Uh-oh! Mr. RBW and Mrs. Cardinal have simultaneously landed on the old tree stump next to a cache of bark butter bits. This could lead to disaster unless one of them backs down. As you can see from the picture above, Mr. RBW doesn't look like he is considering a retreat. Check out those claws …
Winter walks in Holden Arboretum
My project for this week is assembling a portfolio of my winter trail walks . Although I take regular walks in Chagrin River Park which is only five minutes from my home, another of my favorite places to walk is Holden Arboretum. If you follow my blog regularly, you have seen many pictures from my …
Still practicing!
Not the birds. They don't need practice, but I definitely do! Today has been another cool and cloudy day on the south shore of Lake Erie, so instead of heading out on the trail in search of more photo opps, I am taking this opportunity to post the rest of yesterday's cloudy day B.I.A. photos. …
My current challenge
To achieve my goal of improving as a photographer I like to set challenges for myself, and currently I have challenged myself to capture sharp, well-composed, and exposed pictures of the birds I photograph...not when they are sitting still, but when they are in action, grabbing a bark butter bit and making their escape so …
A battle for the bark butter bits
Mr. Red-bellied woodpecker thought he had possession of the old fence post and had deluded himself into thinking the bark butter bits would all be his. Suddenly, to his shock, another RBW, this one a female, came swooping onto the scene to challenge him. His total control of the post was only temporary! Facing him across …
Adversaries!
I watched in amazement as a drama unfolded in the bog this afternoon. I was too far away to capture good quality pictures, but decided to share the action anyway. Sitting peaceably on a branch high in a tree, the red-tailed hawk wondered what hit him... ...and then hit him again. And a few more times for good …
I never know…
Fabulous Friday Faces You can find other F.F.F. blog posts here and my original gallery here. I never know what I'll see or who I'll meet when I set out on a trail walk with my camera. I don't actually plan these blog posts, they're usually just centered around the things I see and the people I meet along the trail. While …
Life along the trail
A little mystery and a near altercation This morning when I headed down the trail to check out the nesting boxes for signs of new life, I think I detected a chorus of little chirping sounds from inside one of the boxes. As I watched, a swallow flashed out of the box, way too fast …
A little fast action
Mr. Red-bellied Woodpecker discovered a cache of bark butter bits in the old tree stump and wasted no time flying in to get his share before they were all gone. I was standing nearby, hopefully out of sight, because I have been trying to learn the best settings on my camera to get action shots …
A ducky day!
Today was definitely a ducky day because I captured several good pictures of a Blue-winged Teal, a small dabbling duck. Yesterday two birders, walking along the edge of the bog in Chagrin River Park, told me where they had spotted the Teal. I looked and looked, without success, but today, when I wasn't even looking for …
SEEN ALONG THE TRAIL 