Just Passin' Through...Fall Migration

 

 

As often as possible (almost daily) I like to begin and end daylight hours with a trip with my camera to my favorite local nature spot, the twin reservoirs Amann/Amick just south of Galion in Morrow County.

This past week an Osprey has kept me entertained. Ospreys are not a common sight, and to have one hanging around has many people all a-flutter. I may not get the best pictures of it (after all, these raptors move !!!FAST!!!), but watching it cruise along, taking a high road, then bomb-diving for it's meal revs up my energy, too. 

Usually I arrive near the end of its fishing expedition (if I see it at all) and have no hope for any sort of decent picture because it stays too far from shore.

This morning I was lucky. I went to Amick first. What I first saw gave me hope, for just inside the parking lot, three pickup trucks were clustered together. Each driver was standing outside his truck, and one had binoculars pointed skyward. 

Instantly, ***I KNEW IT***

I knew that the men were watching something big and wonderful. It had to be the Osprey or the equally magnificent Bald Eagle that has been fishing there daily, too. I took my eyes off of them as I slowed to enter the parking lot and looked at the sky over the water, and there it was. With a slight tilt of extended wings and moving full speed ahead, the Osprey rounded the far shore and made a bee-line towards us lowly humans.

 

I forgot all about the sandwich I had brought for an al-fresco breakfast picnic and parked the car near the boat ramp so that I could run up and down the muddy, rocky shore if needed. The engine barely had time to shut down as I grabbed my camera, which I've learned to keep loaded, turned on, and ready to fire for these types of photo emergencies . I don't think I've ever exited a car as fast as I did today :)

I could not believe my luck as I took steady aim as I could muster and began to pan in sync with this magnificent bird. I stayed right with him, vicariously and enviously enjoying the freedom of flight.

 And the best part? Mr. Osprey came *almost* in my 300mm camera lens range, the closest that I've been able to get so far. And the better part? It circled around several times, giving me more than one photo op. Not quite the "I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille"...but, hey, I'm still a happy photography camper today!

 

I'm telling you, the res is where it's at for nature lovers as well as fishermen and the picnic crowd. And it is going to get better. Although not on a high migration trail, we do get variety of weary travelers looking to dine and rest on the waters. Two years ago I got a nice picture of a horned grebe, for instance.

Now is the time to look for migrating waterfowl. This online article on Crane Creek-Magee Marsh Birding by world renown birding expert (and fellow Ohioan) Kenn Kaufmann explains what to look for this fall; month by month. Seeking these visitors is a rewarding way to spend a beautiful autumn day, like today. I cannot think of a better way to spend a country drive than to head out to marshes and nature areas looking for birds of a different feather. Can you?

A few nature place to try in Crawford and surrounding counties are: Garlo Nature Preserve (Seneca County), Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area (Wyandot County) and Big Island Wildlife Area (Marion County).

Marcheta *happy hunter

Whistle While You Work

Yesterday we woke up to a few inches of snow which fell overnight. It was a quiet morning, shrouded in white.  Shortly after I was up, a few birds broke the silence with their songs…songs of hope, or praise, or joy, or all of the above- no one really knows. Birds take life as it comes and make the best of it. This is a good lesson for us humans. Other than ski enthusiasts and owners of snow resorts, I imagine most of us grumbled when we saw the snow. And I don’t think that grumbling counts as song *smiles*.

The snow, for me, was a good excuse to continue doing nothing (which was my weekend goal, successfully achieved, I might add).  I got into that mode late Saturday afternoon after a lovely trip to Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area to watch migrant Trumpeter swans. The air felt warm; 42f- and the sky was filled with shades of blue that were almost impossible to believe. Could it be that new shades of blue had been invented, or could it be that a winter full of grey skies had caused me to forget the awesomeness of blue skies?

Clouds swept away those blue pigments in a hurry, by Sunday morning the sky was prepped and ready for snow. I must admit that I like snow, even the early Spring variety. I’ll take it over cold, dreary rain any day. But that taste of spring on Saturday was enough of a teaser to make Monday’s snow harder to appreciate.

As I stood at a window, feeling nice and cozy inside while taking pictures of cardinals, chickadees, woodpeckers, blue jays, and sparrows flitting about looking for food, I changed my attitude. The birds literally “whistled while they worked”.  I realized that if those little feathered creatures could get their jobs done on a cold, snowy day (and in a happy manner) so could I.

I can’t whistle worth a hoot, and even my humming a happy tune is off key, so I opted for listening to favorite songs. Somehow, music and snow seems like a marriage made in heaven. And with the Earth dressed like a cloud and filled with joyful noises, and no pressing work or deadlines looming over me, Monday ended up being a bit like heaven on earth for me. And I owe it all to a lesson learned from birds.

Marcheta *sweet tweets