January 18 – My Nature Journal
2025-01-18 Nature Journal
Mallard
(Anas platyrhynchos)
Photographing birds in flight requires a combination of the right camera settings, fantastic timing, and a whole lot of luck. And usually, this combination escapes me.
My “walking around” camera settings are programed for stationary wildlife. So anytime I see a bird in flight, it’s a race to see if I can push all the right buttons fast enough to get decent photographs.
To be sure, these photos of a male Mallard in flight won’t win any kind of nature photography contest.
But sometimes, I use measures other than technical quality to judge my photos and I just really love these shots. I refer to photographs like this as “gotcha” shots; photographs that could be better but represent action, behavior, or species that I’ve not captured before.
And I even caught him mid-quack. I’m so proud.
Eastern Gray Squirrel
(Sciurus carolinensis)
Moments before I took this photograph, this Eastern Gray Squirrel had chased an interloper across the trail. His opponent (I’m assuming this squirrel was male since the males defend territories) kept running into the brush.
But this guy leapt onto the post and posed, victorious.
I thought his battle win deserved commemoration.
Eastern Phoebe
(Sayornis phoebe)
Eastern Phoebes are dull-colored little songbirds but very endearing, especially thanks to their habit of perching for sustained periods of time out in the open.
Many songbird species are very active and flit around quickly. This makes some songbirds challenging to photograph sometimes, especially if the light isn’t great and I need to adjust my exposure.
But Eastern Phoebes are tyrant flycatchers (family Tyrannidae). During the summer, phoebes perch, watch the sky for flying insects, and then fly out to intercept them. During the winter, they feed on berries, which don’t fly off. So, regardless of the season, these birds choose conspicuous perches with good visibility in all directions and linger, at least outside of nesting season.
And after a few hours of chasing after flighty little birds that won’t hold still long enough to give a poor nature journaler a fighting chance, one really starts to appreciate the Eastern Phoebe’s more relaxed approach to life.
Today’s Nature Journal Snapshot
|
Time of Day |
Early evening |
|
Setting |
Large lake |
|
Temperature |
48° F / 9° C |
|
Weather |
Overcast |
|
Humidity |
77% |
