Beginning Digiscoping

I took my scope up to Berlin Pond today - a local hot spot for waterfowl as the ice melts and later, for migratory warblers and a host of other birds.  I've been fiddling with using my old SLR with a DCA adapter but am trying a new Canon SD4000IS point and shoot to see how that works.  Right now, I'm pretty low on the learning curve.

Lots of stuff is starting to show up:  Canada Geese, Ring-necked Ducks, and lots of Hooded Mergansers.  I spent a lot of time trying to identify two ducks, which turned out to be Green-winged Teal, but who persisted in sitting on the ice all tucked in, probably resting for the next flight further north.  Several pairs of Mallards showed up and I got a decent shot of them, plus one of a goose parading on the ice.

It's nice to work without freezing fingers so I think, as I practice, things will improve.  Stay tuned.

Mourning Cloak

Yesterday, while out birding with my Vizsla in Massachusetts, I saw a number of species but the highlight of the morning was an early butterfly, the Mourning Cloak.  We were in some oaks when I saw two butterflies flitting through the woods and climbing higher and out of sight.  Then one returned and cooperatively sat on some leaves not far from me.  I took some photos and then the dog returned from her explorations and spooked the pretty thing.

Not knowing my butterflies, I searched through my book to id what I had seen but it was hard.  Finally I found it and of course, once I read the description, it was clear that I should have been aware that it's always one of the first butterflies to emerge in the Northeast since it overwinters.

My friends tell me that the other overwintering butterfly is the Milbert's Tortoiseshell.  I'll be looking for them in the days ahead.

Hummers Are Coming!

Check the sightings here

Redpolls

For the last month, as I've been birding in the South, day after day I've read posts of Common Redpoll sightings throughout the Northeast.  It's a bird I'm missing from my life list (I just started two years ago and they weren't around last winter) and so I was hoping to see a few before they headed back north.  Today I did.

 I cranked up our feeding program upon our return to Vermont on Thursday although neighbors had kept the Chickadees and Nuthatches fed during our absence.  Still, for three days no Redpolls and I thought perhaps I'd missed the window of their presence.

Today a couple showed up on the tray feeder and later were joined by a couple more.  I wouldn't be surprised to see even more in the coming days now that they have found us.  The Chickadees seem to be a little out of sorts at the arrival of these heavy feeders but their flashes of color against the snow are a delight to see.  Soon they'll be heading back to Canada but it's nice to tank them up before their flight north.

Easy point-and-shoot cameras capture the outdoor experience

Sunday, March 27, 2011

By Shannon M. Nass, Special to the Post-Gazette

Bob Steiner

Red-bellied woodpecker.

No matter the season, nature is a beautifully painted canvas that offers the perfect backdrop for capturing outdoor memories.
As spring wildflowers come into bloom and wildlife activity increases, opportunities abound for taking photographs. A little imagination and some insight into the effective outdoor use of digital point-and-shoot cameras leave no reason not to skillfully preserve these moments in time.
"The final image that you produce is your own creativity ... and the camera is a tool to get there," said Linda Steiner, of Oil City.
Linda and her husband, Bob, have won numerous professional photo awards and were guest speakers at a Penn's Woods West Trout Unlimited meeting held March 14 at the Brentwood Veterans of Foreight Wars. Topics included digital camera use and key elements to consider when taking photos outdoors.

Read the whole article: http://post-gazette.com/pg/11086/1134873-140.stm#ixzz1HnIuEof5

Signs of Spring

In Louisiana last weekend, there are signs of spring everywhere.  The peepers were singing and at daybreak, a chorus of Northern Cardinals, Tufted Titmice, and a host of other early wakers, greeted us on our morning walk.  Even today, in windy but warm Virginia, robins are calling away as we enjoy the last warm afternoon of our trip.

Last week, in our return to Goose Island in Texas, I noted that Laughing Gulls were no longer plain but had their striking dark heads.  Northern Mockingbirds, instead of just “chipping” like they did in January, were trotting out their full repertoire of songs and were acting pretty frisky in the bushes.

At Natchez State Park in Mississippi, spring was a little behind what we just left in Louisiana.  But the sight of several pairs of bluebirds were a wonderful to witness in the early sunlight as were a dozen barn swallows swooping over the lake.



I know that reality will set in as we head north but these signs bode well for our home state.  When we visited Cameron Prairie NWR last week, we saw no Canada Geese and only a half dozen snow geese.  They are all on their way north - I’m reading reports of skeins of geese over Lake Champlain and elsewhere.  We’re following them this week.

Louisiana Birds

We dropped down to Louisiana for a few days before starting northward.  Today we went for a birding outing exploring some national wildlife refuges south of Lake Charles.  Most of the geese and many of the ducks have headed out but there are still a lot of interesting birds.

We saw dozens of hawks perched in trees along the roads on the way down but had trouble identifying them at 70 mph.  Most were likely red-tails although I saw a Northern Harrier who was hard to miss.  We stopped in at the headquarters of the Cameron Prairie NWR and did a quick tour of their wonderful new center -- replaced after one of the recent hurricanes knocked the prior one out.

Walking out the observation platform behind the center, I immediately saw all sorts of birds:  White-faced ibis, Glossy Ibis, two or three types of herons, many ducks, and an assorted sandpiper or two.  Many lifted off as I came nearer but it was an amazing start.

Black-necked Stilt (life bird)

Later, we drove a three mile Pintail loop seeing the previous types along with a few Snow Geese, Black-neck Stilts (which I had been looking for), and hundreds of Northern Shovelers.  There were also hundreds of hungry mosquitos so we stayed in the truck. 

We continued a long driving loop down to the coast and stopped at the jetty at Cameron.  After passing all sorts of oil equipment and ships, we got out to the beach, paid a small fee, and in a stiff breeze, saw hundreds of shore birds.  In the photo below, you can spot Laughing Gulls, Herring Gulls, Black Skimmers, Forster's Terns.  I couldn't see anything else, aside from White Pelicans but there may be another tern or gull in the gang.



We ended the trip with an Alligator sighting up close and personal.  Two new life list birds (Glossy Ibis and Black-necked Stilt) and an interesting look at a vulnerable piece of the U.S.  Seeing houses, a hospital, and emergency generators up on stilts is sobering.  But the birding is awesome and with migration coming, will soon get even better.