Spring Migration

What has become one of my favourite times of year in recent years is spring. Spring means Spring Migration. The time of year when all the birds come back to our area, as they pass through or stay in this area for the breeding season. Some of the first birds to arrive are the Raptors. Red-tailed Hawks, Northern Harriers, Bald Eagles, American Kestrels, to name a few. Like all birds species, not all birds migrate. Some stay in the northern areas as long as they can find food. But spring always means the arrival of many more.

Bald Eagle.

A first for me this year was travelling to Grimsby to the Beamer Memorial Conservation Area. There is a Hawk Tower here to watch the birds migrate back. This is a wonderful place for viewing the Spring Migration. According to their website (https://npca.ca/parks/beamer-memorial/) "Internationally recognized as an official ‘Important Bird Area’, spectacular birds of prey can be seen flying over the site during their spring migration. Best viewing times are March 1 through May 15 between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on warm, sunny days, especially with winds ahead of a warm front."

Red-shouldered Hawk.

Of course all different birds can be seen at different times. You can track what is being seen at http://hawkcount.org/. While I was there I was lucky enough to see Red-tailed Hawks, Red-shouldered Hawks, American Kestrels, as well as lots of Turkey Vultures. A Red-shouldered Hawk was a first for me. Unfortunately it wasn't as low as I would have liked, but I was still able to get a picture. Thankfully a Red-tailed Hawk was low enough for a real nice photograph.

Red-tailed Hawk.

On the tower there was someone there counting the birds and a few other very experienced bird watchers. This is very handy for myself, because I still have lots to learn. They were all very friendly and willing to answer any questions that I had. They explained how they knew if a bird was a migrating bird or a local bird. The local birds would fly erratically and circle back. They explained that these birds were showing the other birds what is their territory. The migrating birds would just continue flying in a straight line.

Eastern Bluebird.

It was amazing to see these birds just appear out of nowhere. One second the sky was clear, the next there were several birds. Following the Hawk Count website I saw that there were other days with many more birds than I saw, but I did see lots of birds and it was a great experience.

Sandhill Cranes.

Another treat during Spring Migration is the Sandhill Cranes and Tundra Swans around the Long Point area. There are days when you can see many flocks flying over, and resting in the fields. Sometimes they are hanging out together and they aren't hard to miss. The Tundra Swans stick out with their bright white plumage against the dull browns of the fields. And very tall Sandhill Cranes are quite easy to see even from a distance. Although sometimes the Sandhill Cranes are difficult to spot as their colour blends right in with the old corn stalks from the previous growing season. Another reason the Sandhill Cranes are easy to spot, is because they are very talkative, especially in the Spring. They make sure their presence is known. I love hearing a large flock of Sandhill Cranes flying over. They give you a heads up to prepare for a photograph.

Tundra Swan.

Another unbelievable sight is the large flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds that arrive. If you have never witnessed the Spring arrival or the Fall departure of the Red-winged Blackbirds, you need to put it on your bucket list. There are literally thousands of the Red-winged Blackbirds travelling together. One second they are in the air, then back down to the field. Then up again, then down again. A very mesmerizing experience. They are also very noisy as they are celebrating the arrival of spring.

American Goldfinch.

With the arrival of all these different bird species in their bold breeding season colours just makes you feel alive. You've made it through the long winter, and you can look ahead to the warmer weather in the summer months while you wait for the Fall migration.

Till next time,

What is the Best Camera?

I get asked all the time "What is the best camera?". There are two ways to answer this. One way to answer this question, is actually impossible (I hope that makes sense to everyone). First of all I am no expert on all the cameras that are available. There are many great brands which you will hear good things about from their loyal customers. And of course the answer is always "depends". Depends on what you are going to shoot. Whether it be wildlife, sports, portraits, fine art etc. Different cameras are better in different situations. It's best to do lots of research and ask other photographers to see what they are using in certain situations.

Sandhill Cranes passing over the Long Point area.

The proper answer to this question is "the camera that you have". The camera that you have with you is always the best camera. Always use your camera to its full potential. You will learn that situations are not always perfect and there isn't anything you can do about it. So you take the conditions you have and the camera that you have and do your best. I once read that someone didn't take pictures of large birds if there was a clear sky. This doesn't make any sense to me. If I have a chance to get a picture of a Bald Eagle, or Osprey, I will do my best to take that picture no matter what the conditions are. Of course I will always want to have the conditions better, that's just natural for a photographer, but to not even try because something isn't quite right, is just a waste of an opportunity.

Sandhill Crane fly over.

Of course you want to keep in mind where the sun is, what time of day it is etc. But preplanning isn't always possible, especially if you are shooting wildlife, they don't like to cooperate. You accept the conditions you have and the camera you have, and use what you have learned and apply it to your photograph. You will surprise yourself what is possible.

A few months ago I had to send my everyday shooter in for a check up and cleaning. They told me it was going to be about 6 weeks. I put it off because I certainly didn't want to be without if for 6 weeks. What was I going to do without it? But finally I had to do it, as the issues it was having was driving me crazy. So in it went. At first I thought about just taking a break from photography while I waited for my camera, but this didn't last long.

A pair of Red-tailed Hawks.

After a couple weeks I pulled out my trusty backup. It's a fairly old camera, and I didn't expect much in performance. But it was all I had and I would make the best of it. One thing I like to do drive along the lake and see what kind of critters (mostly birds) I can find and photograph. Not only is the photography therapeutic, so is the drive itself.

The adventure started off with a bang. As soon as I walked out of my house, I saw a large bird of prey in the field across the road flying right at me. I'm not sure what it was, but it looked like a Harrier from first glance. Problem was, I didn't even have a memory card in my camera yet. So I quickly put one in, and got an error message in my camera right away. First I thought maybe the lens wasn't connected properly, but after checking it, it was fine. After a minute or so with the bird circling about head height or less, I thought maybe it was a memory card issue. And it was. The capacity was too large for the older camera. I then put in a smaller capacity memory card and attempted a photo. Well the next issue was that all the buttons are in a different location from my everyday shooter, so it took me a minute to remember where they were. After all of this I missed my first opportunity with old faithful. It was a valuable lesson for myself and everyone else, to give yourself a refresher on your camera before you head out the door.

Lunar eclipse.

Once I remembered where everything was, and got the proper memory card in the camera, I was quite pleased how my pictures were turning out. It was actually a fun experience because it was so different from what I had gotten used to. The everyday shooter is a full frame camera and old faithful is a crop sensor so there are quite a few differences in the two to make things very interesting.

Don't get me wrong, I was extremely happy to get my everyday shooter back, but I took what I had and made the best of it. That's all you can ask of yourself and your equipment.

Till next time,