June 22-28, 2020

This week began on a cloudy morning with an image of a new species for me.

Indigo Bunting

On a ride down through some open farm country one evening I was able to get yet another new species.  This bird was very shy and I was not able to get very close.

American Kestrel

Later in the week I took the Kayak out on Pere Marquette lake and was able to get another shot of one of my favorite small ducks.

Bufflehead

 

June 18-21, 2020

First night out in the kayak on the Pere Marquette River produced two new species for me.

Virginia Rail

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

And the next couple of evenings produced four more new species for me.

Eastern Meadowlark

Black-billed Cuckoo

Savannah Sparrow

Brown Thrasher

Other photos from the weekend:

Bufflehead (new Mason County record late departure date of June 18)

Rabbit

Wild Turkey

Canadian Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly

Mayfly on front porch

Just beginning to learn how to use my DSLR camera to record video.  Couldn't pass up a chance to make a clip of the wonderful morning song of a Gray Catbird (View On YouTube).

June 12-14, 2020

This weekend provided two new bird species for me that I have not had an opportunity to photograph before. 

Bobolink

American Black Duck

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Additional shots from the weekend:

Pileated Woodpecker

Rabbit Eating Grass

Baby Rabbit

Merlin Falcon

Whitetail Doe Running In Field 

June 4-7, 2020

Took a quick shot of an Eagles Nest with two juveniles and an adult.  The juvenile on the left is practicing his flying technique flapping his wings up and down while his sibling roots him on. 

Bald Eagle Nest

Bald Eagle

Whitetail Fawn

Whitetail Doe with Fawn

Strawberry Moon shot hand held at 600mm from my boat!

Seagull diving for its dinner.

Common Merganser

Eastern Kingbird

Toad hiding in the grass.  Shot with my new 100mm Macro lens

Wrist Strap Accessory

Carrying valuable camera gear while tromping through the great outdoors can be a bit unnerving.  My biggest worry is not so much that I fall with it, but rather that the camera slips out of my grip while hiking.  

One of the best investments I made is the BlackRapid Wrist Strap that attaches to the 1/4 thread tripod mount in the bottom of my camera body.  This strap prevents the camera from free falling in case the camera should slip out of my grip.  I will wear it on my left wrist when I have the large lens attached.  It doesn't prohibit me from using the camera at all as I generally cradle the camera lens with my left hand while shooting anyway.  When I have a body with a small lens attached, then I will wear it on my right wrist as I usually carry the camera by its grip with my right hand.  I find that I have much more confidence in the field while wearing this accessory.

The other small device I use in conjunction with the wrist strap is a seatbelt accessory called a Leash Lock. Technically this is a clip for a dog leash but it works just fine for my purpose.  I usually drive with my camera sitting on the passenger seat next to me so it is readily accessible in case I see something on the side of the road I want to shoot.  One day, I did see some wildlife that caught my eye and I hit the brakes while turning the wheel to pull over.  My camera with the 150-600mm zoom rolled into the door and then onto the floorboard!  Needless to say, the idea to use a seatbelt attachment to tether the camera down was born soon after.  This little device does a great job for me as a way I can simply hook the wrist strap into it while the camera is on the car seat next to me and I don't have to worry about my camera going flying if I hit the brakes.