Last post before Big Bend

January 4, 2016 by Bob Zeller

Today, along with trying to write this post, I am also getting my various equipment cleaned, sorted, stashed and packed. We are leaving for the Big Bend area on Wednesday morning. We are meeting our Tennessee friends in Terlingua, staying at The Chisos Mining Company at Easter Egg Valley. That is a motel, named after a now defunct mercury mine and the pastel painted cabins that dot the desert.

We will be spending five days and nights, prowling the mountains, canyons and desert of Big Bend National Park and the adjacent Big Bend Ranch State Park. That area of the state of Texas is a well kept secret I have come to discover. I say that because I have had people ask me, Texans mind you, where Big Bend is. It is in far west Texas, down where the Rio Grande makes it’s big turn from flowing southeast to turning to flow northeast.

As most of my regular readers know, I love going to that area, not only to photograph birds, but also the four-legged wildlife and the magnificent landscapes. Of course, if I can add to my bird lists, so much the better. On that note, I will tell you that in the past three days, I have put 53 species on my 2016 Big Year list. Soooo….. with my goal of 210 for the year, I should get there in the next 12 days. Right????

Okay, let’s get to the images that I have captured these past three days. In no particular order. Click on any image to see an enlargement.

Let’s start with a rare visitor to this part of Texas, the Green-tailed Towhee. It’s range is usually in far west Texas, but occasionally one will show up that can’t read a range map and won’t ask for directions. This one wound up at the blind at San Angelo State Park.

Green-tailed Towhee

Also at the blind, this Curve-billed Thrasher.

Curve-billed Thrasher

This pretty Pyrrhuloxia showed up, too. I just love trying to spell his name.

Pyrrhuloxia

Driving into Spring Creek Park we saw this female Golden-fronted Woodpecker working without a net.

Golden-fronted Woodpecker – female

On another tree branch, just sitting and looking pretty, was this Western Bluebird.

Western Bluebird

I have a hard time passing up a photo of a Great Blue Heron. One of my favorite subjects.

Great Blue Heron

Looking far across the water, Ann spotted what looked like a bird in the brush. At a distance of about 250 yards, we had to look through our binoculars to see what it was. It was a challenge to my Canon 7D Mark II, but it and the Tamron 150-600mm lens got the job done. It was hard to make the ID from that distance, but I see a rounded tip of the tail, and perhaps some black on the top of the head. I will call it a Cooper’s versus a Sharp-shinned Hawk.

Cooper’s Hawk

I love the challenge of capturing the tiny birds in the brush. Here is a neat photo of a juvenile White-crowned Sparrow.

White-crowned Sparrow – juvenile

Speaking of juveniles, let’s finish up with this young Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – juvenile

That’s it for this post. Now back to packing up for our trip. My next post will be around the 13th of January. I hope to have some fun stuff to show you.

‘Til then, Happy Birding!!

Northern Cardinal and more…….

December 16, 2015 by Bob Zeller

Birding the past week has been delightful. Our species daily counts are getting up there, one time reaching 40. But most importantly, I was able to get some nice photographs. Most of the photos were taken in the local parks around Lake Nasworthy. San Angelo State Park has been closed as they are burning off nearly 25% of the park to rid it of unwanted brush and mesquite. In the long run, that should help the flora and fauna rebound, beneficial to all.

Let’s start with this Northern Cardinal. always a favorite to photograph.

Northern Cardinal

Some Western Bluebirds arrived to add to the beauty of the avian population.

Western Bluebird

The Yellow-rumped Warblers are here in large numbers now.

Yellow-rumped Warbler – Myrtle variety

It seems that I have seen an increase in Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, compared to prior years. Of course, it may be just me, getting more familiar with each specie as the years go by. 🙂

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

As we were driving along the fence line at Spring Creek park we were surprised to come upon this Blue-gray Gnatcatcher……

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

…….and this cute Ruby-crowned Kinglet. I love the challenge of photographing these tiny birds. They are quick, flighty never sitting still for more than a fraction of a second.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

A few rare Pine Warblers are still around. Maybe they have found a home here for the winter.

Pine Warbler

Eastern Phoebes are always around, entertaining us with it’s quick flights from tree to tree, then resting for a few seconds before moving on.

Eastern Phoebe

Another Yellow-rumped Warbler,this one a beautiful Audubon variety.

Yellow-rumped Warbler – Audubon variety

One of my favorite wading birds is the Great Blue Heron. They are plentiful here, being seen at most of the lakes and waterways.

Great Blue Heron

Wild Turkeys abound here in the Concho Valley. I usually ignore them because they are so common. But as we passed the narrow little inlet several took off to fly to the other side. This group numbered about 30 and they were taking off about one at a time. I decided to stop and try to catch a photo of one of them in flight. I was lucky. I say that because of all 30 or more, I was able to catch only one good image. I was rattling off hi-speed shots as each bird blew. Here is the best of the bunch.

Wild Turkey – hen in flight

So that’s it for today. I hope to get more for another post before Christmas. Click any image to see an enlargement.

Happy birding!!

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher – A Wow moment.

September 9, 2015 by Bob Zeller

I am feeling better now that I can get out into my nature environs again. Traveling through the San Angelo State Park, I came upon this beautiful Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. I pulled the car off the road. The bird continued to pose for me, and I think I came away with one of my best photos of one in a long time. I hope you enjoy. (click on it and the other images to see enlargements.)

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

We also ventured to the north section of the park. This Great Blue Heron was standing in a pond in the North Concho River.

Great Blue Heron

Before we left that area, I had to take a shot of this Black-tailed Prairie Dog.

Black-tailed Prairie Dog

The following morning we made a short visit to Spring Creek Park and spotted some Eastern Phoebes cavorting in some brush. One of them stopped long enough to take a breather on a wire fence.

Eastern Phoebe

Migration isn’t in full swing here yet because of our lingering 100° days. But cooler weather so projected for the next few days so birding should start improving.

I would be remiss if I didn’t remind you of my new DVD that I recently produced with the help of DST Productions in Knoxville, Tennessee. One hundred of my finest work, including birds, wildlife, and landscapes. Truly a beautiful collection set to some beautiful music. In 1080P HiDef. As many of you know, I am a very trusting individual. You can have this DVD if you will mail me a check for 25.00 that includes any taxes and shipping expenses. My address is Bob Zeller, 4401 White Ash Ln., San Angelo, TX. I will ship it immediately by Priority Mail. By the way, it would make great Christmas gifts. I have references available if you like.

Of course, my book, “Birds, Beasts and Buttes” is still selling very well. Total cost to you is 65.00.

Happy Birding to all. 🙂

Vermilion Flycatcher and others.

April 28, 2015 by Bob Zeller

This post is best viewed on a computer or device where you can click the photos and see nice enlargements.

Since my last post, Ann and I have mostly been hanging around the local area, looking for more new birds and new photo ops. I guess we are still unwinding from our Big Bend trip. The weather here has been fickle, as well. Around 90° one day, down to a current 51° as I write this around noon on April 28. A chilly day for west Texas.

Yesterday, though, it was pretty nice, albeit a bit windy. I caught this Vermilion Flycatcher darting among the trees at Middle Concho Park at Lake Nasworthy.

Vermilion Flycatcher

Also nearby, was this Great Blue Heron. One of my favorite wading bird subjects. We watched him fish for awhile, but he never came up with anything worthy of eating.

Great Blue Heron

A few days earlier we were at the south portion of the large San Angelo State Park. We stopped at the blind but didn’t see anything of interest, but visited with some nice folks from South Dakota. We left there and decided to just drive through the park, as we sometimes see much more than we will at the blind. We were not disappointed.

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

Northern Bobwhite

When I started to drive away, this Bobwhite started singing so I stopped the car and took another shot.

Northern Bobwhite

We continued along and finished our drive with this Chipping Sparrow, who were available in great numbers.

Chipping Sparrow

Well, that’s all for this one. In the words of that former California governor, “Ah’ll be boch”.

Waiting for spring birds…..

February 26, 2015 by Bob Zeller

But aren’t we all, waiting for the spring birds? We are never satisfied. A few months ago we were waiting for the winter birds. So it goes, year after year, watching the changing seasons and migratory trends.

But since the spring birds haven’t arrived, Ann and I decided to go look for the winter residents that are still here. Unfortunately, we picked a very windy day. It was sunny and the temps were moderate, but the strong breezes kept the birds at a minimum.

We at first, thought of heading out on the nearby country roads, as we had heard of some nesting Golden Eagles about twenty some miles south of us. Now, that would have been something, but with the high winds, and the fact that the directions we had to the location were wrong, it turned out to be a bust. We have new directions so maybe soon we can be successsful.

So we head to our usual haunts, the local parks near Lake Nasworthy. As was the other areas, the 25 mph winds and stronger gusts kept most of the avian population down. However, there we did see a few that gave cause to some nice photographs.

A couple of Great Blue Herons, in two different locations. Usually we see a combined total of around 6-8 when going out there. This one was hunkered down out of the wind next to the lake bank.

Great Blue Heron

This one was in a more sheltered area.

Great Blue Heron

This Pied-billed Grebe unperturbed in a calmer area of water. He was far off and the image is very tightly cropped, so the image quality has suffered. I show it because it was the only duck on the open water, except for a few Double-crested Cormorants.

Pied-billed Grebe

Back in the trees this Cooper’s Hawk thought he was out of sight of me. I had seen him a few minutes earlier in the open and he took flight to this location. I actually had to search for an opening that I could focus between some trees.

Cooper’s Hawk

I, at first, considered that it might be a Sharp-shinned Hawk, and I really hoped that that was what it was as I could have added it to my 2015 list. But, alas, and I am an honest man, but to me the large size and the flatish head tells me it is indeed a Cooper’s.

Cold wet days are in store again for us so I don’t know if I will have a post by the weekend. We shall see. After that we are heading west to Fort Davis Mountains on Monday with hopes of getting some fine photos and seeing some of the winter birds there. We will be returning next Thursday so it may be a week before my next post. Until then, stay warm and dry and, Happy Birding!

Friday the 13th Birding

February 13, 2015 by Bob Zeller

Friday the 13th fell on a Friday this month. Does this scare me. Of course not. I am not suspicious of stuff like that. I ain’t afraid of the dark, either, nor am I afraid of the creatures that lurk under my bed. However, I keep my feet under the covers just in case. I also don’t walk under ladders since I once fell off of one once. Luckily, I was standing on the bottom rung at the time.

So with that in mind, Ann and I decided to throw caution to the wind and go birding. We thought we would get lucky. Well it depends on what you could call lucky. On the unlucky side, there weren’t many birds. It was a beautiful day and I can’t understand that. We did see 32 species, but most were flyovers, or on the move in the trees, or too far to consider even trying to photograph. Most of what I did try to shoot were, save for a few exceptions, very far away, up to 250 yards, and that doesn’t make for good closeups.

On the lucky side, I was able to make lemonade out of the lemons. Thanks to my 150-600mm Tamron zoom lens, I was able to get some cropable (is that at word?) images. Here is an example. This Red-tailed Hawk was of those distant ones. Here is the original image, and keep in mind, this is through my long lens. Imagine what it looked like at with the naked eye.

Uncropped image of a Red-tailed Hawk

Cropped imge:

cropped Red-tailed Hawk

We continued driving and saw these at Spring Creek Park. This female Northern Cardinal gave me problems with the lighting in the shadows. It was mid-morning and the sun was bright. I was able to correct it in my post processing.

female Northern Cardinal

A few minutes later we spotted this Great Horned Owl. Same shadow problems. But heck, I was happy to get the photos any way I can.

Great Horned Owl

Below the trees a male Northern Cardinal was scratching in the grass and leaves.

Northern Cardinal

Then cruising along the water, looking across about 200 yards away again this Great Blue Heron was standing and just gazing. Heavily cropped like the hawk photo above.

Great Blue Heron

High above, about another 250 yards away, a Black Vulture was enjoying the light, warm breeze. Again heavily cropped.

Black Vulture

On the way home we stopped again at the beach at Mary Lee Park to check on the Ring-billed Gulls.

Ring-billed Gull

Well that’s it for tonight. Going to bed, with my feet under the covers, because you never know………. (cue Friday the 13th music.)

Weekend Birding Photos

January 19, 2015 by Bob Zeller

Ann and I took advantage of the nicer temperatures this past weekend. It was nice to get out to do a little birding. One thing we enjoyed was the antics of this Red-breasted Nuthatch. It was in a some brush, and not very close. It presented some lighting problems but I managed to get some shots. Here is one of them. Performing without a net or safety ropes. 🙂

Red-breasted Nuthatch

We went back on Monday, tried to find it again. I played his call on my iPad, but we only attracted some wrens and an Eastern Phoebe. Go figure.

The juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron was back near his favorite area. I don’t know why we don’t see it more often as when we do, he is nearly always in the same place.

juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron

On the way home, we saw this Great Blue Heron in a nearby pond. At first he was just strolling looking for a likely meal, but eventually he tired of that and decided to take flight. My Canon EOS 7D Mark II with a Tamron 150-600mm lens grabbed it at about 1/4000 sec. at f6/3, ISO 400. Love that combination.

Great Blue Heron taking flight.

Anatomy of a hunt………

July 2, 2014 by Bob Zeller

Now that my health issues seem to be improving day by day, I have finally felt more like getting back out in the field. I think my recovery is going to be much quicker than I thought. On Monday we took off for a couple of hours and I was able to observe this Great Blue Heron hunting along a shoreline. I was about 150 feet, (50 yards) away, when I first saw him. I stopped the car, rolled down the window and turned off the engine. I propped my Canon 70D with my Tamron 150-600mm lens on the sill, and composed through the viewfinder for the hopeful shots to come.

I would like to mention here, that I decided to experiment with back-button auto-focusing. Whereas you use the AF-ON button on the back of the camera instead of using the shutter half-way. It can be used on most Canon SLR cameras. I think I am going to like that method. I think you will agree from the images below, that the system worked fine for me. Click on the above link for a detailed explanation.

Anyway, I didn’t have to wait too long. After a few minutes, some movement in the water attracted his attention. I pressed the shutter, which was set for high-speed multiple shooting and I was able to get the following sequence of his success. I must say though, that there was actually about fifteen images taken in the space of about two seconds, but because at the high speed of the series, many of them looked pretty much the same, so I am showing you five of the basics to tell the story.

Just waiting and watching

Hey, what was that that I saw from the corner of my eye?

Better check it out.

Gad. this water is yucky. Must keep it out of my eyes.

I don’t know what you are, but you are all mine, weeds and all.

I am not sure what he caught. I think there may have been a crawfish, but also some weed. Anyway, he swallowed it all.

Exposure was Aperture Priority, f8 @ 1/800 sec. ISO was on auto, and varied between 400 and 800.

Click on the images to see great enlargements. Hope you enjoy.

Great Blue Heron Rookery

April 25, 2014 by Bob Zeller

Here in San Angelo there are several Great Blue Heron rookeries. One is downtown along the Concho River near Santa Fe Golf course. Ann and I visited there yesterday and after observing and photographing them, we decided that there are about six to eight breeding pairs there. Because of the dense foliage it was difficult to get an exact count. But I did get several photographs. Click the images to see enlargements.

Mother and child

Mother and children

In the above photo I believe there are a total of four young ones.

Great Blue Heron baby, a face only a mother could love.

The proud parents

Adult poised for take-off.

Adult getting away from the kids for awhile.

Adult leaving, probably going fishing for food.

It was great fun watching them. The children were keeping a constant ‘chuk, chuk, chuk’ going on. I guess they are always hungry. These nest were about 200 yards away in trees across the river. I photographed them with my Canon EOS 70D and Tamron 150-600mm lens. Of course, all images were tightly cropped. If you are reading this in your e-mail, click on the title, and you will be able to click on the images to enlarge them and examine them in greater detail.

Cabin fever blues and cold buns….

March 2, 2014 by Bob Zeller

Again, we are having cold, freezing moisture. It is keeping me inside, as moisture and cameras do not mix. Of course, that is just a good excuse, as I don’t like to freeze my buns off either. I will just post a few of my photos from the past few days, when it was nice enough to get few exposures.