Hoot Owl by My Window

We just got back yesterday from a trip up to Washington and Idaho. I was visiting relatives so I got to watch not one but two parades and I was lucky enough to watch two fireworks displays as well. The weather was great we only had one rain shower. We didn't see much wildlife. Most everything I spotted was from a distance. We spotted one Marmot, four Osprey, one Bald Eagle and some Whitetail Deer with fawns. They were pretty cute. The usual baby ducks at the marina were nice The best sighting of all were two newly fledged Great Horned Owls behind my brothers house. They were little whiners constantly calling out to Momma for food. I never spotted her but my brother said that she had fed them a Marmot the day before we had arrived. I must say they were a pretty cool sight to see. The last image was of Mount Shasta as we were flying home. It still has a lot of snow! God's blessings upon your upcoming weekend, chris All images were created with two Canon EOS cameras and lenses. #TeamCanon

Hitting the Parks

Day three of my photo adventure to Colorado found me visiting my good friend Dan in Centennial, Colorado. We both love hiking and have had many adventures together over the years. I was looking forward to photographing some Wood Ducks. We headed over to Sterne Park which is pretty close to where he lives. Usually this is a fantastic place to photograph Wood Ducks. All we found were a lot of immature birds and they were all on shore in the grass. Instead of ducks I photographed a bridge! Oh well. Next stop was Ketring Park which is nearby. There I found a very cooperative hen Mallard sleeping on a rock. She was sleeping until I plopped down on the shore nearby. Then she opened her eyes to keep a close watch on me to make sure I wasn't up to something evil. We also ended up rescuing another Mallard that was tangled up in fishing line. C'mon people clean up your excess line when you are fishing. After Ketring we drove over to Chatfield State Park where we spotted a canine beast running through a field beside the road. Then we went for a long enjoyable walk along the Platte River. What a great morning. God bless, chris all images were created with my Canon 7D mkII and my Tamron 150-600mm lens. Pretty impressive for having a cracked front lens element and a loose mount!

Wonderful Waterfowl

One of the things I love about Clearlake is exploring the sloughs and creeks that come into it with my kayak. Kayaks are great for photographing from. They are low to the water for a great point of view and they are silent.If you take your time with a slow approach you can get really close to wildlife. Yesterday I had an absolutely wonderful time photographing a variety of waterfowl. There were quite a few Wood Ducks, Mallards and Canadian Geese. The geese were a joy to watch. They were paired up flying back and forth along the shoreline announcing their presence to all within hearing. They were having a great time and so was I. God's precious love to all, chris Camera Equipment Used- Canon 7D, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM Lens,Bogen 3055 Ballhead with a custom camera support. Camera Settings- AV mode, ISO 400,F stop and a shutter speed varied. All photography was done from a Ultimate 14.5 Native Watercraft Kayak

Sitting on the Bank

This afternoon we made a quick trip to Clearlake in Northern California about an hour from where we live. I really wanted to capture some images of Yellow Headed Blackbirds from my kayak. We also wanted to try out Lenore's new kayak. It has been sitting unused far too long. Her little blue kayak worked out great and she loved it. When we got there the main part of the lake where the Blackbirds nests were way too windy for photography. I made the decision to just sit kayaking out and let everyone else go. The slough off of the lake was pretty calm and Annika and her friend saw turtles, Wood Ducks and some Mallards. Sitting on the bank with Badger dog I still managed to photograph a Western Pond Turtle as well as a friendly hen Mallard and an Osprey that did a fly by. Blessings to all, chris Camera Equipment Used- Canon 7D, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM Lens. Camera Settings- AV mode, ISO 400,F stop and shutter speed varied.