Still water, sunshine and beautiful colours...............
Read moreEgg Number Three
I have been watching a Great Crested Grebe nest for a few days. Initially there was four eggs, then on Monday one baby and on Tuesday two. When I first got there this morning there was still two babies and two eggs.
Read moreThe Lake
It was time for a change so for the past two weeks I have shifted my early morning activities to a local lake. It started at lunchtime two weeks ago when a random decision to visit resulted in the discovery of Great Crested Grebes swimming around with tiny stripey babies on their backs.
Read moreGreat Crested Grebe Family
It has been an interesting week!! First the Red Necked Avocets and now Great Crested Grebes. I absolutely love Osprey and Egrets but it was time for a change. I needed to find new territory so I headed to the lakes. A Great Crested Grebe floated past.
Read moreFirst Good Photo with the D800
I purchased the new camera, a Nikon D800 along with the 80-400mm lens in December 2013. For various reason the camera was hardly used until July 2014 when we went up North on a brief trip. My old camera a Nikon D40 had served me extremely well taking thousands of photos over many years.
Read moreRed-Necked Avocet
Until today I had only ever seen one or two Avocets and they were always too far off to get sharp photos. Today I was lucky!! I waded out to a sandbar to take photos of pelicans. I was heading back when I saw a flock of birds coming toward me.
Read moreHyperactive Little Egret
This morning I followed a little Egret around the bay. Pure white with fancy breeding feathers, he looked like he should be calm and serene but was manically hyperactive............I can relate!!!
Read moreTravel Books
I was thinking about how our perceptions change with age and how children can be a lot closer to reality as they see the world unclouded by the mental filters and preconceptions that build up in our adult lives. It reminded me of a quote by Peter Matthiessen, my favourite author and I went to my bookshelf to look it up;
Read moreWhat We Don't See
One of the amazing things about photography is the realization that we never see all that is there. Often I will take a series of photographs and think I know what I have photographed. I usually check them out on the small camera screen as soon as I have finished shooting especially if I think I got something good.
Read moreExpect Nothing
Some mornings very little happens down the River. You wait and watch……….The Terns are fishing on the other side, there is a solitary Pelican way off and the Osprey flies high in the other direction. This morning was one of those and it bought to mind two Buddhist sayings by Pema Chödrön, "Expect Nothing" and "Abandon Hope".
Read moreStillness
Sometimes it seems to me as if loneliness and sadness pervades life on a daily basis. We are so busy with our lives, rushing around, trying to fulfill perceived expectations and making endless exhausting attempts to feel good or stave off difficult emotions.
Read moreSeeing the Seagull
Until very recently I have never paid any attention to Seagulls, written off in my mind as boring pests, a brief glance was all I ever afforded. I first noticed it about a month ago, at the river alone, no Ospreys, no Egrets, no Herons, no Spoonbills to steal my attention, only seagulls...............
Read moreThe Stolen Child - W.B. Yeats
I have always loved this wonderful poem, it captures wildness and speaks of magical worlds where faeries reside and nature's rhythm plays unbounded by human interference..........I am drawn to see these other worlds, if only in tiny transient glimpses, that vanish the moment you realise they are there................
Read moreOspreys Fishing
The Ospreys have a nest on top of pole. Over the last two months, I have been watching them add seaweed and sticks to improve their home. One bird, I am guessing the female, spends a lot of time on the nest while the other perches on a nearby pole or goes for long flights out over the bay.
Read moreAerial Arguments
Birds have them too!! Over the last week I have seen several arguments high in the sky. The most spectacular has been between two Osprey, talons outstretched, beaks open, in a series of fast contorted maneuvers which spun out across the sky.
Read moreBridal Egrets
I have been photographing Great Egrets for a few months. In recent weeks I notice they are more often in pairs and are developing beautiful white gossamer breeding plumage. Their cheeks are also changing from the usual yellow to a vibrant apple green which signifies breeding season.
Read moreJumping Spider
On the weekend we were building a wall with limestone blocks when I spotted a tiny jeweled jumping spider. Iridescent blue and orange with dark green diamond eyes and a cranky demeanor . I couldn't resist borrowing him to take photographs. He was returned safely to get on with jumping spider business.
Read moreMaya Angelou's Poem - I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
I was going through my photos and came across one I took some time ago on a trip to Asia. It is a golden faced hawk with a strong face and defiant eyes. A beautiful bird trapped in a cage. When you look closely at the photo you can see the reflection of the bars in its eye.
Read moreOsprey Catches Two Fish At Once!!
It must be a good day!!! Today the Osprey caught two fish at once!!!
Read moreI came upon a spoonbill.............
Upset at various things I had left the office and headed to a nearby lake to have my lunch. In the car was my new camera which I grabbed thinking it was a good opportunity to practice using it.
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