Daily Archives: February 15, 2016

Another Fun Whooper Trip in the Books

Three days in Rockport/Fulton, Texas last week was time well spent as five people joined me to photograph whooping cranes and several other species, mostly from Kevin Sims’s boat the Jumping Jack Flash.  Sunny skies and warm temperatures kept everybody comfortable, but the weather was a little too bright for ideal photo conditions.  Nevertheless, the group had great success, so who am I to complain.

Here are a few of my images from the trip.  Don’t forget to click on a photo to enlarge and sharpen it for viewing.

Blue crab numbers were up for the first time in several years.
Blue crab numbers were up for the first time in several years.

 

Whooping Crane family feeding on abundant blue crabs. the orange-headed bird is a young of the year.
Whooping Crane family feeding on abundant blue crabs. The orange-headed bird is a young of the year.
Whooping Crane family feeding while on adult maintains almost constant vigil.
Whooping Crane family feeding while on adult maintains almost constant vigil.
Whooping Crane pair feeding at sunrise
Whooping Crane pair feeding at sunrise

 

whooper takeoff as a willet watches from the background.
whooper takeoff as a willet watches from the background.
Whooping Crane family in flight
Whooping Crane family in flight.

Sometimes you just can’t get the bird wings in sync.

American Avocets on the sunny side of the boat.
American Avocets on the sunny side of the boat.

Always be aware that good things can happen when you photograph wildlife while shooting into the sun.

Peregrine Falcon on Aransas National Wildlife Refuge boundary sign.
Peregrine Falcon on Aransas National Wildlife Refuge boundary sign.

This very cooperative young peregrine falcon held his position while everyone captured many frames of this once-in-a-lifetime pose as we boated along in choppy waves on the last morning of our shoot.

Brown Pelican landing on perch.
Brown Pelican landing on perch.

Each afternoon, we worked away from the boat to photograph wildlife at some of the many nice parks and habitats in the Rockport area.

Flushing green-winged teal.
Flushing green-winged teal.

Lots of ducks and wading birds winter in the Rockport area.

Male ruddy duck loafing.
Male ruddy duck loafing.

It had been awhile since I’d seen a male ruddy duck going into breeding plumage.

White Pelican taking fish from cormorant
White Pelican taking fish from cormorant

I had a little too much lens power for this shot, but I wasn’t expecting a pelican to go after a cormorant.  Actually, the cormorant surfaced near the pelican and was carrying a fish in its bill.  The pelican was trying to take it but there was no time  to downsize lenses even though I had the 100-400 mm around my neck.

Green Heron stalking fish
Green Heron stalking fish

Instead of making this image from the tripod, I laid down on the boardwalk to improve the perspective between me and the bird.  The lower angle worked much better.

Green Heron feeding in the last rays of daylight.
Green Heron feeding in the last rays of daylight.
Oystering boats in Fulton Harbor, Texas
Oystering boats in Fulton Harbor, Texas

No whooping crane trip is complete until we’ve photographed around the harbors at sunset.  We got the boats coming into harbor, unloading and docking for the night.

Fulton Harbor at sunset
Fulton Harbor at sunset

This was a tricky shot in soft light after sunset with a one foot chop on the water.  To smooth the water surface, I selected a long exposure to blur the waves into a smooth, pleasing foreground surface.  It wouldn’t have worked if the boats had been rocking on the waves.  All but one were securely moored.

Join me next winter for a week with the cranes.

Larry