The entrance to our wetlands is only a few doors from our home:
On many mornings for the past two weeks the humidity has been high and the temperature close to the dew point, so we have been greeted by fog, especially thick over the lake.
Too often I strive to depict the birds in side-on "field guide" poses. A feather in disarray or an errant bit of foliage can spoil such images. Fog smooths out these defects and provides a natural filter for photo effects, obliterates the background and focuses attention on the subject and its immediate surroundings.
Composition and action seem more important than the plumage details of this Great Egret:
Images such as these of a Little Blue Heron are soft and lack detail, but I find them especially pleasing to the eye:
A pair of Mottled Ducks are barely identifiable:
Poor light muddles the image of a Belted Kingfisher but makes the setting almost look like an oil painting:
Street lights, still on almost two miles to the north, burn through the fog at sunrise
Just as the fog is lifting, the sun's glare is restrained and shadows are muted. The warm color temperature permits better display of plumage details, especially that of white birds such as the White Ibis and Great Egret:
I did not see these two Red-breasted Mergansers swimming away from me until they were too far away for a decent photo, but I loved the warmth of the sun playing on the grasses of the wet meadow:
A patch of sunlight pierces the fog next to these White Ibises:
Everything is coated with dew as the fog breaks up and droplets fill the air. I don't know what kind of composite flower this may be, but it is very tiny, only about 3/4 inch (2 cm) wide:
The spiders' webs are weighed down by dewdrops:
A necklace of silk and dewdrops:
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Linking to Misty's CAMERA CRITTERS,
Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,
Linking to GOOD FENCES by Gosia
Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy
Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James
Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni
Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart
Linking to Today's Flowers Friday by Denise
Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) by NC Sue
Linking to ALL SEASONS by Jesh
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Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display
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As usual, at about a half hour before sunrise, I started out into the local wetlands. Normally Mary Lou would have walked in with me, but she had somehow injured her back and temporarily had difficulty getting around. The sky overhead was clear but unusually dark, due to heavy storms over the ocean about 20 miles to the east.
This was the view from our back patio:
A crescent Moon hung very low in the sky, just rising above the cloud bank ahead of the sun. It was very "old," not to be seen again until three days later. After creating a partial eclipse the next day, it would reappear as the Snow Moon, to once more begin its flight away from the sun, and sink into the opposite horizon.
To my surprise, a sharply-demarcated heavy bank of fog hung over the path ahead. I entered the cloud and was enveloped, almost as if passing through an invisible door. Now it was not only darker but everything more than 20-30 yards away was suddenly invisible, and I felt so alone. For a moment my brain stem transported me back to childhood and I had a wave of the "goblin under the bed" syndrome.
That strange feeling led me to think of how spooky it would be if an owl suddenly started hooting, so I broke out my iPhone bird sound application and began playing the call of an Eastern Screech-Owl. The call kept repeating as I walked along, and the fog began to lift.
About half way into the wetlands I turned off my iPhone and put it back in my pocket.
Moments later, I thought my owl call started playing on its own, but then realized that a real owl was calling back. It was the monotone trill of the Screech-Owl, and it was emanating from a small tree right along the path.
The owl was well-hidden amid the pine needles and I tried to find a good angle for a photo without disturbing the bird. Although this species is not uncommon in established neighborhoods with mature trees, it was the first one (the 166th species) I have encountered in our local birding patch. Its outlines were barely visible in the predawn light:
This was about the best I could do:
Later, the empty perch:
Fast forward two weeks, and the full Snow Moon which lit up the night now sets into the lake just after sunrise:
By day, the sun shone on some brightly colored little birds. These are Northern Parula warblers. One surprised me by posing at eye level for the better part of 2 seconds as I feverishly clicked the shutter:
Now that the wetlands are beginning to dry up we are seeing fewer deer. They do not enjoy having continuously wet feet and surely welcome the seclusion of hammocks in the Everglades. This White-tail watched me intently before scampering back over the fence:
For Valentine's Day I presented Mary Lou with this photo of Lantana flowers wrapped in spider webs, which I posted to her on Facebook, saying, "The spiders worked all night to wrap your bouquet of Lantana blossoms in silk, and placed it right where I could find it this morning. For my lifetime best friend and lover MaryLou, with all my love!" One commentator said: "Men of science are so romantic. I would much rather have something like that than one of those corny, mushy cards they sell."
It's hard to believe that our first date was over 63 years ago, on December 27, 1953. (That one didn't work out, but we did eventually get together and were engaged in 1957!)
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Linking to Misty's CAMERA CRITTERS,
Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,
Linking to GOOD FENCES by Gosia
Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy
Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James
Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni
Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart
Linking to Today's Flowers Friday by Denise
Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) by NC Sue
Linking to ALL SEASONS by Jesh
________________________________________________
Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display
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We have had several foggy mornings here in south Florida. High humidity coupled with lower temperatures and calm winds create a layer of cooler air which settles over the ground. Under these conditions before sunrise the air may cool to the dew point (this morning in the low 60's F), causing moisture in the air to condense into tiny droplets-- a blanket of fog.
As the sun warms the ground, the droplets evaporate and give the appearance of "lifting" like a translucent ceiling above our heads as we walk out into the wetlands:
Fog imparts beauty to the wet prairie, defaced by abandoned utility poles and scarred by "wreckreational" off-road vehicles:
The diffuse light isolates subjects and creates interesting photo opportunities. A Great Egret reflects in the lake:
A Great Blue Heron accents the landscape as fog lingers along the far shore:
Not accustomed to the human presence, the heron squawks its disapproval:
A Great Egret comes to rest on a small island:
The sky brightens as the fog layer continues to melt. The lack of shadows softens the images of a Little Blue Heron:
On another misty morning before sunrise, the same or another Great Blue Heron shifts from a regal to a contorted posture:
Lakeside, a Belted Kingfisher:
A Palm Warbler in Brazilian Pepper:
A Turkey Vulture rests on the guard rail fence of the unfinished highway to nowhere:
A female Soldier sips nectar from a Bidens alba. These flowers are the richest source of nectar of all Florida's native plants, second only to cultivated citrus:
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Linking to Misty's CAMERA CRITTERS,
Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,
Linking to GOOD FENCES by Gosia
Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy
Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James
Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni
Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart
Linking to Today's Flowers Friday by Denise
Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) by NC Sue
Linking to ALL SEASONS by Jesh
________________________________________________
Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display
________________________________________________
It was a morning when you could truly "see what you were breathing." Fog shrouded the local wetlands. Dew coated my camera and binoculars, and weighed down the high blades of grass. A great Egret was barely visible through the murk:
The blanket of fog blurred the background and muted the colors in my images of the egret, imparting a two-dimensional effect:
Expecting that my photos had been ruined, I was surprised to see them on the computer screen back home. The egret's black legs stood out as if etched on rice paper:
Slowly, the fog lifted and the pine bank on the opposite shore gradually emerged into view:
A bedraggled dew-soaked Prairie Warbler eyed me curiously:
Nearby, an unruffled Northern Cardinal:
The sky brightened up, and a male Soldier basked in the light. This butterfly is often difficult to find in our patch:
The Lantana flowers attracted newly emerged male and female Julias:
A male American Kestrel, perched 100 yards away, had returned for the winter:
He suddenly flew right towards me-- was it something I said?
He kept watching me as he flew off:
Our friend Scott has ready access to the lake through a private gate, halfway into the wetlands preserve. We must walk 15-20 minutes to get this far:
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Linking to Misty's CAMERA CRITTERS,
Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,
Linking to GOOD FENCES by Gosia
Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy
Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James
Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni
Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart
Linking to Today's Flowers Friday by Denise
Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) by NC Sue
Linking to ALL SEASONS by Jeannette
________________________________________________
Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display
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