This is an image of a garter snake I encountered in my yard for the second time in 2 days. I wanted to move him somewhere my dogs could not get him. They are not fond of snakes. As I was holding him I realized I had my 60mm lense on my camera and could actually take some photos while I was holding him. So I did.
Since moving to a more rural area four years ago we have had periodic visits from black bears. They typically make there presence known in early spring after emerging from hibernation. They like to forage on bird feeders. On several occasions they have plundered my feeders occasionally destroying them. On a few occasions my wife and I have been able to see the bears. Usually just a glimpse as they move off into the woods and usually at night in low light. This time I was able to see one during a time of day in which it would be light out. The only down side was that it was a very overcast and foggy day. My camera at times could not even focus on the bear through the dense fog requiring manual focus. It was very interesting to observe the bears behavior. I was happy to be able to get my first quality photographs of a black bear.
It looks like it is finally that time of year. The time of year of which I speak is the time of year when raptors that migrate south for the winter begin to return to the north east United States. This is one of my favorite times of year. One of my favorite and most sought after subjects for my photography are birds of prey.
Over the past few weeks the broad winged hawks that are normally active in our woods have returned. I can year their calls on a fairly regular basis. Their familiar screech is quite noticeable out in the country when there are few other sounds. I have seen them circling the woods, streaking over my house, and soaring high overhead. I have been fortunate enough to see multiple broad wings flying through the same patch of sky. Hopefully one pair will choose our woods to nest in.
There are generally bald eagles to be seen in this area as well. Last week I saw my first bald eagle of the spring season as I was driving down the highway on my way home. They are often seen over the highway because it intersects so many waterways in the area.
Today I saw my first osprey of the year. I was so excited to see one that I took a detour from my original drive home route so that I could watch it longer and maybe observe some hunting behavior. I drove over the bridge to cross the river watching the osprey all the while. I saw it raise up and hover in one spot while it rapidly flapped its wings. This is sometimes a sign it has spotted some prey and is about to dive down into the water to catch it. I was not able to keep the osprey in sight long enough to see if it dove for prey.
I love to photograph my dogs but I cannot possibly live with one of every breed of dog that I like. So to fulfill my desire to photograph more breeds of dogs than just the ones that I am lucky enough to live my life with I keep my eyes open for opportunities to photograph other dogs. I may not be out looking specifically to photograph dogs but if I see one while I am out I may stop and photograph it quickly if the opportunity presents itself. I have photographed dogs at local parks that I have happened to come across. I have photographed dogs while on vacation in Bar Harbor, Maine. Some of which were on vacation themselves. I have even stopped my car while driving down the road and rolled down my window to photograph a dog that was walking down a local street alone as it passed by me.
When I used to think about agility compatitions I generally thought of border collies and austrailian shepherds and similar dogs participating in these competitions. To my surprise I saw all types of dogs competing and enjoying it. There were Dalmatians, Collies, Doberman Pinschers, Rottweiler, as well as Australian Sheppard’s among others competing. It was quite a variety. I could go on and on about dogs and dog shows but I won’t for now. Perhaps in another post.
