Wild Long Island Photography Blog

Diamond-backed Terrapin

2011-06-08T20:47:00.000-07:00

This evening I went kayaking to a small salt pond nearby that is only accesible via kayak at high tide. It was a pretty neat place as it's quite deep in the middle and held some decent sized fish (which I heard jumping) but the inlet is heavily shoaled so it's only accessible at low tide. While I did find a Least Tern colony, I was more excited to spot this Diamond-backed Terrapin heading back into the water, presumably after laying eggs. I have seen this species of turtle on very few occasions - almost always crossing the road - so it was cool to see one on land and then heading into the water. A solid reminder that even though we have developed so much of this island, there are plenty of wild areas left to cherish.

After photographing the turtle I stopped to watch and photograph the Least Terns that were coming and going from the colony. Then I saw a horseshoe crab move back from the shoreline into the water - which you see below. The shorebirds in the photos were feeding on freshly laid horseshoe crab eggs so they have the fuel to continue migration or raise a family. Such is the tough way of nature.

Wildflowers

2011-06-01T19:46:00.000-07:00

While I love to photograph birds and mammals (even amphibians!) I have a soft spot for wildflowers. On Long Island in particular, people seem to have forgotten the beauty of naturally growing flowers that dot our wetlands, grasslands and woodlands. Too many suburban homes are filled with perfect gardens made up of non-native plants that we think we could only experience if we go to the store and buy them. But if you keep your eyes open you can experience some of the natural beauty that surrounds us.

I visited Quogue Wildlife Refuge this evening and took advantage of the filtered sunlight (read: clouds) and tried out my new Gitzo tripod. I didn't find the starflower which is what I was really after but was happy to get these three species. The Blue-flag Iris (top), Yellow-flag Iris (above) and the Pitcher Plant (below). I hope you enjoy them and keep your eyes out next time you are on a nature hike for our natural blooming beauties.

Vacation

2011-04-26T19:43:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm off to Florida for a week so I won't be posting any more kit shots until I return. Hope to see some nice wildlife down there - and perhaps I'll post a few photos!

Enjoy these shots from the past two days. . .

Another Fox Den

2011-04-25T18:59:00.000-07:00

As luck would have it - I recently found a second fox den (about 15 miles by way of the flying bird away from the other den). This particular fox home has 4 kits (versus 3 at the other location) and is extremely accessible with no tall grasses in the way like at the other site. The first time I spotted them I was able to get quite close (certainly closer than I was at the other den) and repeated this today. I also took a venture into the woods behind this den to see what other activities there were and there is another major den (from the same family) with several small escape hatches in a really cool (photographable) setting. Perhaps one day I'll be able to setup in the morning and capture them as they venture from den to den.

One of the kits is certainly braver than the others. . . as you can see in the images it has no problem lounging outside the entrance, sleeping, scratching, stretching - whatever while I'm around. The others poke there heads out and may appear for a little but either return to the den or go to the other one in the woods. The father fox (seen below) returned from a hunting trip the first afternoon I was there and had 3 mice in his mouth (you can see 3 tails hanging out). When I saw this I knew it was time to leave.

Red Fox Kits

2011-04-17T13:25:00.000-07:00

Two fox kits rough-house while their sibling looks on

It's been a long time since I've posted something on this blog (most of my time/attention has been spent photographing birds which can be seen on my sister blog Birds of Long Island) but I finally have been able to photograph something of interest that doesn't have wings and before long insects, frogs and turtles will once again be abundant.

Soaking up the evening sun

Last week a co-worker of mine found out about a fox den at an offshoot of Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge. The area of the refuge where the den is was donated to the Federal Government some time ago by the Puleston family - longtime stewards of our natural lands along the South Shore. Dennis Puleston was a co-founder of the Environmental Defense Fund which was instrumental in the ban of DDT and so it seems fitting that a few hundred yards from his former home lies an active fox den, an Osprey nest, nest boxes filled with several species of birds anda small herd of deer.

After waking up from it's nap, the Fox kit stretches and yawns

The first day that I visited the Den I only briefly saw an adult that then trotted off into the tall surrounding grasses - but the next visit yielded a fox pup seen above and below. A trip there the following evening was much better with all 3 fox kits play fighting and trying to eat the remaining scraps off a duck carcass. I must admit my girlfriend is a much better spotter than I as she had to continually point out that the Fox had come out from the Den while I fiddled with my camera or got distracted by birds. . . We tried again this morning but only 1 fox kit popped it's head up and it quickly disappeared. It appears the best and most reliable time to see these guys in evening starting an hour before sunset. I would assume the same is true around sunrise but have not made it there that early. The photo below is one of the kits walking around while the other two played out of frame.

Sly Fox

And here is one last shot of the 3 of them. . . there are more to come from the first two shoots and hopefully a lot more from future visits. Stay tuned!

Piebald Deer

2011-02-22T18:48:00.000-08:00

A piebald White-tailed Deer @ EPCAL

Today I visited EPCAL (Enterprise Park @ Calverton) to see if I could photograph any of the interesting birds that frequent the grasslands (see this post on my sister site for an idea of what can be found). I found a few birds but no good photographs. I took a spin over to the Eastern Runway which I normally never drive around on (because there is a sky diving outfit that uses a small adjacent runway during the warmer months) in hopes of finding something else. There were a few decent sized herds of deer (10-20 deer) and one of them was certainly much different then the rest. For now I'm calling this a piebald deer (which is different from an Albino because it still has pigment). There are known populations of white deer @ an Army Depot in upstate NY and I've heard reports of white white-tailed deer herds in the Wading River area but I have not confirmed them. Enjoy.

I apologize for the lack of quality in the following photos but the light was fading, I was driving along the runway at about 20mph and the deer were running just as fast if not faster.

Still running...

Another leaping shot:

Another shot with a "normal" deer in the frame:

And lastly here is a big crop to see a little more detail:

Macro Magic

2011-01-30T18:55:00.000-08:00

Two images combined in Potoshop for maximized Depth of Field

I apologize to any of you who follow this blog and wait and wait for updates. The fact of the matter is there aren't a whole lot of non-birds on Long Island in the winter that are readily available to photograph (aside from Squirrels and Deer). In the coming months when the weather finally improves (and we stop getting snowed on every week) I will make some ventures to Cupsogue and Montauk for Seals and before long it will be Spring time and frogs and snakes and the like will be emerging. But for now, I'm going to post a few shots from warmer, happier times.

These images all benefit from "image stacking" which is the process of taking consecutive frames and layering them on top of each other to increase the area that is in focus. With macro photograph, even with your lens stopped down to f/22 you are often unable to get your entire subject in focus. The only option then is to stack photos taken at different distances to achieve a photo that is in focus from front to back. There are several types of software that aid this process, including Photoshop (which I use) and mechanical and manual "macro" rails that move the camera and lens at specific intervals to assure proper stacking. This works best with stable subjects - like flowers but can be down if your dragonfly or otherwise is patient enough.

The way these images were created was with a lot of dumb luck, some layers in photoshop and a good eye. I don't own a tripod so I take all of my macro shots hand-held which makes it near impossible to do proper image stacking because I don't have the finite control to adjust the focal point of the camera. However, when I take photos in rapid succession, my natural movements results in different areas being in focus. I can then combine the images using photoshop. It's not easy and it's not perfect but it can work with a little practice. The lead image is about 70% from one shot and 30% (the lower area in focus) from another. Enjoy.

One frame had the eyes in sharp focus, the other had the body. Together they have both!

This next shot was a little more difficult because I had moved ever so slightly so the dragonfly was actually larger in one frame then the next. Using the free-transform tool (control/command T in PS) I reduced the size of the larger image to match the size of the smaller image. I was able to get away with it because it was a pretty small discrepancy.

Similar to the above image, one hard the head/eyes in sharp focus, while the other image contained a sharp body.

Sun is Rising

2010-12-02T18:28:00.000-08:00

Sunrise is always beautiful - and last weekend in Amagansett was no exception....Those colors are all natural and I really like the visual effect of a "squished" sun (above). Below is another version shot at a much lower ISO (hence the darker water). On both of these shots, the sun was completely blown out (that is, it was so bright it was rendered as white in the image). I filled it in using the fringing colors of the sun and used a desaturation sponge to increase the brightness for a more real effect.

A more "abstract" shot:

Here is an image of a Grey Seal that was released by the Riverhead Foundation over the summer which I recently processed to round things out!

Dreamy look continues

2010-11-09T20:08:00.000-08:00

I couldn't resist a few more images done to dreamy perfect....

Flower Effects

2010-11-08T20:20:00.000-08:00

I was processing an image of a flower recently and wanted to make it really glow... but how? I re-called an image of a crocus that a fellow photographer friend of mine had showed me not too long ago and wanted to duplicate that effect, so I sent him an e-mail and it turns out I'm not the only one who has wondered. He shared this blog post with me that makes it ridiculously easy to create this effect and clearly I was eager to try it out tonight... enjoy.

First Fall Sunset

2010-09-23T17:55:00.000-07:00

Well I came up empty handed after waiting on some Kestrels for 30 minutes - but when I turned around I saw this beautiful sunset over the farm fields of Aquebogue. It worked out well that I had my telephoto lens on as there was some farm equipment just below the bottom of the frame so a wide-angle would likely have not worked well. Earlier in the week I had photographed this Groundhog in the same field.

And here is another photo of the sunset but with the farm equipment included (taken in a vertical format) which I think does not compare to the top post.

Praying Mantis and other critters

2010-09-19T19:09:00.000-07:00

An unsuccessful morning at Jones Beach West End (due to the enormous numbers of mosquitoes who would swarm my vehicle as soon as I stopped) I headed to the South Fork Natural History Museum (also known as SoFo) because a rare bird had been reported the day before and there is potential for a lot of other birds and animals. The grasslands and ponds behind the museum did not disappoint and I recommend to anyone who lives on the east end (or anywhere on Long Island for that matter) to visit museum and walk the wide trails behind. The muskrat pictured below had no problem with me sitting on the shoreline of the pond and literally swam right up to me.

A close-up:

The real impressive thing in the fields however was the variety of insects. I couldn't believe there weren't more birds hawking or catching them (only one kestrel was on duty to eat the big grasshoppers). Here is a bee-fly enjoying the nectar of a goldenrod flower.

This ladybug was calling a milkweed plant home for the morning:

The most exciting critter find for me however was when a male praying mantis fluttered in front of me in a patch of burnweed. This insect is the largest on Long Island and is seldom seen (I believe this is only the 3rd one I've come across in the field over the last few years). While I was admiring this bugs size and wild looks, two women stopped and asked what I was taking pictures of. One of the women was Sandra Ferguson who is the President of the Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt - a great organization that works on preserving the natural wonders that make up the Long Pond Greenbelt - stretching from Sag Harbor and the beginning of Ligonee Creek down through Sagaponack to the Atlantic Ocean. I have had many beautiful hikes in this greenbelt and come away with a lot of great photos - and it's people like Sarah who ensure these opportunities will be available for generations to come.

And another up-side down view:

Migrating Monarchs

2010-09-15T18:47:00.000-07:00

I took a trip down Dune Rd. this evening in hopes of finding migrating raptors (which I saw last evening in the form a Merlin. I was unsuccessful with birds, but just before I was about to head over the Ponquogue bridge I spotted hundreds of Monarch Butterflies. Across the street there were a handful that were in the fading light so I went after them first. I followed that up by heading across the street and popping the flash and switching to my 18-200mm from my 300mm lens for a broad view of these butterflies. I'd been noticing a lot of them around Dune Rd. but didn't realize they "roosted" like this except down in Mexico.

Another angle:

And one more:

Mammals and Amphibians

2010-08-31T20:26:00.000-07:00

This last week has been slow as far as photographing opportunities but when they have come about they were excellent. Last week at work I got a report of a Little Brown Bat (whose population numbers have nose-dived due to a fungus that spreads through colonies known as White Nose Syndrome - you can read more about it here: Fish and Wildlife Service WNS). This bat appeared healthy and we re-located it to a more user friendly location (away from the public) and it was clearly none-to-happy.

A trip to Munns Pond Preserve in Hampton Bays provided great looks at 4 (four!) white-tailed fawns. I have only a couple photos of fawns and am not happy with any of them. For such a popular species, you'd think I would have more chances but I rarely see them in a photographable setting. It is my assumption that these fawns were brought to the rehab center on-site and after being given a clean bill of health they were released in the surrounding woods and decided to stick together (white-tailed deer usually give birth to a single fawn per season, though twins aren't unheard of).

After the fawns came the frogs. I was hoping for the grey-tree frog but it's too late in the season to find them in the water (they have moved up into trees where they are near impossible to find). There were plenty of juvenile green frogs however and this one gave me a decent photo op.

Sunrise Deer

2010-08-14T10:09:00.000-07:00

I went to Cupsogue this morning in pursuit of Marbled Godwits and was initially greeted by this Doe who looked so beautiful in the early morning light (I think the sun had just broken the horizon). This mornings interaction was a nice compliment to a more intimate wildlife photography experience yesterday at the home of fellow photographer Michael Lotito (images can be seen here) who has an entire ecosystem in his back yard. Frogs, toads, dragonflies, hummingbirds, you name it they're there. I don't know how the guy gets any work done... so, a big thanks to you Mike for lending me your treasure chest of life for the weekend.

A little closer:

Green frogs make easy subjects as they think they blend in and can't be seen among the lily pads. I captured this while laying down along the edge of the man-made pond and extending my camera and macro lens toward the frog using the viewfinder as a magnifying glass (an alternative to this is to utilize the Live View function, but the AF system can be frustrating when Live View is engaged)

Also present at the pond were a handful of dragonflies. This is a female blue dasher that is in the process of depositing eggs - pretty much the only way to get a dragonfly to "stay still" long enough to get a flight shot.

Mike's backyard features quite a few hibiscus plants and this emerging bud caught my eye. I used the surrounding leaves to frame the subject:

Bumble bees and bee flies were all over the place, creating a fun challenge. I came away with one shot that seemed head and shoulders above the others:

A closeup of the previous frame so you can appreciate the detail:

2010-08-04T20:07:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I hiked a section of Hubbard County Park in Flanders in pursuit of a particular osprey nest which I was unsuccessful in finding. I did, however, find two previously unknown (to the NYS natural heritage program anyway) populations of Sabatia stellaris (salt-marsh pink), a small pink flowering plant that is fond of brackish marshes and is on the NYS endangered list. I previously had found a location near my house of this species which was unknown to the NYS natural heritage program two summers ok so this was a nice find. Unfortunately the mosquitoes were unbearable so it was a quick few shots and then I left. More photos (probably of the population that's closer to home) to come.

This Fowler's Toad was spotted on the other side of the property... it probably is a yearling as it was not the size of an adult.

And some sunsets from Patchogue after a wild storm tore across the island:

And across the river:

Summer Seals, Batches of Bugs and other east end treats.

2010-07-21T17:47:00.001-07:00

The last few weeks have been full of seal releases by the Riverhead Foundation, the local rescue and rehab group tasked with rescuing and helping marine mammals back to life. They are a wonderful not for profit organization with lots of dedicated volunteers and some skilled biologists (some of whom are in the Gulf helping rehab dolphins and sea turtles affected by the oil spill). The first one I attended a few weeks ago featured a very curious grey seal named "chance" who gave me a great chance to get up close shots. (Chance is featured above as well)

and one more

This past weekend featured another Grey Seal who bolted into the water, and a Harbor Seal who appeared a little nervous before slipping into the water.

Here is the Harbor looking a bit more hesitant...I don't blame him. He landed in the hospital after surviving a shark attack!

Finally in the water

A trip to 'Tern Island" in Moriches Bay proved worthless as a Tern photography venture as we missed the fledge date and all of the birds were gone. However, the milkweed has grown throughout portions of the island providing a good opportunity for Monarch Caterpillars (which, believe it or not I've never seen before). Without even looking I spotted about a dozen of these guys munching away which is quite impressive. So aside from the islands value as bird breeding habitat, the monarchs will be happy with our efforts as well. Unfortunately for the milkweed however, the Oleander Aphid (little yellow specks) has exploded on this island (likely due to the heat/drought conditions) covering every single plant. The Lady bugs which feed on the aphids simply can't keep up.

Milkweed bugs on their namesake plant

And here is the lady bug doing its part:

Now here is another female Diamondbacked Terrapin I spotted crossing Dune Rd. (this time returning from laying eggs). It clearly has had a run in with something bigger than it in its past (Car? Raccoon?) with its notched shell and cracked jaw, but it seemed relatively healthy (though quite nervous to come out of its shell!)

Yesterdays visit to Pheasant Meadow didn't yield much beyond ticks and mosquitoes, but this Pearl Crescent Butterfly obliged me on some blooming milkweed.

And lastly, a landscape shot (what?!?). This time it's sunlit clouds from Squires Pond along the Peconic Bay last night. I ran out of the water (I had been swimming) in hopes of photographing the golden cloud on the left side of the image but by the time I got my camera from my car it had largely dissipated. The remaining clouds and color were still quite attractive though.

Tomorrow I am off on a Whale Watching trip out of Montauk so hopefully my next post will be filled with Whales, Dolphins and maybe even a Shark (or Sea Turtle, I'd be pleased with either).

A Turtle and a Deer with some Bugs mixed in

2010-07-10T21:14:00.000-07:00

This week has been pretty varied when it comes to non-bird wildlife. I found plenty of insects in my yard and at the bay along with a Diamondbacked Terrapin (above - only the 4th time I've seen this species) and some white-tailed deer (below).

Seaside Dragonlets are the only dragonfly species in our parts that live in salt marshes. They are also a favorite meal for the Purple Martin. Below is a female (note the yellow).

This Ruby Meadowhawk was patient for me after work one evening:

A Pearl Crescent Butterfly fed on flowers in my yard:

and an American Copper utilized the same plant the following day:

A milkweed bug clung to a blade of grass early in the morning:

And a few more shots of the Diamondbacked Terrapin on her way to lay eggs:

Full body shot...

El Salvador

2010-07-03T11:51:00.000-07:00

Finally getting around to doing my El Salvador updates... I just updated my bird photo blog and here are the non-bird shots. It was a little disappointing in terms of animals and diversity, but we were unable to go to Parque Imposible due to a washed out bridge which meant not getting a lot of photos. I still saw a great diversity of butterflies though and quite a few lizards (though I wasn't able to photo any of them). Above: Roca Sunzal, La Libertad, El Salvador

Above: A clear winged butterfly at "The Devil's Door" outside of San Salvador. Below: A closeup of a butterfly in the mountains of Northern El Salvador

Same species:

Same spot, different species:

This spider was nice enough to pose while we wanted for La Policia to show up after the car broke down (which is when I obtained the above photos as well)

And one last shot of Roca Sunzal, a little later in the evening:

This and That

2010-06-07T19:58:00.001-07:00

Hopefully I'll squeeze in 1 more update before my trip to El Salvador/Guatemala but rest assured, I'll have plenty of non-bird photos when I return from that trip later this month. (Above: Salt marsh Dragonfly)

Above: I discovered a glass eel along the shore of Sagg Pond in Bridgehampton. This is the larval stage of the American Eel and is the largest glass eel I've ever seen (it was just shy of 6"). The glass eel is the form this fish takes after hatching and it floats from the Sargasso Sea for 1-3 years until reaching North America where it transforms into the more often seen eel as it meanders into streams and ponds and lakes. It's amazing how clear they are and the texture is like rubber and as evidenced in the photo it's thin like a rubber band. After a few photos, I freed it to the water where it slithered away.

The above flower is a round-leaved sundew which is a carnivorous plant. The "dew" droplets are actually a sticky substance secreted by the plant to attract and help digest insect prey. It's a very small plant with the photo representing about 1/2" in size.

The Turtle and the Strawberry

2010-05-23T18:44:00.000-07:00

This weekend I was putting out some fruit for the birds (didn't get any takers) when I stumbled upon this Eastern Box Turtle (a relatively common sight in this area, though it is a species of Special Concern in NYS). I wanted to take some photos of it with my macro so I put it on the outdoor table adjacent to the fruit. I went to get my lens and when I came back he decided to have a snack. I watched as he munched away most of the strawberry and was laughing most of the time. If you have never seen a turtle eat, especially eat something bigger than it's head, it's an amusing sight. Add to that all of the strawberry juice that was getting on his face and well I'm sure you'll laugh too. After it had devoured most of the strawberry, I set it free in the yard and will hopefully stumble upon him again soon. For those concerned about me "feeding" a wild animal, let me state that Eastern Box Turtles are incredibly omnivorous and will eat anything they can catch up to. They even have the ability to eat mushrooms that are toxic to humans and the strawberry it ate on is just a giant version of the wild strawberrys that grow in my yard.

This turtle can be ID'd as a male due to its red eye (the females have brown eyes) ans is probably relatively young (they can live 60-80 years in the wild) based on its vibrant colors (older adults are much more dull). I have entitled the photo below 'The Carnage' because of the blood red flesh and juice all over its face.

An extreme closeup of the eye:

He was a bit shy at first, but quickly warmed up to me and my camera:

A very messy eater....

BIG bite....

This is what a very happy Eastern Box Turtle looks like:

Now we go from cute to creepy. This spider (ID unknown) was found unfortunately in my bedroom... but I was able to capture it and take it outside for a photo shoot before letting it go to the woods where it should be. And yes, it was huge... the body alone was about 1" in size.

The "perch" that I photographed this spider on is an old odd shaped piece of drift wood I picked up a few years ago that has been sitting around in my yard. I started off using just the macro 105mm, but added the teleconverter later to allow an even closer view (as if I needed one) of this spider.

Super closeup:

And I'll round this post out with some cute and furry groundhog photos. This is from EPCAL and is (likely) the same groundhog I previously photographed in early April.

Doing its best prairie dog impression:

ATTACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I really started laughing when I saw this photo after uploading my images to my computer:

Florida Fauna

2010-05-20T20:08:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: These photos are NOT from Long Island (though some of the species like the dragonflies do appear up here) but none the less, they are all wild and need to be shared. (Above: Eastern Pondhawk Dragonfly) This gorgeous Buckeye Moth was lounging on the shrubs outside the hotel in Downtown Orlando:

I spotted this Blue Dasher along the shore of Lake Adair, Orlando:

The Green Anole proved quite elusive, making an appearance only once (as opposed to its invasive cousin the Brown Anole which was everywhere)

And the brown version....

An update

2010-05-16T17:24:00.000-07:00

Here's a little collection of photos I've taken in the past few weeks. I'll be doing an update from Florida soon, so I better get these in now before they are buried. All of the photos below were taken at Quogue Wildlife Refuge near the bridge that crosses the pond. (Above: Yellow Flag Iris)

This fern caught the attention of me and my camera. Flash was used which blacked out the background.

Just to the left of the above unfurling frond was this spider:

Starflower is one of my favorites because of its natural shimmer that is enhanced with the use of flash:

One of the more difficult flora subjects to photograph is the sundew plant which is quite small and one of the coolest carnivorous plants. The droplets on the end are a stick secretion which attract insects that become trapped. Then the plant curls up and "digests" its prey.

And to round things out, the beautiful flowers of Highbush Blueberry (which are edible, but don't taste nearly as good as the berries which will be out in a few months)

Muskrat Love Canal

2010-04-25T13:38:00.000-07:00

Rainbow
On Thursday I drove down Dune Rd. with the hope that the thunderstorm would move on and give me some quality evening light. Just as I had driven past the Quogue Wetlands Preserve I noticed this rainbow that had formed and doubled back to get an unobstructed shot of it

I had to boost the saturation a lot to bring out the colors in the rainbow, as I didn't have a CPL (polarizing) filter and as such the orange may be a bit over the top and their isn't a well defined color band. Here is a photo of the boardwalk crossing over a freshwater marsh at the preserve:

After I got this shot, I looked down in the mosquito ditch that runs below the boardwalk and saw 2 muskrats getting frisky. Behind me was a third muskrat (likely another male, as at one point 2 of them seemed to be fighting, with the loser literally flying through the air and landing in the water):

I changed lenses to get more SS and a little more focal length:

And here the muskrat is swimming in the little canal:

As I'm a little behind, here are some groundhog shots from last week:

The other day I stopped at Quogue Wildlife Refuge to photograph some frogs, and happened upon some ferns and skunk cabbage that were perfect for my macro lens:

Painted Turtles, Bull Frogs and a Humpback Whale

2010-04-08T20:19:00.000-07:00

The Rounds:
I took Wednesday off from work because the weather was supposed to be phenomenal and I wanted to take advantage of such warm early April weather. My original hopes were finding some good avian species and perhaps capturing Ospreys carrying nest material or a similar spring event. On Tuesday, my focus shifted as I learned there was a juvenile Humpback Whale which had beached itself in East Hampton. I tried to employ patience and made my morning rounds at all of my standard avian haunts, with a stop at Munn's Pond Preserve for turtles and Quogue Wildlife Refuge for frogs. Photographing turtles is always difficult due to how the sun reflects off their shiny black shells and I'm always left wanting better.

The Wildlife Refuge produced this fat frog in the little man made pond at the entrance. Its counterparts weren't nearly as cooperative as this one which let me get my lens within an inch or so. To obtain the close up of the eye (below) I laid on the ground and used my cameras LiveView function which acted as the viewfinder as I extended my arms out and put the camera right next to the frog.

Humpback Whale:
I arrived at Main Beach in East Hampton around 2 and stayed for an hour watching the whale from the nearby rock groin. It was a sad sight to see, but it is nature and I felt lucky to have been able to observe it. After 3 days, officials have tried to euthanize the animal twice, but it has proven to be not effective. It was decided that a rescue effort would not be mounted due to the whales condition, age and location in the surf. Once it expires, it will be buried along the beach after a necropsy is conducted.

For more information on the situation, please view this: East Hampton Press

Twice in the span of 1 minute, the Humpback raised its tail and head in a desperate attempt. I was lucky to capture the moment, though I did clip the tail on a few of the shots, and all of the shots needed to be straightened. I captured these images (and some of the ones above) with my new Nikon 18-200mm VR which allowed me to zoom out a little and get the whole whale in frame. If I had to use my macro or 300 f4 I would have been seriously limited in my options.

More images and an update on the situation will be posted on Saturday. If the Whale is still alive - I will likely make another trip.

More Big Rodents

2010-04-02T10:12:00.000-07:00

Wet Muskrat:
This morning I ended up waking early and took a trip to EPCAL for birds and hopefully a shot at some skunks or other mammals that may be hanging around. Along River Rd., next to the entrance of the golf course I spotted a muskrat along the banks of the very swollen Peconic River - it quickly slipped into the water and I was able to get 1 decent shot before it dove under and slipped into a culvert to head east down the river.

Woodchuck:
Just when I was ready to leave EPCAL after a less than great outing I spotted something brown in the median and when I pulled up I saw it was a Groundhog (aka woodchuck) who had just emerged from his/her den. The groundhog had quite a bit of patience and showed off nicely for me which was a good change from past experiences with this species. The Groundhog is most often seen on Long Island on the side of highways where there is plentiful food (grasses) and they prefer edge habitat (where woods meet grasses). Suffice to say, photographing a groundhog on the side of the LIE is not an ideal situation, so to find one along the runway was a good surprise. I stumbled upon another den on the other side of the runway which is likely that of another groundhog - but could be that of a red fox which I'm sure utilize the site as it appears to be plentiful in food and acreage.

There certainly is a resemblance to the Muskrat in my previous post with this over-sized teeth:

Chomping away:

Muskrat

2010-03-29T18:33:00.000-07:00

Ondatra zibethicus:
After driving to Sagaponack for a pair of Sandhill Cranes (a rare visitor to Long Island) I gave one of my secret spots a try as it's been good for Pied-Billed Grebes in the past as well as a variety of ducks and raptors. As soon as I pulled up I saw a Muskrat eating away. It was a bit of a surprise as I've only seen this species 5 other times and it didn't mind my car pulling up next to it. The angle was near impossible so I parked and got out for a few more shots before it retreated to the water - providing the photo at the top of this entry.

Big and Small

2010-03-27T20:53:00.000-07:00

White-Tailed Deer:
I visited EPCAL today as well as last Thursday in pursuit of birds and skunks (of all things). I was successful with the birds but not so much with the skunks, which may have been due to the cool weather today (barely 35*). The White-Tailed Deer population on Long Island is more or less out of control as there are no predators other than humans (bobcats, coyotes and wolves used to inhabit the island) and EPCAL is no exception. I spotted this heard of 12 deer late in the afternoon:

And this individual showed off in the setting sun on Thursday:

Since the lighting wasn't optimal and birds were scarce this afternoon I checked out the grounds to scout for future photo spots. I found a nice wetland which will probably be ripe with turtles and frogs as well as wildflowers and came across a fox den which appeared to be active. Additionally I noticed this British Soldier Lichen something I've always wanted to photograph since my introduction to it in Field Biology my freshman year of college. It's not the optimal photo as I'm still getting used to my macro, and I prefer natural lighting but it's a good start. This bit of lichen (a combination of algae and moss) is about the size of a penny:

Macro World:

This equally diminutive mushroom was nearby:

Montauk Morning

2010-03-21T12:05:00.000-07:00

Stepping Stones Seal Haulout:
One of the things I was looking forward to most when I bought my new camera setup with my telephoto lens was photographing seals in the winter. The previous winter I had seen them at the Shinnecock Inlet and at Cupsogue Beach where they haul out in big numbers but they have always been too far away for my minimal setup. I also had been fortunate enough to come across a few seals on the beach while working as a Piping Plover steward and helped in getting these sick and stressed seals rehabilitated. I previously had gone to Montauk this winter in hopes of getting some really great shots but the seals never showed. It was either too windy, too cold, too overcast or the tide was too high. Yesterday, however, all of the elements fell into place. With a light wind out of the SW, temps at 40* at sunrise combined with low tide I was confident I would have my first real "shot" at the seals.

Pup Pair
As I made the 1 1/4 mile hike from the parking lot I saw a large rock (much bigger than the others) which had something on it. I could ID a greater black backed gull but didn't know what the other things were though they seemed to be similar in size. As I got closer I looked through my camera and saw it was two young Harbor Seals relaxing in the rising sunshine with the aforementioned gull. The way the shoreline curved and the position of the rock, the setting wasn't ideal and after I got a few photos I turned my attention down the beach and noticed at least two more seals hauled out and quickly set off for them.

Lounging:
When I got to the "stepping stones" area of the beach (the main haulout point) I had the beach all to myself and another young Harbor Seal was basking in the sunshine on a long flat rock. Throughout the morning I tried different locations and angles sitting on a variety of rocks at the waters edge - none which were terribly comfortable - to try and get the best lighting and angle. The seals were quite cooperative and didn't mind my presence:

Off to my left was an adult Harbor Seal that looked rather uncomfortable on his perch and could tell he/she wasn't going to get a chance to dry out as a wave approached:

It wasn't long before a different rock was selected and the seal got comfortable, enjoying the suns warming rays:

The third seal in the area got tired of swimming and decided to join his friend, however they were quickly pummeled by waves and the dark of the seals was cast once again into the water...

... this particular seal kept popping up and didn't know where to haul out. As I was photographing the pup hoping for "splash" sequences, it made an amusing appearance in the background for a few seconds. If someone showed me this picture I would insist the 2nd seal was (poorly) photoshopped into the image.

Eventually the wayward seal found a resting place that was barely out of the water and enjoyed some rest and relaxation before once again being knocked into the water. This is probably my favorite photo of the morning for its simplicity and the way it portrays the seal in a big vast sea:

Even though there were virtually no waves and a very light wind, there was a 10 or 15 minute period where quite a few rollers came through forcing the young seal to "Banana" in order to stay relatively dry. I got lucky and captured some great moments as the water splashed up around the seal.

Macro Lens:
I bought a Macro lens over the winter to improve my small subject photography after seeing so many incredible photos of Dragonflies, Butterflies and Flowers. Since it's been winter and I'm not much for creating "still life" photos, I haven't had much chance to use it but after I left the seals I took a stab at photographing a few of the thousands (literally, tens of thousands) sea stars which had washed up during last weekends big Nor'easter. This is my favorite from the series and is how I found it -straight from the camera, no adjustments:

While I had the macro lens out I decided to shoot the rabbit skull I had in my photography backpack. A co-worker found it the other day in the field and I forgot to take it out when I got back to work and I found a nice piece of driftwood to set it on:

As I walked back to my car along some of the back trails I came to a small pond which had spilled over onto the dirt road due to the recent rain. A few small fish were present and to my surprise this big bullfrog tadpole was out in the open. It's times like this I wish I had an underwater housing