In Focus Daily

Yesterday morning when I arrived at Angler’s Cove, I climbed the stairs to the Ferrari Pond Trail instead of walking up the path because I noticed that the Black Phoebes were in one of the trees close to the stairs. Most mornings when I arrive, the Black Phoebes are the first birds that greet me but I rarely manage to photograph them. This one was on a perch with a great background and was a cooperative subject. It was slightly backlit giving the feathers on its head, sides, and tail just a hint of rim lighting.

A month ago I posted a color photograph at sunset of the view from Pam and Peter’s balcony in Foresthill. After weeks of gloomy fog and overcast in the valley, it was so nice to be, if ever so briefly, “above the fog” as the people living above about 1500 feet are always happy to remind us flat landers (Lincoln has an elevation of about 150 feet). It’s been exactly a month and the foggy gloom in the valley now alternates with soggy skies and dense overcast. That evening in December, I took a few black and white shots as the fog drifted into the valley and defined the crevices beneath us creating an atmospheric depth that was pretty amazing.

The recent rains have turned the fields of yellowing grass here into fields of green, more spring-like than in the dead of winter. A couple of Coyotes trotted through the green grass a few days ago, stopping to sniff the scents in the field. They took their time, giving me several opportunities to photograph them but they kept far enough apart that I never captured the pair together. The reflection of one is the best I could do to get two Coyotes in one shot.

When I looked out this morning to see if it was raining, a full moon greeted me with clouds rolling swiftly by. I grabbed my camera, stepped out onto the patio and took a few clicks. It was a lovely greeting to the day.

Happy New Year!!! It wouldn’t be New Year’s here at In Focus Daily without a hummingbird gracing the first post of the year. This the 16th January 1 that I’ve published a blog post. Most, not all, of my January 1 blog posts feature a hummingbird, usually an Anna’s Hummingbird (like this one) that live in my yard year round. Hummingbirds first appeared in this blog on the third day, January 3, 2011 and I was so excited to get the shot. My hummingbird photography has improved significantly since then but I can still remember the thrill I felt seeing the Anna’s Hummingbird hovering directly in front of me as I depressed the shutter 16 years ago.

There were three Snowy Egrets foraging in the Salt Pond along Ferrari Pond Trail the other day. I guess it must have been a territorial thing because one of the Snowys was relentless in his pursuit of another Snowy that seemed to be minding his own business, just standing in the pond, swishing his feet to stir up something. The skirmish went on for a few minutes as one angry bird chased the other around the pond.

The sun was out yesterday morning after a couple weeks of gloomy fog, thunderstorms, and rain. I had no more excuses to avoid walking. So instead of lounging with my morning coffee, I skipped the coffee and walked over to Ferrari Pond. Even though it was past 9AM, the critters were out. When I arrived at Angler’s Cove, I ran into my friend Don who told me about the Red-tailed Hawk that has been frequenting an area near the Salt Pond for the past few days. It seems not to be bothered by people and isn’t spooked when approached within a few feet. It’s often been seen on the ground foraging for something (worms?). I didn’t notice him (her?) on the way to the Salt Pond but on my way back, after photographing a couple of Coyotes and Snowy Egrets, there he was, in a tree by the side of the trail. I had to move to avoid a cluttered background, but he didn’t flinch when I slowly moved over toward him. I’m glad that I finally made myself move a little bit (5 1/2 miles by noon!) because it paid off.

Homer, my backyard Anna’s Hummingbird who thinks he owns the place —— I guess he does; he’s there more than I am —— has been showing some attitude lately. He lets me know when I am intruding on his space and yesterday, he even flared his gorget as he glared at me from his watch perch. At least he was at the correct angle so that his gorget reflected the magenta and orange that made a gloomy day a bit more colorful.

Yesterday, after the Christmas storm, I went out to see if there was any damage in my backyard. One of the hummingbird feeders that I had just refilled the day before, was on the ground after twisting in the high winds for who knows how long. It had completely unscrewed from its hanger and was lying empty on the ground. As soon as I went out, I heard from Homer (I don’t know what else to call him—I’ve always called the male Anna’s at my home, well, Homer) screeching to let me know that he had only three feeders to guard, not four. After chasing away another male (Homer II?) he settled on a perch in the now completely leafless dogwood that until a few days ago was clinging to its last few leaves. Forty plus mile per hour winds with accompanying rain took care of every leaf left on any deciduous tree in my garden. Homer. preened for quite a while as I watched him. A feather or two of his gorget reflected a bit of red as he angled his head but once he fanned his tail, he had turned away and did not reflect any color except his green back feathers. Color or not, I love to see a hummingbird fan its tail.

The Costa Rican Green-breasted Mango sports perfect Christmas colors. While green and red are the primary colors of its feathers making it a perfect Christmas card subject, I’m pretty sure this gorgeous hummingbird doesn’t encounter snowflakes so I had to create a snowflake brush in Photoshop to add a little bit more seasonal flavor.

Merry Christmas!!

The Clipper is another butterfly from the Missoula Butterfly House and Insectarium that I photographed last year. The Clipper is native to Southeast Asia. I love how the yellow in the striped body mimics the yellow in the flowers its perched on, a plant called orange flowering jessamine that is also from Southeast Asia.

The Missoula Butterfly House & Insectarium is a magical place, filled with butterflies from North and South America, Asia and Africa in a habitat that keeps the many represented species thriving. Moose took me there last year and I discovered that photographing butterflies is not easy: not only does it require deep concentration, it requires lightning fast reflexes. I also discovered that the camera’s autofocus system tends to focus on the wings. Of course the wings are what make butterflies, well, butterflies. But butterflies are critters and because they are critters, they have eyes and, like photographs of all critters, the eyes must be in focus. I had taken quite a few images before I realized that I had lots of images with tack sharp wings but not so many with tack sharp eyes. Fortunately, I recognized my mistake early. That doesn’t mean that all of my subsequent images had tack sharp eyes. Far from it. But knowing I had to concentrate on getting the eye and not get distracted by the bedazzling colors of the wings helped me get more than if I hadn’t recognized the problem early on.

These two butterflies are both members of the genus Heliconius, also known as longwing butterflies, a large group of butterflies from South America. The first, Heliconius Numata, is showing a bit of wear and tear in its wings. The second, with closed wings, is also a Heliconius but it is known as the Postman. It got is name from its unique feeding behavior where it follows a predictable daily route, not unlike a postman, to visit specific flowers.

When I was in Costa Rica in March of this year, I was fortunate to successfully photograph ten different species of hummingbirds. One of the most colorful was the tiny male Crowned Woodnymph, only about three and a half inches. He perched in the soft rain as droplets accumulated on his beak and forehead. The overcast skies helped to saturate the already intense colors that this gorgeous bird displays. When I photograph hummingbirds, I use two different approaches. When shooting hummingbirds from a fixed position that is within flash range, I use a 400mm lens with a 1.4X teleconverter and two flashes, one on either side of the lens, to provide a soft light that wraps around the bird’s body just to bring out the color of the bird’s feathers, not to increase exposure. When I’m further away, I use a longer lens such as a 600mm lens with a teleconverter, either 1.4X or 2X and no flashes. In this instance, while the Crowned Woodnymph perched in front of me, I used an 840mm focal length and I didn’t need flash because the sky naturally saturated the colors and provided a gorgeous intensity reflected in his feathers.

There isn’t much activity at the Salt Pond along the Ferrari Pond Trail this time of year. But a lone Snowy Egret was gulping down something it had found in the shallow pond as I approached the other day. The vortex rings from the Egret stabbing its beak into the water are still visible beneath it and all of the grasses surrounding the pond are perfectly reflected in the salty water.

Last May in the Black Hills of South Dakota, I saw and photographed a Badger for the first time. The Badger was in the process of digging a burrow in the middle of a large, grassy field and she looked up at us with curiosity. She paused her digging to watch us, even resting her chin on the pile of dirt as she gazed in our direction.

A Great Blue Heron wades in a shallow pond at Wakodahatchee Wetlands in Florida this past February and waits for something in the water to catch its eye for a meal. I thought the light was especially lovely as the early morning light reflected from the water onto the bird, lighting its face.

This pair of Burrowing Owls was in the middle of a soccer field at Brian Piccolo Sports Park in Cooper City, Florida in February. Some of the soccer fields were closed to soccer as the owls had burrowed into the sandy dirt. The owl in front, with grains of sand clinging to its beak and facial feathers, had been digging furiously, as the other owl calmly stood as sand cascaded over it, closing its eyes and slowly opening them again only when the digging paused.

It’s been a while since the sun has shone here. It’s been gloomy, dank, and cold and the fog clings low to the ground. Yesterday, when I climbed up the path to Ferrari Pond, the logs where egrets and cormorants usually perch were empty but their reflections in the hazy gloom made an interesting composition.

A few Hooded Mergansers are hanging around Ferrari Pond. I’ve been told that there are even a couple of pairs that swim in the pond above the waterfall that I walk by each morning. However, to get to them requires walking across part of the golf course, something I’m reluctant to do after being admonished by a golfer who told me in no uncertain terms that I was walking on a path restricted to golf carts, no foot traffic. At least at Ferrari Pond I don’t have to worry about a golfer yelling at me. This female Hooded Merganser was swimming lazily in the pond the other day, then something either startled her or caught her attention and she ran across the water for several yards before settling down again.

The scenery is spectacular whether you’re inside Yellowstone National Park or as in this photograph, outside the park in Paradise Valley, on the road between the North entrance to the park and Livingston, Montana. And, when there are clouds, that’s the icing on the cake.