Peregrine Patience
Made another trip to Bolivar Flats on Friday with Sheldon to see if we would have any better luck with finding birds than on our last trip. It was very low tide again with some wind but not too bad. While walking out to the sandbars just before the sun came up, I spotted what looked like something sitting on a piece of PVC pipe that was sticking out of the sand. Taking a look through my camera revealed a Peregrine Falcon perched on the piece of pipe.
We slowly walked towards him and laid down on the sand. We were very patient with this Falcon in order to not spook him before we got closer. We ended up spending 2 hrs watching him and crawling closer. He faked us out several times by stretching his wings and doing his duty but he never took off. He may have spent the night sitting on that pipe by the way that he was acting.
It was challenging to keep focused on him for that long and my neck/back/arm got very sore along with my right hand falling asleep. Ended up rolling on my side several times to rest my neck and stomach.
We knew that the photos of him sitting on the pipe wouldn’t be very good with the unnatural perch so we waited very patiently until he took off. He was facing into the wind and we were laying in front of him hoping that he would fly towards us, however he took off in the opposite direction. It was disappointing but it’s always cool to see one of these birds and sometimes you have to take what you can get. My old body is still paying the price from that outing with a very sore back/neck.
Luckily we found a more cooperative Reddish Egret on our way back to our cars. I’ll post some photos of him later.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
All photos are aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F8, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 700mm
Clapper Rail
While taking photos of some Willets, this Clapper Rail came out from the weeds and surprised us. He then walked straight towards us and turned left right while coming very close to where we were lying, which resulted in only minor cropping on the last two shots. Helped to prove the point that birds don’t recognize you as a person while lying down with a ground pod.
These Rails usually stay close to the weeds for cover so it was very cool to see this one out in the open.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F11, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/800 sec @ F11, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F9, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
B&W Pelican
This Brown Pelican was coming in for a landing and filled the frame. The colors were very muted so I converted it to B&W.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
Aperture priority, 1/1600 sec @ F7.1, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Little Ones
I’ve learned not to ignore the little shorebirds while lying down. They can be a challenge to photograph as they move around quickly but they can be very photogenic.
When they are standing still, I’ll use a single focus point but change to all focus points when they start moving, if they are close enough. Getting direct eye contact is always a favorite pose. Preening can also reveal some interesting photos. These were taken on a cloudy day so the ISO had to be cranked up to get a decent shutter speed.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III telconverter
Aperture priority, 1/500 sec @ F5.6, ISO 2500, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Snowy Plover
Aperture priority, 1/800 sec @ F5.6, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 1/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/800 sec @ F5.6, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 1/3 exposure compensation
End of 2015 = Peregrine Falcon + Avocets
2015 ended on a high note with my last trip this year to Bolivar Flats in Texas. The sun hasn’t been out much lately in this part of Texas so it was time to shoot in cloudy conditions. It was great weather to be lying on the wet sandbars at 44 deg F (with waders on of course). The Avocets were out in mass with several hundred of them hanging out off shore near sandbars. Found a decent location and ended up crawling closer to a flock of Avocets. Several more came in to land, which provided some action shots.
Just before getting up to leave, all of the birds took off, which usually means that a raptor is in the area. Turned to my right and saw that a Peregrine Falcon had landed on a sandbar. I’ve never seen one land that far from the shoreline before. Didn’t think that he was going to stick around long so I stayed in place focusing on him while anticipating some lift-off and flight shots. He obliged soon after and it was a great way to end this outing.
Also it was nice to meet Hal on this trip, a follower of this blog.
Have a great new year everyone!!
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter, mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head.
Aperture priority, 1/1600 sec @ F5.6, ISO 1600 + 1 1/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
Aperture priority, 1/800 sec @ F5.6, ISO 2500, + 1 exposure compensation, 700mm
Aperture priority, 1/2000 sec @ F5.6, ISO 1600 + 1 1/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
Avocets with New 7D II
Made a trip back to Bolivar Flats last weekend working as a guide, which gave me a chance to try out my new Canon 7D mark II camera.
From a guide perspective, it turned out to be a good trip with Newton. It was very low tide and we found a large flock of Avocets not too far off shore before sunrise. Got some decent shots and moved on to several other locations shooting Willets, Long Billed Curlews, Marbled Godwits, a Yellowlegs and several smaller shorebirds. Ended up working our way around the bend and found a Reddish Egret and then a flock of Avocets worked their way towards us, as I predicted. What appeared to be a lucky guess was actually an accurate prediction based on several similar encounters at that location. Ended up being a very good morning.
From a testing out the new camera perspective, it was also a good outing. I’m a little too spoiled with my 1DX but the new 7D II worked well. It’s obviously not as good with high ISO as the 1DX but it’s much improved over my old 7D. Looks like it will be a good back-up camera. It’s also very light compared to the 1DX.
Ended up getting the new camera as I recently experience problems with my 1DX. Made a trip during the week of Thankgiving and found that my 1DX wouldn’t focus on my 500mm lens. Experienced issues with the contacts as the mounts were bent up from a previous crash/burn from my kitchen table. Got my lens repaired from a local repair shop in Houston but have to send my camera to Canon as they wouldn’t sell him (or me) a replacement ring mount. Took my old 7D to the Santa Clara ranch a few weeks ago as a back-up but would have had major issues with the low light levels. That convinced me that that I needed a newer back-up camera and getting $500 off during black Friday week also helped my cause.
These photos were taken with Canon 7D II with Canon 500mm F4 IS II mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head.
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F5, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 500mm
This photo was a little dull due to being taken before sunrise so I increased the exposure in Photoshop to make it more of a “high key” image which worked better.
Aperture priority, 1/3200 sec @ F5, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, 500mm
Taken after the sun came up
Reddish Egret in Partial Silhouette
Time to get back to posting some winged subjects with feathers. These Reddish Egrets were doing their usual dancing around while fishing. Two partial silhouette shots taken at different locations along the Gulf of Mexico from the beach at Bolivar Flats in Texas.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4x III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/1250 sec @ F7.1, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
1/1600 sec @ F7.1, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +1 1/3 exposure compensation
Tern and Burn
I was watching a small group of Royal Terns close to shore when they started to fly away. Focused on the last one and caught him taking off, flying towards me and making a hard right turn. Got several shots in this sequence. This turn and burn sequence was good practice for the upcoming Wings Over Houston airshow.
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F5.6, ISO 2500, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/1600 sec @ F5.6, ISO 2500, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/1600 sec @ F5.6, ISO 2500, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F5.6, ISO 2500, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Brown Pelicans Fishing at Sunrise
Brown Pelicans were out in force last weekend at sunrise along the Gulf coast. They would come close to shore diving for fish. Had a blast tracking them as they flew in and dove into the water. The take-off’s were fun as well. Good opportunity for some action silhouette shots.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
Aperture priority, 1/8000 sec @ F8, ISO 800, evaluative metering, -2/3 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/2000 sec @ F8, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Aperture priority, 1/1600 sec @ F8, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
High Key Reddish Egret Portrait
Went back to Bolivar Flats yesterday to scout out the conditions for a Sunday shoot with a couple of clients. Thought that it was going to be a major bust when I first arrived. The tide was up near sunrise and there were no expose sandbars. Had to work the shoreline which isn’t my preference. Very few birds to be seen at first but it was still a little dark out about 45 min before sunrise.
Found a group of Skimmers and ended up belly crawling to get close to them, until a couple of wade fisherman walked right in front of me scaring all of the birds away while pulling a wagon behind them with their gear. Didn’t have time to get too angry as I’ve learned to take advantage of that situation by getting up and quickly moving forward and getting into position. As anticipated, the birds came back to that same spot and I spend then next 1.5 hrs shooting from that location.
Ended up being much better photo op’s than expected. Especially when the Reddish Egrets showed up. While taking photos of other birds, this Reddish landed right in front of me as he was chasing a White Morph Reddish Egret away. He ran in front of me and luckily stopped to bask in the glory of his conquest with his feathers all puffed out. He had his feathers puffed out in this position for about 1 second, so I was glad to get this shot.
Glad that I went yesterday as today was a wash out with the rain along the coast.
Taken with a Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head.
Aperture priority, 1/1000 sec @ F8, ISO 400, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
The Look
After a couple of hours shooting shorebirds, hiked back to the car worn out and ready to clean up/pack away my gear and head home. However, this White Morph Reddish Egret was fishing just off shore close to the parking area and he forced me to lay down one more time. Glad that I’m easily influenced by birds.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
Aperture priority, 1/1600 sec @ F14, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, 700mm
Raise Your Wings
Fishing action with a White Morph Reddish Egret. More ground pod action from my last trip to Bolivar Flats. Converted to B&W using NIK Silver Efex.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500MM F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/1600 sec @ F11, ISO 1600, evaluative metering
The Landing
Caught this Snowy Egret as he was coming in for a landing while fishing. He ended up catching the fish but his landing poses made for better photos.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500MM F4 IS II lens with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/1250 sec @ F14, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, -1/3 exposure compensation
1/1250 sec @ F14, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, -1/3 exposure compensation
The Chase
Made my first trip back to Bolivar Flats yesterday since Galveston’s FeatherFest in April. Took a new client along to show him the ropes of getting down and dirty shooting shorebirds. He got up close and personal with some birds along with the sand of Bolivar. Good job Newton.
It felt really good to get back out there and luckily the tide/winds cooperated, along with the birds. We found the usual suspects, along with two Reddish Egrets and a White Morph Reddish Egret.
Reddish Egrets are very territorial and this one chased a juvenile away right in front of us. Got a series of 64 photos of this chase. Changed to all focus points during the action to make sure that they would stay in focus. Only needed some minor cropping on these shots.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head.
All photos are Aperture priority, 1/1600 sec @ F11, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
Honorable Mention in Audubon 2015 Photo Contest
One of my Black Skimmer photos from Bolivar Flats was selected as “honorable mention” in the 2015 Audubon Photo Contest. They contacted me several weeks ago and mentioned that my photo had made the semi-finals and that they needed a copy of my RAW file and some info about the photo. I’m thrilled as there were almost 9,000 entries.
Click on the link below and scroll down to the Amateur category to see the photo.
https://www.audubon.org/magazine/may-june-2015/announcing-2015-audubon-photography-awards
My photo got published in the Audubon Magazine with a 2 page spread.
Reddish Egret in Morning Light
It’s been a banner year so far with Reddish Egret’s being in abundance around my neck of the woods in SE Texas.
Recently went on a quick trip to a south Texas ranch for some bird photography from photo blinds. I’ve got over 10,000 photos to go through. I’ll start posting some of those hopefully next weekend.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/1600 sec @ F10, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
White Morph Reddish Egret Fishing
This white morph reddish egret put on quite a show during my field trip to Bolivar Flats for Galveston’s FeatherFest. Too bad it was cloudy but I’ll take that over rain any day.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter
1/1250 sec @ F11, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
1/800 sec @ F13, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
1/1000 sec @ F13, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
1/800 sec @ F13, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
1/800 sec @ F13, ISO 3200, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
FeatherFest “Birds Eye View” Field Trip to Bolivar Flats
Took a group of willing photographers from Galveston’s FeatherFest to Bolivar Flats on Friday morning for some down and dirty action while taking photos of shorebirds on my “Birds Eye View” field trip. Several members of the group had never been to Bolivar before so it was going to be a treat if the weather and birds cooperated. The weather forecast was bleak up until the morning of the shoot. Instead of forecasted thunderstorms, we were met with clouds, waves, light winds, temps in the low 70’s (deg F) and very high humidity. Along with lots of gnats. It didn’t look very promising when we turned onto the beach as there were waves and no sandbars or birds in sight until we got to the parking area. Spotted some birds further down the shoreline so my hopes were raised.
We started out at the first small sandbar sticking out from the shoreline to practice the technique of getting down low and eye level with the birds. There were several ground pods being used in the group along with a few tripods. There were a few Willets, Terns and Sanderlings in that area but nothing overly exciting. Spent a few minutes there and moved on down the beach to try to get close to a group of Black Skimmers.
Aperture priority, 1/400 sec @ F 5.6, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
There were lots of Skimmers hanging out at our next stop. We got as close as I felt that we could without spooking them and ended up with some good photo op’s of the Skimmers taking off and landing back at the same location.
Aperture priority, 1/3200 sec @ F 5.6, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Further down the beach, I spotted a Reddish Egret standing near the shoreline. We made him our next objective and got into position, hoping for some fishing action. He then just basically stood there on one foot looking around and occasionally squawking. After a while, I mentioned to the group that we could stay and wait for him to move or go back to the Skimmers. He then quickly took off and headed back up the beach past the Skimmers. My initial reaction was that he took off because I stated talking. However, he ended up flying off to confront a White Morph Reddish Egret. Reddish Egrets are very territorial and don’t like company when feeding.
Aperture priority, 1/500 sec @ F 9, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +2 exposure compensation
We got up and heading back up the beach towards the Reddish Egrets. The White Morph was dancing around fishing so I focused on getting close to him. We ended up with some great photo op’s as he was very close to shore and catching lots of fish. Some of the group stayed with the other Reddish Egret and had a similar experience.
Aperture priority, 1/1250 sec @ F 11, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
It turned out to be a great morning at Bolivar despite the cloudy weather. The group had a good time and hope that they got some great photos. Didn’t get them quite wet or dirty enough but they got a good taste of the possibilities at Bolivar Flats. Thanks to everyone who signed up for this trip and to Chris for helping me out. I’m looking forward to next year already.
Also, special thanks to Julie Anne Brown and her team of volunteers for all of their hard work to pull off another very successful FeatherFest. They do all of the hard work and I get to take people to play in the sand.
Aperture priority, 1/1000 sec @ F 11, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Catching the Light
With the water jumping above the surface from the quick thrusting of his beak, this Reddish Egret was able to catch some food and some nice light. As he came up with a small bite, the sunlight reflected off the water at the tip of his beak and radiated down in its reflection.
My goal every time that I go out is to play with the light at sunrise. This Reddish Egret was literally playing along with me.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II and 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/1250 sec @ F10, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Legs of Yellow
Hence their name, Yellowlegs. These shorebirds move around very fast while feeding in the shallow water. It’ a challenge to track them and keep them in focus so I tend to use all focus points on them when they get close. They have been in abundance this year at Bolivar Flats.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/2000 sec @ F9, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1/3 exposure compensation
1/1250 sec @ F0, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
1/1250 sec @ F10, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1/3 exposure compensation
Incoming Avocets
Time for an Avocet flight shot. It’s almost always a group shot with these birds as they travel in flocks.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/640 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Long Billed Curlew
This Long Billed Curlew was showing off his landing and flying skills.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II head
1/800 sec @ F5.6, ISO 4000, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
1/1600 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Fur-Like Feathers
The feathers on a Reddish Egret’s head can sometimes look more like fur than feathers. The textures make this bird one of my favorites to photograph. They can be very territorial and ruffle up their feathers when another Reddish Egret comes around as shown in the first photo below. On a previous post, Lyle commented about the “mane” on these egrets, which is a good description, especially in the last photo.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/1250 sec @ F10, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
1/1000 sec @ F10, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
1/1250 sec @ F10, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
1/1000 sec @ F10, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Busy Flight Line
This Black Skimmer had to dodge some of the local ground traffic as he was buzzing the tower. ” Talk to me Goose”….
Another photo from my most excellent Skimmer adventure with Matt and Susan. Focused on this one from a distance as he was flying with two other Skimmers. When the 1DX locks on focus it doesn’t let go. This was photo #32 out of 37 shots of him, all of which were in focus. Some minor cropping to the wide format.
Taken with Canon IDX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod
1/1600 sec @ F5.6, ISO 4000, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Tim Timmis Photography 
