From http://natureandwildlifephotography.blogspot.com/
What's neat about shooting at Chincoteague is getting to see some new behavior.
On a previous trip I was watching the herons and egrets and noticed how the gulls group up with them. The gulls don't seem to bother the herons and egrets much but they do key off of them - some times stealing their catch. What was interesting to watch though was how the gulls imitate the snowy egrets. The egrets will use their feet to stir up the bottom and get critters to reveal themselves. I saw a gull using its feet in the same way, it had to have learned it from the herons and egrets.
Shooting across from the visitors center out near the beach is surprisingly good. I would have thought the traffic or other visitors might detract, but it worked well.
I have this low LL Bean chair, it sits about 4 inches off the ground and makes for a nice seat to use and stay low, and off the sometimes wet/muddy ground.
One thing that I try to avoid is shooting from head high, tripod high, for no reason. Often I will collapse the legs on my tripod to the shortest height and then sit down, or I will extend the legs just slightly and kneel or crouch. I've only gone in to a full horizontal shooting stance a few times, but getting that low makes a difference. The two main things are the angle is more intimate, being closer to the subject, and the other thing it does is makes me less imposing - so I am not towering over a 1 feet subject standing 6 feet tall. Staying low can make a big difference like this. A couple of trips about at Chincoteague I slid closer to a group of herons and got within 20 or 25 feet of them. THey knew I was there but over time I slowly got closer and didn't trigger their fear and they stayed put, hunting, unbothered. When I was done shooting and stood up - every bird flew away. Many came back as I walked away, but that just shows the contrast of standing vs. sitting and the way birds might respond.
This Redish Egret had just caught and ate a crab - and then proceeded to stick its head underwater so it could slowly look for the other bits (legs and claws). It was neat to see and the undisturbed water made for some nice reflections...
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Chincoteague NWR, VA pt2
Friday, September 10, 2010
Chincoteague NWR, VA
From http://natureandwildlifephotography.blogspot.com/
I've now been something like 5 or 6 times to Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia.
It is a pretty cool refuge - with pools and areas protected from the coast, as well as the beach right up on the Atlantic Ocean. In the summer it is a hotspot for beach goers and folks looking for wildlife too.
Compared to Blackwater NWR the mix of animals if very different in the summer. Blackwater has lots of eagles and osprey, and some herons. Chincoteague has the ponies (!) and a couple eagles and a few osprey, but most of what I saw were herons and egrets of many varieties. Things like Little Blue Herons, Redish Egrets, Snowy Egrets and Cattle Egrets are in good numbers, and of those many I've never seen at Blackwater. Something about being right along the coast makes Chincoteague have more and different birds I think.
While I've seen a handful of Black Skimmers there, I heard that over on the "NASA beach" there's like a billion. Which I would guess translates in to actually thousands, but I don't know. From what the person said it is only accessible by NASA employees. :/
In August I got some shots of the Cattle Egrets working from the backs of the Ponies! It was pretty darn cool to see. I need to review the images again and post one to flickr, they're ok but so far I wasn't super jazzed about any one image based on composition, details, behavior, etc. But here's a preview where an Egret is jumping off the back of the pony and heading to the ground to catch something. The egrets hunt for the critters that the ponies reveal as they walk around.
I'm still learning the refuge and the ins and outs, and what works best and when - both time of day and time of year.
One of the challenges is that it is pretty crowded, so it is tough to have a quiet and controlled encounter. The Wildlife Drive is open to foot and bike traffic all day, and then also car traffic after 3pm. The wildlife drive has proven cool, but I don't think I've gotten ANY of my favorite shots from there, except for a few skimmer shots. Most of what I like has been taken along the road to the beach or adjacent to the beach itself.
I'm sure the wildlife drive is better in Fall with more migratory birds there, and less people traffic. Many people I've spoken to talk about visiting in Fall and NOT summer. I like to explore and come up with those rules myself - so I visited a few times this summer, and did ok, but now hope to do even better in Fall...
-Jon
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