Jake & I headed out this morning after reports of “ten of thousands of phalaropes” coming in o Mono Lake. With August being a slow wildlife month, this fall ritual is cool to pass up so 05:30 finds us at the lake. And what did we find? Five phalaropes way, way, way out in the lake. So over to “The Ponds” we went to see what we could scare up. In the first two ponds, all we found were lots of immature American Coots (I just love trying to make them look good). Ok, since that’s all we had, we stayed and played.
This Marsh Wren picked a fight with its neighbor which meant they climbed as high as they could on the cattails and sang their hearts out. But the surprises didn’t stop there, oh no!
This Virgina Rail and its FOUR young (the little black blobs) appreared. No this is no way the photo of the century but they are a rare bird in our backyard. They are rare for me to get in the viewfinder I know, this was the first digital images I’ve taken of them. I’ve not photographed them since 1997!
It seems that no matter how “bad” the shooting looks when you first set up the lens, you just never know what mother nature is going to drop in your lap. While you might not come home with “the” shot(s), getting out is a good thing!
Photos captued by D3, 600VR, TC-17e on Lexar UDMA digital film