A Trip to Circle B Bar Reserve (By Myself)

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Whiskeyman

Senior Member
I hope this little trip does't get me banned from the M&G next year.

Starting it out, what else but a Great Blue Heron?

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I was a bit rusty, shooting wise, and was without my tripod since I left my allen key at home and couldn't mount my long lens on the tripod. I lost a lot of my shots to camera shake. This visit would have been a great trip to have one of the Tamron, Sigma, or Nikon super-zoom lenses. I had my 300mm on the D700 all day, sometimes with a TC 1.4 added. It would have been much easier and effective to just be able to zoom over that range. I got there late due to an issue in the morning, so I really didn't need a fast lens for the days efforts, further making one of those lenses a better tool for today.

WM
 
W

Whiskeyman

Senior Member
I took a folding tri-legged chair with me on this trip. Even though it was something else to lug around, it was a wonderful thing to have, since it made it easier to get lower for shooting and really reduced my fatigue. I sat in the chair and waited for this Glossy Ibis to work his way to me, and things were beginning to look good...

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until some clods walked up and made a bee-line straight for the Ibis, which led to this shot.

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I didn't say a word, but got up and went away shaking my head.

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W

Whiskeyman

Senior Member
Right behind the Glossy, was this Simpkin, without any of the skittishness. After a bit I went back to try a few shots, and the subject was not shy at all.

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Little did I know at this point what upcoming surprise I had in store for me.

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W

Whiskeyman

Senior Member
I started down Marsh Rabbit Run and saw this Glossy, which may have been the one I saw earlier. I took a lot of shots, but these things are really hard to get, especially when they're in the weeds. The contrast was so high, as well.

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Whiskeyman

Senior Member
I didn't make it far down MRR before I turned around and headed for Alligator Alley. My first sharable shots there were of flora, not fauna.

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I believe that Marilynne has posted shots of this flower lately, or one very similar. I believe that the scientific name for this one is iris virginica, and the common name is Blue Flag.

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Marilynne

Marilynne

Administrator
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Whiskeyman said:
I didn't make it far down MRR before I turned around and headed for Alligator Alley. My first sharable shots there were of flora, not fauna.

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I believe that Marilynne has posted shots of this flower lately, or one very similar. I believe that the scientific name for this one is iris virginica, and the common name is Blue Flag.

WM
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My book says Angelpod Blue Flag, then Prairie Iris. This is the first year they seem to be popping up at all the wetlands.

Yours definitely look blue. Mine looked more purple.
 
W

Whiskeyman

Senior Member
A few steps down the trail, and I observed a Limpkin in heavy cover, so I stopped to try to get a shot, and as I waited another Limpkin ran by with an apple snail in its mouth, which I thought odd until I saw where it was going with it. I didn't get any shots of the feeding on the snail since it was done in heavy cover, but here was why the Simpkin behaved as it did.

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A shot of the brood.
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And a close up of one of them.

We saw five little ones, and I was told there were six hatchlings to begin with. Another visitor informed me that they are two to three weeks old.

WM
 
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W

Whiskeyman

Senior Member
A short bit down AA, his juvenile Little Blue Heron (I believe) was hunting for lunch. I did not stay long and didn't see it catch anything.

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W

Whiskeyman

Senior Member
I didn't stay long with the previous bird because some come by and asked "Is that an alligator in the path ahead?".

Hmmmm?
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There were people on both sides, and he stayed there for a while, before he seemed to assert himself by moving further out into the trail. We moved a bit closer and he didn't budge for a while. When we were about to give up and turn around, he lifted up and quickly made his way across the trail and into the water on the north side.
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I had too much lens on the camera at this point. We estimated the length at six to seven feet.

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W

Whiskeyman

Senior Member
Further down the trail (AA), a Bald Eagle flew over and landed in some dense treetops, so I sat down to wait it out. While waiting, I got bored and got this shot of a GBH on the nest.

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After about forty minutes of waiting on the Eagle, it won by flying out exactly opposite of me and staying away. :(

So, no eagle photos this trip.

WM
 
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W

Whiskeyman

Senior Member
As I prepared to leave, I looked up and this pair was leading a group of humans down the path.

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As they got near, one of them went off of the trail and skirted around us. The second one walked up and proceeded to squawk at us a bit...
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It then proceeded to sit down by the trail near us and rest. As we finished up there and left, it just stayed where it was.

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Danno

Danno

Senior Member
Whiskeyman said:
I didn't stay long with the previous bird because some come by and asked "Is that an alligator in the path ahead?".

Hmmmm?
View attachment 206987View attachment 206988

There were people on both sides, and he stayed there for a while, before he seemed to assert himself by moving further out into the trail. We moved a bit closer and he didn't budge for a while. When we were about to give up and turn around, he lifted up and quickly made his way across the trail and into the water on the north side.
View attachment 206989View attachment 206990

I had too much lens on the camera at this point. We estimated the length at six to seven feet.

WM
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Nice picture of the gator... but better you take it then me. I cannot move fast enough to be that close to something that can bite off an appendage. Just not agile enough and they might eat my cane :(
 
W

Whiskeyman

Senior Member
Danno said:
Nice picture of the gator... but better you take it then me. I cannot move fast enough to be that close to something that can bite off an appendage. Just not agile enough and they might eat my cane :(
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Danny, I wasn't that close, but it was close enough. I could have gotten closer to the gator without it bothering me, but getting too close can result in getting in trouble for wildlife harassment, which I do want to avoid. But you're absolute right, they can move really fast when they want to.

WM
 
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Danno

Danno

Senior Member
Whiskeyman said:
Danny, I wasn't that close, but it was close enough. I could have gotten closer to the gator without it bothering me, but getting too close can result in getting in trouble for wildlife harassment, which I do want to avoid. But you're absolute right, they can move really fast when they want to.

WM
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I never considered that you might get in trouble for wildlife harassment. Not even... But you do not want to get kicked out of a place as cool as that Reserve... Just hard for me to envision how you harass an alligator... :D
 
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Whiskeyman

Senior Member
Further down AA, I had hopes of seeing some songbirds, but they were not out at midday. This Snowy Egret was...C-B-B-4-13-1022.jpg

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This is where I noticed that my hands were really shaking, and that I was having serious issues holding the camera steady, even with a monopod and having abstained from caffeine all day. I was also getting fairly dehydrated by this point, as i left my water bottle in the car. I took a lot of shots of this bird, and didn't get a single one that was really sharp. :(

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Whiskeyman

Senior Member
Another 100 feet down the trail was a SHHHHH!! sign, so it was time to look in the trees for nests with juveniles still in them!! I passed the second sign, going the other way, which meant that I'd missed it, so I backtracked and found a very important clue as to where what I was looking for was to be found: other photographers!!

Here I got a quick glimpse of the young'uns, but they quickly disappeared into the vines enveloping the tree they were in. But one of the adult Barred Owls was content to pose.

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