June 26, 2016

I was fortunate enough to have an opportunity to visit the coastal region of North Carolina this weekend.  After reviewing information online I decided to focus my visit to Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge.

While researching this area I found out there is a large concentration of black bears which was very exciting to me. The preserve is very wet with canals and irrigation ditches covering all of the property that I saw, the area is flooded in  fall  attracting huge numbers of  waterfowl migrating down the eastern flyway. The wooded areas are extremely thick and swampy with the levees dividing them into management units.

I made a trip to the preserve visitors center over on Roanoke Island and took a few shots there as well including the bridge and the mocking bird.

 I took this shot along Highway 64 near Columbia North Carolina on the drive from Raleigh to the coastal areas.

 This bear was not crazy about my hanging around!

 Some dragonfly varietys down here I had not seen before.

 Another bear! I would guess I saw about 25 or so during my visit.

 I caught this turtle on a road; I laid down on the road to get this ground level perspective on this guy.

This osprey carring a fish was shot on Roanoke Island.

This is the north bridge shot from Roanoke Island looking at the North Carolina coast.

June 19, 2016

I found a preserve very close to home and had some time this afternoon to wander through and take some shots. The preserve is a mix of meadow, marsh, and woodland. I caught this big bullfrog in a small, muddy, waterhole in the woods with the late day sun streaming through the trees lighting him beautifully.

June 18, 2016

I had a few hours to make a trip over to Blendon Woods this afternoon. I had no subject in mind when I went, I decided to just see what was around. I got a few more dragonflies and a northern flicker. There was a humming bird hanging around, the pictures just didn't turn out well.

The first picture here I have identified as a Carolina chickadee.The butterfly in the last shot I believe to be a red admiral.

June 7, 2016

I have been sitting on these for a few days trying to find a few spare minutes to process them. These are some random dragonflies that I shot; not really sure of the exact variety's. I really like the backgrounds on two of these, they blurred out perfectly!

I am always complaining I can't get close enough to many of the subjects I want to shoot, well I was able to get to the minimum focus distance (12') of the lens I was using. I actually had to back up a bit which presented the challenge of getting a good angle and not getting more grass between me and the dragonflies.

June 6, 2016

Got a few shots this evening. The Baltimore oriole is the most stunning bird I have seen in some time; sorry the shot isn't sharper. I had to chase him for some distance and could not get super close, distance and the soft light are not the best combination.

I believe the mallard chicks to be the same guys I shot a few weeks ago. They are growing nicely and replacing fuzz with real feathers.

June 1, 2016

I made a late afternoon trip to Deer Creek Wildlife Area on Memorial day. I actually got a picture of a hen pheasant, unfortunately it came out soft but I am going to post it here anyway. There was a time not so long ago that seeing a wild pheasant in Ohio was a rarity; it is great to see them thriving thanks to good conservation practices and quality habitat management.

I like the reflection in the water on the last shot; the low sun angle added a really nice effect.