Greetings!! (It's the Christmas season)
I am so excited (it takes so little), that I can finally enjoy the presence of Carolina Chickadees at my feeders! Their antics are a joy to watch! They seem to be very calculating, checking out the area thoroughly before attempting to eat! Here are a few of my first attempts to capture their "silliness"!
Hello all!
Today was eventful because I got out of the house and went to Lowe's to purchase some plants. These said plants are to be decorations in my ever growing nature preserve environment. However, there was a bit of a situation...
There I was, strolling leisurely through the plant department in Lowe's, perusing the cacti and succulent area. There were various varieties, along with some other ornamental plants, such as Crotons, Dracaena and the like. The isles were tight and of course, there was a lady who HAD TO be in the same small isle I was in. I used to leave an area like that, but lately I just stay there and figure, "she can leave if I'm too slow". She didn't. She followed. As I turned the corner, of which I had no problem, she attempted the same "tricky" maneuver. She failed.
Now, I'm going to stop here and digress.
When you were a child, hopefully your parents taught you what I call "life filters"; ie: don't touch fire, don't eat yellow snow, don't pet a flaming dog, etc. Now if you were me, you either didn't pay attention or just had more pressing matters to deal with when these lessons were spoken.
That is why, today, this happened to me (now back to the story)...
The lady, who obviously failed her cart driving class, hit the wire shelf holding all the plants. It made a rather loud noise. I looked up at her and at the same moment, I saw something out of the corner of my eye, falling off the shelf. Being old does not necessarily slow down some muscle reactions. I reached out and rather easily caught the falling plant. BAD MISTAKE!!! It was a cactus!! As it hit my hand, I said, rather loudly, "SHIT!". The lady immediately apologized. I said, "CACTUS"! She said, "Ouch...and immediately left the area. See picture
So, your lesson for today, boys and girls is, "Don't catch a falling cactus!". Note: This will save you hours of trying to locate microscopic and/or invisible thorns.
You're welcome...
Hi all!
Today was a banner day for birding! However, it didn't start that way!
I did my usual chores this morning and a few new ones, then I decided to see if any birds were allowing me to photograph them? I found not many. The female Northern Cardinal visited, as did a Rose Breasted Grosbeak, but they were sort of regulars.
At this point I knew that I had all the appropriate foods to attract them (black oil sunflower seeds, peanuts, both shelled and unshelled, fruit and mealworms), so that shouldn't be an issue. I thought that they just needed to see the available buffet and the problem would take care of itself.
On my iPhone I have the Audubon App that has the songs of most all the birds in my area. I brought the app up and thought that perhaps if I played it loud enough, they would hear it and come to investigate. I played the first song. Nothing. As the second sound byte started I saw a few birds fly into my pecan tree, directly behind my feeders. I looked through my camera and low and behold; Tufted Titmice!!! Figuring that I was on a roll, I then played the first Carolina wren song. Note: They had not been here (at least visually), for about a month. It was seconds before one landed on my snag, then on the flat feeder, then on the peanut feeder!
Not being a person who normally presses his luck, I thought I'd try and see if there were any Downy Woodpeckers within listening distance? I played their first sound byte. Unbelievably, almost immediately two flew into the pecan tree. Now, they didn't stay long, but they did come back twice and I'm sure they now know that there is food there for them. Time will tell.
As I thought about this amazing series of events, I saw a Brown Thrasher in the woods beyond my property line. Why not, I thought!?! I played their first song. Nothing. I played their second song. Again nothing. My luck had run out, it seems. I stopped playing their songs and went back to the Carolina wren song. As it played I saw a motion almost directly below the window in front of me. Yes, you guessed it, a Brown Thrasher!!!! It stayed for about five minutes, hunting for bugs, before finally catching a leaf hopper and flying away. Amazing!!!
The day was spectacular! Here are a few photographs as proof. Tomorrow will also be interesting, I'm sure!!
Hello Quarantined Followers!
It seems that once again I've fallen into the "forget the blog" mode. However I do have somewhat of an excuse. Note: The previous entry is from two weeks ago. It seems that an update to BlogSpot glitched my publishing of it then, so I published it now.
Now from today...
My Ruby Throated Hummingbirds are still here, though now there are only two. The other four must have started their migration. I will be sorry to see them go.
Note: This blog is not set up nearly as neatly as I would like. The update to BlogSpot has made this difficult.
I'm really not complaining. My Northern Cardinals, Blue Jays and Red Bellied Woodpeckers come everyday for peanuts (they don't stay long), as well as my four Ruby Throated Hummingbirds.
Today I was quite surprised when I checked in on the babies in the nest to find them gone! I guess I miscounted and they fledged this morning. I was thinking that they'd be around for a few more days.
I did get to see them today though. They were checking out the neighborhood from a vantage point that Mom and Dad use regularly. Their siblings were there also, I guess to wish them bon voyage.
With that being said, the first Barn Swallow clutch has left the nest and are now flying around collecting food for their younger siblings (2nd clutch). The babies of the 2nd clutch were born about 6/25/2020 and are now about to fledge on their own (approximately 2-5 days from now). The babies (four), of this clutch were much more vocal than their previous siblings. I noticed that Mom was almost immediately on the nest after the first clutch left. She and Dad cleaned the nest and spruced it up a bit for about 4-5 days. She then laid her eggs and spent most all of the time sitting on them. Here's a photograph of the babies when they were about 2-4 days old.
Changing the subject; the feeders out back are about the way I want them. They continue to evolve in their positioning and content. (See photograph). There are House Finches (female in photo), continually throughout the day. They seem to prefer black oil sunflower seeds and hulled sunflowers over millet and thistle.
2). I have a completely different bird feeder setup (see photograph), which should attract all types of birds, from finches and sparrows to hawks and owls.
Every once in a while, ESizler Photography gets an invitation to shoot some local talent; singers, bands, various other musicians, etc. Yesterday I was lucky enough to be able to shoot a good friend, who was once employed at "Howl At The Moon" on International Drive here in Orlando. He's now self employed as a traveling musician, soon to be spending his time on a cruise ship, entertaining the guests, (hard life but someone has to do it). 
There are other musicians there, who play also; sometimes with him, sometimes without him, and they are equally as talented! The photo opportunity was good for me, in that the lighting was tricky with all the strobes and mirror balls. I love when I can learn on the fly and still capture the moments!
This weekend, many of the usual birds were there; Anhingas, Herons, Moorhens, Egrets, etc. These birds, no matter how many photographs you've taken of them, seem to beg for "just one more." Most other people stop their cars when they see any bird. Most have little or no regard for any other person. At times there are three, four, even five cars waiting behind someone taking a picture of a Great Blue Heron! I've found that alligators draw the most attention however. I've seen people, (I'm assuming tourists), getting out of their cars to get closer to an alligator, (6 feet long or better), who is half in the water and half out.
I got there just before sunrise and sat down and waited. There are screens on either side of the house and you could easily hear the sounds of the birds outside. As light appeared it became louder and the shrubs slowly came alive with activity. I first saw a flash of blue, as a bird shot by the window into the nearby shrub. It shook upon it's arrival. As if by queue, suddenly they appeared; Indigo Buntings. Not one or two but I lost count at thirty!!! After approximately five minutes of feeding, they were gone. The area was quiet.
Needless to say, I'm going back soon. The two hour drive only feeds my want for more!
The traffic there was heavy. Clearly someone on some birding or photography blog mentioned that the Sandhill Cranes are nesting at the Viera Wetlands, because there were about forty or so photographers, (people with cameras) there, all in one area, blocking the road and talking REALLY loud! The birds were at least forty yards away, nestled down in the cattails, barely showing anything, save a peek or two when they changed positions. There were clearly no babies yet, perhaps there were eggs, but you couldn't tell from the road. Regardless, the bottleneck was real and it took more time to get through it than it did to get around the rest of the wetlands. You can see by the picture, even the birds were annoyed!
The star of the day was the Glossy Ibis. They were everywhere; preening, flying, searching for food, etc.. 
All in all it was a great photography day.
Yesterday and today were great photography days! I went to the Apopka Wildlife Drive, (yesterday late afternoon and today early afternoon), and had an amazing photography day!!
I took numerous photographs along the way. There were many different herons; Green, Great Blue and Snowy, along with many American Coots and Common Moorhens. Those pictures don't excite me as much as they used to, but I still cannot pass up a posing subject. 
My favorite find of the two days was a Least Bittern. This bird is normally found deep in the cattails with it's neck stretched to the sky, faux swaying to simulate wind. It's rare to find one walking about searching for morsels of food, albeit fish or mussels or bugs.
Anyway, here's one from the other night. Now understand that it's not a great subject matter, (two dogs playing), but it does show some of the abilities of the camera in catching action and capturing it in a crystal clear fashion!
I have also gone out and attached my 2x converter to it, making the lens a 400mm at 4.0 aperture. What a beast! I'm very impressed at it's ability to focus fast and silently! Here's one example of a House Finch taken at about 25 feet.
We first went to a large antique show/flea market in the area. There weren't a lot of people there, but many of the vendors seemed to give us the 'stink eye' when they saw our cameras. We answered numerous questions; "Why are you taking pictures?" and "What are those pictures for?" We were very polite and no one stopped us, but we were put in a few uncomfortable situations by being followed and watched.
Here are a few of my shots from the day. I have to admit, the 18-55mm lens was quite impressive to me. The focus was sharp and the macro was amazing. I can't wait to do it again.
Being sick isn't fun. Having a perfect photography location literally twenty steps from your bed AND being sick is even less fun. However, with a carefully planned system, one can always devise a way to accomplish one's goals. Now, having a bathroom two steps from my side of the bed is a wonderful thing on days like today and yesterday. It seems I caught was can only be described as "the double faucet flu" and so going to work wasn't an option. Heck, for that matter, staying home wasn't much of one either. However if you're going to have to visit the porcelain palace a lot, one would hope that it would be at home, where convenience and a modicum of privacy is available.
Initially I was content in staying in bed as much as possible, eating chicken soup, (thank you wonderful wife) and getting rid of this disease. Then the birds started singing. First it was the Carolina Wren at the crack of dawn, (I think the clock said 5:55am), singing loud and proud right off our patio. This was followed by the female Northern Cardinal who amazingly enough has a virtual symphony of songs; everything from low chortles to melodic melodies with a canary type sound.
After that, I was awake. I did everything I needed to do upon waking and laid there and listened to the sounds. I heard not only the Northern Cardinals, (both), but also Blue Jays, Mourning Doves, a Gray Catbird or two, the Carolina Wren, (who overpowered most of the others), and an occasional unknown Warbler.
Now if you know me, you know that I can't stay in bed with this type of thing happening outside my window. Its not even a logical thought. So, I got up, got dressed and schlepped out to the patio to see what photo-ops awaited me? As I lay there I thought, this isn't really a good idea. You've had nothing to eat or drink and it seems that this headache and fever are getting worse. Then the birds came.
By 6:20am it was pretty well light out and the birds were still coming. Not as many as before; I suspect that many were full from the gorging they had prior to sun-up, but there were still some.
