Birds, birds, birds!
Where did the sunshine go?
No, I’m not really a bird brain (?) but I do love to photograph birds;) It started back at the ranch with time on my hands and watching the hummingbirds come and go throughout the seasons, it was an adventure capturing their movement, it got me hooked.
We’ve had a few gray days here so time to catch up on correspondence and also check out some different light. It is always more challenging under cloudy skies but sometimes the results surprise me and different details do come out. I love to capture the weird and sometimes wacky behavior these delightful slightly dinosaurus creatures show me.
Tree pose, a bit of early morning yoga?;) Reddish Egret
The Egrets and Herons are the comedians of this group, there are the straight guys, the Yellow Crowned Night Herons and their relatives (that look like they should be wearing trench coats) must look at the long legged guys with utter disdain, who are the funny ones, the Snowy Egrets, the Tri-Coloured Herons and the Blue and Great Whites that can put on quite a show:) No tickets required just sit, and or stand and watch. I have a portable chair, that I somehow always forget to bring with me, one day I’ll remember:)
The rather sedate Crowned Herons, Yellow and Black, look like they could have been bouncers in a past life, I’m not sure they share the long legged guys sense of humour;) These birds seem to spend 100% of their waking hours fishing and eating..a matter of survival no doubt, as the tide recedes the small fish are often caught captive in the tide pools that form…buffet I’m thinking;)
So here we are, I can open my screen door, yes, it’s warm enough to have just the screen door open, and walk out onto the estuary a few feet from our trailer and chase, er I mean walk quietly…ie stalk.. after the many species of birds that call this estuary home. Some stay all year, some are just visitors, and it varies wildly from which side of the estuary you are on as well. One day I’ll have kayak to explore I hope. We have room now, could even put a rack on the roof of the DRV:)
We spent the day on Lengüeta Aranosa-Sandy Tongue in English-yesterday walking the the 5 km long beach. Here the seabirds ruled as well as Stilts and Avocets in the muddier areas behind the dunes. I could see ducks in the distance as well, Shoverlers I think, not something we see on the city side of the bay.
I really should invest in a good bird book to ID half the things I see but a wonderful birding group on Facebook-Birding Arizona and the South West has so many knowledgeable members they can always help me out! Thanks Guys!
I do keep my hummingbird feeder at hand and put it out whenever we stop, sometimes it takes the birds a few days to find it, sometimes hours. We have a plastic stick on bird feeder for the back window, Cat TV I call it, most often attracts the finches and the cats love this:) For the hummingbirds, I set up my chair, put the feeder fairly low so I have a good view without having to look up, and wait. Sunshine a must to get the best shots:)
I have to admit, photographing birds takes up a great part of my life, but not just birds. I love to capture everything that looks interesting or natural. Love landscapes, hope to take some courses one day, there is one in Yosemite I would love to participate in that follows Ansel Adams footsteps…now THAT would be amazing:) I’m adding lenses to my arsenal slowly, so much to choose from. Glass is important, I’d rather save up and buy one high quality lens than something I won’t be happy with later down the road. I still have my older Rebel 4Ti and it’s lenses, but it is so hard to go back to it, just not as crisp or clear, it can be frustrating, but I keep it, Plan B, things break and I wouldn’t want to go through withdrawal;)
The gray days made me think about the ND8 (Neutral density) filter I have so did a few shots, this one is 152 seconds-F22 ISO 100 24mm. The clouds swirl into paths and the water becomes mist. I need to play with this more, read more, experiment for some beautiful and moody results. It all takes time:)
The dark bay-Long Exposure with a ND8 filter
I have that, as for the moment we are waiting for things to quiet down here in Baja, and all of Mexico. Gas prices were raised the first of the year by 20% and protests and road blockades followed. Stations have run out of gas so it’s makes travelling a bit dicey if we can’t find diesel, or if the roads are blocked, going around on a shortcut on a back road with a 15,000 lb trailer is not advisable me thinks. It’s hard for many “al otro lado”to understand why there has been so much outcry, but if you live in a land where the minimum DAILY wage is $3.85 (FYI Ontario,Canada is $11.25 an HOUR) and a gallon of gas costs about the same you can understand the severity of it all. We are living in dark and disturbing times, somedays, I have to go out and walk around in that Estuary, to bring me some peace, quiet my thoughts and cherish the amazing world we live in.
Hope you have a way of doing that too. Saludos amigos and stay tuned for the adventure of the Southbound trip. I’ll leave you with these two clowns;)
and this…Live long and Prosper:)