Winter Photography.

Just because the temperature drops, does not mean we have to put the camera away till' the spring.

Winter affords many different opportunities, including winter bird photography.

In many areas, the breeding birds that migrate south are replaced by birds coming from colder northern areas, such as the Purple Sandpiper in photo 1.

Photo's 2 & 3 are of Common Mergansers, male in the 2nd photo, and female in the photo above, which are resident species.

As with all wildlife photography, patience is the key. the sandpiper was photographed in the open, and after a few hours of stalking totally ignored me.

The Mergansers images were the result of many hours over several days shooting from a blind.

Blinds are great, as one can get close images with little or no stress to the subject, as it is not even aware you are there!

hopefully, others will get out and enjoy all that winter has to offer. (it makes it go faster too!)

cheers, and happy shooting.

Gary.

Seal Island Nova Scotia

Welcome to Seal Island Nova Scotia.

It is the southernmost part of Nova Scotia, Canada.

In October I had the good fortune of going to "Seal" with a group of birding friends.
We spent 5 days on the Island with sunny skies and warm temperatures the entire time, which is uncommon, considering it is in the Atlantic Ocean 20 miles offshore.

From sunrises, to sunsets, moonrises, and great company, Seal was an amazing trip.

There are fisher folk living seasonally on the island, as well as many, many, free range sheep.
Having sheep on Islands was a common practice years ago, so the survivors of the many shipwrecks around Nova Scotia would have a readily available food source.
Going there is almost like stepping back in time, and seeing a piece of our Maritime history.

Seal is a great migrant trap during migration, and we had about 103 species, including a few good ones like Peregrine Falcon, Gyrfalcon, Eastern Bluebirds, Indigo Bunting, and Long Eared Owl, to name a few.

All in all, a great trip, enjoy the collage of images!

Gary Murray.

Barred Owl Sleeping

Howdy!

Here are 3 images from an encounter I had with a sleeping Barred Owl in October 06'.

I went for a hike in my "usual spot", sans camera gear and encountered this owl.

I usually see one about once a year in these woods from point blank range- always when I don't have my gear!

This time I hiked out ( about a half hour), drove home 11 miles, grabbed my gear and then travelled back to the spot.

Imagine my surprise when I found that the owl had not moved an inch!

2hrs., and a few rolls of film later -yes film, the owl woke up preended, stretched checked me out then flew about 100 hundred yards away to another perch.

Not wanting to stress it, I packed up, kissed the ground, thanked the gods and continued on my merry way.

an amazing experience, not to mention a great capper after being foiled for the last several years.

cheers,

Gary.

Dunes in Winter, Pictou County Nova Scotia

late afternoon sun after a clearing storm makes for great images.