Year in Review 2013
Even though we are a few
days into 2014 I wanted to share some of my more memorable moments that I
encountered in 2013. They are in no particular order as it is hard to place one in front
of the other. This past year was filled
with memorable moments. It is the ones that stick out most in my
memory that I wanted to share today.
Snowy Owl (Ocean Shores, Washington)
Earlier
last year, an “echo” irruption took place in the western United States, in what
was thought of to be a rare occasion even though we are currently having a huge
explosion of owls here on the east coast at present time. I took a trip to Washington with two friends
of mine for my first Snowy Owl experience.
The travel out there was, well, awful to say the least. But that is neither here nor there. The experience was unforgettable. I’ll never forget how I felt when I spotted
my first Snowy Owl, I was in awe.
My short two day trip out west presented me with great opportunities and
picture perfect weather.
Wilson’s Plover Nest (Flagler Beach, Florida)
My wife
and I took a trip to Florida in May as I had hoped to get some photos of baby
shore birds emerging from their nests.
Well, I arrived several days too early for the little ones as it is
impossible to set a target date for such an occurrence. I just have to hope for the best basing it off of previous years.
What I did find though was a VERY photographical Plover nest that a Florida
photographer friend of mine and I both enjoyed several great looks at from
outside the roped off area. I was able
to photograph a female Wilson’s Plover settling down onto her nest of three
eggs on the sandy beach.
Least Tern Courtship (Flagler Beach, Florida)
Taken at
the same location there were several Least Terns doing courtship behavior. I had hoped, again, to photograph baby shore
birds but none had hatched yet. What I
was able to witness though was some amazing courtship behavior of the
Terns. For some of the shots I was able
to get super low, actually shooting at an upward angle that created an effect
that makes it look like the Terns are placed on a cloud.
Great-horned Owl nest (Brecksville Reservation, Ohio)
A great opportunity
presented itself close to home for me in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. A nest of three Great-horned owlets in clear
view nesting in a rotted out tree.The parents were very elusive, only coming
around at night fall to feed the little ones. I visited this nest several times
at various lighting conditions including rain.
The rain gave some nice color saturation, it also kept everyone else away
from the nest! J
Great-horned Owlet (Brecksville Reservation, Ohio)
All
three owlets fledged the nest above successfully and word got out that they were
roaming around the area. I took a trip up there one day to see if I could locate the owl which I
was told were lattering up nearby trees until they could learn to fly. This one
pose that this guy flashed me as the sun was setting always stands out in my
mind. My wife calls it the batman pose,
as the owls is turned around tucking its head in its wing. I have to agree with her assessment of the
caption.
Medina Raptor Center
I belong
to a photography group called MPEG, in which I am a group coordinator. Coordinators are in charge of organizing
photography shooting opportunities/events.
I held a first time shoot at the Medina Raptor Center, raising almost
$500 for this non-profit volunteer service that takes in and rescues injured
birds. It was actually the first time I photographed
captive birds as I normally prefer wild ones.
The shoot was fun and the money went to a great cause. We set various raptors up on different
perches on a stand that my dad created.
It was something that I enjoyed doing and hope to do again for years to come.
Eastern-screech Owl, Red-Morph (Brecksville Reservation,
Ohio)
Literally
the first shot I took during the New Year in 2013 was this Red-Morph Screech
Owl. I had been waiting for
some snow fall to return to this location to get some snow in my composition
and low and behold on New Year’s Eve night we got some snow. So New Year’s day morning off I went to try
and photograph the owl. After a couple
hours of patiently waiting the owl appeared and I got my shot I had been envisioning.
Eastern-screech Owl, Grey-Morph (Firestone Park, Ohio)
Until
this moment, I had never seen a Grey-Morph Screech Owl. Seeing the photo below, I have to wonder how
often I have walked past them before! It
was amazing to see just how well they blend in with the tree. Something interesting that I noticed when I
got home is how the owl fluffed its feathers outside the tree cavity to
help it blend in better with the tree. I have to wonder, just how does the owl know
it is in the right colored tree?
Snowy Owls, (Presque Isle State Park, Pennsylvania)
Never
thought I would have Snowy Owls on this list twice. Truth is, the irruption this year is very
unusual. Snowy Owls are showing up ALL
OVER the eastern US. From Ohio, over to
Pennsylvania and all over the east coast and even Florida, yes FLORIDA! A report of one in Jacksonville Florida sent
photographers all over the state into a frenzy during a family visit with my
wife in December. People were driving
from Miami to the top of the state for a glimpse. Closer to home though I decided to check out Pennsylvania after
talking to several other photographers that had been there. My visit was on a wind driven rainy day,
making photography even more challenging.
The over 1.5 mile walk out to the location was difficult enough without
even taking the weather into consideration. But I’ve had these guys burned into
my brain since the first report appeared around here.
