Back to Clearlake Part 2 (Back Up the Slough)

After checking out the Western Grebes we paddled about a mile up the slough. We spotted a lot of Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets. Green Herons leap frogged down the slough ahead of us as we went. It's pretty hard to get close to them. I have found over the years that the best approach is to slowly drift towards them and not hardly move at all. When I do move I try to keep my hands and arms close to my body and move very slowly. Florida photographers are probably laughing at this as they read it. When I photographed egrets down there I had them walk right up to me! Using the drift technique I was able to get pretty close to a Great blue Heron and watch it catch and eat a crayfish and a tadpole. When I tried to shift my kayak to a better vantage point it had enough of that and it took off. I spotted only one turtle on the trip and that was from quite a distance. It dove into the water before I was even two hundred feet from it. We had an absolutely marvelous time watching, listening and photographing the wildlife. It was great just enjoying the peace and quiet in the sunshine. Blessings 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 If you are interested in building a custom camera support for a canoe or a kayak please check out my blog on it at http://diyphotocheapodepot.blogspot.com/2011/04/kayak-camera-support.html My book "Secrets of Backyard Bird Photography is being shipped to bookstores this week for release on Sept.11th. That's pretty exciting. Look for it on Amazon and other fine book seller's. It will make a great gift for yourself or a photographer or a birder wanting to photograph birds in their backyard.

Decisions, Decisions

I've had a trip planned to kayak the Albion River for a couple of weeks now. My friend Joe called and told me he couldn't make it. Then I got a tip from the librarian that there were thousands of Western Grebes nesting over in Clearlake. Last night I debated back and forth . Still go to the Albion or risk it and go to Clearlake. The scenery and the seals of the Albion are always incredible. There was an incoming tide right at sunrise. The drive however is pretty twisty and windy. It's always a big deal to load and unload kayaks on the boat ramp there. The drive to Clearlake is about the same length but it's pretty smooth sailing. Then I checked the weather report online. Clearlake was going to be clear and the Albion was going to be cloudy in the morning and clearing in early afternoon. That settled it Clearlake it was. I got up at five had a quick breakfast and I was out the door. I got to the lake just a little before sunrise. By the time I launched my kayak the suns rays were just breaking the horizon. I had paddled only about fifty yards when a family of River Otters splashed into the water off of the bank. The lighting was pretty poor but I managed to get one useable documentary image. Paddling out to the entrance of the slough I was amazed by what I was seeing. There were hundreds of Western Grebe nests going off out of sight in both directions! It was unbelievable how many there were. Each nest was a mound of floating vegetation about three feet in diameter and about six inches high. Just incredible. I photographed a few nests and a few nesting parents and then I went back up the slough so as to not disturb them any further. God's 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 If you are interested in building a custom camera support for a canoe or a kayak please check out my blog on it at http://diyphotocheapodepot.blogspot.com/2011/04/kayak-camera-support.html