Previously Near the TCAAP WVA, I was Hanging Out

DSC_3941, a photo by Mully410 * Images on Flickr.

Here is the spot where I made the photo of the bald eagle I posted the other day. I was sitting on the narrow ridge on the south west side of the gravel pit. There is a great view here into the pit but the light fades fast.

Here is another shot of the eagle. This one is cropped a little bit to better center the bird in the frame. The other eagle shot is now available for purchase at my RedBubble site.

Today Near the TCAAP WVA, I was eye-to-eye with a Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle DSC_2383, a photo by Mully410 * Images on Flickr.

I was chasing coyotes in the AHATS today and ended up on the south west rim of the gravel pit. It was warm and sunny so I sat for an hour. This eagle came up squawking away. I think I was in its "spot." This might be my best eagle shot so far. Super sharp. Good light. Not cropped. (click on the photo to see a bigger size)

Finally saw a northern shrike with prey. I've been see these birds around a lot this fall but never with any food.

Today Near the TCAAP WVA, I saw a Coyote Napping

Napping with Ducks DSC_2117, a photo by Mully410 * Images on Flickr.

My friend Jerry's eagle eyes spotted this napping coyote. We were way up high on the rim of the AHATS gravel pit. I have no idea how this dog could get any sleep. There are about a thousand noisy ducks right next to it. We only had a few minutes before the shadows moved over the coyote but I had enough time to quickly pop the Nikon TC1.4eII teleconverter on the 500.

A few minutes later we saw another coyote, or the same one, up close. This one didn't notice us until it was most of the way up the hill.

Today Near the TCAAP WVA, I saw a Coyote Tail

Coyote tail DSC_1951, a photo by Mully410 * Images on Flickr.

This coyote cresting the hill near the gravel pit in the AHATS. I shot this out the window of the truck. The coyote at the bottom of the gravel pit so I followed it all the way the hill with the camera. It stopped and looked at me a couple times. This hill is in the shade pretty much all day...see the snow despite it being in the 40s yesterday...so I'm not satisfied with the picture quality here.

Merry Christmas from the TCAAP Wildlife Viewing Area

Merry Christmas from the TCAAP Wildlife Viewing Area.

(There is no snow at the TCAAP WVA this year so enjoy this deer photo from Feb 2010.)

Today at the TCAAP WVA, I saw a Pileated Woodpecker on Christmas Eve

Pileated Woodpecker DSC_1794, a photo by Mully410 * Images on Flickr.

I got out early and found some birds near the TCAAP Wildlife Viewing Area. This pileated woodpecker follow me through the woods for a while. Here are a couple more birds from nearby:

Eagle Butt

Crowded Take Off

Red-tailed Hawk

Previously at the TCAAP WVA, I saw a Red-tailed hawk

In the summer, I often see Osprey on this tree. This hawk didn't stick around much. I waited for the fly off but took my eye from the viewfinder for just a minute to wipe the fog from my glasses and it was gone.

Today at the TCAAP WVA, I saw Deer

Deer DSC_1744, a photo by Mully410 * Images on Flickr.

Here some deer I saw in the AHATS today. It was very dark. I made this photo with the monopod at an angle resting on the window sill of my drive while I was seated in the truck. ISO 6400 at 1/8 sec. Not bad for that but not great for a print.

I also saw a great horned owl, a bald eagle and a northern shrike, oh and there were a jillion ducks in the gravel pit.

Today at the TCAAP WVA, I was in the AHATS again

Coyote DSC_1609, a photo by Mully410 * Images on Flickr.

Today, I was in the Arden Hills Army Training Site (AHATS) from before sunrise until after sunset. I spent the entire time mostly planning how to get photos of the local coyotes.

I saw lots of birds: cedar waxwings, a northern shrike, red-tailed hawk, a nuthatch a great horned owl, a fluffy blue jay, a couple bald eagles, tons of ducks and some Canada Geese. Saw a couple does and a couple bucks.

Finally, around 2pm we hiked out to the rim of the big gravel pit. On the way, I saw a shadow moving quickly through the grass. No shot. I figured that was all we'd see but my friend quickly spotted this guy/gal. I got about 10 shots off. It never stopped running and didn't look at me. Maybe next time.

We saw another one a few minutes later but it was at the bottom of the gravel pit in a dark shadows so no shot.

Here a couple more shots:

Today at the TCAAP WVA, We Counted Birds

Bald Eagle DSC_1070, a photo by Mully410 * Images on Flickr.

Actually, it was the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count. I joined some St. Paul Audubon Society members to count birds in the Arden Hills Army Training Site. It was great fun. We saw hundreds of birds. By far the most were mallards in the gravel pit but I also saw more than a hundred American Crows. I wasn't the note taker so I don't have our official totals but here is a rundown of what we saw.

Northern Shrike
Great Horned Owls
Red-tailed Hawks
Bald Eagles
Black-capped chickadees
Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers
Pileated Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Goldfinches
American Tree Sparrow
Blue Jay
Canada Geese
Turkeys
some deer and one gigantic bird made of grass.

The light was very flat most of the day and the early morning photography was pretty much worthless. I've linked to some photos above but don't expect any really big high quality prints. ;-)

Previously at the TCAAP WVA, I saw an Osprey with Fish

Osprey with Fish DSC_6430, a photo by Mully410 * Images on Flickr.

The osprey in the Arden Hills Army Training Site are long gone. They go south well before their is a chance of the lake freezing.

I'm looking forward to their return.

Previously at the TCAAP WVA, I saw some Birding Buddies

Friends at the WVA DSC_7508, a photo by Mully410 * Images on Flickr.

Here is a view of the bridge at the TCAAP Wildlife Viewing Area. I made this photograph from the west side of Lake Marsden when I was staking out the osprey nest in June 2011.

Today at the TCAAP WVA, I saw a full Moon over Trees

Moon over Trees DSC_3835, a photo by Mully410 * Images on Flickr.

The full moon greeted me at the TCAAP Wildlife Viewing area this morning.

I saw the northern shrike that's been hanging around lately but it was way too dark for a decent shot. Also saw some ducks fly over.

Today at the TCAAP WVA, I saw a Lunar Eclipse

Lunar Eclipse DSC_0618, a photo by Mully410 * Images on Flickr.

I got up very early today to check out the lunar eclipse. Only a partial eclipse was visible at the TCAAP Wildlife Viewing Area.

This shot is the best of bunch and it isn't very good. I could see distortion through the viewfinder. It looked a lot like heat waves in the summer. I suspect it was because I didn't allow the camera and lens warm up enough but I'm not sure. I used mirror lockup and the timer but maybe the 500mm with the TC1.4 was too much to compensate. By the time I thought of removing the tele-converter the moon went behind the clouds.

Today at the TCAAP WVA, I saw the Sun behind Trees

Sun behind Trees DSC_0598, a photo by Mully410 * Images on Flickr.

Saw the sun set behind the trees at the TCAAP Wildlife Viewing Area tonight. That was about it. I heard some birds and saw some ducks in the distance but no other wildlife.

Spoke to a friend who showed up tonight and met a new photog.

Previously at the TCAAP WVA, I saw an Eagle

This is one of the eagles that attacked a mallard in flight at the TCAAP Wildlife Viewing Area last Saturday.  This is not a great shot.  It's got a crap-load of processing and won't make a good large print. 

It's still difficult to get out to the WVA during the work week.

Previously at the TCAAP WVA, I saw a Running Deer

Running DSC_0648, a photo by Mully410 * Images on Flickr.

I made this shot of a running white-tailed deer at the TCAAP Wildlife Viewing Area back in February 2011.

Today at the TCAAP WVA, I saw a Shrike Scream

Shrike Scream DSC_0431, a photo by Mully410 * Images on Flickr.

I didn't hear this Shrike scream because they are mostly quiet birds. I'm not sure what was going on with this bird at the TCAAP Wildlife Viewing Area this morning.

We got 3-5 inches of fresh fluffy snow last night. Here is a shot of the bridge with the now golden colored big blue stem.

Today at the TCAAP WVA, I saw an Eagle chasing a Duck

Eagle and Duck DSC_0111, a photo by Mully410 * Images on Flickr.

I saw this eagle chasing the mallard this morning at the TCAAP Wildlife Viewing Area. They circled over the lake once then the eagle caught up to the duck. With a swift swipe with its claw, it knocked the duck to the ground. Another eagle joined the first after that. They both circled the spot where the duck fell into the cattails and then flew off. They didn't find the duck.

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Today at the TCAAP WVA, I saw the Sunrise

Migration DSC_0060, a photo by Mully410 * Images on Flickr.

I got up a little earlier than usual today and headed out to the TCAAP Wildlife Viewing Area. It was about 13F, a bit chipper. The photo on the right is of one of the interpretive signs in the area. This one has information about waterfowl migration. I sure see lots of waterfowl here.

The shot below is not particularly interesting but I really like the colors. This color lasted only a few minutes. Glad I was there to see it.

Previously at the TCAAP WVA, I saw a Bluebird Meal

Bluebird Meal DSC_0682, a photo by Mully410 * Images on Flickr.

I went for a photowalk at lunch today near work. We had just received about an inch of snow so I figured there might be something out there to shoot. I should've got up early and stopped by the TCAAP Wildlife Viewing Area because I didn't make a single click during my lunch hour.

Here is a shot I made of the active bluebird nest at the WVA. It's dark and 3600ISO so I could get a high enough shutter speed to freeze the bird. Later, I went back with a homemade snoot on my SB-400 flash. Since then I've upgraded my flash and got a Better Beamer flash extender. I hope these bluebirds pick this nest again next year.