Of course I mean that we went back to the Butterfly Rainforest in Gainesville, FL. It’s such a beautiful place that it doesn’t take a lot of imagination to transport you deep into a secluded rainforest. You hear lots of birds tweeting, you hear the water trickling over the little waterfalls, and you see the stream below you with the beautiful koi fish. And all the while butterflies are in the air all around you, and sometimes on the path so watch where you step.
You can peek at the koi from the bridges over the water.The bridges give you a chance to see more of the scene. There were lots of butterflies in the air when I took this, I wish you could see them better.No matter how insignificant we may think we are, we cast our shadow on the world.I think Halloween was still in the airThis guy appeared right in front of me and this is the only picture I got that I didn’t cut off a part of a wing. Apparently I don’t only like red-bellied woodpeckers and red-winged black birds, I was determined to show off this red belly too.I wonder where I would have to move to in order for this little sweetie pie to come to my feeders?This visitor would make me happy also.Cuteness overload.We walked through and took lots of pictures and then went out to find some lunch. To the Metro Diner which was fun. And before heading home we decided to walk through again, just in time for the butterfly release at 2 PM every weekday. These butterflies are sent here from their homes around the world, in chrysalis form, and they are raised here. These are the newly emerged butterflies of the day, and the keeper moves them to tree branches to allow them to recover some strength from the effort of just breaking free. This Atlas moth was one of the newly released creatures.Their varied colorings help them to survive in their native habitats.Another hold over from Halloween.
I think that’s enough for this first post, but there were too many beautiful butterflies for just one post, so there will be more.
There is nothing spectacular about the feature photo, I just caught the cardinal at a funny moment before he either landed on the caged feeder, or just after he hopped away. That I was out back with the big lens on the camera waiting for birds to show up was an experiment of sorts. To see how well my left arm would do supporting the camera before I try to take on more than I can manage. I might not have been questioning that if I had actually gone to the dermatologist after one of the many times over the years that it crossed my mind that I should probably do that. Because it did cross my mind from time to time. But that thought didn’t stick, like the cardinal didn’t stick.
It was a hop, a skip, and he was off…
My mind flitted off somewhere else, as if thinking that I ought to do the responsible thing was enough. I have never been a sun worshipper, never sat out trying to get a tan, at least not for more than a few minutes when I’d either get too bored or too hot, and I’d seek out some shade. Besides, thought I, my Italian heritage means I’m not exactly fair skinned. Since I didn’t intend to sit in the sun I also didn’t bother with sunscreen. And now I am lucky enough that even though I did go to the dermatologist and get bad news, there was good news also in that my melanoma was a stage one with it’s 99% cure rate. But this isn’t something I wanted to deal with, not ever, and certainly not after 75 years and becoming wiser (?) in all those years. The chunk that is now missing from my arm, with its lovely scar, didn’t have to be there. My face is still bandaged and what scar is there is yet to be revealed. This was avoidable, and I am sharing this in hopes that younger people who may read this might not wait 75 years to do the responsible thing. And if you are my age and in my boat don’t wait any longer.
The birds weren’t exactly cooperating with me yesterday, but my arm did okay, so that was more good news.
I think ‘good enough’ has pretty much been my mantra all my life. Getting Bs in school was just fine with me, even though if I had put in a little effort I think I’d have seen a few more As turn up. And all these years later I see it reflected in my attitude toward photography. I took a cell phone shot of my dog that just blew me away, and that’s what started my photography journey. But as I’ve already learned so much from the classes I’ve taken and the people I’ve met, and there is something new and exciting on the horizon. Next weekend we are going to the Everglades with a group to shoot star trails, something I’ve never done before. But also lurking in those dark skies in the Everglades is the Milky Way, which I’m also excited to try to shoot. Of course the sky has to cooperate. But the pictures I took this morning were using the new (cheap) lens I bought to improve my chances of success. That I could see stars in my shots means that they are good enough to make me happy for this first attempt.
I’ve never seen stars in my shots before. But then I was out a little earlier once it dawned on me to go out and try this. That’s the moon that’s so bright, and it didn’t show up as a crescent, which is what it actually was. I still didn’t quite have my settings right at this point.All this time I’ve been using my cell phone for early morning shots, but I’m quite happy with these results. Of course I had to also use a tripod or this would never work.On the one hand I could have gotten out when it was even darker this morning. On the other hand it was too dark to see the ducks, I took this shot because I could hear them.Tomorrow we go to class to learn how to shoot star trails. If I want to practice I think I’ll have to get out there even earlier.
Yes, I do realize, but try to put out of my mind, the fact that there are other things lurking in the Everglades besides the Milky Way. I will make it my mission this week to buy every mosquito repellant known to man. If only they had alligator repellant, or python repellant…
A glance out the back door on this day revealed an enormous pile of feathers out on the snag. A much bigger looking bird than the kite had been, and I hurried out with the camera to try to see just what it was. I suspected that it was a turkey vulture, but I hoped it was something else. Something more majestic. A vulture has its place in the ecosystem, which I learned by looking it up. I didn’t like admitting that I play favorites, liking the prettier birds better. Shame on me. But looking up info on the vultures didn’t make me like them any better. Yes, they eat carrion, which is a good thing. But they pee and poop on their own legs, which is their method of cooling down. Not only do they regurgitate to feed the two chicks they produce every year, but they also regurgitate to defend themselves against any threat. Apparently it can be so unpleasant that it turns out they don’t have many enemies in the natural world, or not after they are grown. But it was interesting to watch him opening his wings to dry off, and seeing that pile of feathers eventually reveal itself to be a vulture, in all his glory.
Bursts of heavy rain were happening over and over again today.I thought this bird, whatever it was, was SO much bigger than anything I’d seen on the snag up until today.Even from a distance once I could see his head I knew what bird it was.He stayed a while, but eventually flew off.
At first when I was hoping to take pictures of eagles I looked for any large bird in the sky in hopes it would be an eagle. It didn’t take long to notice that the vultures ride the thermals, gliding through the air very gracefully and not having to flap their wings much at all. Beautiful in flight, not so much in person.
I went with a friend today, back to the place that I first took a photography class about 7 years ago. I made friends in that class that are still good friends all these years later. The subject of the class was ‘bird photography’, and I venture to say that Ive taken quite a few bird photos since then. The birds were quite cooperative today, returning to the feeders again and again. Plus I got to try out a 1.4 extender for my Canon r7. Before I tried it I was totally sure that I didn’t NEED one, but now I’m not so sure. As much, if not more, reach than my old 150-600, and weighs a LOT less. I think I’m hooked.
This Yellow-Throated Warbler is practicing his gymnastic moves,A Carolina Chickadee has the feeder to his or her self.Doesn’t this Cardinal look like the picture of innocence? Who, me?This is a newly constructed bird house. It look like someone has moved in.
I’ve had a busy week, what with several photo op trips and getting married and all. I’m a bit of a fraud these days since most of what I said about this blog when I started is no longer true. I’m not on the Nature Coast anymore, but I’m still pretty close by. And I’m not on my own any more, which is as much a surprise to me as anybody. I was proud of myself for handling my sudden widowhood as well as I did, and now I’m proud of myself for recognizing how lucky I am to have found someone who so perfectly fits into this life I’ve made for myself. Sometimes life just falls into place…
Yesterday I had a comment or two about the ability of the new camera, a Canon r7 mirrorless camera, to take a huge number of shots in a burst. I usually have it set to do just that if I’m photographing birds, or wildlife at all really. Just in case something exciting happens. So let me explain that I feel hardly any responsibility for these photos I’m posting today. The feature photo is the first in a sequence of 10 photos that the camera took in less than a second. My contribution was to see the lighting and reflections, and I anticipated the Tri-color Heron would take off. I wanted the tracking in the camera to follow the bird, and it did. these are the 10 consecutive frames that it took. Makes me happy to think that my investment in this camera has turned out to be exactly what I hoped it would be. I used the r 100-400 lens, made for the mirrorless Canon cameras, and not expensive at all. Or as these things go.
The feature photo is the take off, this is frame #2.Stretching his wings in frame #3.Full wing extension in frame #4.The dive for the prize in frame #5.Putting the brakes on with his wings in #6,#7, will he come up with lunch?I thought/hoped he caught his prey, but apparently not. #8Not this time, #9And then he flew away, out of the nice light.
We spent the beginning of the walk looking into the morning sun. I didn’t bring my visor so it was tough. It was lucky that this sequence happened in such nice light. I will give lots of credit to luck, and that’s okay.
A Snowbird's Life Through the Lens 