A Short “Get Rid Of The Winter Blues” Road Trip

A Belted Kingfisher is an extremely skittish bird.  It is hard to get close enough to photograph them
even with an 800mm lens.  I had been watching this one dive into the creek below, scoop up a small
fish, then devour it as he landed back on this fence post.  I set my OM-1 for Pro Capture and made
several exposures of him taking flight.  There was only one instance when I was able to successfully
capture him returning as he kept switching fence posts!  (click to enlarge)

Each winter, a couple of photographer friends and I travel to the Eastern Shore of Virginia to primarily photograph migrating waterfowl, raptors, ducks and a variety of birds in the national wildlife refuges.  This winter I went twice, once this past December and the second time this past week.  This year represents 17th consecutive year I've made this trip.  These trips, like ones others may make going fishing, hiking, mountain climbing, playing amateur sports, etc., are just as much about friends who share common interests and getting together to share an experience, conversation, humor, etc., as it is about photography.  Also, in this case, the ladies who manage the hotel in which we always stay have known us for years and have become friends as well.  That makes staying at the same hotel for all those years special.

This past December, for the first time, I had the privilege of extensively photographing a beautiful red fox.  You can read about my extensive encounter with a red fox as well as a comparison I did between using my Fujifilm system versus my Olympus system for photographing birds.  

But photographing birds and wildlife are not the only subjects I like to photograph on these trips.  I enjoy photographing anything I see of interest.  There are a lot of things that catch my eye.  

The Eastern Shore is kind of a throwback to the past and it is obvious when traveling through the small towns by staying off the main north/south highway, U.S. Route 13.  Even though I have made this journey many times, I always seem to find something interesting to photograph.

For this three day road trip, the birds were not great in number but there were a wide variety of species present.  That made the trip quite fruitful, photography-wise.

The other aspect of this trip that was important to me was to just get out of the house, get away, get out in nature, get away from the noise of electronics, automobiles and industry to just relax.  I found myself just sitting quietly, listening to the sounds of the wind rustling through the marsh grasses as well as the ever present chatter of the small birds nearby.  These winters are long, a bit dark this time of year and I find getting away is rejuvenating.

I thought I would share a few images with you from last week.  None are special, award winning or dramatic, but just a few from my pursuit of my satisfying photography.

This Bald Eagle sat in this tree for at least a half hour.  Again, I had my OM-1 and 100-400mm lens
set for Pro Capture just waiting for it to take flight.  Here are a sequence of three photos as I captured
it as it flew away.  Well worth the wait, in my opinion.  (click to enlarge)

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Here are two more of the Belted Kingfisher.  You could say I got him going and coming!

Ready for take-off.  Flaps down and rudder up!  (click to enlarge)

This image was captured a split second before the one at the top of the post.  (click to enlarge)

"I know there is a bird out there somewhere.  Just where?"  Not a bird but bird watchers standing
on a sand dune on the beach adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean in early morning. (click to enlarge)

Male and Female Hooded Mergansers.  A nice couple!  These two were so small in the frame,
even at 800mm, that I had to crop heavily, then enlarge the remaining frame in Topaz Photo AI
in order to get it to a decent size to post.  It is not great, but it held up pretty well.  This, and the
Belted Kingfisher photos are good arguments for more than 800mm when photographing smaller
birds and waterfowl.  (click to enlarge)

This is a pretty low quality image but I wanted to include it anyway.  These are a buck and doe Sika
Deer, very rare and only found in a few places in the United States.  They were about 1/4 mile away. 
Even at 800mm, I had to crop in to a very small portion of the frame in order to show them this
size.  Again, I used Topaz Photo AI to sharpen and upscale the frame so I could post it here.  My
point of posting it is to show you this unusual animal.  They are about 3/4 the size of white tailed deer.  Sika Deer are native to East Asia, were imported into the U.S. over a century ago, and are only found in Texas and VA's & Maryland's Eastern Shores.  I think the doe was getting
ready to go into heat as his nose was all over her behind as they walked across the
 field. (click to enlarge)

This is an American White Ibis, just about having all of its juvenile mottled feathering.  There
was a flock of these walking and eating along a shallow canal. (click to enlarge)

I thought the wide open bill with the Egret's tongue sticking up was kind
of interesting. (click to enlarge)

This row of gulls was sitting atop a sand dune.  The Atlantic Ocean is just behind them and the sun
was just getting ready to rise.  I'm not sure for what they are waiting? LOL (click to enlarge)

I bet you didn't know they moved the Statue of Liberty to Exmore, Virginia.  Also, I bet you didn't
know they had to shrink it down to fit on the back of a flatbed truck in order to move it there.
Finally, I bet you didn't know that you can buy "Bait & Tackle" from Lady Liberty now!  Lol.
You see what a few days getting out and away from home can do to my spirits!  It just
lifts them to the point where you have to endure my sense of humor.  (click to enlarge)

If you are driving north or south and want to choose a route that is more interesting than one of the interstate highways, have interest in Americana and interesting subjects to photograph, take U.S. Route 13 down the Eastern Shores of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.  As you approach each small town, get off Bypass Route 13 and take the original Business Route road through the towns.  Also, there are several back roads that parallel Route 13 that take you along the tiny villages along the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Chesapeake Bay to the west.

Join me over at my website, https://www.dennismook.com.  

Thanks for looking. Enjoy!  

Dennis A. Mook  

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