Birds of May

What a month!  After a long winter the birds came back strong.  I spent almost the entire month  doing still photography using the 100-400 mm lens, handheld.  It was a refreshing break from being locked to a tripod and less frustrating than waiting for video action.
Birds of May can be seen at: May 2013 Birds

American Redstart

Another first image, what a spring!  Redstarts have been everywhere and highly visible because of their orange wing bars and constant flashing of their tail as they flutter from branch to branch.  According to the Cornell Bird website this behavior is used to flush insect prey off branches and leaves so it can be eaten, seems like a lot of work.

Bay Breasted Warbler

Another in the series of warblers from last week.  Spring woodlands have been more brown than green so the colorful birds have been very welcome subjects. Another image shot hand held with the 100-400 lens, image stabilizer on. Since starting shooting Canon video it has become my favorite lens for both wildlife stills and video.  With the 7D crop factor it is a 640 mm lens, remember when a 600 mm lens was financially out of reach.

Black Throated Green Warbler

What's in a name? In this case it is very descriptive but that's not always the case as in the Magnolia Warbler which acquired its name from the tree it was first seen in.  Photographed in the backyard.

Black and White Survivor

This warbler hit the window yesterday afternoon and after recovering in the grass a couple hours was good to go.

Magnolia Warbler

I don't know if it is the weather or just the coincidence of me being outdoors when the warblers pass through but I have never seen the woods alive with warblers like this year. Technical: Captured with center point autofocus, cropped for subject placement, in this case vertical.

Warbler Week

Warblers have been moving through Burnett Co. this week, ranging from the common yellow warbler to some  that are only seen on an occasional basis. Technical: cropped vertical, 400 mm handheld.

Ruff Grouse Drumming

 This guy has been very tolerant of photographers and seems to enjoy performing, if I can be so bold to give it a human characteristic.  Footage was obtained over two seasons.  Both the Canon 7D and C100 used to record footage.

Spring Morning

The crops are being planted in southern Minnesota and it's the time to do some temporary camera planting.  It helps to have a hill.  Technical: f22, 11 mm focal length on Canon 7D, 18 mm full frame equivalent.  One of several shots taken with the camera back in the leaves.

Trout Lily

My first love in photography is wildflowers and finding a little color at my feet is a joy.  If you are wondering about the blue, it is the sky.  I'll let your imagination determine the camera position.  Technical: 100 macro, f 7.1, late morning light.

Yellow Warbler

The warblers have arrived, trees are alive with movement.  The challenge is locking focus and getting a decent shot without background clutter or a bird sprouting a branch from its back. Technical: slight cropping, 500 mm lens on Canon 7D

Chipping Sparrow

The warblers are in the trees and the sparrows are at the water making it a little easier to get a shot of them.  Tiny but busy birds, it's just a matter of waiting for them to get close.  Technical: cropped vertical, 500 mm lens on Canon 7D

Ephemeral

May 1st, 3 inches of new snow.
May 6th, peak bloom.
May 9th, it's over.
Ephemeral.

Bloodroot Close Up

The wind was blowing and the petals were falling yesterday when I was out looking for my second favorite spring flower to photograph, the bloodroot.  This fascination started when we would pick the flowers and smear the red juice on ourselves.  Technical: handheld, f 2.8, 100 mm Macro lens.

Eastern Comma

The butterflies are coming out of hibernation with Mourning Cloaks in open areas and commas in the woods.  Butterfly photography is grab shooting unless you have a good food source.  Technical: cropped to vertical, handheld using a 70-200 mm lens.

White Throated Sparrow

This sparrow was hunkered down during the snow last week.  They were more active in the bright sun yesterday.  Technical: Still image captured with Canon C100.

The Strut

A predictable ritual of spring, definitely more than the weather.  This guy is king of the log and not afraid to show it.

Pasque Flower

Little did I think that it would be snowing today when this was shot last Sunday.  Typically pasque flowers are out mid-April but this was just opening up.  I'm too busy to get to the flowers today and shoot them in the snow, bummer.