May 16, 2024
Wildlife Photography
Thursday morning began with my normal chores. The dogs seemed to be extra hungry this morning, letting out loud enthusiastic barks that earned them a bowl of food. After a writing session, I made my way to the eastern trailhead for my morning walk into the woods, curious about what secrets nature would reveal. As I entered the pine grove, I noticed the tree trunks were completely dry, while the trail still held hints of mud and water.
On the east side of the grove, near the tree line, a deer spotted me, barking once before it ran north into the forest. I moved to the tree line because the deer in this area would often cross into an empty, nearby crop field. I waited about ten minutes, but saw nothing. When I went back to the lane in the pine grove where I had seen the deer, a lone doe had returned to the exact spot she was before. I had time to raise my camera and shoot one photo before she bolted.
I walked quietly to the northwest corner of the property where, yesterday; I took a photo of a bird perched high in a tree. Although I captured the image, I returned this morning with a more suitable telephoto lens. After half an hour, one bird finally landed on the tree and I snapped a photo, hoping it would be better than the one I took the day before.
On my way home, I headed back to the grove, hoping the deer would still be near the area, but the place was quiet and devoid of wildlife. As I exited the grove to return home, I stepped out into a sunny picturesque vista, with the grasses green from the recent rain, the weathered barn, and the tall pines in the background. After a few cloudy days, this scene presented a bright blue sky filled with puffy white cumulus clouds. I snapped a quick photo with my phone and sent it to my wife. It was going to be a sunny day.
Work was busy with meetings, but I still had time to finish a few projects before the day was over. During my lunch break, I made a salad and tossed on the chicken I grilled the previous night. I ate outdoors under the sun, watching the hummingbird feeder. We hung this feeder up several months ago, but the small birds, which were still migrating, had not shown up. Today, however, I saw hummingbirds six different times. After one hummingbird fed, it zipped right past me at ear level and the incredible frequency of its beating wings made my eardrums reverberate. The bird, though tiny, was powerful and swift.
After work, I put some bird seed on a small piece of bark and placed it nearby within shooting distance with my camera. I shot some photographs and recorded video clips of a chickadee, tufted titmouse, wren, and a hummingbird. The tufted titmouse was interesting because it grabbed black sunflower seeds and carried them off to a nearby mimosa tree. From a low-hanging branch, it would use its beak to hammer and break the seeds to access the meat inside. On the mimosa tree, there were still several half seed shells left stuck to the branches.
The hummingbird was a challenge to photograph because it moved so quickly and only stayed at the feeder for short periods. When it stopped to perch on the wire that held the suspended feeder, I was able to grab a few shots. The wren babies were poking further out of their nest, a sign that they would leave their home in the next few days. I hoped they would stick around long enough for my wife to see them before they were gone.
After taking pictures of the birds at the feeders, I took an evening walk into the forest. A biting fly followed, hitting my hat periodically, trying to bite me. After several unsuccessful attempts to thwart the fly last year, I learned that wearing thick clothing and a hat provided near perfect protection from the pesky bloodsucking fly. It followed me through the forest for a good thirty minutes before it finally gave up. I figured at some point, evolution must have taught the fly that it was wasting too much energy with no physical benefit. Still, the fly’s irritating persistence both impressed and annoyed me.
This evening, the forest smelled like freshly tilled dirt and the air felt balmy. It was as if I could feel the moisture in my nostrils. The air felt thick, and the humidity made it difficult to breathe. When I arrived at the creek, I sat down to see if any birds would land on one of the three scenes I composed. I waited for an hour, but no birds showed up in the area. The only thing I saw were two male cardinals giving chase, both flying toward me. I pulled a couple of photographs of the flyby. After one hour of waiting, the photographs I caught took place in under three seconds. What a remarkable game and challenge wildlife photography presented.
I made my way southward, back toward the grove, which was getting dimmer by the minute. On the way there, I stopped and changed the lenses on my camera, sacrificing the reach of a longer telephoto lens for a medium distance lens that offered a larger aperture to gather more light. The decision paid off.
When I arrived near the feeding area, I heard several deer running through the woods, heading toward the tree line. I looped around a small trail near my ground blind, and when I peeked out around the corner into the empty field, I caught a deer running north at full speed. I caught five photographs of the deer in flight. Everything happened so fast and felt so intense. The deer stopped before it entered the tree line, and I probably could have taken more photographs. However, I opted to pull the pressure off the deer.
While I always wanted more time to photograph these beautiful animals, I was cognizant of the physical pressure that occurred between us. It was a type of communication. I wanted the deer to know that I would always be around to watch them, but that I would respect our distance, never give chase, and that within a minute or two, I would always break contact and walk away from them.
I spent the evening talking to my wife and hanging out with the pups. For dinner, I ate a salad made with spring mix, spinach, arugula, queso fresco, walnuts, dried apples, and Caesar dressing. There were rumors that a ribeye was grilled, sliced, and place atop of said salad. After a shower, I did a short writing session before heading to bed. Tomorrow, my wife would come home from Cary, and we would be together again. I was looking forward to the weekend.