Happy Birthday to the Bird Nerd!
I just wanted to wish the founder of our blog (and my father-in-law) a very happy birthday! Reaching 162 years old is quite an accomplishment! =)
AKA BIRD NERD
North American Bird Photos, Fieldguides, Puzzles and More
Blue-eyed Darner – Rhionaeschna multicolor
Photo By Shawn Weigelt
August 29, 2010
Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, Washington
While walking along the boardwalk at Nisqually yesterday, the Bird Nerd spotted this handsome male Blue-eyed Darner on the ground. I was very excited as this was my first close-up view of one of my favorite species of dragonfly. It soon became apparent, however, that this guy was acting very lethargic and probably on his way out. I didn’t want him to get stepped on so I picked him up and set him on the railing. Of course doing this also provided me with a better opportunity to snap some photos! This was my best shot and shows some great details that would otherwise be very difficult to capture on these very active and speedy fliers. The black pseudo-pupils are clearly evident on those massive compound eyes. A rough measurement of this large dragonfly’s wingspan was about the width of my hand at the knuckles, at least 3-1/2 inches!
Nikon D80 70-300mm VR at 185mm, 1/250sec, ISO 400, f/5.3, hand held
Baby Racoons!
Photos By Shawn Weigelt
August 29, 2010
Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, Washington
AWWWW!!! While on a family, “bird walk,” at Nisqually yesterday the birds were few and far between. My wife, Malia, commented that we were seeing more mammals than birds because we ended up seeing a Gray Squirrel, a River Otter, a Musk Rat, and a mommy Racoon teaching her four youngsters how to forage in the creek for food! This one watched us closely as we were ogling them, and those dexterous front paws never stopped moving under the water. CUTE!
Nikon D80 70-300mm VR
Mallard – Anas platyrhynchos
Photo By Shawn Weigelt
August 23, 2010
Carrie Blake Park, Sequim, Washington
I liked how this shot turned out with the duck’s reflection in the pond. Despite lacking the characteristic green head, this is actually a male Mallard in non-breeding plumage. The bright yellow bill distinguishes it from a female.
Nikon D80 70-300mm VR at 220mm, 1/50sec, ISO 200, f/5.6, hand held
Red-necked Phalarope – Phalaropus lobatus
Photo By Shawn Weigelt
August 25, 2010
Case Inlet, Puget Sound, Washington
While taking a boat ride in Case Inlet this afternoon we came across a little flotilla of 25 phalaropes! I’ve never seen any before and didn’t have my field guide with me, but I was pretty confident at what I was looking at. I tried to take pictures with my wife’s super zoom point and shoot (the only camera I had with me at the time) and this was the only picture I got before the batteries died! This is definitely a far cry from an artistic bird photograph but at least serves the purpose for identification. I was very pleased to pick up this lifer today and will not be leaving on boat trips without my DSLR again!
Canon SX10IS
Bonaparte’s Gull – Chroicocephalus philadelphia
Photo By Shawn Weigelt
August 25, 2010
Case Inlet, just offshore of McMicken Island, Washington
I don’t usually like to post my marginal photos to the blog but this is my first photographic record of this species with only my wife’s super zoom point and shoot to work with! While taking an afternoon boat ride in Case Inlet we spotted about five to six of these pretty little gulls near McMicken Island.
Canon SX10IS
Striped Meadowhawk – Sympetrum pallipes
Photos By Shawn Weigelt
August 17, 2010
Northwest Trek, Eatonville, Washington
We took our kids to Northwest Trek recently, which is a nature park featuring wildlife native to the Pacific Northwest. These pretty little dragonflies seemed to be in every clearing at the park and I took any opportunity I could to photograph them.
Nikon D80 70-300mm VR, ISO 200, f/5.6, hand held
1) at 300mm, 1/200sec
2) at 250mm, 1/200sec
3) at 300, 1/320sec
I love it when they hold still!
Those legs are perfectly designed bug catchers!
The Loaner Lens
Photos By Shawn Weigelt
The bird nerd recently went on vacation to California, and so I loaned him my 70-300mm VR lens, my primary tool for bird photography. He really needs a lens that he can carry around easily, doesn’t require a tripod, takes good photos, and, perhaps most importantly, doesn’t cost thousands of dollars! In return for borrowing my mainstay lens, the bird nerd was gracious enough to allow me to use his 55-200. This is by no means a high end piece of glass and does not have Vibration Reduction (or VR) technology, but I tried to make the most of it anyway. The following photos I took around the house or at nearby Theler Wetlands and are my personal showcase of what I was able to do with the, “loaner lens.”
Nikon D80 55-200mm
Canada Thistle
Cone Flower
Dahlia
Lilly