Spring- this is long, put couple beers on ice!

Dedicated exclusively to field herping.

Moderator: Scott Waters

Post Reply
bgorum
Posts: 619
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 6:46 am
Location: Albuquerque, NM
Contact:

Spring- this is long, put couple beers on ice!

Post by bgorum »

So I’ve pretty much given up on coming up with clever names for my post. Sorry about that. You can see the equally cleverly named prequel to this post in the Bird Forum- http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/vie ... 19&t=15303. This brings me to the second thing I need to apologize for in this post. There are a lot of bird pictures in this thing. I started really getting into birds more this winter, because there weren’t any herps to shoot. I think as I’ve gotten older my herping has looked a lot more like birding anyway. I rarely flip objects and have little desire to collect anything, even for photos. (I will do that occasionally though, especially when I’m herping with other people). When it’s just me though, I like going into the field and watching what the animals do without disturbing them, so I suppose an interest in birds, with all their fascinating behaviors, was just logical and natural. To me it’s all good- herps, birds, landscapes, etc. I hope y’all feel the same!
One of the cool things about birds for me is that there are still lots of lifers for me to get, even here in New Mexico! Image
Gorum_130303_0959 by bgorum, on Flickr
Like this Mexican Duck drake. He had a hen with him when I first saw him, but she flew off and he only stuck around long enough for a few quick frames. (Please don’t burst my bubble by telling me they are just a regional form of Mallard)!
Image
Gorum_130303_1006 by bgorum, on Flickr
What do you know? A Roadrunner running down a road!
Image
Gorum_130303_1085 by bgorum, on Flickr
Gotta stretch out those hamstrings!
Image
Gorum_130303_1174 by bgorum, on Flickr
American Pipit
So all the birds so far have been from Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. Bosque is well known to bird photographers for the large flocks of Sandhill Cranes and Snow/Ross’s Geese that winter there. Very few people go there at other times of the year, but what the warm months at Boque lack in sheer numbers is made up for by diversity. Spring is especially nice because of all the birds that are moving through the refuge on their way to somewhere else as well as the species that are arriving to spend the summer there.
Image
Gorum_130310_0071 by bgorum, on Flickr
A pair of Cinnamon Teal.
Image
Gorum_130310_0033 by bgorum, on Flickr
Canada Geese taking off.
Image
Gorum_130310_0136 by bgorum, on Flickr
And one walking around grazing.
Image
Gorum_130313_1488 by bgorum, on Flickr
A male Side-blotched lizard enjoying the dappled shade of a mesquite at BDA on March 13th.
Image
Gorum_130313_1499 by bgorum, on Flickr
There is a culvert on the refuge that is purported to be a snake den. I’ve checked it out numerous times and this is the first time I ever actually saw a snake there! As I was maneuvering for a better angle on this Striped Whipsnake I startled a small rattlesnake coiled and hidden by a tumbleweed just a meter or so to the whipsnake’s right. First and second snakes of the year!
Image
Gorum_130313_1523 by bgorum, on Flickr
Painted Turtles.
Image
Gorum_130313_1553 by bgorum, on Flickr
And a big softshell. Softshell turtles at BDA are incredibly wary, which has always struck me as strange, since I would think they would be accustomed to seeing people and cars.
Image
Gorum_130313_1587 by bgorum, on Flickr
One of last year’s Mule Deer fawns enjoying the new spring growth.
So I often get these ideas for simple photographs in my mind and then try repeatedly (and often unsuccessfully) to shoot them. This winter it was a backlit Sandhill Crane, drinking water that I wanted. Early this spring I wanted a calling Red-winged blackbird, from the front, mouth wide open, wings fully forward, and perched on cattails with that magic light right before sunset.
Image
Gorum_130313_1612 by bgorum, on Flickr
Attempt #1. Wings not forward enough; salt cedar instead of cattails; lights ok, not great.
Image
Gorum_130314_1640_1_2_tonemapped by bgorum, on Flickr
On the 14th I visited a den and found this nice bunch of four diamondbacks occupying one crack.
Image
Gorum_130314_1644_5_6_tonemapped by bgorum, on Flickr
Another one laying out by itself.
Image
Gorum_130315_1665 by bgorum, on Flickr
On the 15th I went to the Magdalena Mountains and near the top of a talus slide, where it met the rock face that produced it, I got buzzed. I actually got buzzed by two snakes at once. I only dug out this one, (I really hate digging snakes out of talus. When I do I always put the rocks back afterwards by the way).
Image
Gorum_130315_1672 by bgorum, on Flickr
I moved the snake a few meters away to a spot where it couldn’t get back under the rocks to take some pictures and as I was maneuvering around to photograph it I got buzzed by a third snake a couple meters below me! After I finished photographing the Rock Rattlesnake I took it back to the spot where I found it and glanced up at the rock face. I could see a nice vertical crack, and I decided to check it out.
Image
Gorum_130315_1679_80_81_tonemapped by bgorum, on Flickr
Black-tail! That was four snakes within about 25 square meters. I think I may have stumbled onto a den.
Image
Gorum_130315_1697 by bgorum, on Flickr
Attempt #2. Still not on cattails, not from front, and too late in evening- the magic light has already faded.
Image
Gorum_130317_1721_2_3_tonemapped by bgorum, on Flickr
On the 17th I went out to El Malpais National Monument with a group of other photographers and shot this picture of La Ventana Arch.
Image
Gorum_130324_0202 by bgorum, on Flickr
Killdeer being territorial on the 17th.
Image
Gorum_130324_0281 by bgorum, on Flickr
Long-billed Dowitcher on the 24th.
Image
Gorum_130324_0351 by bgorum, on Flickr
Say’s Phoebe.
Image
Gorum_130324_0364 by bgorum, on Flickr
Javelina are relative newcomers to Bosque del Apache. Image
Gorum_130329_1965_6_7_tonemapped by bgorum, on Flickr
More Diamondbacks at a den on the 29th.
Image
Gorum_130329_1985 by bgorum, on Flickr
As I was leaving the den I found this little Round-tailed Horned Lizard.
Image
Gorum_130329_1992 by bgorum, on Flickr
Red-tailed Hawk
Image
Gorum_130329_2003 by bgorum, on Flickr
Image
Gorum_130329_2018 by bgorum, on Flickr
American Avocet
Image
Gorum_130329_2261 by bgorum, on Flickr
Another Red-tail
Image
Gorum_130329_2335 by bgorum, on Flickr
Attempt #3. This is getting close! If only it were on cattails!
Painted Turtles on April 7th
Image
Gorum_130407_2417 by bgorum, on Flickr
“You better let me up, or I’ll bite you!”
Image
Gorum_130407_2454 by bgorum, on Flickr
Mule Deer
Image
Gorum_130407_2468_69_70_tonemapped by bgorum, on Flickr
Flowering Cottonwood
Image
Gorum_130407_2518 by bgorum, on Flickr
Cattle Egret
Image
Gorum_130407_2548 by bgorum, on Flickr
Attempt #4. Again, salt cedar, wings not forward, lighting not quite right.
Image
Gorum_130407_2597 by bgorum, on Flickr
Lesser Yellowlegs with an itch
Image
Gorum_130407_2649 by bgorum, on Flickr

Attempt #5. So close I can taste it! Not facing me and about 15 minutes after sunset.


Gopher Snake out on the crawlImage
Gorum_130407_2433 by bgorum, on Flickr

Image
Gorum_130414_2706 by bgorum, on Flickr
Painted Turtle and Big Bend Sliders on the 14th
Image
Gorum_130414_2736 by bgorum, on Flickr
There is a boardwalk going across one of the marshes at BDA and I keep hoping to see Painted Turtles courting in the water as I’m walking on it. This spring I saw lots of chasing going on, but no actual courtship. Next year!

Image
Gorum_130414_2791 by bgorum, on Flickr
Soaring Turkey Vulture
Image
Gorum_130414_2914 by bgorum, on Flickr
Rio Grande Turkey hens
Image
Gorum_130414_2999 by bgorum, on Flickr
And an amorous Tom
Image
Gorum_130414_3130 by bgorum, on Flickr
Hunting Northern Harrier
Image
Gorum_130414_3155 by bgorum, on Flickr
Immature Black-crowned Night Heron
Image
Gorum_130414_3173 by bgorum, on Flickr
I ended out the day with this honkin’ ginormous Glossy Snake
Image
Gorum_130414_3184_5_6_tonemapped by bgorum, on Flickr
Image
Gorum_130421_3192 by bgorum, on Flickr
Softshell on the 21st
Image
Gorum_130421_3201 by bgorum, on Flickr
Western Kingbird
Image
Gorum_130421_3225 by bgorum, on Flickr
Little Blue Heron. Apparently these don’t show up all that often at BDA.
Image
Gorum_130421_3300 by bgorum, on Flickr
Cattle Egret hunting the grass tussocks in a marsh. Among other things I saw this one catch and eat Wolf Spiders.
Image
Gorum_130421_3395 by bgorum, on Flickr
Audubon’s Yellow-rumped Warbler

Image
Gorum_130421_3421 by bgorum, on Flickr
Vesper Sparrow
Image
Gorum_130421_3441 by bgorum, on Flickr
Killdeer
Image
Gorum__130428_0099 by bgorum, on Flickr
On the 28th I spent some time watching this Great Egret hunting
Image
Gorum__130428_0103 by bgorum, on Flickr
“I know there’s something good in all this vegetation, just got to shake it off.”
Image
Gorum__130428_0111 by bgorum, on Flickr
“Yummy crayfish!”
Image
Gorum__130428_0141 by bgorum, on Flickr
White-crowned Sparrow eating flowers
Image
Gorum__130428_0202 by bgorum, on Flickr
Another Audubon’s Warbler
On the 5th of May I returned to the Magdalena Mountains with my friends August and Nancy.
Image
Gorum_130505_0414 by bgorum, on Flickr
This is one of three black-tails we found out basking in the morning on the talus slide below where I think I found a den in March. My guess is that these individuals were just starting to disperse from the den. We returned two weeks later and found no snakes on this particular slide.
Image
Gorum_130505_0431_2_tonemapped by bgorum, on Flickr
We moved up the canyon to another, larger talus slide. It was starting to get pretty warm by this time and we spent a lot of time looking with no success, when finally Nancy got buzzed from beneath a rock. We moved the rock to reveal this very handsome black-tail.
Image
Gorum_130518_0784 by bgorum, on Flickr
Canada Goose and goslings on the 18th
Image
Gorum_130518_0900 by bgorum, on Flickr
Image
Gorum_130518_1033 by bgorum, on Flickr
Image
Gorum_130518_1103 by bgorum, on Flickr
Bosque del Apache is a pretty highly managed place. It really has to be thanks to the “improvements” we humans have made to the Rio Grande and its floodplain in order to allow us to live and farm there without being flooded every spring. Part of this management involves seasonal flooding and draining of the manmade marshes. Usually in May the refuge begins to draw down the water in most of the marshes to mimic what would have happened on the traditional floodplain of the Rio Grande as the surge provided by spring snow melt came to an end. So it was no surprise on this day to find lots of Painted Turtles crossing the levee roads as they left drying marshes to seek deeper water.
Image
Gorum_130518_1241 by bgorum, on Flickr
Now of all herps, I am convinced that turtles can be the biggest PITA to photograph. I found this one at the edge of a levee road getting ready to cross, so I lay down on the opposite bank of the levee so I could shoot at road level and waited. And then I waited some more, and some more. The whole time I’m thinking, “As soon as he comes out his shell, he’s going to turn 180 degrees and head off in the opposite direction”, because that’s what Painted Turtles do. As I was laying there another car passed by on the levee road and the people in the car kinda looked at me funny. (Its ok, I’m used to it). The cool thing is that the passing car seemed to take the turtle’s attention off of me. Once the car passed he figured the coast was clear and came crawling straight towards me. Perfect! I love it when things work out like that.
Image
Gorum_130518_1278 by bgorum, on Flickr
Male Great-tailed Grackle
Image
Gorum_130518_1331 by bgorum, on Flickr
Ok bird experts; I need help on this one. I know it is either a Western Wood-Pewee or a Willow Flycatcher. I’ve asked other people and got different answers. I’m thinking Willow Flycatcher because of the short primary projection in this picture.
Image
Gorum_130518_1342 by bgorum, on Flickr
I apologize for the quality of this shot. It normally would have been deleted because of the out of focus head, but it might be useful for ID purposes. If you think you know which species the bird is could you please tell me, (and if I may be so demanding), could you tell me why? One note on habit- it kept returning to the same perch during the 10-15 minutes I watched it for.


For Memorial Day weekend I joined the New Mexico Herpetological society in the Gila Wilderness for their annual field trip. It was really dry. Image
Gorum_130524_1452 by bgorum, on Flickr
August flipped this Variable Skink near Cherry Creek. Look how dry that soil was!
Image
Gorum_130525_1440 by bgorum, on Flickr
We hiked around Lake Roberts where the most common herp was unfortunately Bullfrogs!
Image
Gorum_130526_1379 by bgorum, on Flickr
Lots of Crevice Spiny Lizards
Image
Gorum_130526_1403_4_5_tonemapped by bgorum, on Flickr
My only snake of the trip. I put an awful lot of time and energy into turning up this one black-tail!
Image
Gorum_130526_1415_6_7_tonemapped by bgorum, on Flickr
Image
Gorum_130527_1476 by bgorum, on Flickr
Hermit Thrush at camp.


So after my lack of success in the Gila I decided to stop my BDA on the way home. Many of the marshes were now reduced to small muddy pools and it was at one of these that I stopped to photograph egrets fishing.
Image
Gorum_130527_1521 by bgorum, on Flickr
Image
Gorum_130527_1522 by bgorum, on Flickr
I love the way they throw the fish back into their throats like a person eating peanuts, (except I’ve never seen an egret get a fish in the eye or nose).
Image
Gorum_130527_1527 by bgorum, on Flickr
This one got a crayfish too!
Image
Gorum_130527_1595 by bgorum, on Flickr
Mostly though, they were pulling out small fish. I wish I could ID the fish, but that’s a group I really don’t know well at all.
Image
Gorum_130527_1629 by bgorum, on Flickr
So in addition to these Snowy Egrets there was one Great Egret at the pool. Great Egrets seem a lot more wary than Snowies and this one was sticking close to some cattails at one end of the pool and not really making itself available for photos.
Image
Gorum_130527_1682 by bgorum, on Flickr
I noticed some thrashing in the water and it was a big New Mexico Garter Snake looking for fish.
Soon after I saw this big Garter Snake a woman pulled up behind me and got out to take pictures of the egrets. This sent the egrets flying away of course and I was a little pissed. However once the egrets left more Garter Snakes began showing up. I think the smaller garter snakes were hanging around in the cattails while the Great Egret was there, and that may have been why it was sticking so close to the cattails too. Once the egrets were gone the smaller snakes came out to fish. The big females, (there were two of them in this pool), probably didn’t need to worry about even the Great Egret, but the smaller snakes would have made a nice meal for it!
Image
Gorum_130527_1842 by bgorum, on Flickr
As I was watching I saw one of the smaller snakes suddenly assume this defensive posture. The reason was soon clear.
Image
Gorum_130527_1860 by bgorum, on Flickr
The egrets were back! I don’t think the little Snowy Egrets would be a threat to even this smaller Garter Snake, but it was sticking around to find out!
Image
Gorum_130527_1872 by bgorum, on Flickr
Back to the cattails it went.
Image
Gorum_130527_1892 by bgorum, on Flickr
Snowy Egrets can make even a miss look graceful!
Image
Gorum_130527_1946 by bgorum, on Flickr
The big females continued to forage around the egrets.
Image
Gorum_130527_1961 by bgorum, on Flickr
In fact, the egrets seemed a little nervous about having the snakes swimming around their feet!
Image
Gorum_130527_1987 by bgorum, on Flickr
Plenty of fish to go around in this pool!
Image
Gorum_130527_2060 by bgorum, on Flickr
The big female Garter Snakes always ate their fish in the water. Most of the time I would never see the fish, but I would know when they had one because the swimming motion, (with head and fore body under water), would suddenly change to a circling motion. I think they were trying to sort of corral the fish within their coils.
Image
Gorum_130527_2086 by bgorum, on Flickr
They smaller snakes on the other hand always took their fish up onto the bank to eat.
Image
Gorum_130527_2114 by bgorum, on Flickr
Back for more.
Image
Gorum_130527_2193 by bgorum, on Flickr
This one individual seemed to like to bring its fish to the same spot near the cattails every time. It was swallowing this one tail first, (which seemed to be the norm), then decided it wouldn’t go down and spit it back out. Funny thing is it then immediately grabbed it by the tail again and swallowed it without incident.
Image
Gorum_130527_2385 by bgorum, on Flickr
A Mallard hen came to visit the pool. SO the Garter Snakes decided to forage underneath her as well!
Image
Gorum_130527_2450 by bgorum, on Flickr
This Painted Turtle decided this pool was getting a little too small. I could actually see how it was drying up as the afternoon progressed.
Image
Gorum_130527_2479 by bgorum, on Flickr
Off he went!
Image
Gorum_130527_2545 by bgorum, on Flickr
A smaller snake which had just caught a fish as a big female swam by.
Image
Gorum_130527_2550 by bgorum, on Flickr
He decided to take his fish up onto shore.
Image
Gorum_130527_2557 by bgorum, on Flickr
Here the smaller snake is finishing its fish on shore just as a big female finishes hers in the water. I can’t help but wonder if the small snakes take their fish onto the bank to eat in order to avoid having them stolen by the bigger snakes. I didn’t see any evidence of this though.
Image
Gorum_130527_2608 by bgorum, on Flickr
Another big female with a fish.
Image
Gorum_130527_2748 by bgorum, on Flickr
Female Red-winged Blackbird taking a drink and washing mud off of her beak.
Image
Gorum_130527_2775 by bgorum, on Flickr
Big female Garter Snake (over) reacting to a Snowy Egret.
Image
Gorum_130527_2820_1_2_tonemapped by bgorum, on Flickr
At one point I left the pool to drive around the tour loop and see if there were any others. I didn’t find any more pools that were as good as the one I was at, but I did find this young Gopher Snake crossing the levee road.
Image
Gorum_130527_2929 by bgorum, on Flickr
When I arrived back at the pool just before sunset the snakes had retired to the cattails and the egrets had flown off to roost, but the night shift had arrived- a Black-crowned Night Heron and a Bullfrog.
I went back down to BDA on June 3rd. The pool where I had photographed the Garter Snakes and the egrets was just dried cracked mud, but in another pool I found a family of Mallards.
Image
Gorum_130603_0112 by bgorum, on Flickr
This little guy was shaking off the nasty muddy water.
Image
Gorum_130603_0154 by bgorum, on Flickr
I saw this little guy pull something out of the mud and eat it. I wasn't sure at first what it was. Turns out is was a crayfish. I had no idea they ate crayfish!
Turns out this was not a very good day to be a crayfish in this pool.
Image
Gorum_130603_0206 by bgorum, on Flickr
This female Great-tailed Grackle found one up on the bank.
Image
Gorum_130603_0216 by bgorum, on Flickr
She grabbed it by the antenna and began pulling on it.
Image
Gorum_130603_0231 by bgorum, on Flickr
Her goal seemed to be to pull it away from the water, which it kept trying to flee to, (well as much as a crayfish on land can flee anyhow).
Image
Gorum_130603_0240 by bgorum, on Flickr
She was literally flinging it up towards the bulrushes. Once she got it into the bulrushes I really didn’t have a clear view for photos, but I could tell she had it on its back and was tearing it apart and eating it.
Image
Gorum_130603_0560 by bgorum, on Flickr
Mamma and baby Mallard
Image
Gorum_130603_0563 by bgorum, on Flickr
“I wanna do just like Mom.”
Image
Gorum_130603_0640 by bgorum, on Flickr
There were a couple Garter Snakes working this pool too. Much to the distress of this male Grackle
Image
Gorum_130603_0654 by bgorum, on Flickr
He grabbed himself a crayfish and left.
Image
Gorum_130603_0896 by bgorum, on Flickr
Night Heron with fish
Image
Gorum_130603_0911 by bgorum, on Flickr
I love the way these guys tip toe through the water when they are stalking fish!
Back to BDA on the 7th
Image
Gorum_130607_0164 by bgorum, on Flickr
“Eh, yo baby. Check out these tail feathers. Maybe me and you otta get to know one anothers, eh.”
Image
Gorum_130607_0177 by bgorum, on Flickr
“Gobble, gobble, gobble”. Turkey is just one of many animal languages I speak!
Image
Gorum_130607_0185 by bgorum, on Flickr
Momma Mallard with some big ducklings “hiding” in the tall grass.
Image
Gorum_130607_0262 by bgorum, on Flickr
One of three New Mexico Garter Snakes I found crossing levee roads this day. Almost all of the pools where I had seen them hunting on previous visits were dried up by now.
Image
Gorum_130607_0310 by bgorum, on Flickr
I did find one small pool that had a couple Garter Snakes swimming in it, but oddly there were no egrets. Since there were no birds present I decide to get out of my car and walk down to the water so I could shoot the snakes more at their eye level. One thing I don’t like about BDA is that you do so much shooting from your car, which is always elevated above the marshes on levee roads, that you always seem to be shooting down at about a 45 degree or so angle on anything that is reasonably close. This has got to be the most boring angle imaginable for wildlife and any chance I get to use some other angle at BDA I take!
Image
Gorum_130607_0404 by bgorum, on Flickr
Unfortunately there did not seem to be any small fish left in this pool. Given the pea soap appearance of the water I am guessing that there was probably not enough oxygen left in the water any more. After foraging for about 10 minutes or so, both snakes crawled up onto the bank and slowly crawled away into the bulrushes.
Image
Gorum_130607_0408 by bgorum, on Flickr
Image
Gorum_130607_0427 by bgorum, on Flickr
Painted Turtle leaving another drying pool
Image
Gorum_130608_0007 by bgorum, on Flickr
On the 8th I went for a night hike with my friends Notah and Patrick in a little limestone canyon they had been visiting recently. Notah stopped to check out a vinagaroon and afterwards caught just a glimpse of this little black-tails nose peeking out from a rock that was just above eye level.
Later in that same canyon we heard a rattlesnake buzz. It sounded like the rattle was coming from up in a juniper tree. We looked around the tree and found a black-tail coiled at the edge of a rock near a low branch that we think it might have just crawled off of when our lights hit it and made it rattle. We also thought we might have heard two snakes rattling at once, but we couldn’t be sure. It’s amazing how hard it is t figure things out in the dark sometimes, but that’s part of what makes night hiking so fun!


Ok, so that’s it. Thanks for hanging in there!
Image
Gorum_130324_0401by bgorum, on Flickr
¡Adiós!
User avatar
jamezevanz
Posts: 114
Joined: January 7th, 2013, 10:31 pm
Location: Alaska
Contact:

Re: Spring- this is long, put couple beers on ice!

Post by jamezevanz »

Love all the natural behavior, especially the garters and egrets. Makes me wish I held still and watched more.
User avatar
Chris Smith
Posts: 2291
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 9:13 pm
Location: Minnesota

Re: Spring- this is long, put couple beers on ice!

Post by Chris Smith »

Wow! Great stuff, thanks for sharing!!

-Chris
User avatar
gopher
Posts: 173
Joined: April 9th, 2013, 9:45 pm
Location: California, San Gabriel Valley

Re: Spring- this is long, put couple beers on ice!

Post by gopher »

Wonderful photography and series of photos. One can almost feel all the action going on in the series with the garter snakes.
User avatar
azatrox
Posts: 793
Joined: June 9th, 2010, 6:51 am
Location: Arizona

Re: Spring- this is long, put couple beers on ice!

Post by azatrox »

Awesome stuff as always Bill!

-Kris
User avatar
Roki
Posts: 199
Joined: January 23rd, 2012, 10:08 am
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah

Re: Spring- this is long, put couple beers on ice!

Post by Roki »

Awesome post! Some of these shots are insane!
User avatar
Mike VanValen
Posts: 2074
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 4:41 pm
Location: Connecticut
Contact:

Re: Spring- this is long, put couple beers on ice!

Post by Mike VanValen »

Lots of awesome in this post, bu I agree the interaction between egret and gartersnake are some great observations. It reminds me of the activity at a waterhole in Africa, but on a smaller scale.
User avatar
Nshepard
Posts: 377
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 12:08 pm

Re: Spring- this is long, put couple beers on ice!

Post by Nshepard »

Dang dude, nice post! You had some really great photos in this post!
TimCO
Posts: 891
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 11:27 am
Location: Colorado

Re: Spring- this is long, put couple beers on ice!

Post by TimCO »

A masterpiece, as usual.
User avatar
Mike Pingleton
Posts: 1471
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 7:45 am
Location: One of the boys from Illinois
Contact:

Re: Spring- this is long, put couple beers on ice!

Post by Mike Pingleton »

wow! good thing I had a beer on hand! that was epic.

-Mike
User avatar
MichaelCravens
Posts: 223
Joined: July 3rd, 2010, 9:05 am
Location: Phoenix, AZ

Re: Spring- this is long, put couple beers on ice!

Post by MichaelCravens »

So much good stuff here, well done.

Michael Cravens
User avatar
bushmaster W30
Posts: 126
Joined: June 9th, 2010, 5:22 pm
Location: Searcy,AR
Contact:

Re: Spring- this is long, put couple beers on ice!

Post by bushmaster W30 »

Excellent series. I wish I had the patience to capture activities like that.
User avatar
JAMAUGHN
Posts: 1131
Joined: May 15th, 2011, 12:16 am
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
Contact:

Re: Spring- this is long, put couple beers on ice!

Post by JAMAUGHN »

Wow.

JimM
User avatar
Hans Breuer (twoton)
Posts: 3230
Joined: June 8th, 2010, 3:19 am
Location: Kuching, Sarawak (Borneo)
Contact:

Re: Spring- this is long, put couple beers on ice!

Post by Hans Breuer (twoton) »

Son of a married couple!!!!! To much goodness to digest.
User avatar
John Martin
Posts: 515
Joined: June 9th, 2010, 10:57 pm
Location: North end of Lake Okeechobee, Florida

Re: Spring- this is long, put couple beers on ice!

Post by John Martin »

Wow! Stunning photography, too many things to comment on :beer: I must say though, that your bird photographs are amazing, worthy of publication in a field guide. I might have to PM you with a few questions... :D
User avatar
Casey Lazik
Posts: 112
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 8:58 am
Location: Western Washington
Contact:

Re: Spring- this is long, put couple beers on ice!

Post by Casey Lazik »

That was simply incredible! Love seeing those NM garters.

Casey
bgorum
Posts: 619
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 6:46 am
Location: Albuquerque, NM
Contact:

Re: Spring- this is long, put couple beers on ice!

Post by bgorum »

Thanks everyone!
User avatar
Cole Grover
Posts: 746
Joined: June 8th, 2010, 10:06 am
Location: Montana

Re: Spring- this is long, put couple beers on ice!

Post by Cole Grover »

Phenomenal post and stellar photography. I'm going to go throw my camera away...

The Thamnophis feeding shots are among my favorites, but I've gotta say, your bird photos are unreal.

Thanks for putting this together, Bill. If it wasn't 8:30 am (and I wasn't at work), I'd be three beers deep in this post.

-Cole
User avatar
Kent VanSooy
Posts: 1100
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 7:51 am
Location: Oceanside

Re: Spring- this is long, put couple beers on ice!

Post by Kent VanSooy »

GREAT stuff! I loved all the birds, particularly the sequence with the egrets and garters, and I found the ginormous glossy and setting sun pic just stunning!
Philrezin1
Posts: 87
Joined: October 11th, 2012, 2:11 pm

Re: Spring- this is long, put couple beers on ice!

Post by Philrezin1 »

Really enjoyed the post man! Randomly checked it out because you mentioned beers and I had one in my hand. Great photos! That watering hole or whatever it was seemed so cool! Thanks!
User avatar
Paul Huang
Posts: 42
Joined: June 8th, 2010, 5:21 pm

Re: Spring- this is long, put couple beers on ice!

Post by Paul Huang »

Damn Bill... I don't know if your observations or your photography is more amazing. I think the best answer is that both are equally awesome. Super post man. Really dug it for sure.
User avatar
kcmatt
Posts: 372
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 8:38 am
Contact:

Re: Spring- this is long, put couple beers on ice!

Post by kcmatt »

Great stuff, Bill. The Thamnophis foraging documentation was great, also loved the Arizona and sunset shot.
Post Reply