Pictures from Montezuma

Here are a few of the many photographs that I took while out birding on Thursday at the Montezuma Wildlife Refuge and the Montezuma Audubon Center.

I like the look of cattails and phragmites flower heads in early spring before they begin to be torn apart by age and birds looking for nesting material. The cattails in particular remind me of the old fashioned fireworks rockets and seem to be celebrating the rapid growth that is about to happen in the marsh. The little bit of fuzziness present in these two photos can be attributed to the slight breeze that was blowing.

Cattails Montezuma Wildlife Refuge

Phragmites Montezuma Wildlife Refuge

The carp from the Seneca Canal really, really wanted to get into the shallow ponds of the refuge. Unfortunately for them a wire mesh gate will make their attempt futile...tiring, but futile just the same. They were whipping the water into a froth.

Carp Montezuma Wildlife Refuge

A muskrat popped up on the edge of the mass of carp. It seemed unperturbed by the presence of the photographers only a few feet away and swam around the edge of the boiling mass of carp.

Muskrat Montezuma Wildlife Refuge

Finally, decidig the shortest distance between two points was indeed a straight line, the muskrat walked over the backs of the carp to get to the other side. As one on-looker put it, "It looks like a logger on an old-fashioned river drive walking a mass of floating logs."

Muskrat walks on Carp Montezuma Wildlife Refuge

Finally, two shots of flying birds that came out relatively well. First three Tundra Swans that flew past us at a reasonable altitude--twice--while we were at the Audubon Center. It was nice of them to give us a second chance!

Tundra Swans Montezuma Audubon Center

And finally an immature Bald Eagle that wasn't so kind. Once we got out of the truck to start taking pictures, it and its partner, headed further and further away. It would have been better if it had circled once over the truck before heading out across the ponds, but, alas, it was not to be.

Immature Bald Eagle Montezuma Wildlife Refuge

This was the first time I attempted to photograph flying birds and it's damn tough! Just trying to get them in the view finder is difficult enough but the the auto focus kept whirring in and out trying to latch onto some image. Still, that's what we went to the refuge for. Gary's giving a talk at the combined meeting of the Photography Club and Audubon Society about bird photography and he wanted to add to his slide show. With the Snow Geese already headed north and even Canada Geese somewhat low in numbers, we didn't get many chances. Perhaps if we had brought some duck calls....