Why Do You Visit Great Meadows?

Why do you come to Great Meadows?  I come for many different reasons.

On occasion  I just come for a bit of solitude; for the opportunity to meditate, to pray and to think.  Today was one of those visits.  You see late yesterday, I learned that one of my camera club friends, Richard Ferland, had died unexpectedly, as a result of injuries a body surfing accident while on vacation.

Richard was an extremely talented nature photographer.  I was secretly jealous of his eye and skill, hoping one day to take images as beautiful as his.  At a young 67 years old, it appeared that he would have many more years ahead to pursue his passion.

Most importantly he was a genuinely nice human being.  Even in death he gave to others.  As an organ donor he donated his eyes.  I hope the recipient likes photography.

So this morning I awoke; before the alarm, before the sun rose, I got up and headed to the refuge to walk, think, and pray.  I brought my camera because that's what I do. But it wasn't the purpose of my visit.

Arriving early, once I left the parking lot, I practically had the refuge to myself.  The mood of the day was one of relative solitude and quiet.  The planes were not yet flying.  Even the birds seemed to be singing is quieter hushed tones.

Part way across the Dike Trail, I encountered a very cooperative Red-Winged Blackbird.  One that just posed, sung and displayed repeatedly.  The light was beautiful.  The subject cooperative.  I debated, but decided that a photographer couldn't pass up such an opportunity.  So I grabbed some video.

Then something strange happened.  Almost everywhere I went there were cooperative subjects in "good light".  Even the Marsh Wrens were sitting up and singing, just asking to be photographed.

The thought crossed my mind that Richard would have enjoyed being at Great Meadows on a day like today.  My first reaction was sadness, but then a small smile crossed my face as I pondered whether he somehow had arranged with the Almighty for such a wonderful day to soften our loss.  If he did, it would be a shame to not share the day with you.  

Returning home, I am still processing his loss, its reminder of the fragility of life, and reevaluating how that should affect my behavior. I put together this video to share the day with you, but more so as a remembrance and memorial to a great nature photographer. Please click on the photo below to watch the video. I know Richard would have wanted to share the day with you if he could.

Pieces of April

I've visited Great Meadows several times in April, but never found the time to post-process my photos, write a blog entry and load everything onto the web. Today the guilt finally overcame me & it popped to the top of my To Do list. 

One of the challenges of writing this blog is finding new clever titles for each post. I was pondering what I should title a post of a collection of photos that I took in April, but didn't post until today. Then a bolt of inspiration hit me in the form of lyrics from a hit song from 1972 sung by Three Dog Night, written by Kenny Loggins' brother Dave.

     I've got pieces of April,
              but it's a morning in May.

So turn up your speakers, click on the link above and hum along along as together we explore Great Meadows last month.

I think spring has to be my favorite time of year at Great Meadows.  Maybe that's because three of my favorite subjects to photograph return then.

Among photographers Great Meadows is known as a fantastic place to come to photograph Red-winged Blackbirds.  They come for two reasons 1. there are so many of them and 2. they get habituated to humans so you are able to get closer than you can elsewhere.  Here as some of my favorites.









While the maile Red-winged Blackbirds get most of the attention, we should not forget about the females. While easily mistake for the biggest sparrow you've ever seen, the are interesting in their own way.


While striking a pose similar to the males, I though my birder friends would enjoy the great look at the coloration around the face.




My second favorite species to photograph are the Wood Ducks. The males are some of the most handsome birds around. We all know that the female can't afford to wear such fancy duds because she has to do all the work of raising a family.




If you walk quietly, you may see one among the reeds


While still skittish, several times this year, I've gotten nice views of them


I never saw this male fly by as I was taking a burst of 5 images. It was only in 1 frame, but perfect centered above the pair I was photographing.


In years past this is how I saw the majority of my woods ducks; from the back end flying away as they saw me before I saw them


One of my favorites from the month

My personal favorite bird is the Marsh Wren. There weren't too many last year. In the last week or two several males have returned and have started to set up shop & building nests. They actually build several and when they attract a mate she will select her favorite.

I guess I like them because they are small, quick and unpredictable. They tease you with their chattering call and then suddenly pop up for brief moments.





In addition to my favorites species many of our friends are at the refuge. The first warblers of the year have started passing through. Some of the ones that arrive later will summer over at the refuge.


Palm Warbler


Palm Warbler singing in the sun


Obvious how the Yellow-rumped Warbler got its name


Though they have yellow elsewhere too



Great Blue Herons have returned to the area. Each day several can be found across the refuge. Normally they are skittish but a few have become used to people and let you get closer than normal.






Still taken with my 500mm lens, but close enough that I could only take a portrait shot. I just love the light on the breeding plumage.


There are lots of sparrows at the refuge now. The most predominant are the Song Sparrows, but you have to check because you may be fooled.







While Canada Geese are year-round residents at the refuge, in the spring they get very territorial as they stake out their nesting areas. Most often you will hear then honking letting other geese know they are getting too close. If they don't back off, the geese will fly / swim over and chase the encroacher away.

There is one pair that is nesting near the water control structure on the Cross Dike. One morning they treated me to a territorial display on dry land. It was great to get shots without reeds in the way.







It's not just fauna, but also flora that is starting to become active.





My understanding is that the lady bugs were chased up the tree due to the flooding, but the waters receded a while ago, so I suspect they are congregating for some other purpose.


During one of the bird censuses we saw this large Blandings Turtle sunning itself near a vernal pool off of the Timber Trail. Unfortunately it was too wet to circumnavigate to get pictures of the shell for the biologists.



I hope reading to the end was not as painful to you as writing the post was for me. It is certainly motivation to do more frequent, smaller posts in the future.

March At Great Meadows

March just didn't want to release us from her grasp this year. It snowed. It was windy. It was cold. The ice persisted forever; then in an instant it was gone.

This blog post is like March. Persist and you'll be rewarded when you get to the end.

I've been playing around with video this month both using my Nikon D7100 but also a borrowed Fujifilm X-T1 mirrorless camera. It was simultaneously fun and frustrating to be playing around with video.

Video adds several additional levels of complexity.  Sins that I could easily correct in Photoshop (like a crooked horizon or slight under / over exposure are almost fatal mistakes.) Hand holding a photograph for 1/30 of a second is manageable, hand holding for 30 seconds, that's a different matter.

Video also adds the complexity of audio. I tried using the in-camera microphone and an external directional microphone that sits in the hot shoe. That opens up the world to even more mistakes the photographer can make (like forgetting to turn on the external microphone.)

Once you have audio, the challenge is getting good audio. At Great Meadows that is a challenge since every couple of minutes you have the noise of a jet arriving / departing in the background. Sean Carey says it is difficult to video nature for more that 30 seconds in Massachusetts without getting some man made noise in the background. (Sometimes, the photographer makes the man made noise himself. Ugh.)

Once you get home there are new tools to edit & assemble a clip. There's the associated time wandering menus and googling to figure things out. (I know it crops & zooms. How do I do that again?)

Oh and finally, did I mention that we are trying to film nature.  It hardly sits still or poses for you.  Forget about retakes, one shot and you are generally done.  At Great Meadows you will find the occasional Red-winged Blackbird or Great Blue Heron that will be more cooperative, but it is still early in the season for them.  In several months they will become habituated / tolerant of all the people, but many still are skittish.

So overall, I have retreated into a state of "conscious incompetence".  Why do I frustrate myself like this?  Well, photos can capture the beauty of the moment, but sometimes to really appreciate the moment you need to capture the movement and sounds that only video can provide.  Since the camera puts them both together, I guess I should to.  Besides isn't it fun to learn a new skill?  Well, it probably is once you've developed it, but along the way it can also be frustrating.

Thanks for reading so far.  Here is your reward for your persistence.   I compiled the best of clips from March into a short video, to allow you to relive or vicariously enjoy this March at Great Meadows.
 

(Double click on the video to watch it in full screen mode)
If you haven't been to Great Meadows this week all the snow melt and rain has caused the Concord river to overflow its banks and flood the refuge.



If you go to visit here's the view that will great you as you leave the parking lot and try to walk the Cross Dike trail. I know it doesn't look that deep, but only a few feet past the kiosk and the water was getting dangerously close to the top of my wellies.