birds | Change Is Hard

March 15, 2016
by dawnkinster 26 Comments

A little X-rated crane romance

Flying over the neighborhood.

I wondered over the weekend how the heron rookery was doing down at Kensington Park. I figured heron couples should be shopping for their condo units about now, so I headed down there Monday morning. I was right. Looks like quite a few of the condo nests have been spoken for. There were a lot of herons coming and going, landing on nests, some being shooed off. There were lots of couples, too, standing together on their chosen new homes.

Waiting for the newborns.

I wonder if the same herons come back year after year. And if so, do they chose the same nest each year? While I was watching all their activity I heard the sandhill cranes commence to squawking. I turned around and through a fringe of brush I saw one flying low straight toward me.

Can you see him? I know it’s a him…you will too.

He pulled up and landed on the road, just on the other side of some redtwig dogwood shrubs, about 10 yards away from me. He looked right, left, at me, then left again. Then he began to walk quite aggressively down the road. He was in a hurry.

Got important things to do.

That’s when I noticed her. The other half of his pair. The girl of his dreams. The woman who had, until moments before been standing with him on the other side of the bay looking for lunch. She showed him a little wing. Such a flirt.

Hey there good looking.

He didn’t have to be invited twice.

Didn’t even look to see if there were any cars coming.

I was so surprised I just kept clicking with no consideration for their privacy. After all, if they cared about that they should have got a room.

Quick! Someone’s coming!

And then it was done.

How about a date next Friday night?

Instantly they were just another couple, walking together down the road. And miraculously right toward me! Right about then I registered that I’d been hearing soft grunting noises below me. I glanced down from my spot on the boardwalk. There was a Canadian goose wanting his share of attention. Probably begging for a treat, though I had nothing to give him, and the signs clearly say not to feed the wildlife.

Got anything good up there lady?

So I turned my attention back to the cranes. Down the embankment they came, through the redtwig dogwoods, and into the lake, perhaps three feet from me and my camera.

Care for a little snack?

They casually waded along in the shallow water, sipping a bit of water here, testing a bit of greenery there. Talking quietly between themselves. Unafraid of me and my clicking camera. Ignoring the world, lost in their love.

I love you too sweetheart.

I have other things to show you from Monday’s walk in the woods, but they will have to wait for a future blog. But certainly spring is here, in the wetlands and hills and woods of Southern Michigan. And I think we all wish the happy couple the best in the coming months as they await their little one.

Snack time

February 21, 2016
by dawnkinster 15 Comments

Creative types

Fun stuff.

Almost two weeks ago I showed you all the things people were doing in the middle of a Michigan winter out at my favorite park. And I mentioned that there were also a number of artists painting there that day, so many that I figured they deserved their own post.

And now two weeks have passed in a flash.

So before more time slips through my fingers, let me show some very talented people at work capturing their vision of my favorite park. They were spread out near the nature center, some along the bike/running path…

Painters and runners share space.

…some tucked further into the woods.

Painting in the woods.

Most were focused on parts of the lake, fringed with cattails and surrounded by bare trees against the brilliant blue sky.

There’s beauty everywhere.

It was cold that day, and they were painting while dressed in heavy coats or hunting gear, scarfs, gloves, hats.

Staying warm with art.

But the cold certainly didn’t dampen their enthusiasm. Their work was beautiful. I wanted to stop and talk to each of them about what they were doing, but they seemed very intense. So I admired from afar.

Something else I admired from afar was this guy. Or girl.

Our national bird.

This photo is cropped 3 times, the bald eagle was sitting in the top of a heron rookery far out in the middle of a lake. I’ve never seen one this far south, and I wouldn’t have seen this one if he or she hadn’t flown in with a huge stick while I was across the street watching artists. I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. There was a fringe of trees between us, and I wasn’t sure what I was seeing. So I ran back to the nature boardwalk and looked through my long lens.

I still couldn’t believe it.

I stayed a long time watching the eagle watch all of us. And if it weren’t for the cold I might be there still. I felt privileged to have witnessed the low flight of this bird, and its sweep up to the top of that tree. Eagles are very special in our family and I’m so glad to have seen this one. Another photographer said a pair of them was around that lake all last summer, though I never saw or heard anything about eagles being there. I’ll keep a sharper eye out this summer and keep you posted.

An incredible day captured.

Meanwhile…the artists were packing up and headed home to warm up and reminisce about their lovely day at the park. I decided I would too.

Maybe someday I’ll try oil painting. I think it would be fun, but probably frustrating, to capture my version of things I see. If I give it a shot you guys will be the first to know. And I hope I see the artists and my bald eagle out at the park again this spring and summer. I’ll let you know about that too.

Waiting and watching.

February 16, 2016
by dawnkinster 28 Comments

The same but different

A lonely day at the lake.

Twenty-eight degrees F (-2.22 C) here, and a slight frozen mist hanging in the air; seems perfect to go for a nature walk around a lake. So I drove out to my favorite park again. You know, the one that was full of activity and bright sunshine the last time I was there.

Not so much sun or activity today. It felt melancholy, lonely, damp. Few people were out, though there were more than I expected at the back of the park on the far side of the lake.

Someone is watching me.

And there were birds. As I took my first step on the nature path I could already hear the chickadees calling, and soon they were circling my head. They expect a treat. I left them a few seeds on the railing of the first bridge and moved along. It was too cold to stand still, arm outstretched to feed them individually.

Incoming!

I was thinking about why I was lugging my camera. Before I left the house I debated not bringing it, considered the advantages of taking a walk in nature without it. But then I realized if I did that there would be something amazing and I’d regret not having it.

What you lookin at lady?

So early in the walk, with fingers already getting cold, I thought about all the pictures I already had, filed away in my archives. Pictures of this park, these birds, most under better light and conditions than I was facing today. So why was I still watching for something interesting?

Anything good up here?

People have asked me….”what do you do with all those photos?” I don’t necessarily do anything with them, except share a few of them here with you, or with family. If I’m at a family event I might turn the best of them into a book for my siblings to remember our time together. But only a few of them ever end up in anything I share.

Most of the time I just flip through them and remember.

Because, you see, I can remember what it felt like to stand where I stood when I took almost every one. The way the light was, the temperature of the air, unique smells and sounds, why I was out there, the shots I missed when I got the one I’m staring at now. The photos in my archives take me right back to the adventures I experienced when I took them.

OK, we can share.

I think it’s probably a lot like playing music. It’s more fun to be the player than the listener. Perhaps it’s more fun being the photographer than the one looking at the results. For me, it’s all about the hunt; sometimes for something specific that I have in mind, but more often the fun of finding an opportunity to catch something surprising or pretty, or arty or just cool.

Eastern bluebird scout

So on today’s cold walk along the mist shrouded lake I didn’t find lots of great photos, but I found enough to make me smile. And really that’s enough to make cold feet and tingly fingers worthwhile.

Peek-a-boo

Even if no one else ever sees the majority of them.

Serenity

January 11, 2016
by dawnkinster 10 Comments

WordPress Photo Challenge: Weight(less)

Sandhill cranes, though large birds, fly as though they weigh nothing at all…

Weightless cranes

…way up against the puffy, weightless clouds in the beautiful blue sky.

You can see other interpretations of weight(less) at the original WP post. Or check out a few of my favorites here, here and here.

OK…here’s another favorite from my archives:

Let’s go fly a kite.

Taken last spring on a blustery day, this couple stood on top of the sledding hill flying their kite.

For me it was easier to think about this challenge from the weightless side. But I wonder what I have in my archives that would represent weight.

I bet there’s something.

November 20, 2015
by dawnkinster 16 Comments

It’s all about the birds

Boardwalk

This week I spent some time at Kensington Metro Park, one of my favorites around here. I walked around one of the natural areas that prohibits bikes, joggers and dogs. I know, I know. But don’t worry – Katie forgave me when I took her to her own park later in the day. She’s good like that.

The walk around the lake is just under 2 miles and though it was a cool November day, all the leaves had long since fallen, there was still a lot going on. Want to see? Well come on! (And click on any photo to see it larger with detail.)

The walk starts out on the boardwalk near the road. Right away I could see there was a sandhill crane couple standing out along a point. I thought all of the cranes had left the area, heading to warmer climates. But I was wrong. These two were standing in the water right near a bench where people sat to enjoy the view.

Walking near the shore.

While I stood taking pictures several people walked up. The cranes just tilted their heads and watched us. They are so used to being photographed they don’t mind as long as you don’t move too fast. Eventually I moved along, taking the path around the lake. Just a little bit further along the lake edge I came across crane couple #2.

Going for a stroll.

These two were a little more skittish. They moved away from me when I stepped up close to the shoreline. They were in a more secluded location and probably hadn’t had as much attention that morning as the first pair. One of them turned and faced me as if to you….”What you looking at?”

You lookin at ME?

I reassured them that I thought they were beautiful, then I tiptoed back up to the path and moved along.

Back among the trees each time I stopped to take a picture I heard the flurry of wings around my head. There were always chickadees flitting around. The park has all sorts of signs telling people not to feed the wildlife, but I’ve seen, almost every time I’ve been there, people standing still holding out their hands which are filled with sunflower seeds. The chickadees, being such brave little birds, have been accustomed to getting a treat when people stop and stand still.

Hey LADY!!

They expected something from me. I had to apologize to them; I hadn’t brought anything with me.

Further along I came to a hill with a fence and some shrubs still bright green and covered in some sort of red berries.

Follow the path.

Then I noticed a bird hopping around among the green leaves. What was that? Could it be? Can you tell?

Can you tell what this is?

I saw the topknot on it’s head, but it wasn’t a female cardinal. It was a cedar waxwing! I only see those in the spring and in the fall, if I’m lucky, when they are migrating through the area. They have a bright yellow strip at the end of their tails, and red bars on their wings, and that’s how I knew for sure what I was seeing.

Can you see the tail?

I stood there fascinated, watching the bird hop around picking red berries off the shrub. Then I began to wonder. Where were the rest? These birds travel in flocks and I’ve never seen only one. There are always several more.

Pretty under side of the bird.

I could only find one other bird among all the leaves. Finally I gave up looking, put my camera away and began to move. The shrub eruppted as dozens of waxwings flew up into the higher trees. It was magical and I laughed out loud.

Thank you little guys! It was fun!

I kept moving along, rounding the back of the lake. The sun began to peak out through the clouds and the sky got brighter. It was a wonderful thing to be walking in the quiet woods on what used to be a work day. I felt very lucky to be there.

Who wouldn’t want to be walking here?

And do you know what I found just a bit further up this beautiful path? You guessed it! Crane couple #3!

Enjoying the sun.

I’m sure these aren’t either of the couples I saw on the other side of the lake because I hadn’t heard any cranes flying. They can’t seem to keep quiet when they fly, almost always making an eerie screech while they are in the air. This couple didn’t want to be photographed at all, so I only took a quick shot of the two of them together. And this one of one of them headed my way to find out why I was interrupting their quiet time.

Yes I know I’m pretty.

I said I’d move along, and he seemed fine with that.

When I was close to the beginning of my walk I realized I hadn’t hit the 2 mile mark yet, so I decided to walk over to the nature center before heading to my car parked in their lot. I figured I could use the steps and it was now a full-on beautiful afternoon and I was in no hurry to drive home. And as I approached the back of the museum I saw what I thought was a statue of sandhill cranes. There were three of them, the parents and a juvenile.

Cranes are EVERYWHERE!

And then one of them moved! They were eating birdseed from under the bird feeders. A whole family, right up next to a building with people inside staring out at them. I started to laugh. Silly but opportunistic birds.

Years ago it was rare for me to see one pair of cranes in the park. Back when I used to run there every Saturday I never saw any. Now they seem to be much more plentiful; this summer I have seen many families of cranes, both in this park and near where I live. I wonder if there really are more of them, or if they’ve just moved into more populated areas.

And so this is not all about birds, while at the nature center I walked down to the pond.

You got anything to eat lady?

I call this shot “Carp with Oak Leaf” and I think if it were painted in oil it would be a classic. Or something.

As I headed up to the car I ran into one more crane.

Not looking at that sign.

I think he was making a point of not looking at the sign. No one reads those anyway.

Right?

Pretty bittersweet

October 31, 2015
by dawnkinster 22 Comments

We’ve been junco’d

There are these little birds that show up around here when winter is upon us. They’re cute, but I’m never happy to see them.

Hello hello! I’m HERE!

I’m always sad when they show up because they are definitive proof that summer is gone and that we’re facing the long dark months of winter. Yesterday the juncos arrived.

Right here under your nose!

I’m just not ready.

web photo

October 28, 2015
by dawnkinster 8 Comments

Wordless Wednesday

(You can click on an image and view them all larger)

October 25, 2015
by dawnkinster 33 Comments

Walktober

Sunday afternoon stroll.

Robin over at breezes at dawn challenges us each October to take a walk and then share it with all of you. Here it is October 25 and I haven’t shared a walk with anyone yet. It’s not that I haven’t been walking; certainly we walked a gazillion miles on our Canadian trip and another gazillion in DC last week. I just didn’t do all that with Walktober in mind.

So this morning I headed out into the October sunlight and visited one of my favorite places – the place where I always find something beautiful to photograph – Kensington Metro Park. My plan was to head out on the nature trails and see what I could see, but I was sucked into the incredible beauty along the bike path that circles the main lake so I stopped and walked there for awhile.

Right next to the parking lot was a family of sandhill cranes. Mama and Papa are on the left, this year’s child is on the right. They seemed unaffected by all the people snapping their photo. I think they will be on their way south very soon.

Family of three.

I love fall colors reflected in water and I wasn’t disappointed today. This shot was actually the reason I pulled over and parked earlier than I had planned. It’s a little bay area, with picnic tables under big oak trees.

I’ve had a picnic lunch out on this little spit of land in warmer days.

I used to run on the bike path every weekend, around the beautiful lake. As I walked today I was remembering other times, running with friends, running alone, things I’ve seen on these hills and curves from many years of visiting this beautiful park.

Willow and water.

Along the path I came across some bittersweet. I know it’s invasive, but it’s something my mom used to like to decorate with in fall and I don’t see it very often these days. As the weather cools the orange berries split and fold back, showing a yellowish center. Mom used to dry it and tuck it along the fireplace mantle. I always think of her when I find a bit of it on my wanderings.

Orange berry memories.

I headed over to the nature trails to see what I might find. The sun was warm on my face and I was enjoyed being in the woods listening to the birds, watching chickadees and nuthatches flit about.

Nuthatch stops for a fleeting moment to say hi.

There were lots and lots of chipmunks running around in the dry leaves. They always sound so much bigger scrambling around under those leaves than they really are. I stopped and watched three of them chase each other around.

If I stay still you can’t see me. Right?

The nature trail led through the woods and then opened up into a pretty little meadow with a couple of surprise maple trees still in full color.

A surprise punch of color.

I’m always happy when I see a bit of color that stands out.

Most of the maples are done, and now it’s the oak trees’ time to shine.

This park has an amazing array of wildlife habitats, you can walk in rolling hills or around the lake or near wetlands. Everywhere you look there is something beautiful. No matter what time of year you visit.

More cranes out in the marsh.

New vignettes will catch your eye each time you walk through the park. It’s best to always have your camera handy.

Two trees.

This was the perfect place to visit after our busy week in Washington DC. I am grateful to Robin for suggesting Walktober. Just like last year I’m thinking I need to do a Walkovember next month.

A good spot for contemplation.

Care to join me?

Last of the maple color.

October 10, 2015
by dawnkinster 20 Comments

Another shot missed

Sunshine, crisp golden light, maple leaves turning red and gold…how could I resist grabbing the camera and the dog and heading out over the frost covered lawn to the pond across the street. The trees in my neighbor’s yard were stunning in the sunshine.

Morning glow

And those across their pond were beautiful as well. Katie and I moved along the road looking for a spot to capture them.

Morning calm.

I was focused on catching the light and the water while standing on the dog’s leash and listening for cars when I heard a soft, short grunt off to my right. I didn’t look right then, didn’t look until there was a rush of wings and a loud squawk.

A blue heron was lifting off of a submerged tree limb about 10 yards away. He’d probably been sitting there as Katie and I got closer and closer. He gave me a warning grunt and I didn’t listen.

So this is all I got:

Flying away.

I’ve been trying to get a great shot of a blue heron for years. Years. And there he was standing there next to me and I never even noticed. If I had glanced over at the first grunt I think there would have been an amazing shot. But I’ll never know.

Back at home moments after Katie and I came in four young deer crossed the road we had just been standing on. I don’t have a picture of them in the morning glow either. I was too busy trying to keep Katie from flinging herself against the windows to grab the camera.

Silly us.

Missed another one Mama!

August 25, 2015
by dawnkinster 6 Comments

Reflection

Morning quiet

Early in the morning I sit on the deck overlooking the still lake. It is cool, surprisingly cool, as I prop my feet up on the railing and open my book. Neighborhood dogs are barking at something up the shoreline, but here on the deck it is quiet except for the fluttering of wings. So many birds flitting around the trees, I only catch a glimpse of some; a house finch, a cardinal glowing in the dappled morning light. I think the birds are startled to see me there, being used to the emptiness of this house. A hummingbird suddenly appears. It stares at the red t-shirt I slept in last night and am still wearing. Then he zooms away and I feel sad that there is no food for him, that there hasn’t been a feeder here for the past 11 years.

Mom always kept the feeder full.

Change Is Hard

…but change is certain.

Tag Archives: birds