Wildlife Photography

Today was pretty hot for warblers in the north end of the park. I arrived at Harlem Meer around 6:30 am as the sun was just peeking over the two towers at the east end of the park. My friend Karen Fung and I went over to Nutter's and saw Palms and Yellow-rumps in the trees. There were also Barn Swallows feeding over the Meer--I managed to get several shots of a pair resting on the rocks. The crowning achievement was my first Prairie Warbler of the year. I al so had some good looks at a Blue-headed Vireo.

The weather was suppose to be cloudy in the morning but it was nice and clear. Probably in the high 50's. I had to leave around 10 because I have a 1pm class on Mondays. I stopped by the Robin's nest at the Pool but it appears to be abandoned. She was incubating the eggs on Friday when I passed by but I guess the nest was too out in the open and she was scared off.

Sad news about the Red-tails. Marie Winn reports that the eggs didn't hatch this year. I don't know if this is the final word or if there is still hope.

Amazon is accepting preorders for my book on its Web site and Abrams hints that presales of the book and fold-out guide are strong. We'll see but it would be nice...

Posted by Cal Vornberger at 4/25/2005 09:57:00 PM | Permalink   

Another beautiful day in Central Park and another great look at the male Prothonotary Warbler that has been hanging around the west side of Central Park Lake. Despite the throngs in rowboats on the lake and a mob of birders and photographers, the bright male Prothonotary put on another great display. Alternatively feeding and resting, the warbler was visible in the same spot (near 7501) for most of the day. I used my 600 f/4 on Saturday when the bird was further north in thick underbrush--not an ideal combination--so I took my 400 f/5.6 and shot handheld today. I was able to follow the bird better and was trying for some flight shots. Photos of the Prothonotary begin here.

It was sunny all day with temperatures in the upper 60's. Looks like west winds may drive more birds into the park overnight.

Posted by Cal Vornberger at 4/17/2005 10:17:00 PM | Permalink   

I spent half of yesterday and all of today at Turtle Pond photographing the Yellow-throated Warbler. I did make a brief detour to the Point to look for the Orange-crowned Warbler that was sighted there but, although I got a glimpse of it, I was not able to get a photograph.

Another amazing spring day in the park. There was a mob of birders looking for the Yellow-throated Warbler when I arrived at Turtle Pond this morning. Because the lighting conditions are getting harsh at midday I decided to use fill flash to illuminate the underside of the bird. I also decide to underexpose a bit so that I could make the sky behind the bird darker and more dramatic. I got a number of nice shots using this techniques.

There were also Pine, Palm and Yellow-rumped Warblers in the trees where the Yellow-throated Warbler has hanging out. At one point I wandered over to the feeders and got an interesting shot of a male House Finch feeding a female in a courtship ritual.

Posted by Cal Vornberger at 4/10/2005 09:03:00 PM | Permalink   

Today was just an incredible day in Central Park. Temperatures got up into the low 70's and I photographed both a Monk Parakeet and Yellow-throated Warbler, both for the first time in Central Park.

I had not spent a lot of time in the park in the past week because I was correcting the galleys for my book, The Birds of Central Park. I was amazed at the quality of the galleys (Abrams is using a 175 line screen) and only had a handful of corrections to make. I wasn't sure how much to sharpen (the printing process blurs the image) but was good on all but two photos. I corrected those and made notes on some color corrections and sent them off to my editor. I was on a two week break from school and start teaching again on Monday. I have a pretty good schedule this coming semester--crucial because spring migration is upon us.

I discovered the Monk Parakeet up on Nutter's Battery. This hill overlooks the Harlem Meer and is one of the places I always check for Palm, Pine and prairie Warblers. Only saw one Pine Warbler but I did hear this odd call from an outcropping above my head. When I looked up there was the Monk, taking a drink of water out of a small pool formed by an indentation in the rock. It was around 7am and the sun had not risen enough to illuminate the bird so I waited until he flew up into a nearby tree. Once up in the tree he began to strips and eat the buds and I was able to photograph him for about 10 minutes before he flew off.

I then took the M4 bus downtown to look for the Yellow-throated Warbler. I stayed all afternoon and got several nice shots.

Posted by Cal Vornberger at 4/09/2005 08:49:00 PM | Permalink