Catkins

PUSSY WILLOW CATKINS, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, APRIL 17, 2014

Pentax K-3
Pentax 55-300 at 300mm
1/800 sec. f10
ISO 800

I don't know what species of Salix this is, but the rays of the early morning light at the Garden caught the "catkins" in photogenic fashion.

C'mere, baby, c'mere

COMMON GRACKLES, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, APRIL 27, 2014

Pentax K-3
Pentax 55-300 at 300mm
1/1000 sec. f8
ISO 400

The Botanic Garden resounded with cackles and hoots as the grackles, now in the middle of their mating season, stalked each other with displays that made the males look for all the world like Peter Lorre in a vampire movie. (She wasn't having any of it.)

You lookin' at ME?

RING-BILLED GULL, LOVELACE PARK, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, APRIL 18, 2014

Pentax K-3
Pentax 55-300 at 300mm
1/1000 sec. f9
ISO 400

One of yesterday's gulls, in a closer-in (and cropped) shot. It doesn't seem to trust me overmuch, does it?

Ring-billed Gulls

RING-BILLED GULLS, LOVELACE PARK, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, APRIL 18, 2014

Pentax K-3
Pentax 55-300 at 150mm
1/1250 sec. f9
ISO 400

No interesting new species stopped over at the Lovelace Park pond that day, so I made do with this shot of a couple of visiting gulls atop a light standard. They may be ordinary, but at least they are graceful.

Female redwing No. 2

FEMALE RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD, LOVELACE PARK, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, APRIL 18, 2014

Pentax K-3
Pentax 55-300 at 300mm
1/1250 sec. f9
ISO 800

At first I wanted to call this a female house finch, whose markings are almost identical, but the whitish "eyebrow" bespeaks a female red-winged blackbird. If I needed any more confirmation, it came from a very insistent male redwing that seemed to harass the female mercilessly. She probably enjoyed all the attention, if it is not sexist of me to say so.

Bonaparte's Gull

BONAPARTE'S GULL, LOVELACE PARK, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, APRIL 19, 2014

Pentax K-3
Pentax 55-300 at 300mm
1/1000 f9
ISO 400

At first I thought this species, not often seen among the mallards and Canada geese that frequent the little pond in Lovelace Park, was a very similar Franklin's Gull. But the bird books show Franklin's with black legs and feet and the Bonaparte's with orange landing gear, so I'm calling this a Bonaparte's until somebody with better knowledge can set me straight.

Female red-winged blackbird

FEMALE RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, APRIL 17, 2014

Pentax K-3
Pentax 55-300 at 300mm
1/320 sec. f11
ISO 800

This weary specimen was hiding six feet away in the bushes from the ardent male that had been pursuing her in a high-speed dogfight around the Garden. Red-winged blackbirds often display what seems to be the avian world's most energetic form of courtship.

Great Blue Heron

GREAT BLUE HERON, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, APRIL 17, 2014

Pentax K-3
Pentax 55-300 at 300mm
1/320 sec. f11
ISO 800

This visiting Great Blue was wading slowly in the shallows near the Garden's Visitor Center when it suddenly jabbed its long beak into the water and came up with a fish. The lighting was not good—the bird was backlit in high sun and the shadows harsh—but a little work in Lightroom brought out things acceptably.

Mallard in flight

MALLARD, LOVELACE PARK, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, APRIL 16, 2014

Pentax K-5
Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5
1/3200 sec. f8
ISO 400

Even a high shutter speed of 1/3200 sec. couldn't stop the rapid wingbeats of a mallard on afterburner. It's mating season, and the three male mallards at the Lovelace Park pond frantically chased one another at high speed all afternoon. Tracking them with a long lens wasn't easy and this is about the only keeper out of some 100 shots.

First goose of 2014

CANADA GOOSE, LOVELACE PARK, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, APRIL 16, 2014

Pentax K-5
Pentax F* 300mm f4.5
1/320 sec. f9
ISO 400

This one came in close for his portrait.

Senecio

SENECIO ELEGANS, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, APRIL 13, 2014

Pentax K-3
Sigma 18-250 at 250mm
1/200 sec. f8
ISO 400

Also known as Purple Ragwort, this member of the aster family is considered a weed in many places. Some weed.

Trumpeter Swan

TRUMPETER SWAN, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, APRIL 13, 2014

Pentax K-3
Sigma 18-250 at 250mm
1/125 f8
ISO 100

This was a tryout of a new Sigma 18-250mm lens that looks as if it will be very handy for traveling. Results at the long end are a little soft but still acceptable.

Red Kalanchoe

RED KALANCHOE, EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, MARCH 10, 2014

Pentax K-01
Tamron 90mm macro with 20mm extension tube
2.5 sec. f16
ISO 100

This bloom, part of a tiny bunch in a pot I brought home from the Botanic Garden, is less than an quarter the diameter of a dime. Using an extension tube with a macro lens allowed me to get in close, and I "spotlighted" a single flower with a Lightroom 5 filter.

First grackle of 2014

COMMON GRACKLE, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, APRIL 6, 2014

Pentax K-3
Pentax-F* 300mm f4.5 with 1.5x Kenko teleconverter (450mm total)
1/640 sec. f7.1 (effective f9)
ISO 800

The big blackbirds were the most common avian sight yesterday at the Botanic Garden. They're not particularly interesting or attractive as photographic subjects, but once in a while they will strike a pose worth capturing.

First red-breasted merganser of 2014

MALE RED-BREASTED MERGANSER, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, APRIL 6, 2014

Pentax K-3
Pentax F* 300mm f4.5 with 1.5x Kenko teleconverter (450mm total)
1/500 sec. f6.3 (effective f9)
ISO 800

This is really a "meh" shot, but it has the virtue of being the first red-breasted merganser I've photographed this year. They're on their way north and several stopped at the Botanic Garden today to rest and refuel. The combined 450mm of lens was not easy to hand-hold, but it did the job.