I got the Bluebird at Daniel Webster Wildlife Sanctuary.
The Cardinal photo still isn’t quite where I want it to be but it is getting closer. Got this one at The Grist Mill Pond in Plymouth. He surprised me. I had just taken the camera out of the car and I turned around and there he was. I had about 2 seconds to try to get a picture before he flew off. Silly red birds just keep teasing me!
After a busy morning followed by a pleasant lunch with my friend Nancy, I was looking forward to a busy afternoon as well. I thought your days off from work were supposed to be a chance to relax and regroup before it was back to the “old grind”. Sure they are …NOT!
I made my first afternoon stop at Ritz Camera in Hingham where I ran into the manager, Sean. I asked him if he had managed to get over to the Daniel Webster Wildlife Sanctuary on Monday and he said yes while grabbing his camera to show me what pictures he got. Monday was windy so he has caught some really cute shots of little a Titmouse with its feathers being blown by the wind. The detail was exquisite.
After my visit I headed out to drop in at work. Yes I know it was my day off but there was a guest in my department that I wanted to meet face to face. We’d been talking on the phone and sending text messages for over 4 years, not always in the most cooperative manner, if you get my drift. I felt it was time to meet. Unfortunately the day was warm and the sky was blue and I had to drive right by the exit to Daniel Webster Wildlife Sanctuary to get to the office. I think you know where this is going. 🙂
I really only intended to stay at the Sanctuary for a few minutes but no sooner did I started down the trail than I met a returning man with a camera around his neck. He said the deer were out in the “Secret Meadow”. Cool! I wasn’t dressed for a hike but I headed that way anyway.
On the way I had to pass one of the “blinds” and decided to stop in. If past experience is anything, those deer weren’t going anywhere.
The “Blind” is a little wooden shack that sits on the banks of one of the ponds in the sanctuary. There are windows and a bench where you can watch the birds and animals in any kind of weather. There was another photographer there, this time a woman, and she had a big lens and a really solid tripod. I admit that I felt a little intimidated with my flimsy $20.00 tripod and even my 300-500 lens looked tiny next to hers. She whispered to me that there was a bittern that was in the reeds . I’d scared it with my entry into the blind ( Oh Oh not a good start) but maybe it would be back.
I tried my best to be quiet as I set up but I confess I was all thumbs. I’m used to being alone and the presence of another photographer with such expensive equipment was doing a number on my nerves. I thought about leaving but felt that would be worse so I “toughed” it out.
Lots of Canada geese, some swallows swooping over the water and at the far end of the pond some ducks…too far away to ID.
I went for something closer to get a handle on my nerves..a couple of turtles.
I could hear her camera clicking away and the motor on her burst mode humming. I was set on single shot but I didn’t feel any need to change that setting. Then I spotted the bittern.
It was right near the blind so I pointed it out to my companion. She hadn’t spotted it yet. That one small thing seemed to break the ice. Now we were a team sharing observations and tips, no longer separated by experience or quality and expense of equipment.
The bittern looked like it was listening carefully.
It would tilt its head and then freeze. Satisfied with whatever it heard it would wiggle it’s tail feathers and backside much like the way a cat wiggles it’s tail and rear when it’s stalking a mouse or other prey. Then a forward step or two and it would freeze again.
It was a slow process but we watched every second sometimes having to remind ourselves to breathe. Finally he found what he was looking for. His head pulled back until it was sitting on it’s “shoulders” than flew forward getting buried in the water and muck.
When it first came up it looked like all he had was a big clump of weeds but he carried these “weeds” over to a clump of reeds and began dipping the weeds in the water.
I thought of a raccoon washing his meal. As we watched the weeds slowly dropped away and there was a frog. It wasn’t a huge frog but then the Bittern isn’t a big bird. The next 5-10 minutes were taken up with maneuvering.
The bird had to get that frog in position so it could eat it. It didn’t put it down and peck it to death rather it seemed to reposition the live frog in its beak by carefully making minute movements.
Then all of a sudden the head went up! We saw the frog head downward , legs in the air and then it was in that bird’s gullet! He bobbed his head a few times like he was swallowing , we could see the bulge of the frog in it’s skinny throat and then it was over. The bird, back to normal now, slipped back into the reeds. WOW!
It was intense. I don’t know how long that little drama took to play out. It didn’t seem like it was too long but when I glanced at the time It was 5 pm! I’d spent over 2 hours in the blind!
I packed up my gear and said goodbye to my fellow photographer. As I left the blind I felt as thrilled as if I’d been on a safari. I met another photographer just coming in. He asked me what was out and I passed on the deer info and told him what we’d just witnessed. It’s the first time I’ve seen other photographers here even though I know it’s a popular place for photos. Now I feel like I’m part of the community too.
I never made it to the office but I could not have asked for a better day!
A bird in hand is worth 2 in a bush….
Two in a Bush
As I mentioned in my last post on Animal Kingdom, I love this park. As a result I took loads of pictures here. I couldn’t fit them all in the last post so here’s a few I skipped.
I have to thank Joe for some of these pictures.
I may have taken them but he’s the one who saved the day. I always carry an extra camera battery and SD cards. I brought both with me to Animal Kingdom but in an effort to travel “light” I left my camera case in the car. You guessed it. I filled my card and didn’t have another one with me! My extra cards were in my camera bag back in the parking lot! Joe saved the day because he had a pocketful of them. Thanks Joe. I wouldn’t have half these shots if you hadn’t come through!
We passed Pelicans on the safari.
But there were lots more birds in the aviary. As you can see, they have first class bird houses.
We also made a detour to Dino land.
Here are a few more shots from the Lion King.
And Finding Nemo
Anyone want to wrestle a Komodo Dragon? It’s real not a statue even if it stayed pretty still.
Another Tiger stalked the grounds.
One look at these riders on the Mt Everest Coaster and you can see why I stayed on the ground! 🙂
No offence to Minnie & Mickey’s Magic Kingdom or Adventure Land or any of the other parks in the Disney World universe but I love, love, love Animal Kingdom. The only thing I would like better is if the safari ride was longer.
In fact I would just spend the day riding it over and over but Joe wasn’t buying that.
We actually met up at my condo so we could use just 1 car. We checked out the breakfast buffet at Sizzler…only $4.99 and quite extensive and then it was off to the parks. On the way we stopped in front of the big Disney World Sign so for a photo opportunity.
Of course there were signs everywhere that said “No Stopping” but I just pretended I couldn’t read. Joe did the honors.
Once in the parking lot we hopped on the tram for the trip to the park.
As we were entering Joe spotted some of his co-workers and stopped for a chat. He spent a “tour of duty” in Animal Kingdom before he was moved to the photography cast and assigned to the Hollywood Studios Park.
We wandered the various “countries” looking a the different animals. I loved the tigers but they weren’t being the most cooperative for pictures. I managed to get a couple through the glass side of the enclosure.
What gorgeous cats.
The bird aviery was really cool too but finally we reached the Safari Ride.
Joe was right about it being a slow week. We had no line. The trucks were going out without being full.
I was on the right side of the truck on this ride and it seemed like all the cool animals were on the left. Just my luck.
There were hippos and crocodiles..or was it alligators, I forget which, pelicans, rhinos, giraffes, spring bok, wildebeest and other antelope and lions. Of course lions. What kind of safari would it be without the “King”?
And yes, Hippos do get sunburned.
You had to shoot fast because the truck doesn’t stop so good shots were a challenge with the motion of the truck exaggerating camera shake.
After the safari Joe said it was time for a show. We headed across the park to the theater where the show The Lion King Celebration was presented. We got some pretty good seats. Loved the music! Hakuna Matata! The sets were amazing as only Disney can pull off!
Lunch time and we visited the open air snack bar. We both opted for Sweet and Sour Chicken. Not bad for fast food.
There were birds every where begging for tid-bits and snatching up dropped food. A mother duck and her brood were trying to get from the pond to the picnic area but a cast member kept shooing them back to the water. They were very persistent.
The chimps were really going all out in their enclosures. Swinging around the tower in the center of the enclosure. That was pretty amazing to see.
About that time Joe said it was time to go see Finding Nemo the Musical. Ok so we were off to another show. This was just as good as the Lion King. The funny thing is that if Joe hadn’t been with me and insisted we go, I would have skipped both shows in favor of the real live animals and that would have been a shame. Both are outstanding shows and worth taking the time to see.
I saw the Mt Everest coaster ride but was content to just watch and of course there was a parade! 🙂
Animal Kingdom closes at 5pm and the afternoon was winding down. I begged one more ride on the Safari. When we got there it was almost empty but once again my place in line was about to put me on the right side in the truck. I asked the gate attendant if I could please sit on the left. Since it was slow he said yes and directed me to a different row.
This time our driver actually stopped to give us time to take pictures of the animals. I am sure it was because it was the end of the day and not many people were taking the ride. He didn’t have to worry about a little delay.
After this ride it was time to leave this park but we weren’t finished with Disney yet. We were headed over to Epcot for dinner and to see one more night of fireworks.