Category: Wildlife

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2016-03-20: What I’ve seen this week

Happy first day of spring! 🙂

It’s a very bird centred post this week – I had some infrequent visitors to the yard that I managed to capture, and I took a trip out to Vanderhoof on Saturday to visit the Nechako Migratory Bird Sanctuary, where there a currently a fairly large population of swans.  The light wasn’t in my favour, but I made the best of it (and be sure to check out tomorrow’s Monochrome Monday post, where my favourites from Saturday will be featured).  The lacklustre light has let me play around with editing a little more than I would otherwise, which has actually been a lot of fun.

And with that, I’ll leave it to the photos.

Have a wonderful week!

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Not a phenomenal photo by any stretch; I just think it’s so cool that I can capture Jupiter and 4 moons with my set-up. From top right: Io, Ganymede, Jupiter, Europa, Callisto. Being out looking at the stars makes me want to go rematch the movie 2001 A Space Odyssey. 1/8sec, f6.3, ISO 1000
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Since I was already outside taking a picture of Jupiter, ignoring the moon just didn’t seem right. 1/800sec, f6.3, ISO 1000
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I frequently see magpies around the neighbourhood, but it’s rare to see them hanging around the yard. This one stuck around just long enough to grab a photo through my office window. By the time I got outside, it was long gone. 1/1250sec, f6.0, ISO 1000
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Another bird I often see in the neighbourhood, but rarely in the yard. I’m pretty sure this is a raven, not a crow, but I’ll be totally honest, from photos I have a hard time distinguishing them, especially when perched. 1/1250sec, f6.3, ISO 1000
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A couple of swans having a morning gossip session. 1/800sec, f6.3, ISO 800
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I was told the number of swans that were there Saturday was really low (only maybe a hundred or so), but for me, I’ve never seen more than a couple at one time, so Iw as still impressed. The chattering was non-stop.

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For me, this one is all about the wing shape.
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Going for a little pre-flight jog across the water 🙂 1/1250sec, f6.3, ISO 1600
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As soon as one group set off (apparently for foraging at a nearby farmer’s field) the rest soon followed. I was happy to capture a group of them in various stagesof taking off.

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So low to the water, the wingtips are nearly touching.

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Off they go. 1/2500sec, f6.0, ISO 1250

 

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2016-03-18: Feel Good Friday

TGIF!

For today’s feel good Friday post, I thought I’d share a trio of big cats.

I hope you enjoy, and have a wonderful day 🙂

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A lioness and her cubs in the surprisingly lush Kalahari desert, most likely heading off to find a place to sleep off the heat of the day.
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3 more steps, and you’d say “Leopard, what leopard?” A master of camouflage heading into the tall grasses.
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It’s wonderful to have the opportunity to shoot from different vantage points. This cheetah climbed a hill as our vehicle was parked at the base, offering this unique view.

 

You can find these, and more, over at jennifersawicky.smugmug.com

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2016-03-14: Monochrome Monday

I came across a few shots  over the weekend that I thought deserved a re-edit.  Just please don’t ask me what type of birds these are, as I believe the majority are one of the many sparrows that are common around the lower mainland, but I really don’t have a clue!

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Happy Monday!

These, and others are available over at my Smugmug site

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2016-03-13: What I’ve seen this week

Last Sunday brought clear skies and a showing of the aurora; unfortunately I knew I would be really busy Monday morning, and decided to just hang around the yard and snap a few photos.  I did see a few glimpses, but I’m sure if I would have headed for an area with fewer tall trees, the view would have been outstanding.

I spent a bit of time outside today watching, and photographing, the redpolls.  I don’t think they will be here for much longer, but I know their absence will be filled with other birds heading back after wintering further south.

Signs of spring are all over the place; tree branches in bud, and more visible ground than snow, though yesterday we had quite the afternoon storm with driving wind, hail and a bit of snow.  My attempts to photograph the near sideways hail left me flat.

Wishing everyone a wonderful week; here are the photos.

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Aurora glow and a satellite passing by.
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The house, garage and forest getting in the way of a clear shot!
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There was a green glow to one side of the house, and magenta on the other.
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The hairy woodpecker stopped by one morning for some suet and to browse the trees in the back yard.

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The lovely redpolls.  I will be sad to see them leave, they are very spirited and chirpy in the yard.

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2016-03-11: Feel Good Friday

I came across the hashtag #FeelGoodFriday on a photo this morning, and not only was it a beautiful image that made me smile, but it inspired me to pick a photo pf my own as a feel good Friday photo.

This is one I have wanted to edit for a while, and doing so has made me happy.  The light in the desert of Namibia is so magical, I hope I captured a bit of that.

Enjoy, and TGIF!

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2016-03-11: Impala Rut

If you’re in Southern Africa in the autumn (April/May) you’ll be there during the impala rut.  And believe me, you’ll find yourself uttering the same phrase I did repeatedly “What on earth was that noise?”

I still don’t understand how a creature like this, can make a sound like that.  To hear it for yourself, check out sound number two on this website.

Both in Botswana and South Africa, we heard a lot of noise and commotion, and saw a few different groups of bachelors going crazy, running and jumping and locking horns.

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That’s the face that goes along with the noise.  So attractive!
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Is this what the ladies do when they hear that sound and see that face??? 🙂 I was in the right place at the right time to watch a herd of impala bounce through the bushes. This is a composite of 5 different photos.
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A clash of horns.
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Racing around, making noise, fighting about who is the manlier man.

 

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Unfortunately, the guys kind of lose their minds during this time, and throw their normal caution and vigilance to the wind.  The result…

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They end up as a snack for a hungry pride of lions (or leopards, cheetah, wild dog, hyaena).    This was actually a very interesting sighting in itself, you can see more about it here.
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2016-03-10: WPC Harmony

A warm sunny day, brilliant blue skies, lush green grasses and trees.  And an elephant.  Of course there’s an elephant. 🙂

My take on nature working in perfect, beautiful harmony.  And a reminder of a wonderfully happy day.

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Have a great day!

WPC: Harmony

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2016-03-07: Monochrome Monday & WPC Muse

I decided to combine my usual Monochrome Monday with a WPC topic of the week: Muse.  What topic do I return to time and time again?  What subject inspires me?  What am I ALWAYS excited to photograph?

If you’ve read this blog for more than a week, you’ll know the answer, it’s easy:

Elephants 🙂

I’d happily spend a day, a week, a lifetime in the presence of elephants.  Photographing them of course, but more importantly just being in their presence, enjoying their rumbles and trumpeting, feeling the vibrations of their communications at levels we can’t hear, revealing in their beautiful, peaceful nature.

Here are a couple photos that popped out at me this time for editing and posting.

Enjoy, and have a wonderful week.

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A bull elephant grazing at breakfast time. The sun was at the perfect angle for a lovely shadow of his trunk on the ground behind him. Timbavati, May 2015
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The perfect fly swatter.
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Shade is in short supply in the Damaraland desert. A family of elephants take turns under the shade of a small tree. Damaraland Camp, April 2015

 

Note – this isn’t the current WPC topic of the week… not even close.  But when I was looking for the current one, this spoke one spoke to me.  Onto Harmony later in the week.

WPC Muse

 

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