krnaturalphoto's Blog 
This past weekend was quite a fortunate one for me. I had a great time. I was able to get out in nature and enjoy myself quite a bit. I was able to experience nature first hand both at home and at local nature sites. It was a great time as a nature lover, birder, and photographer. I went hiking two days during the weekend. The first day I went hiking I was able to see a pair of yellow bellied sapsucker at their nest cavity. I was actually able to see the male emerge from the hole and land on a nearby tree. This was a first for me as I had never before seen a woodpecker at an active nest cavity. I could not tell if there were young inside. I did not hear anything to indicate there was and the adults were not bringing food to the cavity. I was able to watch them flit around amongst the nearby trees. It was quite an experience for me. This also resulted in me being able to get the best photographs to date of yellow bellied sapsuckers that I have ever been able to take. I look forward to visiting that spot again. That same day at home I noticed a pair of Baltimore orioles flying around our yard. After watching them for a while I determined that they kept returning to the same place over and over. I walked over to where they were going and discovered that they are building a nest high up in one of our aspen trees. This is the first active nest of Baltimore orioles I have ever seen. It will be nice to have a nest close by to observe over time. I was also able to get some nice shots of the orioles.
I just saw a nice photo of a person holding a hawk durring study that was being conducted. It reminded me how amazing it is to be able to have direct involvement with wild animals. Anyone who has had the oportunity to work with wild animals through scientific studies or other contact knows what I mean. I recently had the oportunity to rescue a sharp shinned hawk from a place it had gotten stuck. I was able to hold it and get it un stuck. Then it sat perched on my hand for a few moments before it took off and flew out into the night. It was one of the most memerable experiences of my life and I will never forget it. Has anyone had a similar experience.
Looks like today will be a good day to make progress on the “work” of photography. At least that is how I have come to think of it because that is how it has been explained by other professional photographers like Moose Peterson. The “work” of photography is all the stuff you have to do other than actually taking the photographs in order to make your business run. This means contacting editors, organizing images, sending mailings, and all of that other fun stuff. Days where weather or other circumstances do not permit us to be out in the field or actively shooting are good times to get caught up or even ahead on those other business aspects of being a photographer.
I am saddened as I learned late last night that another 100 year old tree along the Chemung River has been cut down. This tree had some special meaning to me as a photographer. For at least the past four years every winter I have been photographing a peregrine falcon. This falcon visits Elmira the same time of year every year and in the same location every year. The tree that was felled yesterday was his favorite perching locations. You could see him perched high in the tree as you drove over the bridge. It is in the location that I would frequently watch and photograph him. There were also other trees along that section of river which he liked to perch in. However, those trees are also being removed. There are other trees nearby but farther from the water that I have occasionally spotted him in. Hopefully he will like using those trees as much as the others and will continue to grace us with his presence. The trees are being removed in the name of safety as a measure of flood control. I hope that it was in deed a necessary measure although I have not seen any concrete evidence of supporting this. I am looking into it. I hope that I am wrong. It is impossible to replace 100 year old trees. I would hate to think they were cut down needlessly.
As a part time photographer that still has a day job it is crucial to find time to get in some photography as often as possible. One way I do this is by using my lunch breaks to make some images as often as I can. I have been fortunate that my last couple employers have been located in areas where photographic oportunities abound. Today I was able to take a five minute walk over to six mile creek in Ithaca, NY and sit along the stream and watch as the birds flew around at look for instances to take photographs. There were many grackles at the creek. I watched them as they hopped among the rocks. I was quickly able to anticipate when they would hop and try to get to the next rock with a few quick flaps of their wings. I focused on these instances as prime photographic oportunities.
Well here things go. I am now starting a blog. I would have never imagined I’d be doing this a few years ago. However, I have found become increasingly passionate about what I do and increasingly comfortable with technology. So it only made sense to combine my passion with the technology that is readily available. Thus the creation of this blog. In this blog I will discuss just about everything and anything that is related to photography and/or wildlife and nature. If you have any thoughts or comments I would love to read them as we begin this journey together. I hope you all enjoy reading my thoughts.