Broad-winged Hawk

BROAD-WINGED HAWK (BUTEO PLATYPTERUS), PORCUPINE MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS STATE PARK, MICHIGAN, MAY 28, 2011

Pentax K-5
Tamron SP AF DI 90mm macro
1/160 f16 with on-board flash
ISO 1600

Still another actor in last weekend's Wildlife Recovery program at the Porkies park's Visitor Center, the smallish broad-winged hawk is noted for its predatory style: it sits on a branch quietly and waits for prey -- typically small rodents and shrews -- to amble within range before stooping for the kill.

Owlzilla

GREAT HORNED OWL (BUBO VIRGINIANUS), PORCUPINE MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS STATE PARK, MICHIGAN, MAY 28, 2011

Pentax K-5
Tamron SP AF DI 90mm macro
1/160 sec. f14 with on-board flash
ISO 800

Another shot from the Wildlife Recovery program at the Porkies Visitor Center last Memorial Day weekend, this one is of the world's largest species of owl. The Great Horned, says the bird book, is powerful enough to take prey three times its size, including other owls, small dogs, young gators, raccoons and Great Blue herons.

Barred owl

BARRED OWL (STRIX VARIA), PORCUPINE MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS STATE PARK, MICHIGAN, MAY 28, 2011

Pentax K-5
Tamron SP AF DI 90mm macro
1/160 sec. f16, with on-board flash
ISO 1600

This rescued and rehabilitated barred owl, part of the Wildlife Recovery traveling raptor demonstration,  sat for a closeup portrait yesterday at the Porkies Visitor Center. Earlier I misidentified it as a "barn owl," which lipreads the same as "barred owl." What's a deaf guy supposed to do? Check the bird books, of course.

Snake charmer

JOE ROGERS AND PYTHON, PORCUPINE MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS STATE PARK, MICHIGAN, MAY 28, 2011

Pentax K-5
Tamron SP AF DI 90mm macro
1/200 sec. f2.8
ISO 12800

Joe Rogers, head of the Wildlife Recovery Association in Shepherd, Michigan, is a born showman who brings rehabilitated raptors to school and park programs all over the Upper Peninsula. He warms up the crowd with a display of a live python. This shot was taken at a remarkably high but still usable ISO in low indoor light and de-noised in Lightroom.

At the rookery

GREAT BLUE HERON (ARDEA HERODIAS), ONTONAGON, MICHIGAN, MAY 22, 2011

Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 ED (IF)
1/2000 sec. f8
ISO 1600

The proper term is "heronry," but the locals know this spot in a swamp several miles southwest of Ontonagon in upper Michigan as "the rookery." We counted seven nesting Great Blue herons there the other day, and as always I wished I had a really long (such as 600mm) lens instead of having to crop the hell out of a shot taken with a 300mm. All the same, the results seem acceptable.

The Bettie Page of chipmunkdom?

EASTERN CHIPMUNK, GREEN, MICHIGAN, MAY 18, 2011

Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 ED (IF)
1/640 sec. f8
ISO 1600

It's not just that the tree squirrels of Upper Michigan have better things to do than serve as photo models. This chipmunk, who lives in the riprap rocks five feet from our front window, seems to think I'm the Irving Penn of amateur wildlife photography. She strikes a different seductive pose every day. This one seems to be of Playboy (or at least field rodent guidebook) quality.

Jay

BLUE JAY (CYANOCITTA CRISTATA), GREEN, MICHIGAN, MAY 16, 2011

Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 ED (IF)
1/640 sec. f11
ISO 800

Our cabin property seems to have become Corvid Central, with a flock of crows roosting in the swamp behind us, attended by half a dozen jays (fellow members of the family Corvidae) serving as, uh, wingmen. The jays have discovered the spot where I bribe a chipmunk to sit for his portrait and have learned to wait for me to come out with a cupful of bird seed.

First goslings of the year

CANADA GOOSE AND GOSLINGS, GREEN, MICHIGAN, MAY 20, 2011

Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 ED (IF)
1/2500 sec. f7.1
ISO 1600

Honkers are considered golf-course pests back in Illinois but are a valued part of the wilderness scenery in Upper Michigan, where they belong. Normally we see five or six goslings in a clutch, leading us to think that an eagle or an owl might have picked off a few siblings of this lonely pair photographed the other day in front of our cabin on Lake Superior.

Mr. Chips

EASTERN CHIPMUNK, GREEN, MICHIGAN, MAY 16, 2011

Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 ED (IF)
1/640 sec. f14
ISO 3200

I had set the ISO of the camera at an extremely high 3200 for dusk shots the previous night. The next evening my spouse, Deborah Abbott, always on alert for good photos, spotted this fellow just outside our front window, picked up the nearest camera and snapped off several portraits before he scampered away. I'm always amazed at the image quality the K-5 yields at high ISO.

What's that?

HOGAN ON THE BEACH, GREEN, MICHIGAN, MAY 7, 2011

Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 ED (IF)
1/2000 sec. f8
ISO 1600

How do you get a half-Lab to strike a noble pose for the camera instead of sniffing around aimlessly for olfactory curiosities, paying no attention to the photographer? Just say sharply, "Lunch!" and he'll go on full alert. It helped that the sun was low in the sky, casting bold shadows to mold the subject.

Chipmunk a toilette

EASTERN CHIPMUNK (TAMIAS STRIATUS), GREEN, MICHIGAN, MAY 6, 2011

Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-DA 55-300 at 300mm
1/5000 f8
ISO 1600

At our cabin in Upper Michigan, chipmunks are even more ubiquitous than squirrels back home in Illinois. This one felt confident enough to spend several minutes grooming itself in the sun rather than skulking nervously in the shadows, hyper-alert for predators. I photographed him from behind a freshly washed front window.

Deep in the palm of luxury

NEIGHBOR FELINE IN SCULPTURE CHAIR, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, APRIL 30, 2011

Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 ED (IF)
1/800 sec. f10
ISO 1600

This is Jinx, a cat from down the block that has taken up residence with my immediate neighbor to the west. She is absolutely fearless and, when in my back yard, simply ignores the snarling charges of our large dog Hogan. Who in turn is flummoxed by the cat's refusal to play the role of prey and slouches away pretending the encounter never happened.