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Monday (10-14-19) was a beautiful October day: sunny, warm but not hot, and no wind. The bright sunshine was bad for taking photos of birds out on the mudflats of the marsh, had there been any. Fortunately Wesley, the alpha male Anna's hummingbird at the marsh, posed extensively for us in the tree above the #2 (main) viewing platform. The leaves of this tree turn a bright red every autumn, giving the photos a seasonal look.
1DxII + 100-400L II telephoto zoom.
5DIII + 600L telephoto + 1.4x teleconverter. I was surprised that these came out in focus at this distance. I had to lighten the photos a bit using the post processing program in Windows 10.
A ruby-crowned kinglet, my nemesis bird, was in the bushes next to the board walk.
A juvie red-tailed hawk flew over the marsh while being chased by a crow. The hawk spooked some herons that were perched in the trees in the north buffer. I have seen the herons react in this manner to our local resident eagles, but I was surprised they would do so to a hawk.
I later caught the hawk in the distance circling southeast of the fish hatchery.
Two or three red-tailed hawks usually spend the winter at the marsh. For the past 2-3 years, one has perched in the trees on the east side of the marsh. It can be seen from Hwy. 104/Sunset Ave. after the leaves have fallen.
Tuesday afternoon (10-15-19) a Bewick's wren was checking out a suet feeder in my back yard. I mounted this feeder, one of three in my backyard, at ground level for the varied thrush that fly in for the winter.
Although it was still overcast Tuesday afternoon (10-22-19), my son and I went out to take photos as there was no rain or wind. We can almost always depend on the herons for entertainment at the marsh when there is otherwise not much in the way of interesting birds. Taken with the 5DIII + 600L telephoto + 1.4x teleconverter.
Several years ago there was a heron rookery at the marsh, but it was abandoned due to predation of the hatchlings by the resident Pt. Edwards eagles. I had heard reports this spring of herons building new nests at the marsh. Tuesday I saw some nests in the vicinity of the old rookery. I'll take more photos after the leaves have fallen.
It was sunny Wednesday afternoon (10-23-19), so my son and I went back down to the marsh. The water was very high due to recent rains which caused flooding along some rivers in the northern parts of the county.
7DII + 16-35L wide angle zoom (hand held)
We heard a marsh wren down in the reeds, but only herons were visible. I decided to experiment with my new/used 600L telephoto lens. The herons were good subjects as they are large and relatively stationary.
These photos were taken with the 5DIII + 600L + 2x III teleconverter (tripod mounted) for an effective focal length of 1200mm.
Something spooked the herons and they scanned the skies, probably looking for one of the Pt. Edwards eagles. I did not see an eagle and apparently neither did they as they did not take flight.
I kept my 2x III teleconverter permanently attached to my 500L telephoto lens. I have decided to take a different strategy with the 600L telephoto and use my two teleconverters (1.4x III or 2x III) only when I want to take a far shot of a stationary object. This gives me much greater flexibility with aperture and auto focus settings plus the camera tracks birds in flight much better without the teleconverters.
From a series of a heron in flight taken with the 5DIII + 600L, tripod mounted. The lens tracked very well even though I was not using the optimum auto focus settings for a bird in flight.
If a flock of crows is called a murder, then I witnessed a mass murder Thursday afternoon (10-24-19) at the marsh.
I got some wide angle shots of the gathering with the 1DxII + 100-400L II telephoto zoom.....
then switched to the 5DIII + 600L telephoto to get closer looks at the crime scene. The crows would occasionally chase killdeer. All in good fun, I'm sure.
I added the 2x III teleconverter for a close up of one crow bathing. The tidal gate was closed Wednesday. Until it is reopened, all of the standing water in the marsh will be fresh water from rainfall and the two creeks that flow into the marsh.
My first of the season male hooded merganser was swimming in Willow Creek. Taken with the 5DIII + 600L telephoto lens. It disappered by the time I slapped on the 2x III teleconverter for a closer shot.
A male kingfisher briefly perched on the old martin gourd holder.
Out late Thursday afternoon (10-25-19) experimenting with the 600L telephoto. These were all taken with the 5DIII + 1.4x III teleconverter, which I think produces much clearer shots than the 2x III teleconverter.
This shot was taken using -2/3 exposure compensation due to the low sun reflecting off the heron's white feathers and bill.
The remaining shots were taken without exposure compensation.
A pair of gadwall (?) in the far waterway.
There were about 13 herons at the marsh when I arrived. While I was there they began to make their way one by one over to the marina. With coyotes in the area, they do not want to be caught on the ground in the marsh after dark.
Things are pretty quiet at the marsh with the tide gate shut. A flock of geese flying from the Unocal grounds northeast toward Civic Park provided some noise.
Bill, your photography inspired me to break out the 80D today and just drive around the farm country and find something interesting to take pictures of. I was going to ride the Goldwing up to a buddy's house north of me, but I can do that tomorrow, maybe.
Bill, your photography inspired me to break out the 80D today and just drive around the farm country and find something interesting to take pictures of. I was going to ride the Goldwing up to a buddy's house north of me, but I can do that tomorrow, maybe.
Doesn't your Goldwing have a top box and hardbags? Take the camera with you while you are out riding. It's a law of nature that you see the best wildlife when you leave the camera at home.
Veterans Day (11-11-19) at the marsh. A pair of spotted towhees has inhabited the area around the #2 (main) viewing platform for the past 2-3 years. Both were foraging under the bushes. They are very photogenic among the autumn foliage.
Saturday (11-30-19) a male pileated woodpecker was smacking away at one of our backyard habitat trees. The woodpecker is probably a visitor from nearby Pine Ridge Park.
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