Category: eagles
Part II, Cameras I Have Known: Olympus EM Series
by Susan
I started with the EM10 beginning in late 2019, during my early days. Although this camera had raw capabilities, I didn’t bother with raw files back then. The jpgs it produced were. . .not bad, really. Besides, I dreaded postprocessing, which I knew nothing about. Besides, it was something (I thought) jpgs didn’t need, not when my Olympus did most of the work for … Read More Part II, Cameras I Have Known: Olympus EM Series
+ bridge camera, Coots, Crane, Ducks, eagles, Fish, gear, Geese, grebes, heron, Migration, mirrorless, Montezuma, muskrat, natural, swans, Uncategorized
Carnage Continued: Montezuma National Wildlife…Place
by Susan
Apparently little has changed since 2017, when the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge thought it might be a good idea to devote each spring and summer to cultivating vegetation, hoping to attract large numbers of waterfowl to the refuge during the fall migration. Sounds good on paper perhaps, but in practice this creates a wildlife nightmare. In order to provide sufficient acreage for their duck-food … Read More Carnage Continued: Montezuma National Wildlife…Place
+ Africa, Andy Nguyen, baboons, Birds, Crane, eagles, egret, Fish, Geese, giraffes, hippo, Kenya, lions, Maasai Mara, mirrorless, monkeys, Naivasha, Nakuru, rhino, Uncategorized
(In and) Out of Africa
by Susan
Africa is beautiful! Kenya, to be specific. It was a truly unforgettable experience in many ways, not the least of which was the sprawling Maasai Mara and the incredible diversity of the wildlife it sustains. I left the Olympus cameras at home. We really wouldn’t be doing much walking, so lightweight gear was not a consideration. Instead, I used the full-frame Nikon d850 and … Read More (In and) Out of Africa
Wild Wings Day 3: The Star
by Susan
We went out twice on Day 3, once in the morning and once in the evening during the golden hours of sunrise and sunset. The choice of Star of the Day was actually quite difficult, as several lovely and not-so-lovely candidates had to be considered. The first candidate would have to be the purple gallinule. The morning light glistened off its iridescent feathers — … Read More Wild Wings Day 3: The Star
+ Birds, bridge camera, Crane, Ducks, eagles, egret, gear, Geese, heron, mirrorless, Red-tail hawk, swans, Uncategorized
Sony a7ii
by Susan
I really love my Olympus gear, but I can’t ignore the full-frame fuss any longer. So, I took the plunge and bought a (used) Sony — not the latest model and certainly not the most expensive — but one that Digital Camera World recommended as a very capable and affordable full-frame, as long as you don’t do video (https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/buying-guides/best-full-frame-mirrorless-camera). Although still a relative newbie … Read More Sony a7ii
+ Andrea van Beausichem, Andrea van Beusichem, Birds, Coots, Ducks, eagles, egret, Fish, Geese, heron, Migration, Montezuma, natural, osprey, sludge, swans, Uncategorized
Montezuma Waterfowl Refuge?
by Susan
If current practices persist, this name change would certainly be warranted. For the past three years (2018-2021) each of the pools here have been groomed for a single purpose — to create a habitat for ducks — as well as geese and swans but primarily ducks. And only geese and swans but primarily ducks. So, in early spring the pools are drained down to … Read More Montezuma Waterfowl Refuge?
+ Birds, Butler, NY, eagles, Fish, Geese, heron, insects, osprey, Uncategorized
Do the Dew
by Susan
Which means you will have to get up early, before dawn even! Because you can’t do the dew if the sun dries it up before you get there. But it’s worth the extra effort of getting up and out of the house. The dew lets you see things you might have overlooked in the middle of the day. . . . . .or which … Read More Do the Dew
+ Birds, eagles, gear, Uncategorized
A Not-So-Quiet Day at the Marsh
by Susan
I thought it was going to be one of those quiet summer days with wildlife languishing in the sun, too hot to forage or preen, thus limiting my photo ops to flowers and sparkly water. But it was not meant to be, not if the blackbirds had anything to say. Turns out they had a lot to say, and do! Today there were a … Read More A Not-So-Quiet Day at the Marsh
+ Birds, eagles, gear, mirrorless, muskrat, Uncategorized
Just Too Hot
by Susan
Summer is like that. Sometimes it’s just too hot and too dry. . .even for an eagle! The water levels are still very low at the National Wildlife Refuge, but it’s breezy and cool out in the marsh, much more so than on the hot and dusty Wildlife Drive — which was slightly stinky from the scattered carrion. So, it was no surprise to … Read More Just Too Hot
+ Birds, eagles, Fish, Uncategorized
Bye-bye Mom!
by Susan
“I’m a big boy now!” says Son #1. Meanwhile, back at the nest, Son #2 gets some wise advice from Mom. He will likely join his brother in the brand-new world of fledglings in a few days or maybe a week or two. Eagles take about 10-12 weeks to grow from nestling to fledgling, but it will take a lot longer (5 years!) before … Read More Bye-bye Mom!
+ Birds, eagles, Fish, gear, heron, mirrorless, Uncategorized
Friends in High Places
by Susan
Garth Brooks has friends in low places, but he has reason to prefer his low-placed pals — singing about them has pulled in a ton of money! But he is really missing out. I have soooo many friends in high places! Most numerous of these are probably the osprey. Last year I counted 19 osprey nests on and around the stretch of Rt. 89 … Read More Friends in High Places
+ Birds, Caspian Tern, Coots, Ducks, eagles, egret, Fish, Geese, grebes, heron, muskrat, Uncategorized
West Shore Trail
by Susan
West Shore Trail is in the northern part of the Montezuma Wetland Complex. It’s rather isolated; nobody seems to go there much except me. That’s too bad because now that the simulated drought is over, the water levels at West Shore have risen even higher than those at the main pool in Seneca Falls, and the resident wildlife is even more varied here than … Read More West Shore Trail
Seen by Susan: Fun with Flora and Fauna 
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