No new posts for a few days
I will not be posting on this blog for the next few days. My next post will probably be next Monday or Tuesday.
Archive for June, 2009
American Kestrel Chick
This photo is of a baby American Kestrel (Falco sparverius). This is the last of the shots I took while on a Ray Barlow (www.raymondbarlow.com) flight shooting workshop near Simcoe, Ontario, Canada. He looks a bit sad here, but he really is quite a chirpy little guy.
At the time this photo was taken, this little fellow had not yet learned to fly. When he does, though, he’ll be among the fastest of nature’s creatures.
Nikon D300 DSLR, Nikkor AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4 IF-ED
300mm, ISO 500, 1/800 sec. at f/8 – handheld
Backyard Cottontail
In recent years we have been seeing many Eastern Cottontails (Sylvilagus floridanus) in our garden. These gently animals, although they are a nuisance when they eat our garden plants and strip bark from shrubs in winter, have become part of our “extended” household. Even our two Jack Russell dogs tolerate them most of the time.
Two years ago, Cottontails would visit three at a time; in the past two years, however, visits have been less frequent. Eight or nine years ago, we seldom saw rabbits—maybe one every couple of years. Then suddenly they were everywhere. Someone told me that there had been an epidemic which killed off most of our area’s foxes—a natural predator of rabbits. That would explain the sudden increase in the Cottontail population.
We do not feed the animals because we don’t want to encourage them, but we generally let them munch away unmolested—they feed mainly on grass.
The following photograph is of an Eastern Cottontail kitten that has been using our garden as a buffet. It is a tiny creature and quite adorable—and very brave/tame.
Nikon D50 DSLR, Nikkor AF-S VR DX Zoom 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED
130mm, ISO 200, 1/60 sec. at f/5.6 – handheld
© 2009 Russell G. Campbell
All rights reserved.
Juvenile Bald Eagle
This Juvenile Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) was one beautiful, playful bird. He was one of the raptors at a Ray Barlow (www.raymondbarlow.com) flight shooting workshop near Simcoe, Ontario, Canada. Bald Eagles are making a come-back in South Western Ontario, something we can all be thankful for. In another couple of years his head will go white and he’ll look more like the adult bird in my last post.
Nikon D300 DSLR, Nikkor AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4 IF-ED
500mm, ISO 1100, 1/1250 sec. at f/6.7 – handheld
© 2009 Russell G. Campbell
All rights reserved.
Bald Eagle
Another popular bird, the Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), which is probably one of the most photographed of the raptors. This photograph was taken at a Ray Barlow (www.raymondbarlow.com) flight shooting workshop near Simcoe, Ontario, Canada.
Nikon D300 DSLR, Nikkor AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4 IF-ED
300mm, ISO 400, 1/2000 sec. at f/4 – handheld
© 2009 Russell G. Campbell
All rights reserved.
Chipmunk at Hendrie Valley
This photograph was taken on the boardwalk running through Hendrie Valley at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Burlington/Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Nikon D300 DSLR, Nikkor AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4 IF-ED + Nikon 1.7x teleconverter
500mm, ISO 320, 1/500 sec. at f/6.7 – handheld
Not so wild Eastern Gray Squirrel
My wife and I encountered this fine furry fellow on the boardwalk running through Hendrie Valley at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Burlington/Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Squirrels, chipmunks and chickadees seen along the trail through Grindstone Marsh are so tame and brave, they literally eat from the palm of your hand.
Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)
Nikon D300 DSLR, Nikkor AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4 IF-ED + Nikon 1.7x teleconverter
500mm, ISO 320, 1/500 sec. at f/6.7 – handheld
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) taken near Simcoe, Ontario, Canada at a Ray Barlow (www.raymondbarlow.com) flight shooting workshop.
Nikon D300 DSLR, Nikkor AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4 IF-ED
Harris Hawk
Taken at a Ray Barlow (www.raymondbarlow.com) flight shooting workshop near Simcoe, Ontario, Canada.
Nikon D300 DSLR, Nikkor AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4 IF-ED
© 2009 Russell G. Campbell
All rights reserved.
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
Taken at a Ray Barlow (www.raymondbarlow.com) flight shooting workshop near Simcoe, Ontario, Canada.
Nikon D300 DSLR, Nikkor AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4 IF-ED
After the leap: Great Horned Owl
After the leap—tiger of the woods, the Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus).
Nikon D300 DSLR, Nikkor AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4 IF-ED
300mm, 1/2000 sec. at f/4 – handheld
© 2009 Russell G. Campbell
All rights reserved.
Taking the leap: Great Horned Owl
Another image from a flight workshop at Simcoe, Ontario. This is the tiger of the woods, the Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus).
Nikon D300 DSLR, Nikkor AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4 IF-ED
300mm, 1/2000 sec. at f/4 – handheld
© 2009 Russell G. Campbell
All rights reserved.
Barn Owl near Simcoe, Ontario
Early on Tuesday morning I headed down to Simcoe for a flight shooting workshop run by wildlife photographer Ray Barlow. Six of us, including Ray, stood in a field as falconer James Cowan flew several of his raptors from hand to a perch hundreds of feet away. For the most part, these birds are fast flyers, and it’s a real challenge to get well composed, exposed and focused shots of them on the wing.
I used a 1.7X teleconverter for about half the time and went with the 300mm f/4 on its own the rest of the time. I took over 700 frames with about 300 not at all usable…out of focus or the bird was missed entirely. I figure I have maybe 25 pretty good images and several more that I’ll save for the future when I might want to put together some composites.
The Barn Owl (Tyto alba) pictured below is one of several shots I thought turned out quite well.
As usual, I take the image in RAW format with no in-camera processing. Then I use Adobe Photoshop Lightroom to process them on my PC. I occasionally use Photoshop CS3 to help with the processing.
I’ll be posting a series of these raptors in the next few days.
Information about Ray’s workshops and samples of his excellent work can be seen here.
Nikon D300 DSLR, Nikkor AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4 IF-ED
300mm, 1/2000 sec. at f/4 – handheld
Indigo Bunting at Mountsberg Conservation Area
Here’s another of my favourite birds: Indigo Bunting (Passerina amoena). Unfortunately, the little critter was some distance off and my 300mm lens was hard-pressed to get a useable image. Back in the “lab” I did some heavy cropping and I think it turned out well.
Nikon D300 DSLR, Nikkor AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4 IF-ED
300mm, 1/500 sec. at f/4
© 2009 Russell G. Campbell
All rights reserved.
Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)
Here’s another owl photograph, this time a Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus). This is one of the big boys of the owl world, a true tiger of the forest—top of the food chain. This bird lives in captivity at Mountsberg Wildlife Centre in Milton, Ontario and cannot be released to the wild because it imprinted on humans while being cared for and now believes it is one of us. Come to think of it, does look a bit like one of my relatives…
Nikon D300 DSLR
Nikkor AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4 IF-ED
Northern Saw-whet Owl
The Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus) is a small owl native to North America. Adults are 18 cm long with a 43 cm wingspan. These birds wait on a low perch at night and swoop down on small rodents. they are known to have excellent hearing and exceptional vision in low light. The Saw-whet Owl named by a member of the National Audubon Society who heard the call of a barn owl, which some claim sounds like a saw being sharpened with a whetstone, and mistakenly attributed it to this little fellow. It is fairly common, but not always easy to spot.
This bird is a resident at the Mountsberg Wildlife Centre at Milton, Ontario.
Nikon D300 DSLR
Nikkor AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4 IF-ED
Barn Owl
This beautiful Barn Owl (Tyto alba) is another resident at the Mountsberg Wildlife Centre at Milton, Ontario. Owls are generally nocturnal and spend much of the day roosting. They are sometimes mistakenly thought to be tame since they will allow people to approach quite closely before taking flight. Actually, they stay still not because they are tame, but to avoid detection.
The Barn Owl is a pale, long-winged, long-legged owl with a short squarish tail. Depending on subspecies, it measures about 25-45 cm in overall length, with a wingspan in the range of 75-100 cm. The Upperparts are light grey with numerous fine dark lines and scattered pale spots on the feathers. There are buff markings on wings and on the back. The underparts are white with a few black spots, occasionally none. The heart-shaped face is white with a brownish edge, with brown marks at the front of the eyes, which have a black iris. Males and females are similar in size and colour, while females and juveniles are generally more densely spotted.
Nikon D300 DSLR
Nikkor AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4 IF-ED
American Kestrel
The American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) is a small falcon sometimes known as a Sparrow Hawk (no relation to the European Sparrowhawk). I think the image below is of a female bird. American Kestrels’ breeding range extends from central and western Alaska across northern Canada to Nova Scotia, and south throughout North America, into central Mexico, the Baja, and the Caribbean. They are local breeders in Central America and are widely distributed throughout South America.
Most of the birds breeding in Canada and the northern United States migrate south in the winter, although some males stay as year-round residents.
Nikon D300 DSLR
Nikkor AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4 IF-ED, ISO 450
1/200 sec at f/7.1 – tripod
© 2009 Russell G. Campbell
All rights reserved.
Barred Owl
Owls are fascinating creatures with a special place among the raptors. I never tire of taking photographs of these birds. The image below was taken at the wildlife centre at Mountsberg Conservation Area at Milton, Ontario. They have several raptors on site that are either damaged or have imprinted on humans and cannot be returned to the wilds.
Taken in RAW with a Nikon D300 D-SLR and Nikkor AF-S 300mm f/4 IF-ED lens.
Chipmunk
I saw this little fellow while walking on one of our nature trails.
© 2009 Russell G. Campbell
All rights reserved.
