Tag Archives: chris bosak nature photographer

Clearing out my 2014 photos: Meadowhawk dragonflies mating

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Photo by Chris Bosak Meadowhawk dragonflies mate in Selleck's/Dunlap Wood in summer 2014.

Photo by Chris Bosak
Meadowhawk dragonflies mate in Selleck’s/Dunlap Wood in summer 2014.

Here’s my next photo in the series of 2014 photos that I never got around to looking at and posting. This will be the final one. It’s time to move forward and let go.

I got this shot in the summer 2014 when trying to add to my meadow close-up collection. I liked the shots based on the quick look I took on the camera’s tiny screen at day’s end, but never took them further than that. In fact, I had forgotten about them until I found the photo folder buried inside another folder the other day.

This shot shows a pair of meadowhawk dragonflies mating in a “wheel” position. The male is the red one.

For a fascinating article on how dragonflies mate, click here.

I like photographing dragonflies in the summer. The birding gets slow in July/August and bird photography even slower. So my attention often turns to the smaller creatures of the meadows, which are around and active on even the hottest days. For many more of my meadow close up photos, click here.

 

Clearing out my 2014 photos, take 8: Least Tern

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Photo by Chris Bosak A Least Tern sits among the rocks at the beach at Connecticut Audubon's Coastal Center at Milford Point in spring 2014.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Least Tern sits among the rocks at the beach at Connecticut Audubon’s Coastal Center at Milford Point in spring 2014.

Here’s my next photo in the series of 2014 photos that I never got around to looking at and posting.

As we are now stuck in this deep freeze here in New England, here’s a warm-weather shot for you. It’s a Least Tern on the beach at Connecticut Audubon Coastal Center at Milford Point. Last week I posted a Piping Plover that I saw during my volunteering to monitor plovers and terns on the Connecticut shoreline. Well, here’s the other half: the terns. The plovers come in much earlier in the spring than the terns. Least Terns are handsome birds with yellow bills, compared the red or orange bills of most terns. Least Terns, as their name suggests, are also smaller than most terns. They can also be quite aggressive on their nesting areas (who can blame them?) and they will continually dive-bomb intruders. Yes, that includes innocent shorebird monitors just trying to help them out.

Piping Plovers and Least Terns are threatened species in Connecticut.

Clearing out my 2014 photos, Take 4: Icy Branches

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Photo by Chris Bosak Ice covers branches in New England during a storm in Jan. 2014.

Photo by Chris Bosak
Ice covers branches in New England during a storm in Jan. 2014.

Here’s my next photo in the series of 2014 photos that I never got around to looking at and posting.

Sometimes the most interesting things you see on a bird walk are not the birds at all. Here’s an example. A cold rain turned to ice while I was in the woods one day last January. It was fairly unpleasant out there, but the way the ice sheathed everything in the woods made it worth it. The drive home wasn’t fun either, but I made it.

Merry Christmas from www.BirdsofNewEngland.com: Gray Jay with berries

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Photo by Chris Bosak Gray Jay with berries, northern New Hampshire, fall 2013.

Photo by Chris Bosak
Gray Jay with berries, northern New Hampshire, fall 2013.

I took this photo of a Gray Jay in the fall of 2013 in northern New Hampshire. Until now I’ve never used the photo in any manner. Not for my bird column, not a blog posting, not in a slideshow, not as part of a gallery or exhibit. I could think of no better way to use it for the first time than to wish visitors of http://www.BirdsofNewEngland.com a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Thanks for your support and help spread the word about this site. There are exciting things in store for 2014.

Wood Duck in mixed company with Mallards

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Photo by Chris Bosak A Wood Duck hangs out with a flock of Mallards at Wood's Pond in Norwalk, Dec. 2014.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Wood Duck hangs out with a flock of Mallards at Wood’s Pond in Norwalk, Dec. 2014.

Several years ago (10 maybe), during a visit to Central Park in New York City, I noticed a very tame male Wood Duck hanging out with a flock of Mallards. I’ve spent hours upon hours on remote New England ponds trying to get decent photographs of Wood Ducks and here was one acting like it was a tame Mallards. The behavior struck me as odd because Wood Ducks, in all my previous observations, are usually extremely wary.

I had pretty much forgotten about this sighting until the other day when I visited Wood’s Pond in Norwalk, Conn., a frequent haunt of mine. A lingering Great Blue Heron

(click “continue reading” for another photo of the female Wood Duck)

Continue reading →

Today at the feeder

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Photo by Chris Bosak

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Black-capped Chickadee and Downy Woodpecker share the suet feeder, Nov. 16, 2014.

It’s been a particularly busy day at the feeder today. There haven’t been any out of the ordinary species, just lots of backyard favorites. Here are a few photos from the action. Not pictured, but seen visiting today are: American Goldfinch; Northern Cardinal; Hairy Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker; Dark-eyed Junco; White-throated Sparrow; Blue Jay and American Crow. No nuthatches today yet … odd.

(Author’s note: OK, got my nuthatch. All is good.)

More photos are below. Click on “continue reading.”

Thanks for visiting http://www.birdsofnewengland.com

Continue reading →

We need more Titmice

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Photo by Chris Bosak A Tufted Titmouse perches on a pole near a birdfeeding station, Oct. 2014.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Tufted Titmouse perches on a pole near a birdfeeding station, Oct. 2014.

Last week I posted a photo of Tufted Titmouse that I saw outside my window at my birdfeeding station. It kicked off a short series of photos I posted of common backyard feeder birds.

But, of course, I had more than just one photo of Tufted Titmice. So here are a few more photos of this small and lovable blue-gray bird. So far this fall Tufted Titmice have been the most numerous and reliable birds at my feeder. I can’t complain about that.

More photos below:

Continue reading →

Nice young buck

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Photo by Chris Bosak A young White-tailed Deer in Stamford, Oct. 2014.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A young White-tailed Deer in Stamford, Oct. 2014.

I was looking for birds, of course, but this young buck (literally) was just off the trail and seemingly unfazed by my presence, so I grabbed a few shots of him. You never know what you’ll see out there. I found this guy at Cove Island Wildlife Sanctuary.

Feel free to share your bird and other wildlife sightings and/or photos. Send them to bozclark@earthlink.net

Love this White-breasted Nuthatch photo

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Photo by Chris Bosak White-breasted Nuthatch at backyard feeder, Oct. 2014.

Photo by Chris Bosak
White-breasted Nuthatch at backyard feeder, Oct. 2014.

Sometimes when photographing birds (or anything for that matter) you never really know what you’ll get. You should always be mindful of the background, but sometimes it’s tough to determine exactly how the photo will look until you take it. Honestly I got kind of lucky with this shot with the jet black background, which really makes the White-breasted Nuthatch standout. I’m not even sure what in the background was so black. Oh well, I’ll take it.

This is the third in a series of photographs celebrating our common backyard feeder birds.

A few more northern New England photos

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Photo by Chris Bosak A Common Loon at a pond in northern New Hampshire, Oct. 2014. This loon is transitioning between summer and winter plumage.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Common Loon at a pond in northern New Hampshire, Oct. 2014. This loon is transitioning between summer and winter plumage.

Here are a few more shots from my recent trip to northern New England. I’m already looking forward to getting up there again.

I call this one “The one that got away.” I was canoeing on a pond in New Hampshire and focusing so heavily on the loon pictured above that I wasn’t aware of the rest of my surroundings. Suddenly I noticed a Bald Eagle flying away from scene. It had been perched on the top of a pine tree and I completely missed it — well, almost completely. I managed this quick shot of it flying away.

Photo by Chris Bosak A Bald Eagle flies across the autumn scene in northern New Hampshire, Oct. 2014.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A Bald Eagle flies across the autumn scene in northern New Hampshire, Oct. 2014.

Finally, here’s an American River Otter. There were two of them and it was the first time in years I’ve seen otters while I was canoeing. Unfortunately, this particular morning was very dark and gray, hence the not-so-good quality of the photo.

Photo by Chris Bosak A River Otter looks around a small pond in northern New Hampshire, Oct. 2014.

Photo by Chris Bosak
A River Otter looks around a small pond in northern New Hampshire, Oct. 2014.