold that has started to grow, and put fresh seed in and be patient.


Tufted Titmouse


Female Dark Eyed Junco

I really don’t like this time of year much as far as shooting goes. Since spring migration is over the birds start to look a little bedraggled by this time of year. Mostly from raising their broods of young. So its always a challenge as to what do I shoot this time of year. It’s slightly to early to shoot deer, elk and moose, thats best done in the fall. Yes of course there are still many birds around this time of year even hummers and I do shoot them until they leave in September. Most birds start to look awful this time of year because of the molt, when their spring colors change to their winter colors. Rather then put up pictures of ugly birds I picked a few of my favorite shots from the last few months that I haven’t posted. Maybe its time to head to the shore or Jamaica Bay!

Northern Harrier


Chipping Sparrow


American Robin

Drink Your Tea!
Thats the sound of the Eastern Towhee! The Towhee is part of the Sparrow and Bunting family, it has a black face, back and chest with rufous-red sides. It has a long tail with white outer tail feathers.
The typical habitat would be woodland edges, old fields, thickets and overgrown pastures. Usually feeds on the ground where it will scratch for food.

I was lucky to see many of these birds this spring, including a few in my own yard. But to get these pictures I had to travel to a more eastern forest here in Connecticut. They weren’t to difficult to find, in fact they were very plentiful there. It was a lousy overcast and rainy day but I’m glad I got to watch them sing and study their behavior patterns. Do you have some near you?

On Saturday, June 20 a few of us from the New Haven Camera Club took a ride up to Les Campbell's place. Les Campbell, renown for his nature subjects and Quabbin Park scenes, invites you to visit his Photo Gallery at Sky Meadow Studio. You'll find it filled with framed photographs - treasures for your home or office and for gift giving. The Studio is also available for small group functions, workshops, slideshows, retreats and outings.  If you are interested in individual or group portraits with a natural backdrop, you'll find a perfect setting in and around Les' Sky Meadow homestead. And, you'd be hard pressed to find a better tour guide for a trip to Quabbin Park. 
Conveniently located off Route 9 (1/2 mile east of the Belchertown entrance to Winsor Dam) Hours: Wednesdays 1-7 PM (June through mid-October) Sundays 1-4 PM (April, May and mid-October to Christmas)
Other times, by appointment
Les Campbell / Sky Meadow Studio
Ph:  (413) 323-7405


The day we went to visit Les it was cloudy with very light mist and fog in the air. Les has a hummingbird setup where you can place your camera on the tripod and photograph the hummers coming to the feeder. Sometimes there is lots of hummer activity and sometimes there is very little. It would figure that the day we went the activity was very slow. There are also many other things to photograph at Les’ place including old barns, aquatic life around the pond and many birds. You will also find wildflowers for macro work and if your lucky you might catch a glimpse of a hawk or an owl.
Here are a few shots of a Scarlet Tanager a few of us got to photograph while there. Thanks to Les for the hospitality!

The American Redstart is part of the Wood-Wrabler family, and its about 5 inches long.
As you can see here the male is black with orange patches on it sides, tail and wings and has a white belly and a touch of white under the tail. Redstarts eat mostly insects and flying insects. You can find these guys in deciduous and mixed forests, small groves and second growth woodlands. These birds are very active and can’t stay still for much more then a few seconds. That makes it a challenge to even try to photograph them.

Its that time of year once again, Hummingbird season! I just love to shoot these little critters. It’s so much fun to set up the hummingbird rig and take as many photos of these guys as possible. This year I am working on a new setup, one that adds a few more lights and helps me illuminate the gorget. So far I’m still tweaking the set up but in a short time you will see the best results ever.

Things have slowed down considerably the last few weeks. Most of, if not all the migrants are gone now. Only the local nesting varieties are left. I had a chance to get out and shoot a few times and was lucky to come up with some good stuff. Chestnut sided Warblers nest in Connecticut in several locations, you can find them and get lucky like you see here. I really like this owl shot a lot, to bad I didn’t get all his wings in the shot.

CHESTNUT SIDED WARBLER






BLUE-WINGED WARBLER


EASTERN SCREECH OWL

I must say that I am blessed to have so many birds around my property. It amazes me that there are just so many here. Usually I have no problem locating even birds I never thought would be here. I’ve even got a few warblers nesting in back and an Eastern Phoebe, some House Wrens and of course our signature Bluebirds.

Here are a few of my “neighbors” I shot over the last few days.

Rose Breasted Grosbeak


Eastern Song Sparrow


Eastern Screech Owl

Gary and I took a trip up to Sky Meadow last week to look for Warblers. Sky Meadow is located in Belchertown, MA. and is owned by Les Campbell. The 25 acre Sky Meadow is surrounded by and is part of the Herman Covey Wildlife Management Area. Since we had not had much luck finding warblers around CT last week, we figured we might do better moving further north. Indeed we did find some, but overall I think peak migration has come and gone. I had to search long and hard to locate just a few species of warblers at Les’s place.

PINE WARBLER




BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER

I spent some time in a deep dark forest looking for warblers. The forest is so dark its like being in a cave. Even though the sun was out very little light gets to the forest floor. Although it was almost 80 at noon in the forest it was still damp and cool.

OVENBIRD


VEERY


RED EYED VIERO

So it’s peak warbler time. Migration is in full swing and these guys are moving in from southern parts. Of course they come north to breed. Some species do breed right here in CT but most of the others head to the Boreal forest in Maine and Canada. These guys are fun to shoot and most importantly you only get to see them once a year. This year migration is a bit extended because the bad weather, cool temps and rain tend to keep them from moving north. Doesn’t really matter to me, thats more opportunity to capture them!

YELLOW WARBLER



BLUE-WINGED WARBLER



CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER






BLACK AND WHITE WARBLER

We’ve had a couple of Rose Breasted Grosbeaks around here the last week or so and now a few females have joined the group.
In case you were not aware the female is not black at all like the male, its brown.

Did you know that Bluebirds are from the same family as the Robin?
Our bluebirds have babies now, and the male and female do nothing but hunt for food all the day light hours to bring to the brood. We try to help them along as best we can, especially on days when its raining or cool. It’s difficult for them to find insects or worms under those conditions. Although Meal Worms aren’t the best thing to live on or to raise your young on, sometimes it can mean the difference between the brood making it and perishing. Here are a few shots from the gloomy rainy day.

Spent some time photographing birds in the yard to see what I could find.

This male Rose Breasted Grosbeak just arrived a few days ago, now I see him a few times a day at the feeder chowing down on the sunflower seeds



This Gray Catbird is a real trip to have around. Many times you will swear they make noises like a real cat. Not much color to this bird but its good to have them back.



The bluebirds are still here, and this lady is now spending her days and nights sitting on some eggs at last count it looked like there was 3 or 4 eggs.

What I want to know is. Why are the Pine Siskins still here? The Pine Siskins were here as an irruptive species. This simply means that they show up here or in our area in winters when the food in their area is scarce. The siskins here at Bluebirds Knoll have been around since December, now I don’t mind having them hanging around but, these little guys will eat you out of house and home! And they aren’t particularly fussy about what kind of seed they eat. I think they have eaten more of my niger seed then any anything else, although they won’t turn down black oil sunflower seed or hulled sunflower seed if there is no niger. We have an average of about 30 to 35 siskins here. They can eat my large niger feeder dry in one day.




Okay so enough about them, I certainly hope they decide to go back north real soon. Now you didn’t think you would see a blog update from me without a blue bird shot in it did you?

With spring migration underway now, I thought I would spend some time shooting some birds in my backyard to see what I could come up with. Of course there is always the usual cast of characters like Cardinals, Titmouse and Black Cap Chickadees. Although Bluebirds migrate a little further south the blue birds of bluebirds knoll seem to stick around all winter. I’ve seen them around at least once or twice every month. And I have seen them eating berries in the winter time when live food is scarce.

A couple shots from today, A northern cardinal, a Bluebird and a special Bluebird Portrait. Of special note there was also 2 Cedar Waxwings here today along with a few tree sparrows.

Our resident bluebirds have been busy the last few days. I saw the female bluebird yesterday with some pine needles in her beak so today I thought I would check out the progress they made on the nest. I was absolutely amazed to find that the nest is completely built!
I’m looking forward to them laying eggs, Natalie and I will try to document the whole cycle this year.
ENJOY!

I had a chance to head over to Lake Chamberlain today and do some shooting. It's still kind of early to find loads of stuff to shoot but I found a few things. The Eastern Song Sparrows were in abundance and so were the Tree Swallows. I actually flushed a Red Tail Hawk and saw a Broad-wing circling above me a few times. The normal cast of characters are around too like Cardinal's, Titmouse, and Red Bellied woodpeckers.

As far as water birds I saw male and female Mallards, Mergansers and even some Buffleheads.

Its a decent place to bird and I've produced some winning images from there.

Fort Hale Park is in New Haven located off Woodward Avenue, its between the Coast Guard Station and the US Naval Reserve Training Center. Its a good place to bird in early spring since it will give you some early looks at the spring migrants like Eastern Song Sparrows, Red Wing Blackbirds and the state bird the Robin. There are a few ponds around the area that support some interesting birds at times, I've seen Heron, Yellowlegs and some Egrets. Of course on the Beach side you will find all the normal shore birds for the area like Gulls, Ducks, Cormorants and Mergansers.

If you plan on going to photograph the birds make sure you go early in the morning, this way there is less of a chance you might be approached by some un-desirables.