A Great Sunset

I have been fighting a cold that has left me tired and with little energy to traipse around the refuge. But feeling guilty that I was going too long with a post, I joined Cherrie Corey's Sense of Place walk late Saturday afternoon. In my laziness, I hoped that she would show us come interesting stuff. I would take photos which I could post and then return back to recuperating. That didn't go quite as planned.

Saturday was a sunny, cool, but very breezy day. Once out on the dike, away from the shelter of the trees you started to feel the cold. Today's destination was the new beaver lodge, near Borden's Pond (technically off the refuge). Along the way either my mind was not fully engaged in photography, or the wind decided to ruin shots when it was. All was not lost a few things caught my eye on the way out.


Poison Ivy clinging to an Oak


Juvenile Mute Swan


Muskrat Lodges becoming more prominent as aquatic vegetation dies back


As we started to return towards the parking lot the sun was dropping in the sky and the light was getting golden. Photographers can not resist great light, so I got my tripod out of the car and stuck around to the bitter end. It was worth every moment.

Becoming A Better Birder

"To become a better bird photographer, you must first become a better birder", Shawn Carey. With that in mind Tuesday morning I joined the Menotomy Bird Club visit to Great Meadows lead by Alan Bragg.


Group Silhouette


Fish basking in sun by the bridge


Most of the interesting birds including a Long Tailed Duck, Buffleheads, and Green Winged Teals were far out in the impoundments but visible by scope from the tower. However, as we walked, I did occasionally grab a shot or two with my camera.


Mute Swan touches down


Bumpy landing continues


Coot stretching


Shy goldfinch


Swans bonding


After the walk I continued to explore the refuge. If the light was at the right angle you could see strands of silk spun by spiders that are ballooning to new locations streaming off the cattails.




I met up with Alan and Cherrie Corey for a quick visit around the rest of the refuge. Along the path to Borden's Pond we encountered this Woodcock. It briefly flew down the path, landed, and pause for just a few moments before heding into the flooded woods along the river. It let us know our stealthy approach was not so stealthy as it proceeded to fly away further down stream.


Woodcock along trail to Borden's Pond


Woodcock fleeing back into the flooded woods


Along the way some of the plants caught my eye as their colors and shapes danced in the sunny day.


Backlight leaves


Lacy oak leaves


A new technique keeps the whole plant in focus

Golden head of seeds


Reflection of foliage in the river


For reading to the end of this post, you have been rewarded with my favorite photo of the day. One goal of this project was to become a better photographer. Having arrived at the right place at the right time, I took a moment to find the right angle and background for this photo. I selected just the right aperture to capture the spider, while rendering the background a pleasing blur. In the end the shot resembles what I saw in my mind's eye. I just love the way that this spider stands out against the neutral background.

A Day Off

After three straight days of cutting and stacking logs, picking up and carrying piles of brush, and racking my back and the rest of my body protested this cruel and unusual punishment. So I took advantage of Saturday's last opportunity to sleep until almost seven AM and still catch the sunrise at visit Great Meadows.

I've been dreading photographing Great Meadows in November. It doesn't have the variety of life that exists in the spring and summer. It lacks the beautiful stark landscape of winter snow. It is often gray. Today, the sun was shining early which cast a pleasing light on the animals that remain.

It's almost tradition to warm up with some shots of the Canada Geese.






I mentioned the invasion of Mute Swans in my last post. There were a couple of family units in the Upper Impoundment. The juveniles are still grayish. One of the juveniles demonstrated his independence by flying to forage in a different area of the impoundment far from the others. It is amazing when the fly overhead. They are so large. Their wings make loud whooshing noises as they pass overhead.














We've all grown bored of the coots. They often don't warrant more that the casual glance, but today one of the birders spotted a smaller bird in their midst. This Ruddy Duck is a new bird for my photographic "life list". It was quite cute to watch as it repeatedly dove every few seconds. I tried repeatedly to actually catch the diving motion, but finally realized that they don't really jump up before they dive under the water. I did find it curious the way it fanned its tail feathers as it dove.












Elsewhere in the refuge things were relatively quiet. The Chickadees are out in force. I expect that I will be sharing some photos of them in the near future. This Downy Woodpecker was intensely feeding in the cattails nearby as I watched the Chickadees.




I often like unusual patterns or lights and shadows.


This bit of exposed tree trunk, looks like a medeval torture devise, not the former remnants of branches.


I was drawn to the zigzag pattern caused by the shadows of the bench back cast upon the seat