Field Notes Update

Eastern Box Turtle Along A Paved Path /  by Todd Henson

Eastern Box Turtle on pavement shot from ground level.

Any day I can photograph an Eastern Box Turtle is a good day. This particular turtle was along the side of a paved trail in a local wildlife refuge. It used to be a road, but is now just part of the trail system.

We found the box turtle stopped maybe 6 feet from the edge of the pavement. There were trees on either side, and a stream nearby that passed under the road. This was a perfect environment for the turtle.

To capture these images I used a long telephoto lens to help blur the background. I wanted to look right at the turtle, from its perspective, so I set aside the tripod and instead lay down on my stomach on the pavement with the camera in front of me resting on the ground.

Closeup of Eastern Box Turtle

Then I slowly crawled forward to get as close as I could but still capture the entire turtle in the frame. I moved in a little closer to capture the closeup image. I love the eyes on this turtle, all the colors and patterns.

One of these days when I find a turtle like this I want to stick around long enough for the turtle to get used to me and begin walking. But this part of the trail was somewhat busy and I didn’t want to attract too much attention to the turtle, or agitate it. So I moved on after capturing these images.

For another example of this technique check out my post about photographing a green frog where I show images shot from different perspectives. As with that photo, I think I could have stopped down the aperture a bit more to capture just a little more depth of field, putting more of the turtle in focus. I often gravitate to the wider apertures, which limit depth of field and create nice blurry backgrounds. But sometimes more depth of field can also be a good thing, even when shooting these animal portraits.

Do you enjoy these posts?

Sign up to receive periodic emails with updates and thoughts. Don’t worry, I won’t spam you. And please consider purchasing artwork or products from my online store, and using my affiliate links in the sidebar to the right when shopping online.

I appreciate your support!

Skipper Butterfly at Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve /  by Todd Henson

Skipper Butterfly (possibly Zabulon or Hobomok) on a leaf at Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve in Alexandria, Virginia.

Here is a small Skipper butterfly I photographed at Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve in Alexandria, Virginia. I believe it is a Zabulon Skipper, but it might be a Hobomok Skipper. There are so many species of Skipper and some can be difficult to tell apart.

Skippers tend to be small butterflies, and they have a distinctive look when they land, often folding up their wings in little triangular patterns. They are called skippers because of how they fly, quickly skipping around.

I found this one perched on a leaf in some brush along a trail that parallels the edge of the Potomac River, with a small wooded area just beyond. I’ve read the males often sit on leaves watching for females, so perhaps this was a male Skipper.

If you happen to know exactly what species of Skipper this is please comment below and let me know. What markers did you use to identify it?

Do you enjoy these posts?

Sign up to receive periodic emails with updates and thoughts. Don’t worry, I won’t spam you. And please consider purchasing artwork or products from my online store, and using my affiliate links in the sidebar to the right when shopping online.

I appreciate your support!

First View of a Yellow-breasted Chat /  by Todd Henson

Yellow-breasted Chat perched on a thorny branch.

During the spring and summer I often hear Yellow-breasted Chat singing in the fields of a local wildlife refuge, but I rarely see them. They usually stay hidden down in the brush, only rarely surfacing.

I was fortunate one day to be positioned in the right place at the right time with my camera set up on a tripod and aimed out into the field where a chat would periodically sing. It isn’t a song like other song birds, but more a series of different sounds and easy to pick out as uniquely that of a chat.

It popped up out of the brush and landed on a thorny branch. I saw the movement and quickly turned the camera towards the motion. I managed to find the chat and lock on focus before it disappeared. I only captured one or two images before it flew back down into the brush. I was excited as this was the first time I’d had the opportunity to photograph a chat, and thankfully I captured a decent image of it.

As you can see, the Yellow-breasted Chat is a beautiful bird. It is one of the many species of warbler that migrate through this area each year, and according to the Peterson guides it is the largest in North America. Peterson’s A Field Guide to Warblers of North America indicates it is also a somewhat unusual warbler, being far more secretive that other warblers. Its song is distinct and unlike any other warbler, and it has a large and thick bill compared to the others.

Resources

The links below are affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. This is at no extra cost to you.

If you’d like to learn more about Yellow-breasted Chat, or any other warbler species, check out A Field Guide to Warblers of North America, one of the Peterson Field Guides. It’s over 650 pages, all devoted to warblers.

Or, if you’d like a more general field guide to birds look at the Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America. This is my favorite birding field guide. Another great one is the Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America. See my Resources page for more info on the field guides I use.

Do you enjoy these posts?

Sign up to receive periodic emails with updates and thoughts. Don’t worry, I won’t spam you. And please consider purchasing artwork or products from my online store, and using my affiliate links in the sidebar to the right when shopping online.

I appreciate your support!