JDW Photos and Life

I did not get through all of our Kodiak Alaska photos so I decided to revisit a few of them. Pillar mountain basically sits above the town of Kodiak. It is the location for the wind farm that contributes significantly to the energy independence of this very remote and rugged island. It is probably the highest point you can drive on the island. I couldn't confirm this but there are not a lot of roads on the island and we traveled the majority! The mountain provides a scenic view from multiple angles. This first photo is a panorama composed of 9 photos. You can get an idea of the relief and the lush green everywhere. This photo is looking off the other side of Pillar mountain back towards the airport and Coast Guard Station (the town is off-camera to the left). The airport is pretty obvious as flat land for a runway is a premium! The Coast Guard Station is directly behind the runways in this photo tucked into the bay. The mountain to the right of the Coast Guard bay is Old Woman (hik...

These are the last two photos to be shared from out trip to the property in Bridge City. This is a juvenile red-headed woodpecker (at least this is my bet). The distinctive red colors are not complete yet but the coloration on its back is a good identifier. We never saw him eating anything but he kept pecking at the top of this power pole. I can't imagine the taste of creosote...! A daylight moon was in the clear sky so it deserved a photo as well. Stay in touch! Doug White

First, I hope you had a memorable Christmas. It was incredible to hear from so many of you. Thank you. A  murmuration  is large flock of birds behaving together (like a school of fish in the ocean). I'm sure that is not the official definition but it is close enough for my simple mind. Here in the south, we get to see very large gatherings of some species of birds. While on the private property in Bridge City, there was a large group of red-winged blackbirds gathered around a couple of trees in the rice fields. These groupings grow in size in the late afternoon as they will roost overnight with each other. We were on the property at the right time - late afternoon - with the sun behind my back. Many large flocks flew in over the fields into these two trees. I stood there and watched with joy as something would startle them and they would all fly up (loudly!), circle the trees a couple of times, and then land back to their spots. I could have just parked my rear there and watch...

I was invited to visit a private property in Bridge City last week. The property is mainly used for duck hunting but the owners also keep a small number of deer. Though rarely hunted, the deer were still elusive and kept their distance. These photos are heavily cropped but still came out decent enough to share. This guy was a LONG way off but paused long enough for me to grab a photo. This one was a little closer. This deer was the closest as he did not want to leave the corn feeder just to his left!

I thought I was through with whooping cranes but ran across this photo. It shows the crane doing it's namesake - WHOOPING. Did you know Aggies like that sound and name?!!!! This was taken shortly before they left. You can see the tongue - the tastiest part of the bird (so I hear). It's a joke.... At the blind, a doe and two fawns showed up to get a little corn. I never took a decent photo of them all together so this is all I can show. A little after the doe and two fawns left, this young spike buck showed up. Maybe he will have a better rack next year. Stay in touch! Doug White

This has not been the easiest of years as life continues to throw unexpected curve balls making it too easy to focus on the negative. Christmas is a time to reflect a bit and give time to focus on the positive. Count your blessings and realize how fortunate we are to know each other and have spent time together. Each of you mean something to me and I truly wish you a Merry Christmas! If you are traveling, please drive safe and stay alert. It's hard to believe that his photo was taken in our backyard just a couple of weeks short of a year ago! It is quite the contrast to the 80 °F weather expected tomorrow. This photo captured cardinals, house finches, and goldfinches as they appreciated our sunflower seeds to help provide some energy and body heat. Stay in touch! Doug White

Like all good things, this trip also had an ending. As we sat in the blind with the sun quickly fading and casting long shadows, the visiting whooping cranes also decided it was time to leave for the evening. Enjoy these last in-flight shots in the gold of the evening sun. As this one took off, a tuff of grass went flying with him/her. Just wow! Look at the feather detail on the underside of the wing highlighted in the golden sun! And they are gone, soon to be followed by us packing up and leaving. Stay in touch! Doug White

I'm almost done with the whooping crane trip. I know some of you aren't all that wild about birds but they are interesting subjects and having so many good photos of such a rare bird makes it hard to not share what I see. The light is definitely in the evening blue hour in these photos - making the colors very warm as seen in the slight yellow cast to the pure white birds. The foliage colors really pop in this light. The pretty background tree and fall foreground colors provide a great setting for these two. These four birds strolled around the grounds for a pretty long time. Stay in touch! Doug White

A few more pictures from our trip to Rockport. I was really impressed with the color of these sandhill cranes - just beautiful. Sandhill and Whooping Cranes are often seen together as they often migrate in mixed flocks. It's always great to see both species in a single shot. Again, you see the significant size difference. These three are looking for the corn on the ground recently spread by the automatic feeder. Stay in touch! Doug White

Not long after the two sandhill cranes had landed, we heard whooping crane calls from behind the blind. The two whooping cranes that passed over us must have landed in a field behind the blind and decided it was OK to come to the feeder side of the blind since the sandhill cranes seemed safe. This is one of the two whoopers coming in to land. The two whooping cranes landed pretty close to each other and near one of the sandhills. The second whooper is flaring to land in the photo below. It's interesting to see the short feathers under the leading edge of the wing. This photo also shows great detail of the large feet for walking around in the marsh. Those claws on the feet could probably do some serious damage to prey and most enemies. As the four cranes settled in, these two mingled close to each other in similar posture to provide an opportunity to see the size difference. Note that the whooping crane is slightly behind the sandhill crane making the true size difference even great...

As we sat in the blind and got bypassed by the two whooping cranes, two sandhill cranes flew into view and landed in the field in front of the blind. Below is another shot with some feather detail in flight. Both birds were announcing their arrival though not quite as loud as the whooping crane calls. The crane is flaring its wings and preparing for landing in this shot. The low pressure on the back of the wings really messes up the feathers in that area. You can also see the beautiful color variations of the bird in this shot that is not so visible with they are on the ground with wings folded. After landing, both birds took a quick look around the area and started foraging for a bit of food. Stay in touch! Doug White

If you ever get the privilege of seeing a whooping crane in flight, you can imagine the wonderment the early explorers of flight must have experienced. These birds are large enough to see so much feather detail in flight. You can't help but be in awe of nature's design to make flight possible. These birds finesse the air as opposed to humans simply overpowering gravity. After leaving the boat, we took a short rest and then spent the afternoon in a private blind that provided a beautiful backdrop with the afternoon sun at our backs. The area had a deer corn feeder and whoopers and other wildlife could be expected. Not long after arriving, we heard the distant call of whooping cranes and saw these two flying to the field. We had barely settled and they likely saw movement and decided to pass over us in this initial fly-by. Though they didn't land in the field, they did give us some nice in-flight shots. I am posting three of the photos as they approached. I hope you appreciat...

As we left the whooping cranes to head back to the dock, a family of 3 bottle-nosed dolphins (2 adult, 1 juvenile) followed the boat for a considerable distance. They were not directly in the wake of the boat and popped up all over the place - very unpredictable. As such, I have no decent shots of them breaking water. I almost didn't send this message but then remembered you have the option to delete! This is the group of three with the juvenile on the left. Suddenly, a bolt of action caught my eye as the adults took off on a high-speed, shallow sprint. The "contrail" extended past the zoom of my lens. The fact that water was still splashed into the air this far behind the dolphin should give you some idea of the speed. Just as suddenly, there was an abrupt stop and splash. I am guessing that the dolphin was chasing some lunch. I have a couple of seconds (~20 photos) of this type action and the splashing stayed in one general area. This is the usual "best shot" ...

There is something about capturing nature in action - specifically mealtimes. Some people don't like these shots but I do and so do many other photographers. It is particularly satisfying when you realize how fortunate you are to be there watching such an event with such a rare and special bird. Great company makes it that much more special. The International Crane Association posted the following graphic for those curious about the numbers. This whooping crane found a giant crab and took a long time to pick it apart. This was one of the first shots of the meal and is special with both cranes in great light and focus. The second crane doesn't typically compete for the catch. Sometimes one of them will be through, walk away a bit, and the mate or colt will come in and clean things up. The photo was taken at 9:22. A closer crop of the meal. I love the color and detail of the bird in this shot. This is a photo towards the end of the meal. This photo was taken at 9:31. The meal was...

The air was clear and the moon was showing off.  Photograph/camera details: Canon R5, Canon 100-400, 1.4x, 1/800, f/8, ISO 1000 Handheld Stay in touch! Doug White

These are a couple of close crops to further show details of the cranes. One of the parents is whooping - probably telling others to stay away from their grounds. You can clearly see the tongue in this shot. One more detail shot of Jr looking confident. Stay in touch! Doug White

The family continued its walk/search for food as we watched. Their choice of location for lighting was nice! Reflections are always nice. You can see the size of Jr's feet necessary for walking around in marsh mud. I'm not real certain what makes a good wolf berry compared to one not ready for eating. Another family group shot as distant noise and activity began catching their attention. Stay in touch! Doug White

We moved the boat to be closer to the whooping crane family. These photos make it look like we were right next to them. We were not. Telephoto lenses and high resolution cameras make for amazing photos! Their family portrait. You can see the colt is the same size as the parents and much further along in the transition to fully white feathers. Rarely will you see all three of their heads down in the grass. At lease one was on constant watch. I stole this crop concept from Pedro to show the close-up details of a colt compared to an adult. It is interesting to see the eye color is different in the colt. The cranes were after wolf berries in this section of the swamp. You see some berries in the adult's beak in this photo. Junior decided to join in the berry feast under the very watchful eye of a parent! Stay in touch! Doug White