Saturday, May 21, 2011

The Magic Hedge - 5.20.11 - post 1

It finally got above 70 again yesterday so I headed out to the Hedge.  Migration season is starting to wane, but apparently there's still a few new species out there to find.


The really cool one was the Baltimore Oriole that followed me throughout the day.  Either that or there were a half-dozen of these guys out there.
I really, really wish this had come in more in focus.  Well, focused on the bird, not the tree bit in front of him.
Here he is, making sure I was still following him, I think. :)
Of *course* the best shot I get is from underneath him.  This is how my luck goes.
And there was a female Black Duck hanging out in front of the Hedge.  Most of the large wading birds tend to avoid the Hedge, since there's no large body of water within it and Lake Michigan is just beyond it.  She was apparently curious about where all the people were going.
Cardinals are a mainstay of the Hedge.  You can see them (and hear them) all year long.  I like this shot because his crest is up; that's a little more uncommon.
Most of the time, this is what you see of the chipmunks in this park.  Now you see them, now you don't.









But I've discovered this one little guy who lives in a fallen tree.  He's in a particularly interesting area of the Hedge where I often see woodpeckers and other cool birds.  Anyway, he bolts into his warren in there whenever he hears someone coming, but I've learned that if I stand still for a few minutes, he'll come creeping back out to see if the coast is clear.  When he sees me standing there, far enough away to not cause him to bolt back in, he freezes while he decides what I'm up to.  Gives me a great chance to get good pictures of him. :)

Tomorrow I'll post about the fog and bird nests.  You have to get creative when photographing both!  In the mean time, the oriole and the chipmunk go on the new species list.  So that's 30 total so far.  60% a little more than two weeks in.  Not too bad!





2 comments:

  1. Nice work with the chipmunk! They're so fast, I've tried to snap them and not had much luck.

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  2. Thanks. He's fun. :) It helps a lot that I've figured out where this guy lives. So we play the waiting game and I can usually get him to surface for a minute or two. :)

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