Darling Run Eagles have Fledged

We were in the area of the Darling Run nest on Friday and decided to stop by to see if the eagles were hanging around even though we knew the three chicks had fledged.  We were surprised to see that all three emmies and both adults were still hanging around the nest area.  They were all perched along Pine Creek looking for fish.   It was heavily overcast and there was a haze in the air.  I had to shoot at higher ISO settings than I normally do for eagles to keep the shutter speed at acceptable levels for the long lens.  I tried the stabilization on and off and continue to find regardless of what either Nikon or Canon say about their new VR and IS controls--using image stabilization while on the tripod actually reduces sharpness of images.

Since the lighting was poor, I had to bring back the contrast in Photoshop to make the images appear as we saw the images with our eye.  This is one of the reasons that I shoot all my images in RAW only.  If I had shot them in jpg,  the images would have been worthless.

The eagles at Darling Run are very accustomed to people and they sit still while people travel up and down the trail.  They even sit on a branch over the trail within 20 feet of hikers and bikers at times.  The only time I have seen them take careful notice is when a horse goes by.  This adult seemed nervous when I could hear a horse coming and then when it came into view on the trail, the eagle "tracked" it until it was out of sight.

Here is one of the three immature eagles from the Darling Run nest-using a perch that the adults use often.   It is interesting how they are such creatures of habit.

It has already mastered the "eagle eye" stare.  There was a flock of geese floating around beneath it and it kept a close watch of them.

Until Next time....

Jim 

http://camera-critters.blogspot.com/

Maine Sightings

Just got home from our summer trip to Maine for Moose calves.  This year we did not locate any calves. They certainly were there as we found the tracks and heard their blats!  Maine, like most of the northeast, got their vegetation about two weeks early this year and it indexed the feeding cycles for browse versus ponds early.  Most of the ponds had already turned "sour" this past week so finding cows with calves was tough.  We did find a number of yearling cows and bulls and of course we had a great time being in the woods (black flies and all).  Mount Katahdin still has some ice slides present on it.  We were fortunate enough to see quite a few warblers and had the good fortune to observe an adult pair of loons with chicks.

It was also refreshing to observe the difference in moose behavior in the highly human frequented Baxter Park ponds versus along the Golden Road and remote ponds we hiked in to in Baxter (2 miles or so from nearest roads).  I enjoy observing and photographing the moose that are wary far more than the moose that are human acclimated.  I can draw a direct parallel with the elk in PA.  However, I have yet to find a "wild elk" in Pennsylvania and I go more remote than most of the hunters in Pa.

This yearling moose befriended an older young bull after mom kicked him out to make room and time for a new calf.

This whitetail doe seems to be in the same area every time we go there.  She is a good example of a human acclimated animal.  She feeds to within a few feet of us and as one can see, she is not the least bit stressed.

This is one of a pair of fawns that we found and for most of the pictures I had too much lens. This picture was taken at 3200 ISO to keep shutter speed to a point so I could get a sharp picture in the dark Maine woods.  In the days of film this picture could not have happened.

Observing and photographing a pair of adult loons with their baby chicks was a highlight of the trip.  We had to wait for the right time of day because of the angle of the light then hope that they floated to an area that they had been earlier in the day.  We lucked out and were able to capture about 500 images of the chicks and mom with a few of dad included.  I was amazed at how ill informed some of the "eco friendly" campers were when it comes to animal behaviors.  A ranger in the park and some women staying in one of the primitive cabins were concerned that some one was stressing the loons as the mother would drop below them while they were on her back leaving them vulnerable and floating on the lake.  It was obvious that they did not understand that is how the chicks learn to swim and it is when mom goes for food that she then feeds them. These images were taken with a lens setup equivalent to a 22 power spotting scope.

Finally, Joan and I celebrated an anniversary of sorts when we were there.  40 years ago this past week was the last time that Joan and I were in a canoe together.  Lets say that the experience resulted in two very wet individuals!  I love canoeing and I was finally able to coax Joan into a canoe on a very cold Maine lake and we had a ball paddling through Moose Bog and into a beaver dam.   No-we did not take the good cameras and big lens in the canoe--I am not that brave yet.

Backyard Birdies

This weekend while waiting for friends to arrive, I decided it was time to practice using the better beamer with the flash unit to control shadows in harsh lighting.  The morning started off foggy and then the sun poked through strong and contrasty-perfect conditions for practice. It took about 50 shots to get the hang of adjusting the flash exposure compensation, but the practice yielded good results.  I am going to take the unit along this week  and see how it works for filling shadows moose in the woods .

This may be the last posting for our blog.  I am not sure how much the blog is getting viewed or how worthwhile it is.  If you are looking and you like or do not like it, please leave a comment so I can determine if it is worth the time to do these.

Jim

Pine Creek Valley

The Pine Creek Valley in North Central Pennsylvania holds many special memories for me.  It was my backyard when I was growing up and the memories of picnics, fishing and hunting are near and dear to my heart.  Joan and I spend quite a bit of our leisure time in the valley relaxing and enjoying the wildlife.  I am truly thankful for the foresight of my grandfather and his friends that worked so hard to have the Pine Creek Gorge made into a "wild area" protecting it from urban development.

The Bald Eagle has made a significant comeback in that area.  Starting at Ansonia and traveling south there are eagle nests about every 5 miles. The Pa Game Commission likes to take full credit for the recovery.  However, spending time observing and photographing the adult eagles and the nests has shown that it was the Pennsylvania program combined with the New York State programs that made the success. Just about every nesting pair along Pine Creek has one of the adults originating from the Mohawk River in Upper New York State.   The majestic birds are smart--they mate with others outside their own gene pool to help prevent the adverse effects of breeding within the same gene pool.  Over the past month we have spent a considerable amount of time relaxing, biking, hiking and photographing in the Pine Creek Valley and the area known as the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon.

The Eagle photographs above were taken of an Adult Eagle (that was born along the Mohawk River in upper New York State) that was guarding one of the nests along Pine Creek.  It was one of the best opportunities I have had for "perfect" lighting to photograph eagles.  We had almost 100% cloud cover, but they were white clouds that allowed lots of light to still be present to keep shutter speeds up while at the same time eliminating shadows and the ever present problem with Bald Eagles of reflective light off the head that creates a halo effect.


After bike riding through the canyon last Saturday afternoon, we took a ride to the barrens area above Cedar Run to look for deer, bear and other wildlife.  We found a very large black bear and I followed him carefully through the woods to get an opportunity to photograph him.  I got a number of pictures of his behind, but then as he came to an opening to cross a portion of a Game Commission field, he stopped and looked at me. He was rather close, but did not seem to mind I was there.  It was an exhilarating moment, but a tough one from a photographic viewpoint.  I opened the aperture almost wide open and took the ISO to 2000.  I was amazed and pleased with the results that I got.  keep in mind that this is an un-cropped photograph!

The backlighting made his nose and fur glow, but the nostrils, eye and hair are still crisp even at high ISO.

Eagles and Songbirds

Spring and fall are my favorite seasons.  IN the spring we get to see the gradual transformation of bleak looking woodlands to light green foliage.  The songbirds and game birds are in full mating colors and bird activity is at a peak.  Joan and I spend a considerable amount of time observing a few eagle nests to see which ones are going to be successful in raising at least one chick for the season.   The early warm weather this year has made the observation process more comfortable than normal.  here are a few pictures from the past few weeks.

Darling Run Eagle--I still have not gotten his leg band number. It is New York State and has a 4 in it. Maybe next week.

N79 from Little Pine-Male born on Mohawk River in New York State.

Technically not a good picture-but interesting capture.  There are two eagle chicks in the nest (Darling Run)

Little Pine proud parents taking a rest in between fishing trips to feed junior.

Backyard Friend.

Towhee in full mating Plumage.

Bird In Flight Practice

The weekend was dreary and cold on Saturday and I was able to practice on eagles at long distance and some eagles flying.  The pictures were sharp, but due to the ISO I tried using (3200 to 4000) the pictures were not usable.  Today provided a better opportunity to test in flight focus tracking.  Four osprey provided the opportunity to take multiple shots at various ISO and shutter speeds.  

ISO 1000, f7.1 1/3200, +1 EC

ISO 1000, f 7.1, 1/2000, +1 EC

ISO 1000, f7.1, 1/1250 +1 EC

Mallards and Backyard Birds

Went out this evening in search of eagles and wood ducks.  Found neither, but enjoyed the antics a few mallards at local lake.  Good chance to try out a different camera and lens (Mk IV and 600 f4)