Red-breasted Nuthatch

RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH (SITTA CANADENSIS), GREEN, MICHIGAN, AUGUST 30, 2011

Pentax K-5
Sigma 135-400 APO DG at 340mm
1/400 sec. f7.1
ISO 1600

I've captured lots of white-breasted nuthatches, but this is the first specimen of the smaller red-breasted variety to fall to my camera. This morning I set up my nylon duck blind ten feet from a bird feeder in the back yard of our cabin and waited, and within minutes this visitor came calling.

Green heron

GREEN HERON, ONTONAGON TOWNSHIP, MICHIGAN, AUGUST 25, 2011

Both photographs:
Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-DA 55-300 at 300mm
1/1250 sec. f9
ISO 400

The Great Blue Heron is common on the shore of Lake Superior, but this was the first time I'd ever spotted its smaller cousin, the crow-sized Green Heron, a swampland denizen. Its small crest erects when it's excited, making it look frantic and frazzled in flight. These aren't terrific photographs, but at least they will do for my lifetime bird list.

Juvenile eagle

JUVENILE BALD EAGLE, CARP LAKE TOWNSHIP, MICHIGAN, AUGUST 25, 2011

Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-DA 55-300 at 300mm
1/640 sec. f9
ISO 400

As I strolled along the southern shore of Lake Superior, this juvenile bald eagle swooped low, about 75 feet in the air, and loitered above for a long minute, gliding tight circles directly overhead. At last I have my close-in eagle shot for the summer, even though an adult would be more spectacular. Click the photo for a large version.

Sunset No. 6

SUNSET OVER LAKE SUPERIOR, GREEN, MICHIGAN, AUGUST 21, 2011

Pentax K20D
Sigma 17-70 DC at 58mm
1/500 sec. f13
ISO 400

What can I say? Sundowns in these parts at this time of year are simply nonpareil.

Eagle

BALD EAGLE, GREEN, MICHIGAN, AUGUST 14, 2011

Pentax K20D
SMC Pentax-DA 55-300 at 300mm
1/1000 sec. f11
ISO 1400

Someday I will get close enough to one of the four adult eagles that live in tall trees near our cabin on Lake Superior to get a good frame-filling shot, but for now this will have to do. He (or she) flew about 200 feet above me as I sat in a chair on the beach and I cropped the photograph hard. Click it for larger version.

Sunsets No. 5

SUNSET OVER LAKE SUPERIOR, GREEN, MICHIGAN, AUGUST 16, 2011

Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 ED (IF)
1/500 sec. f9
ISO 400

Last night's sunset was absolutely weird -- the sun punched through two storm systems, one close in and dumping rain over the lake (hence the strange halo effect), another system far, far out on the horizon. A gaggle of geese flew past just as I was trying out different f/stops to see if I could subdue the halo. (I couldn't.) Click on the photo for a desktop-sized version.

Below is a wide-angle shot of the same sunset, taken a few minutes later with another camera. Click on it also for a desktop-sized version.

Pentax K20D
Sigma 17-70 at 21mm
1/30 sec. f8
ISO 400

Sunset No. 4

SUNSET OVER LAKE SUPERIOR, GREEN, MICHIGAN, AUGUST 5, 2011

Pentax K20D
Sigma 17-70 at 17mm
1/1000 sec. f8
ISO 400

I hate to keep boasting that my summer place is sunsettier than yours, but I'm afraid it's true. Even when the colors aren't at their usual vividness, the clouds and the deep blue sky over the Big Lake still bespeak a sundown of champions. The usual free desktop-sized version can be obtained by clicking on the photograph.

Hummer No. 3

RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD, GREEN, MICHIGAN, JUNE 6, 2011

Pentax K-5
Pentax SMC-DA 55-300 at 300mm
1/180 sec. f6.3 with on-board flash
ISO 400

One of these days I will capture a male hummingbird in all his iridescent red splendor without a distracting plastic feeder in the frame, but for now this will do. I found the shot, taken two months ago, while rooting around in the computer for something else. It was taken through the picture window of our cabin.

Sunset No. 3

SUNSET OVER LAKE SUPERIOR, GREEN, MICHIGAN, AUGUST 3, 2011

Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-DA 55-300 at 190mm
1/1250 sec. f5.6
ISO 400

Looks like Jupiter or maybe Uranus, doesn't it? Nope, it's old Sol, punching through a darkling storm far in the distance over western Lake Superior. Squint at the detail photo below (click on it and it'll be a little larger) and you might able to see what appear to be sunspots on the surface. (They're not schmutz on the camera's sensor -- I checked.)

Sunset No. 2

SUNSET OVER LAKE SUPERIOR, GREEN, MICHIGAN, AUGUST 2, 2011

Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-DA 55-300 at 300mm
1/800 f7.1
ISO 400

The Big Lake sunsets are getting ever more vivid as the summer rolls on into August. This one turned out best with a long lens. Click on the photo for a desktop-sized version.