Bass Pro Shops

On my way to Washington DC i stopped at the BIG Bass Pro shop on the i-95, I have been past it many times but have never made time to stop and go in, I was soooo impressed by the store as was my wife that we even stopped in there on our way home, Now this isn't just any store this is a shopping experience bar none, Firstly its huge-maybe bigger- and its not just 4 walls and a roof, Its fully fitted out like you are outdoors and has everything that an outdoors man would ever need from fishing ,hunting,boating you name it and it has it, My wife loved the place and she isnt really into the outdoors in the same way that i am, For the wildlife photographer it has an excellent range of blinds/hides as well as camo gear and binoculars, There is an excellent restaurant, a fudge store and even an indoor shooting range if you decide to try or buy a bow, The aquariums are huge as are the fish in them and you will see just about every specie of American wildlife all but stuff around the store, If you are near a Bass pro Store at anytime make it a place not to miss but make sure you have plenty of time and an empty credit card, The one i visited was just outside Richmond Virginia

Apologies for the image quality but all images were taken with a point and shoot

Dave

If you are thinking of buying some gear do it now

With the problems in Japan and Nikons factory being closed until things settle down there will be a shortage in some Nikon and maybe other camera gear, B+H and Adorama have already put the prices up on some gear like the D700-nice eh, So if you need or are thinking of getting some new gear then make it now and go to places like Amazon and buy it before stocks run low

Dave

A Tuesday Quickie

Many thanks for the post yesterday Dave - much appreciated.

Jac and I had a great weekend, even though the weather at the time of the wedding was not very nice, and just about excluded any outdoor photography, we should be grateful for small mercies when we see the screen shots of the terrible events in Japan unfolding.

On a personal note, I think the television coverage is over the top and now imposing too much on so much grief.

No photos to share with you today but  a few reflections of the last few days on various  bird sightings I have had.  In the previous twenty four hours, I have seen Red Kite, Marsh Harrier, Buzzards (hundreds it seems), Kestrels, Peregrine and a beautiful Merlin as we came back across Shap Fell.

Another highlight at Martin Mere were about a dozen Tree Sparrow.  I heard them first and recognised the different tone to the House Sparrow, and we eventually found them  What a great sight these little birds make.

On the Mere there were plenty of Lapwing, Teal, Wigeon, Pochard, Avocet (beautiful in the sunlight), Pink Footed Geese, plus a few Ringed Plover.

Meanwhile here at home, the frogs are still very busy with each other, but no spawn yet.

Martin

Life and Love

19 years ago i not only met the love of my life but i was lucky enough to marry her, We went to the famous Gretna Green on the Scottish borders-its a place where lovers would slip away and get married over the blacksmiths anvil, In the old days a blacksmith had the ability to marry people, and young lovers without their parents permission would go there and tie the knot, We didnt want a big wedding both being from large families and this seemed the perfect place to go,
On Saturday Martin and Jacui did exactly the same and got married in exactly the same place as i did all those years ago, Life is full of coincidences, I would have loved to have been there but as i had just returned from Japan there was no way i could make it
I would like to wish both Martin and Jacqui all the very best in their new married life and hope that the next 19 years will be as good to them as it has been for Marian and myself

Here are the happy couple

Dave

Whoopers and Shelduck

A bit of a late post from me today, but just got back from a few days away.  But Jac and I did take the opportunity to drop in to WWT Martin Mere as we came back down the M6 this afternoon to check out what was around.

After a few grey days, the sun came out - very brightly and with the timing of our visit it wasn't the best early/late light that we all strive for.

But I grabbed a few snaps and will share them with you in two themes.  

Firstly, there were plenty of Shelduck around, and flying about in small groups or singles.

I am not normally too keen on head on shots - but did this for a change.

Male Shelduck - larger 'bobble' on forehead

The next theme is on the Whooper Swans.  There were over 1500 still in at Martin Mere, before they make the migration and the Mere was covered in them.  There were scraps galore, and lots of aggressive behaviour as they jostled for space ahead of their 1500 feed.

One small section of them

Sadly no beautiful underlit snowy shots like Dave got from Japan

I loved watching this scene unfold as they flew line abreast into the lens across the far reed beds, before swing round and landing in formation

Martin

Huntley Meadows pt2

I revised Huntley meadows on Friday as Thursday was a wash out-24 hrs of rain and boy did it show as the water level was much higher, I got there for first light and as i walked out onto the boardwalk flocks of red winged blackbirds flew over head and a few were on top of the reeds calling out

The light was very low and this is quite a big crop, As i took the above image a beaver came out of the reeds and cleverly swam under the boardwalk and straight up to and under the lodge, I got a great view of it buit it was not possible to get any images, I carried on and looked at the herons, teal and geese on the lake, I thought i would go to the same area where i saw the hooded mergansers last time and sure enough they were there, I could see 4 pairs on the lake as well, I got into position and waited for them to get closer and hopefully get some light as it was now overcast whereas they said it would be sunny, After about 15 minutes they flew off and when i turned around there was a bird watcher standing behind me, He was a nice guy and talked for nearly an hour,Not long after he went i was surprised to see another beaver coming my way, I took some shots as it past and then it got out and stood on the beaver dam, I had a tree in the way and by the time i moved the tripod it was back in the water-shame as it had a great reflection

I kept an eye on it as it swam down stream towards another lodge, I was shocked to see it get out and have a wash and brush up about 200 yards away-out in the open, I quickly packed up and made my way downstream but by the time i got there it was gone, The ground was very wet and much of the time it was over my Northface trainers-these are great and not only comfortable but waterproof, I went back to where i started and set up but shortly after wards another photographer arrived and came over,after 20 minutes he left and so did i, This is one great place for both photographers and birders, I could image how i would set up if i lived closer and spend some time with those beaver, Its the best place i have been for these,
Here are a few images from the morning, The hoodies are quite big crops and shot at ISO 1600 so not the best but shows how close to being great shots

One things that struck me was the amount of woodpeckers around, Not just numbers but also species, I had good views of northern flicker,red headed,red bellied,pileated and sapsuckers,
Great place
Dave

Frog Blog'11 - Part 2 - They went deep and are now back again

Shortly after I wrote this blogpost of the first serious frog show of the year almost two weeks ago, the weather went much colder again.  A few overnight frosts and a couple of quick ice overs of the pond thwarted the amorous croaky ones ardour.

Well it has warmed up again over the last couple of days and they are back in serious numbers.  When I wrote this blog on Thursday night, I had a listen out for the chorus but couldn't hear anything.  So  I grabbed my binocs at about ten o'clock, stuck my LED Lenser pen touch in my mouth and looked up the garden.  Well what a bizarre and welcome sight.  Over twenty light, bright pairs of dots looking back at me, as the frogs were on the surface.  I guess there must have been many more as I could only see those that were looking in my direction..  I guess it will be very soon that the first spawn appears.  I have heard stories of many other locations with spawn, but given the frosts we had here it is probably just as well they hung back a bit.

Martin

Huntley Meadows

I visited Huntley meadows today which is about a 40 min drive around DC from where i am in Reston, Its a lilltle oasis in the middle of suburbia, From the car park you have a 10 minute walk to the start of the boardwalks, The walk is through a large tract of very nice woodland, The first thing that you notice when you reach the boardwalk is the beaver activity-lots of small felled trees and within a couple of minutes you come across the first of the 3 beaver dens that i viewed, its right next to the boardwalk and you can not miss it, If you want to see beaver then i guess this is the places as they are obviously very active-probably at night and dawn and dusk, There were a few mums and kids around when i arrived and an early start would be best, The boardwalks take you through dense reed beds to a largish lake, I could see mallard,teal,heron and gulls, the teal were as usual very shy and soon moved out and away from my area, I went down a muddy track to a very boggy marshy area and along with more mallards were a pair of Hooded Mergansers-one of my favorite American wildfowl, It took me some time to get into position without spooking them and then a watched and waited for about an hour before i had the chance to take any images-nothing to write home about but as i dont get to shoot these very often it was a pleasure just to sit and watch, I will be going back on Friday when the weather is supposed to be better and will make a very early start, I would love to have a place like this on my doorstep, There are meant to be a good head of deer and fox which i can believe as there is great habitat for them
I used my D7000 with the 600 and 1.4x to get as much reach as i could, I shot at ISO 400 which gave an OK shutter speed although another stop would have been nice-waders would have also been nice as i was rather damp after sitting tucked up next to dead tree but as this was my first time here and just a 'day out' i was glad to get anything
Mallard

Eastern Kingbird (i think)

Hooded Mergansers

Beaver alert

Dave