Field Notes Update

Great Blue Heron Swallowing a Fish /  by Todd Henson

Great Blue Herons are experts at fishing, and they can consume fish you’d think were far too large to fit down their throat. The sequence below shows a Great Blue Heron swallowing what is, admittedly, a small fish. This heron was fishing in a local wetlands park not far from the boardwalk, completely oblivious to the people watching and photographing.

Take a close look at the first photo. Notice how the heron’s eye looks very milky, especially towards the upper right? That’s the bird’s nictitating membrane, an extra eyelid birds have that helps them clean and protect their eyes while still being able to see. It likely closed its nictitating membranes when it plunged its head into the water to catch the fish.

Be sure to click on any of the photographs for a larger view.

And just over 5 seconds later the Great Blue Heron is ready to begin fishing again.

Satisfied with its catch the Great Blue Heron goes back to fishing.

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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.

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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?

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