Archive | April 2014

The empty nest…

Yesterday, Catherine and I went to see the Great Horned Owls, and found this scene. The nest was empty, and the adults were gone. We searched all around, but found no trace of them. We did, however, find the previously-missing chick, dead right below the nest. I am not sure what could have killed it, although a bad fall could have done it. With the primaries that far developed it should have been able to break the fall somewhat, but there is no telling whether it hit something on the way down, or perhaps was grabbed by an eagle or hawk.

We are hoping what happened with the other chick is that it fledged, although who really knows…We will keep an eye out for the family, as they will probably stay within this patch of woods. I will remember this unique experience of seeing these bold Great Horned Owls, nesting so close to a walking path in an urban forest.

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Nomada

Apr27

For macrophotography, no bees are better subjects than sleeping bees. When these normally busy Hymenoptera decide to turn in for the evening, it takes a lot to disturb them. Because of their single-mindedness, they make excellent subjects, and they can be found at a convenient time, such as the early morning (before work) and in the evening (after work). The leaf they are grasping can often be detached from the plant and then the whole setup can be posed with one hand while shooting with the other. If you are dextrous enough, you can even hold a white bounce card on the opposite side to your key light in order to provide some nice creamy fill.

I got the chance yesterday to try out some of these tricks with sleeping Nomada. The members of this genus are cleptoparasites of other bees, such as Andrena, meaning they seek out the other bees’ nests and oviposit within them. Then the Nomada larva consumes the provisions that the host laid in for her young. Nomada seems to be a tricky group to identify, and hence I cannot provide specific identifications, but I suspect all of these are in the Nomada ruficornis species group.

I hope you enjoy the photos!

Aiming the Monster Macro Rig toward some nearby vegetation produces a nice soft green background.

Aiming up produces a nice blue sky backdrop.

This is the result of positioning the same subject in front of a dandelion.

A bit of a different angle. You can see pollen adhering to the thorax, probably picked up while entering a host’s nest.

Here is another Nomada I found in the afternoon.You can see it is hanging on with just the mandibles.

This one was not fully committed to sleeping, so woke up and detached…

Providing the opportunity for another good angle!

A hairier and more robust individual.

Sleeping on a Snowberry leaf.

If you ever get the chance, go out and find some sleeping bees! You won’t regret it!

Wet and dry owls

Apr26

The past few days have been rather different as far as weather is concerned. Wednesday night was extremely rainy, and when I went out to see the Great Horned Owls on Thursday morning, they were sopping wet! There was some excitement, with a raven flying in too close, and requiring a chase-off by both the male and female.

After the raven was safely away, the male (top) and female (bottom) owl perched together in a tree. I normally never see them together like this during daylight hours.

Here is a video of the two interacting.

On Friday morning, when I got to the nest, I found the male owl with his tail feathers soaked in blood. Whatever he killed the night before must have bled a lot!

Meanwhile, both the mother and the chick were perched on the very top of the nest stump. You can see how big the chick is already!

I went back later in the afternoon to try to shoot in some better light, but of course the owls were mainly sleeping.

The male got quite excited upon seeing a Cooper’s Hawk fly by the nest. This time, it didn’t require a chase. I also noted that his blood-soaked tail was now clean.

I found that shooting in the better afternoon light allowed for crisper rendition of the chick’s plumage, but at the cost of blowing out the sky.

Crisp rendition or no, this chick spent most of the afternoon snoozing, perhaps dreaming of large rats.

Practicing for wildlife photography with dogs!

Apr23

Rapid focusing and composition takes practice. Getting good opportunities to hone these skills in rapidly-changing conditions is important, if you want to capture that awesome shot of, say, wolves bringing down a deer. I don’t have any wolves (or deer), but I do have Rex (a.k.a. the Rexaroo. my friend Bekka Brodie‘s dog). This fast little guy provides a great opportunity to practice these skills, and makes an engaging and photogenic subject in his own right. Check out the shots I got of him yesterday afternoon!

Rex makes a friend.

Rex tries a romantic maneuver.

A bit of a rebuff.

Here Rex seems to sense impending doom.

good intuition Rex!

Here is a graceful pose during a rapid turn.

They were both super speedy!

Yikes!

Camas in bloom!

Apr21

The camas is blooming, so it is the real deal…Springtime in Victoria, and the arthropods are becoming very abundant!

Phidippus, looking marvelous as usual!

Selatosomus edwardsi, a very elegant elaterid.

A cicada nymph! So cool to find a live one!

Down to one owlet

Apr19

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This morning I went back to see the Great Horned Owl nest, after an absence of more than a week. Worryingly, there only seems to be one owlet in the nest. I am unsure where the other one might be. It may have succumbed to predation, or possibly is out of the nest nearby. I recorded a bit of video yesterday evening, and in it the mother owl feeds the chick in the nest, then carries a headless rat out to the west of the nest. It could be that the the other chick is out there and the parents are still feeding it. This is probably the last year this nest will be in use, as the snag is very nearly rotted through, and will not likely last another winter. You can see the whole nest move as the adult takes off or lands.

The female did some “allopreening” of the chick.

Yesterday morning the female was actually driven off the nest by a guy yelling at his dog. This is the first time I have seen the owls disturbed by people nearby.

Last evening, about 20 minutes after the female disappeared with the headless rat, she re-appeared without it. This gives me some hope the other chick is still out there being fed.

Weekend expedition 46: A few shots from Vancouver

Apr15

Catherine and I have been in Vancouver for a few days, catching up on some school-related business at SFU, and saying hello to our friends. We made a special trip on Sunday to say hello to Stanley Park with our friend Samantha Vibert, and here is what we saw!

Samantha with a juvenile Araneus diadematus. Shortly after this shot was taken, the spider ballooned right off her finger!

A Golden-crowned Sparrow.

A bright eyed and eager-looking Towhee!

This long-jawed orbweaver was tricky to capture with a non-black background, as I had forgotten to charge my second speedlight’s batteries.

A red velvet mite looking red and velvety, which they like to do.

Ensatina! ensatina! (That is how you spell it right?)

This brown Green Lacewing (Nothochrysa californica) was freshly emerged, and looking rather wonderful. Thanks to v belov for the ID!

A mystery egg sac. Any ideas what it could be?

Amaurobiids are extremely abundant in the old firs and cedars of Stanley Park (and everywhere on the coast).

This one has a cool-looking carapace.

Catherine doing some knitting on a gorgeous spring day.

Of Gulls and GoPros

Apr11

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I have written about gulls before, and exploiting their love of potato-based baits to get close up photos, and I have written about using a GoPro. This time, I combine the two, for a 120 fps free-for all, slowed down to 1/4 speed for your edification.

Along the way, I also managed to snap a few other cool shots.

This is a still from the GoPro. Note the extreme distortion and the off yellowish cast.

And here is a shot from my Canon 60D.

A Pigeon Guillemot on a oddly pleasing background.

When the sea looks like this, it is almost like a woodcut.

Looking over the edge…

Apr10

I can identify a lot with this little Great Horned Owlet, looking out from its nest. I am about to leave my nest too, having basically completed my PhD thesis and getting word that my committee is willing to allow me to defend. I have been busy, revising manuscripts (I submitted three papers this week!) and networking to try to get funding for a postdoc. I have a few good leads, but definitely nothing solid at this point…

I am ready to switch directions a bit, to start examining animal behavior from a landscape perspective (an owl’s eye view?) so that I can gain skills and experience I will need to fulfill some scientific goals of mine. I feel a bit like the uncoordinated chick though, in that I am uncertain how to go through the motions to make this work. A scary time!

Anyway, I have done some more shooting at the Great Horned Owl nest last evening (surprise surprise) and have made some videos and pictures I think you will enjoy!

First, Here is a chick getting a bit cavalier about scratching.

And here is the arrival and departure of the female owl (sorry about the weird edit!):

A picture of the mother and the largest chick. The mother is considerably larger than the male, who I have never seen on the nest.

The smelly world of the River Otter

Apr8

In the life history of most mammals, olfaction plays an important role, especially for social interaction. Scents tell these animals the identity and sex of individuals, as well as the sexual receptivity of females. It is tough for us humans to appreciate the scent-filled lives of these animals, but the other day, Catherine and I got a first-hand demonstration. On Saturday, we watched a River Otter (Lontra canadensis) using scent to mark his territory. River Otters do not have exclusive territories, but rather overlapping ones, and have encounters with other otters frequently.

The male river otter at dawn, swimming westward around Clover Point in Victoria.

First he stops for some grooming.

Then, he checks previously laid down scent marks near the splash zone on the rocks.

Next, he does his thing, no doubt leaving a strong scent (otter poop is one of the smelliest poops, personal observation). The poop is called a “spraint” and is used as a type of scent mark. Urine also functions in signalling.

The otter smells further marks and rubs anal glands along the rock. Doing this deposits a “jelly”, which is another type of scent mark. He was also rubbing his neck on the substrate.

Further westward, he meets another otter scent marking. Some neck sniffing to start with.

Then it escalates.

Seems to be a standoff, with much vocalizing and baring of teeth.

A bit of a pursuit.

Some further vocalizing and tooth-baring.

Finally, one otter adopts what I think is a submissive posture, while the other continues examining scent marks. Shortly thereafter, the otters continue on their separate ways.