Apr 14 2019

Spectacular Spring Birding – Minnehaha County

Author: DakotaBirder • Discussion: 3 Comments

The last two days have been just spectacular for birding, and for bird photography. Both mornings, I went west of Sioux Falls before dawn, spending a lot of time around Wall Lake and the vicinity. Good numbers of birds, a wonderful variety, and some wonderfully cooperative subjects for the camera. It’s not often you get all three of those things in a birding trip. Here are some of the finds for the last 2 days:

Red-breasted Mergansers Courting - Mergus serrator

I don’t see Red-breasted Mergansers often around the Sioux Falls area, and usually just one or two. This weekend there were at least 11 hanging out together at Wall Lake. Unfortunately for the females, there were 7 males and only 4 females…the males were putting on QUITE the show for the females. They were some of the most active birds on the lake, with males chasing females, pausing to fight with each other or do this wonderful display behavior that I’ve never seen before. Given how active they were, given how large Wall Lake is, and given how difficult it can be to get close to a bird out on the main lake, I felt VERY fortunate that they spent quite a bit of time near the beach this morning, and I was able to capture the courting behavior. A bit more of a crop than I’d like, but I love this photo.

Wall Lake is becoming semi-reliable for finding migrating Common Loons in the spring months, as it’s now been several years in a row where I’ve seen them there. This morning I hung out at the end of the point that sticks out into the lake, arriving at dawn, and staying an hour and a half. I was rewarded by wonderful views of many birds, but it’s ALWAYS wonderful when a gorgeous Common Loon in breeding plumage cruises around the corner and swims right in front of you (and your camera!).

I love the “off-season” at Wall Lake…the time of year when you can sit by the beach and have it all to yourself. Come summer, it’s not somewhere you’d even think about birding. But this time of year, when ice and snow cover the surrounding landscape and birds are looking for food, the sandy beach is a great place to bird. There were many birds near the beach today, with several looking for food right along the shore, such as this Killdeer. If you are familiar with Wall Lake and the bit of foam that sometimes forms on the beach when there’s a north wind, this is what that foam turns into when it’s 20 degrees! Loved the bird next to the crystally ice.

As always at this time of year, Wall Lake attracted a lot of gulls, primarily Ring-billed and Franklin’s, but I also saw a Herring Gull and 20 or so delicate little Bonaparte’s Gulls. Another bird prowling the “surf” line looking for food. About the only Bonaparte’s Gull I saw that wasn’t in full breeding plumage, but the others weren’t as cooperative for the camera.

I REALLY felt bad for the American Robins and other songbirds that were trying to find food this weekend, with a thick crust of ice covering most of the landscape. They were numerous along roadsides and anywhere else where even a bit of open ground was available. Here one hangs out on a branch at dawn at Wall Lake.

Three times this weekend I came across small groups of Rusty Blackbirds. I admit I often don’t scan the massive blackbird flocks, but while out on the peninsula at Wall Lake this morning, I kept hearing a squeaky call that I wasn’t familiar with, and then saw a lone Rusty Blackbird. Later this morning north of Wall Lake, I ran into a small group at a flooded field. Not a great photo, but not a species I’ve photographed much. And one that I generally struggle to differentiate from Brewer’s Blackbird when they’re in breeding plumage.

Double-crested Cormorant - Phalacrocorax auritus

Another common species, a Double-crested Cormorant, but I can’t help put trigger the shutter at any bird that flies in front of my camera. Do like the unique look of this one, thanks to a reflection of some buildings across the water at Wall lake.

Until this weekend, I didn’t realize I had no photos of a Horned Grebe in full breeding plumage! Problem solved…there were actually many of these guys around Wall Lake the last 2 days. Most weren’t very cooperative, but I finally got one early this morning hanging out near the beach.

With all the snow and ice that was still around heading into this weekend, you kind of do a double take when you see some bird species, as they seem out of place given the weather. Hermit Thrush are always early spring arrivals though. There were a number of them the last 2 days in the Big Sioux Recreation Area near home.

Speaking of birds that look out of their element in this weather…one of the LAST things you expect to see when there’s so much snow and ice still around are flycatcher species. But like Hermit Thrush, Eastern Phoebes are early spring migrants. I saw this guy both yesterday and today along Wall Lake beach. Today thankfully things had melted some. Yesterday, he was really having a hard time finding anything other than snow and ice.

Apr 07 2019

Canon – Where’s my EOS 7D Mark III?

Author: DakotaBirder • Discussion: No Comments

Without sparse information about any potential release of a Canon 7D Mark III, I’ve put together a mock prototype of the features I’d like to see as an aging birding photographer, including 1) Noiseless ISO 10,000 to ensure adequate bird-capturing shutter speed, 2) WiFi/Bluetooth with built in “Bird Bragger” button enabling instant sharing of your photos with your social media birding friends, 3) BirdTracker 1.0 software, enabling automatic locator and tracker of your subject in the viewfinder, and 4) Voice-activated Life Alert for emergencies.

With a long Australian vacation looming this summer, I’ve upped my photography game by buying the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 IS II lens. I’m shelving (and possibly even selling) the 400mm 5.6L I’ve used almost exclusively for the past 15+ years, as I want that flexibility of the zoom, and I absolutely need that IS as I get older. I’ve been busy at work, including a week at a conference out East, and I haven’t had much of a chance to take the new lens out for a spin. After traveling through today (Sunday), I am taking off tomorrow and hope to put the new lens to good use. However, as with any photo geek, immediately after one big purchase your mind moves to…the next big purchase!

Given how long I stuck with my 400mm, my recent lens purchase isn’t exactly a sign that I make decisions to change equipment lightly. But my primary camera body is a Canon 70D that’s now about 6 years old. It’s “big brother”, the Canon 7D Mark II, came out about 6 months later, while the successor in the XXD line, the 80D, came out at the start of 2016. I’ve been skipping a generation or two as Canon comes out with new XXDs, starting with a 20D, then 50D, then 70D. I’m at a stage where I’m ready for an update. The Canon 70D/80D and the 7D Mark II are showing their age compared to other offerings that have come out the last couple of years.

But alas, Canon has given no clear indication as to when the next mid- to pro-level APS-C body is going to come out. Rumors about an upcoming Canon 90D or 7D Mark III have been floating around for at least two years, with prognosticators last year predicting a new 7D Mark III announcement in mid-2018, announcements related to one or both anticipated camera bodies in late 2018, then additional projections of early 2019. With several of the big shows coming and going in 2018 and early 2019 with nary a word from Canon about either camera body, rumors now suggest Canon is purposely focusing on their mirrorless full-frame bodies and has likely scrapped one of the DSLR APS-C body lines. The XXD and 7D lines may now be merged into one APS-C line in the future. But it’s anybody’s guess when that next body is announced.

While we wait, Canon is definitely trying to push people to mirrorless. Mirrorless may or may not be the wave of the future. But hey, I don’t care about the future. I care about the best camera available now, for the style of shooting I do. Mirrorless is generally acknowledged as advantageous for size. Some people point to the electronic viewfinder as an advantage. They point to the silence, and potentially faster burst rate (no mirror to recycle position between every shot). But you know what I care about?

Being able to take a sharp photo of a bird. Pretty simple! But how does one do that? When I started 20 years ago, you realize the major problem is getting close enough to your quarry so that your equipment enables the bird to fill a significant part of the frame. Obviously the more reach your equipment has, the more of a chance you have. The problem…I simply can’t afford the Canon 500mm or 600mm lenses that are favored by most (Canon) bird photographers. They’re around $9,000 and $12,500, respectively. Thus, when I made the decision to go all-in with Canon DSLR 15 years ago, I bought a “cheap” Canon 400mm 5.6L at around $1,100, a lens that was used almost exclusively for my bird photography until the recent 100-400mm purchase.

I also have used APS-C sized sensors on my camera bodies every since I bought my first Rebel 15 years ago (to my 70D I use today). Cost was part of the equation in going with APS-C, but frankly the over-riding reason for staying with APS-C over the years is that 1.6x crop factor. I’m ALWAYS searching for more length. With that 400mm 5.6L and a 20D, 50D, or 70D, I can’t use a tele-extender and maintain auto-focus, but that 1.6x crop factor is SO welcome. It’s a poor man’s way to turn that 400mm lens into what seems like a 640mm lens. With the lenses that I can afford, I can’t imagine the countless photo opportunities that would have been missed over the years without the extra length the crop factor effectively provides.

So Canon…yeah…I get it. I think you’d like us ALL to move to mirrorless. But can your mirrorless bodies do a great job tracking a moving bird in flight? Does it provide a live view through an optical viewfinder without any lag (again, pretty damned important for a moving target)? Can I get one of your mirrorless options in an APS-C sized sensor that effectively gives me a bit of a boost for my main birding lens? And importantly, do you have something at a cost that is something I can afford? I don’t have that option in mirrorless right now.

And until Canon provides a 90D or a 7D Mark III, I don’t have a new option in DSLR right now either. Was hoping against hope that the new body would be announced before our Australia vacation, but I don’t see any sign of that announcement coming anytime soon. I just wish Canon would realize there’s still a market out there for non-millionaire wildlife shooters like myself. I wish they’d provide some indication as to when that 7D Mark III is going to come out.

Mar 22 2019

Eagle Convention at Splitrock Creek

Author: DakotaBirder • Discussion: No Comments

After 17 or so years of using one lens for bird photography (a Canon 400mm 5.6L), I ordered a new lens that arrived Monday…the Canon 100-400mm 4.5/5.6L IS II that I’ve mentioned previously. The timing was fortuitous, as late this week we’ve had something rather unprecedented happen for the area around our little town. We’ve had severe flooding, flooding which is actually supposed to get worse early next week as all the snow pack north of us melts. Splitrock Creek runs through our little town of Brandon, and in the wake of the flooding it has left massive ice chunks all along banks and roads near the river. But it also left scads of dead Asian Carp and other fish.

Seemingly overnight, the area around our town has been inundated with Bald Eagles. We actually have an active Bald Eagle nest less than a mile from our house, a nest that’s been used continuously for about the last 6-7 years. It’s not rare to see one or sometimes even two Bald Eagles while out and about near our town. Today however, I was on a bridge over Splitrock Creek, and from that one spot I counted 29 Bald Eagles. In…one…spot. There have been eagles in varying concentrations all along a 10-mile stretch of Splitrock Creek that I’ve checked out this week.

When I started birding 20 years ago, I still remember seeing my first Bald Eagle along the Big Sioux River near Canton. I remember the excitement of seeing such a majestic bird. It’s amazing how rapidly their numbers have increased in the last few decades, as I can now be in any part of South Dakota, in any season, and it’s not a surprise to see one or more Bald Eagles. Even when I visit the grasslands in the central part of the state, an area that is far from any significant river or lake, I find Bald Eagles, sometimes in big numbers. A true success story for American conservation! But even on a night like tonight where eagles are seemingly everywhere, it’s still a thrill to see and photograph these birds. Some photos from today:

Young Bald Eagle - Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Young (3rd year?) Bald Eagle, flying over Splitrock Creek near Corson, South Dakota. However, it’s not just young birds that are in our area right now. In fact, a majority of the Bald Eagles I’ve seen in the last few days have been fully mature birds.

A mature Bald Eagle flying over the trees near Brandon. There were plenty of mature Bald Eagles around, but they were seemingly shyer than the young birds.

Another young Bald Eagle sitting on a tree stump northeast of Corson. While most birds are along Splitrock Creek, there are so many birds around that they seem to have spilled out onto the surrounding farmland as well.

A mature Bald Eagle hanging out on a chunk of ice left behind by the flooding at Splitrock Creek north of Brandon. This is perhaps the most common “perch” for these guys right now, as most of them that I’ve seen have been among the ice flows, where the dead fish are concentrated.

A long-distance shot, but it gives you an idea of the concentration of the eagles. There are 10 in this one shot, sitting on stranded ice blocks on a sandbar in the receding Splitrock Creek. This is the location where I saw 29 birds at once today.

An even longer-distance shot, showing a common sight in the trees near Splitrock Creek this week. There are 8 birds in this one tree, but it’s this group of trees where a local farmer told me there were 75 roosting overnight earlier this week.

Mar 16 2019

Silver lining to the flooding – Icy Art

Author: DakotaBirder • Discussion: No Comments

With a snowier winter than I ever remember in my 26 years in South Dakota, and with a couple of inches of rain over the last week, we’ve also had flooding far worse than I ever remember. The number of roads that are closed boggles the mind, while parts of Sioux Falls and the surrounding area where I have NEVER seen flooding are now flooded with several feet of water. Yesterday I went out to take photos of the flooding, and while it was incredible to see, I ended up on a gravel road east of my home town of Brandon, pointing the camera down at the ground. What was it that attracted my attention away from the flooding and flood damage?

As the water has started to retreat, there’s a massive amount of ice that’s being left behind, from massive chunks big enough to block traffic on roads, to very fine ice crystals that formed as temperatures cooled after the main flood event. What caught my attention on this road was an icy shelf of ice and ice crystals, suspended over the road. As the water started to retreat, we had a cold night, and the top of the water started to freeze. With the water movement and retreat and the freezing, some of the patterns left on this suspended ice shelf were incredibly beautiful.

I’m glad I arrived as I did, because as it got warmer, this icy shelf started to collapse. Indeed, as I walk through it, one step would crack through the shelf and lead to the collapse of surrounding areas as well. But with some careful shooting, I was able to capture the photos below. It definitely wasn’t what I was planning on shooting when I went out, but I really had a blast shooting these one-of-a-kind icy patterns.

Mar 11 2019

Buying camera equipment? Cost concious? AVOID ABE’S OF “MAINE”

Author: DakotaBirder • Discussion: No Comments

My dream lens I tried to order from Abe’s of “Maine”. Note that not only is the same “Abe’s” of > 10 years ago (they went bankrupt), but the people who bought the company operate it out of New Jersey. They still retain the name “Abe’s of Maine” though…but that behavior is consistent with what’s evidently their entire business model, where all they do is lie and deceive.

I’ve been in a photographic funk. You can probably tell that by the lack of blog posts. Part of the reason is the weather, as it’s been one hellaciously brutal winter. Not great for birds, or bird photography! But part of it is that I just need something…new. Something to jump start the passion.

One thing we’re doing this summer will DEFINITELY jump start that passion…3 weeks in Australia! We’re flying into Sydney and spending time there, but also have time near Coffs Harbor, Brisbane, and Port Douglas. The last is the most exciting to me, as we’ll be adjacent to both the Great Barrier Reef, and Daintree Forest, the only place on the planet where two World Heritage sites are adjacent to each other! It’s going to be the trip of a lifetime for our little family who hasn’t been outside of the US, other than Canada. And from a birding standpoint, it should be spectacular.

To prepare for that trip, I wanted to get a new lens. Literally 99% of all photos of my website have been taken with the same lens…a Canon 400mm 5.6L. It’s a wonderfully sharp lens! I’ve had it over 15 years and it’s served me VERY well. But it has limitations. As a prime, I miss out on other wildlife situations when I’m out shooting, as it’s too long sometimes for bigger critters. It also is one of the older Canon “L” professional lenses, and lacks Image Stabilization. For a relatively slow 5.6L max aperature and a lack of IS, you really need good light to have a great shot at sharp photos.

Before heading to Australia, I thus wanted to buy a Canon 100-400mm L IS ii lens. The 2nd version of this lens gets truly incredibly reviews, and with the broad zoom range and a wonderfully reviewed IS, it meets my needs. It’s a lot for me to spend though, with most places charging $2049. I was thus really excited when I saw one place offering it for an amazing $600 less than that! I knew it was likely ‘grey market’ (imported directly, not eligible for a Canon warranty), but at that price, it would have been worth it.

The seller was Abe’s of Maine. I’d never used them, but I’d heard of them over the years. Note though it’s been many years since I’ve bought new equipment, so I didn’t know that in the last decade they’ve 1) gone bankrupt, and 2) had a new owner operate the name out of New Jersey. A new owner with a truly god-awful reputation.

I can attest that reputation is WELL deserved! After I excitedly placed the order Sunday, today (Monday) I started getting phone calls and emails. “Ted” from Abe’s left a message, stating that he needed to confirm my order. When I had time, I called. At first he was nice. At first. That didn’t last long. He asked about my equipment, then explained that the lens I ordered wasn’t the “retail version”, and didn’t include:

Lens caps (!!!)
Hood
Case
Tripod foot/shoe
Tripod Collar

The last one was REALLY a shocker to me, because on this lens…THE TRIPOD COLLAR IS INTEGRATED INTO THE LENS AND ISN’T REMOVABLE!!! I audibly LAUGHED when he told me the last one and called BS on him. He got very defensive and assured me that all of these items simply aren’t included with the lens, but for $1999 (A mere $550 above the website price!!) he could give me the lens with these “extras”.

Again, I called BS on him and asked if he was going to honor the offer online. He started going off again about the “retail” version, and I said CANCEL MY ORDER!! and hung up on good ol’ Ted.

And immediately I got a call (which I didn’t answer). Then another. Then two emails. In one email he said I hung up too early, and that he thinks he could offer the “retail version” for $1799. There was NO way I was going to deal with this company after the bait-and-switch, so I emailed back three simple words. CANCEL MY ORDER. A little later I got another email. No, the order hadn’t been cancelled yet! No, now suddenly he could offer it at $1699. So again, I replied, this time stating CANCEL…THE DAMN…ORDER.

Awhile later, I did finally get an email that they cancelled the order. But this whole episode went on for the better part of a day. After that first call, I started reading the horror stories about Abe’s. One “feature” of their business is that they evidently often charge a 15% “restocking fee”, and not only for returned items, but sometimes for items that were cancelled before shipping!! When I read that, somewhere in between his 4th and 5th attempt to call me and his 4th email attempt, I called my credit card company and CANCELLED that card, ordering a new one. I was NOT going to give this crappy company a chance to charge ANY sort of fee, particularly not this bogus restocking fee.

I’m 52 years old. I should have known it was too good to be true, but I couldn’t resist that price. There are PLENTY of bad reviews for the “new” Abe’s…take them to heart. Also note they clearly spam the review sites with their own, perfect reviews…don’t believe it. As one reviewer noted, Abe’s is the ONLY place he knows of where “if you buy a TV, they’ll charge you, then call you back and ask if you want to pay extra for the remote“.

Here’s another warning:

https://www.cpricewatch.com/blog/2014/05/warning-avoid-abes-of-maine-and-other-bait-switch-retailers/#comment-36400

Jan 09 2019

South Dakota Winter – Best…photo…day…ever!!

Author: DakotaBirder • Discussion: No Comments

Since I’m still not allowed to go back to work, I spent yet another day birding in the central part of the state. It was a day with lower overall numbers of raptors. I saw far fewer Rough-legged Hawks than normal. I didn’t see any Gyrfalcons, Snowy Owls, Short-eared Owls…some of the “goodies” you often find. But birding and photography is funny! I’ve had awesome birding days where I got very few photos. Today was the opposite…not huge numbers of birds, but some really wonderful photo opportunities. Here’s some pics from the day with a little info for each:

While it wasn’t a banner day for many of the “usuals”, I saw more Prairie Falcons (7) than I remember seeing in one day. “Seeing” and “photographing” are two very different things, however. Prairie Falcons are about THE shyest, most skittery raptor I know of. Today however I got a real treat. While birding in Jones County, I saw a falcon on a telephone pole. As I always do, I first stopped a long distance off, grabbed the binoculars, and tried to identify it. Definite Prairie Falcon. I then started to approach, and as ALWAYS happens with Prairie Falcons…it flew off LONG before I got into camera range. But then something funny happened…it turned around. Still not expecting much, I got out of the pickup and grabbed my camera. But he came closer…and closer…and closer, and I soon realized he was going to fly RIGHT over my head! I couldn’t have asked for a better setup…bird approaching on a clear day, sun in the perfect position to get nice lighting on him, and he was CLOSE…closer than I think I’ve ever been to a Prairie Falcon. He passed right overhead, and then proceeded to…well…check out the next photo.

As the Prairie Falcon flew towards me and over the field behind me, there was an eruption of Lapland Longspurs, Horned Larks, and quite a few Snow Buntings. THAT got the Prairie Falcon’s attention. Instead of continuing to fly past and away from me, he again turned, and started to interact with the mixed flock of birds. At points it was almost like he was herding them! He never came as close as he did for the original overpass, but he offered some more really nice photo opportunities, and with several shots I captured some of his potential prey in the background. Despite scaring the flock of little birds, I never did see him actually make a strong move towards one. After a little while he seemed to get bored, and went back to a nearby telephone pole.

I remember when I first started birding, and came across my first bald eagle. It was the winter of 1999/2000, and I thought it was the most magical experience I’d ever had! In the 20 years since then, Bald Eagles have become, well…downright COMMON! When I bird the central part of the state in winter, I always run across them. There are several nest locations in the area, and I always KNOW there will be Bald Eagles in a few select spots. One such spot is near Presho, and when I drove past it, sure enough…there were 4 Bald Eagles in a small grove of trees, 3 adults and one sub-adult. Given how often I’ve seen eagles there, I’m sure they’re the same ones, or the same family. As such, perhaps today they gave me a pass and stuck around and let me photograph them! Three of the birds were hidden within the branches or were towards the back of the grove, but one bold individual adult just stared at me from his perch, wondering what I was up to. I watched him for quite some time, before he did what many raptors do right before they’re about to take flight…he pooped and positioned himself to fly off. Those can be truly wonderful moments for photography, with some truly angelic poses. This is now probably one of my favorite Bald Eagle photos that I’ve taken (and I will add it to the hundreds of other Bald Eagle photos I already have!).

Not only did I have a banner day for Prairie Falcons, but I also saw more Ferruginous Hawks than I normally do…5. 4 of them were in Jones County, and the reason was obvious…Prairie Dogs. Without exception, all 5 Ferruginous Hawks on the day were in and around prairie dog towns. I do have a few photos of other color morphs, but today all were the same light color morph (the most common one). Some, like this bird, are SO snowy white on their undersides with barely a hint of marking, that I sometimes mistake them for Snowy Owls as I approach from a distance! One of my favorite bird species, hands down, and there’s a bonus with Ferruginous Hawks…they are MUCH more cooperative for bird photographers than nearly any other raptor species on the grasslands!

My longest birding lens, and the lens with which I’ve shot at least 95% of my photos with over the last 15 years, is a Canon 400mm 5.6L. Yes, it’s now 15 years old. But it has always been one SHARP lens, with some incredible detail when you get a bird filling the frame of a photo. The downside…most birders use a 500mm or 600mm, WITH a tele-extender. In short…they have a LOT more “reach” than I have! Because of that I’ve 1) learned how to overcome using a somewhat shorter lens, and 2) learned to accept I’m going to miss some shots where more length is required. However, that latter point is all bad. While I like photos with the birds filling the frame, I also like photos showing the bird interacting with its environment. Here, I came across another Ferruginous Hawk on a prairie dog town. I was nowhere near close enough to get a frame-filling photo, so instead worked on capturing his behavior as he “worked” the prairie dog town, alternating between sitting on the ground or a fence post, and flying through the prairie dog town looking for prey. I never did see him capture anything but it was fun to watch the behavior and try to catch it in a photo.

Speaking of “environment” photos…here’s a pair of Golden Eagles at the “usual” hangout. By “usual” I should say nearly ALWAYS. This was taken south of Presho, in one of my favorite birding locations. This fallen down structure nearly always…ALWAYS…has a golden eagle sitting on it! Well, during winter and in the morning, that is. When I make trips to this area, I usually try to make it to the Presho area by dawn, and this is one of the first areas I look for raptors. And I swear, 95% of the time when I drive past this fallen-down structure, there’s a golden eagle sitting on it. Today there were two eagles! This kind of winter-range site fidelity is pretty cool, and it’s not just these Golden Eagles. About 5 miles northwest of here, west of Presho, is a farmstead where I ALWAYS find a Northern Shrike in winter. ALWAYS. Has to be the same one, right? Again, not a frame filler of a photo, but I love showing these birds at their favorite hangout.

Ok, this one is cheating a bit. This one isn’t from Wednesday, January 9th, it’s from Friday, January 4th. Rough-legged Hawks aren’t as numerous this winter as they can be many winters, but there still are always at least a few hanging around. Here’s one taking flight in the early morning sunlight.

Aug 10 2018

Catching up…A mere 8,391 photos to process, upload, display

Author: DakotaBirder • Discussion: No Comments

One of two directories worth of “good” photos that I just need to finish processing, and put somewhere where they’ll see the light of day.

Uh…yeah. I’m running a bit behind in terms of processing photos. Starting in around, oh…2012…I got lazy. Instead of processing photos from a trip rather quickly to ensure I actually DID it, I let them languish. I’d occasionally go back and revisit old shoots, but the photos kept piling up. Now I didn’t just completely ignore photos from a trip. For all of these photo shoots since early 2014, I DID go in and thin out all the bad photos. I converted the remaining photos from RAW and did some basic image processing. All these photos are thus “good” shots that I’ve just never done anything with. I haven’t cataloged them. I haven’t put them on my own website. I haven’t put them on any of the photo sites where I have accounts. No Facebook, no Twitter…these are photos that are almost ready to go, but have never seen the light of day.

I’m now finding that on days I don’t go birding, I can pretty much do some virtual birding in my upstairs office, perusing all these unprocessed photos and getting them out on my website and elsewhere. I’m finding SO many photos that I didn’t know I had! Species I didn’t remember shooting! Wonderful scenes and settings that have since slipped my mind! So, I’ve decided to take a break. Take a break from going out quite as often as I’m used, and instead, catching up on the photos that I DO have.

Two directories worth of photos…one with 4,491 photos, one with 3,900 photos, all in need of polishing and uploading to somewhere that people can actually see them! I’m going through it rather randomly, going back to some trip from 2012, back to 2018, etc. Not only am I “discovering” some nice photos, I’m finding photos that may be some of my favorite photos of all time!

No idea how long this will take, but it’s a nice way to spend days I don’t go out birding. Here’s a more recent photo, from Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado earlier this summer.

Jun 30 2018

Latest Agate/Jasper Batch from Buffalo Gap National Grasslands

Author: DakotaBirder • Discussion: No Comments

I’ve been on vacation for a couple of weeks, and have been playing catch up since getting back a week ago. Hence no blog posts for a few weeks. One advantage of being gone…my rock tumbler continued to carry on, and finished off a really beautiful batch that I’ve been working on the last 3 months. It’s one I’m particularly fond of, because every stone here is one that my son and I found on the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands here in South Dakota.

I guess I have a hard time classifying these, although most are prairie agates, with some bubblegum agates, jaspers, and quartz as well. Photos of the latest batch (click on the smaller ones at the end for a larger view).

May 16 2018

Birding > Bird photos? Or vice versa?

Author: DakotaBirder • Discussion: No Comments

My start in both birding and photograph began in December of 2000. I bought my first SLR camera, and was excited to go out and use it. I headed out on a cold, snowy day, looking for…something…to photograph, when I came across some Canada Geese around the small unfrozen edge of a local quarry. From the start, birds were my most common photographic subject. Soon, they were nearly my ONLY photographic subject.

While I loved shooting birds, for many years, my primary focus when going out was getting photos. Seeing birds was certainly wonderful as well, but I tended to measure success of a trip in terms of how many “keeper” photos I got. Even if I saw a rare bird, I was often disappointed when I was unable to get a photo of it.

Fast forward 18 years. I have photos for most species you could reasonably expect to see in South Dakota. I have photos for many species you would NOT normally expect in South Dakota. I’m not sure if it’s because I’ve reached my saturation point for photos for many species, but in the last 3 or 4 years, things have changed. I was a photographer first, birder second. Now, I’m definitely a birder first, photographer second. I spend MUCH more time using my binoculars, scanning that far away bird to see if it’s a rarity. In the past, I often ignored far away birds, as I knew I couldn’t get a good photo. I think that’s what’s so nice about valuing BOTH the birds themselves, and the photography aspect. When you go out on a trip, you’re rarely disappointed.

Here’s a few recent photos…

A curious Yellow Warbler. It’s been a very slow spring so far for migrating warblers, but as always, there’s never a shortage of Yellow Warblers around.

One of my favorite species, a Harris’s Sparrow. They are actually relatively easy to find here during migration.

Blue-winged Warbler - Vermivora cyanoptera

A Blue-winged Warbler, a rarity in South Dakota. However, there’s one specific spot of Newton Hills State Park where one or two breeding pairs are almost always found.

Northern Cardinal - Cardinalis cardinalis

I have a billion Northern Cardinal Photos. However, when you get an opportunity for these guys, even if it’s a relatively long-distance opportunity such as this one, you can’t pass it up! I’m starting to really appreciate shots like this, or other shots where the bird is smaller in the frame. That’s particularly the case if I’m able to show a lot of their natural habitat in the frame. Here, I just like the simple composition, the pose of the bird, the warm light, and that beautiful blue sky.

Apr 22 2018

“Blind Luck” – Shooting Waterfowl

Author: DakotaBirder • Discussion: No Comments

Silly waterfowl. In a state where everybody seems to have a shotgun in the back of their pickup, for some reason waterfowl here are quite shy when people are around. For a bird photographer, that makes life a wee bit difficult. It’s practically impossible to be walking, standing, or otherwise visible and be within shooting range of most waterfowl here. Fortunately, there are several ways of using blinds that allow you to get extremely close…sometimes so close that the birds are too close for my 400mm lens to focus (it has a 12 foot minimum focusing distance).

After a blizzard and 19″ total inches of snow last week, today is sunny and 60. I left before dawn and went west of Sioux Falls in search of waterfowl and shorebirds. The shorebirds weren’t around, but there certainly were plenty of waterfowl. I won’t go into the details (I had a post once about the blinds I use to get close to birds), but this morning used a combination of three blinds…1) my car, 2) a portable blind I always have with me, and 3) a permanent blind build on a local wetland. GREAT morning of shooting, with absolutely perfect light for some of these. Some pics from the day:

Female and Male Redhead, taken in some nice warm, early morning light on a local wetland.

One of my favorite little birds, a Pied-billed Grebe. They’re not as shy as all the ducks and geese around here, but they do have a nasty habit of just slowly sinking below the surface and swimming away underwater, RIGHT when you’re about to hit the shutter on the camera. Was glad to get a nice detailed shot in the light right after sunrise.

“Just” a mallard. “Just”? JUST!?!?! I admit that’s my opinion too many times, but you have to admit a drake Mallard is one damned beautiful duck.

It’s not just waterfowl moving through right now. Red-tailed Hawks and American Kestrels are seemingly everywhere right now, and today MANY Swainson’s Hawks like this one showed up.

With snow still on the ground in many places and temperatures only starting to warm up in the last couple of days, I wasn’t sure what I’d find this morning, but I think the birds are moving more by the calendar than the temperature. I did run across one large wetland with many Great Egrets foraging in the shallows.

Such beautiful birds! Such wonderful lighting this morning! This may be one of my favorite duck photos that I’ve ever taken.

A Double-crested Cormorant swimming near the shoreline. They are SUCH cool birds when you see them up close, with those impossibly blue turquoise eyes.

A male Blue-winged Teal. One of the most common dabbling ducks around here, and not all that colorful (until they fly), but they do have some wonderfully intricate patterns on their flanks, along with the unique face crescent.

A male Lesser Scaup, one of the most common diving ducks we get in migration.

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