wildlife – Page 59 – LLOYD'S LENS PHOTOGRAPHY LLC

The Lord &Lady Of Songs

As the days grow longer there’s a point where the local Cardnials ( and other songbirds) decide that love is in the air. The brightly colored males can be heard all through the hills. The female can be heard as well but her call is a simple loud chirp where the male call is long and varies in pitch. It’s also been my experience that the male takes great pride in frustrating photographers. Hello either sits high in the trees outside of the range of my lens or in the thickest clumps of twigs he can find. There’s been a few times that I could have sworn he threw a couple of “neener neeners” into his song as I raised my lens and focused in just in time to see him dart away.

Neener Neener Bird — One of the “Neener Neener” moments when the male Cardnial flew off with a snicker.

But I don’t really give up so easy. If I let this bird win now he’ll only be encouraged to continue his taunting. So I have to come up with some ultimate plan to capture a bird in my lens. The most experienced bird hunter in the world has to be Mr. Wile E. Coyote. And, I’m familiar with all of his master plans to capture a bird. The problem there was that I didn’t have an anvil handy and I’m not really a skilled enough painter to create a convincing looking tunnel on any of the local rocks. So I did the next best thing. I found a few soundtracks of Cardnial calls on YouTube and played them over the speakers in my truck with the volume as high as it would go. It only took ten seconds to get a response.

Image Titled Lady Of Songs and is available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.

The female Cardnial seemed to be very interested in whoever this new suitor was. She popped up right next to the truck window.

I hit the soundtrack again and she moved to the power line directly over my head.

The female Cardnial overhead looking for the second male.

It wasn’t long before the male couldn’t take this challenge to his territory and when he showed up he meant business! The fly in the ointment with my plan was that even though I got him to come out of hiding I never realized how twitchy an angry male Cardnial can be. He was no longer singing for a mate and he was flashing his wings and tail feathers in an effort to entice the other male into a duel for the honor of his lady.

Once he was visible I turned the volume back down slowly and he began to calm down a little. I was only able to catch him still enough for one shot before he took of in pursuit of the female.

He was still in a defensive posture and he never really got as close as the female Cardnial but now that I have a trick up my sleeve I hope to try for a closer shot soon.

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The True Story Of My “Pet” Hawk.

Color Photography, wildlife

Hello friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Watching From Above 22718” and is available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.

The little boy played in meadow doing things that a country boy in the 70s and 80s would find natural. He climbed trees and rocks. He caught salamanders and crayfish out of the creeks and puddles. He made swords from sticks and did battle with the trees standing in for the bad guys. One day he was having an adventure down in a marsh when he had that eerie feeling of being watched. He scanned the trees and bushes but there was nobody. He looked for signs of a bear or coyote but the woods was empty. Then he looked up. Perched on a branch in the top of a nearby walnut tree was the largest hawk he’d ever seen. It sat there like a statue only cocking it’s head every so often. He was profoundly curious about the raptor. He’d never been this close to one in wild before. The hawk was large for a hawk but too small to be a threat to him or the cattle. So he watched the hawk back. After a few moments he tried to speak to it in the same calm voice he was taught to use around pets and livestock. The cocked it’s head to the other side but otherwise didn’t react. After a while he got bored and moved his adventure to another part of the farm only to find that the hawk had followed him. Ove the next few days this pattern continued. No matter where the boy played the hawk turned up eventually. So he gave the bird of prey a name worthy of an avian hunter. The name was “Falcor”. A combination of Falcon and his favorite comic book hero at the time which was Marvel’s Thor.

I was the boy and Falcor was real. Although every time I tried to tell someone about my “pet hawk” they smiled at my wild imagination. I don’t know if Falcor visited other people or even if they noticed when he did. I kinda doubt that he did because he never seemed to come around when other’s were present. After a few times of being given “that look” by my friends and family I stopped mentioning him. For several years I’d go on one of my walks in the woods and Falcor follow me in the distance. He never got real close but he would always be in a nearby tree. I couldn’t explain why until one day when I was older I told the story of “Falcor the hawk” to a professor in my wildlife biology class. He was the first one to actually believe that the hawk was more than just the wild imagination of a little boy who played in the wilderness. He also had a pretty logical explanation for the bird’s odd behavior. He had done some work with The West Virginia Raptor Rehabilitation Center and theorized that Falcor had come out of that program and that for some reason I must have reminded him of one of his caretakers. So it turns out that Falcor may have been waiting to be fed. Whatever the hawks motivation was to follow me around for a few years he still the coolest “pet” that I never actually owned and he has severed as the inspiration for a couple of characters in a couple of fiction stories that I will finish one day. Even today I’m reminded of him every time I see a hawk that seems to just be hanging out near humans.

Image Titled “The Hunter On The Fence Post.

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The Feathered Little Minstrel.

Color Photography, wildlife

Hello friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Indignant Mockingbird “and is available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.

One of the things that I most look forward to at the end of winter is the return of the birdsong to my forests. And the rock star of the Appalachian Mountains is the mockingbird. Not all mockingbirds migrate. Some do and some don’t. Perhaps the ones that stay can’t really afford to take time off work or maybe the others are retired and have no reason to brave the cold. But the ones who stay seem to hold their peace through the dark months. Even though this winter has been a little on the mild side it wasn’t until after I noticed the days getting longer again that I heard the familiar rapidly changing song of the mockingbird. He likes to hang out in the picnic area in back of the office at my day job where he can find the occasional dropped morsels of food. I was thrilled to hear him again but he apparently wasn’t really as happy to see me. Being a city bird he’s pretty used the presence of humans and so when I sat down he hopped over expecting a tip for his songs in the form of a few crumbs. I however only had my camera in hand. The feathered little minstrel hopped around examining the grass for signs of a meal but upon finding only the grass he turned and gave me look which was captured in tonight’s feature image. I can’t really blame him for his Indignant attitude. After all, he welcomed me with a song and received nothing in return. And that really hurts when you work for tips!

Having expressed his scorn the mockingbird quickly moved to the trees and returned to his song hoping that the next human who comes along would be a better tipper.

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Prince Of The Forest 3

Color Photography, wildlife

The young prince treads gently over the moss laden earth. His keen ears constantly zero in on every noise. As the soft mist floats by he moves to a spot where the lichens grow to feed. He seems to be completely at ease with the big blue truck slowly drifting along beside him. The park is his domain and he sees humans and trucks every day.

It’s a safe bet that he knew of my presence long before I saw him. Those ears that are angled backwards are keen enough that he can probably hear my heartbeat. I try to remember to breathe in long slow breaths to keep my heartbeat in sync with his. The ploy seems to work as he looks into the window of the truck for a moment and goes back to his meal. Not wanting to disturb him too much I lift my foot from the break and idle away. I want the deer to continue to be completely comfortable with my presence in hopes that I’ll be able to get closer next time.

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A Summer Throwback To A Day With A Bumblebee

Color Photography, wildlife

Hello friends! Tonight’s feature image is titled “Bumblebee And Jewelweed 9319” and is available for purchase by the instructions at the bottom of the article.

The slight sweet scent of multiple wildflowers lingers on the warm breeze as I meander along the edge of my forest. I live in an area known to be populated by rattlesnakes so I tread lightly and listen for the tell tale buzz that would let me know I’m not alone. I have lived in the area since the early 90s and only spotted a handful of rattlesnakes but they are definitely around. I don’t fear them but it’s wise to treat the one you didn’t see with respect. Eventually I heard a buzz but it wasn’t a snake. It was a busy little bumblebee lazily floating from flower to flower collecting pollen and nectar for her bread. She loves the Jewelweed and crawls right up into the flower as deep as she can often disappearing completely.

It took me a long time to get comfortable with any kind of bee after a bad experience with the European Bald Face Hornet as a young child. There was an empty wash tub upside down near the barn and I jumped on it. It was rusted out my foot went through the bottom and right into the nest. Hundreds of angry little warriors covered my foot and lower leg but fortunately couldn’t sting through the thick clothes if that era. However, the fear stuck with me up into adulthood. By facing my fear and forcing myself to get closer to them I can now even tolerate that black hornet and allow the wasps to get close.

The bumblebee is a great mom but a lousy business partner. She only makes enough honey and bee bread for her brood. No extra for the human who refused to clear out the weeds she feeds on. But that’s ok as long as she visits my garden too.

I snapped a few shots of her as she went about her chores and eventually left her to the tasks at hand.

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