Independence Day Fireworks on Harvey Pond

 

Harvey Pond Revisited

It has been a busy summer for me and I suddenly realized that It has been several weeks since I dropped by Harvey Pond to watch the Great Blue Herons improving their nest for their anticipated brood. Harvey Pond is next door in Westmoreland New Hampshire and it is a great place to enjoy and photograph nature's summer transformations. Life is bubbling at the pond and I decided that there could be no better time to witness this celebration than on the occassion of our nation's birthday party. Other commitments kept me from witnessing the fireworks this year, but things were exploding on the pond. Harvey Pond is located next to the Glebe Road in Westmoreland making access very easy, but the other advantage of this proximity to car and pedestrian traffic is that the animals are conditioned to human presence and seem more easily approachable than at more isolated locations.

Chicks
My prime reason for returning to the pond was to check the progress of the Blue Heron chicks, and I was not disappointed.

Josting Chicks

Early morning is the best time to view the action on the nest as the parents return from hunting to feed their voracious offspring. The chicks have already grown considerably and are getting quite active on the nest. Although I had been told that three had hatched, I only identified two suggesting that a smaller, a late hatching, chick may have been lost. The two remaining chicks were quite healthy and energetic and It seemed that they became particularly aggressive with each other as soon as a parent returned to the nest. I am sure that this playful jostling was all about competition for food, and training for survival.  No one got hurt, and mom seemed to prefer to ignore the whole scene.   Heron photography involves prolonged periods with the lens trained on the nest waiting for something to happen. Patience is essential, but difficult with so much entertainment going on all over the pond.

Geese on Parade 

The Canada Geese were also quite busy on the pond, shepherding their chicks among the proliferation of lilies that now dominate the shallow areas. They paraded back and forth in front of us despite the fact that Nellie was right at the shore, frozen in rapt attention. The Geese appeared to have such patriotic spirit that I almost expected a fife an drum to appear at the front of their procession.

Snapper
At one point our attention was drawn from the pond to see a

Snapping Turtle

massive Snapping Turtle ambling across the road. We rushed to shield the prehistoric beast from on-rushing traffic, but he seemed more annoyed than grateful for our close approach. Snapping Turtles are especially aggressive when on the land, so we kept our distance until he sunk, gratefully, into the pond. The picture here suffers from a lack any means of scale, but I can add that his carapace was more that two feet long. Snapping Turtles have been know to live close to 50 years in captivity. I would love to know how long this old guy has been stalking the depths of Harvey Pond.

Summer Concert

Croaking

My favorite residents of Harvey Pond are the frogs. They also seemed to lack any fear of Nellie or Me and allowed us to approach quite closely. I was especially excited when the pond burst into a chorus of croaking and I was able to capture the concert. I noticed later that I had also recorded the vibrations spreading out from the frog's ballooning gullet. I was only sorry that I didn't have my field recorder along.

Beauty and the Beast

Sublime Rapture

In my opinion, the ultimate prize in frog photography is what I call the "Beauty and the Beast" moment, when I'm lucky enough to catch a frog next to a fully resplendent Water Lily. Luck was on my side this day, but I wonder whether luck is often helped by the frog's own appreciation for beauty. Why wouldn't a particularly sensitive amphibian become transfixed by such a spectacular but fleeting floral display in their otherwise drab universe. 

Harvey Pond Display

Blue Heron chicks , parading Geese, singing frogs, a antisocial Snapping Turtle, and an explosion of Water Lilies, now THAT is a fitting Independence Day celebration. 

Check my about Harvey Pond earlier this Spring
For more images of the pond check out my Harvey Pond Flickr Set 

Read More

Great Blue Heron on Harvey Pond

They're Back !

The news is that the Great Blue Herons are back in their nest on Harvey Pond in Westmoreland New Hampshire. We missed them last year but when a picture of them settling in showed up on Facebook I ran over to see for myself. People must be tired of my protest that I am NOT a bird photographer, but I have found that recently my gaze has risen more often to the tops of the trees. I’m still not willing to freeze behind a blind for hours, but the Heron are spectacular birds with an almost pre-historic appearance in flight and more importantly they provide a very civilized viewing experience.

Welcome Home, Chicks 2 years Ago

I first saw the Herons on Harvey Pond two years ago. I camped out a couple of times by the road with a clear view to their nest high up in a dead tree that had been drowned by the pond years ago. I trained my 400mm lens on the nest where there was always one of the parents watching over

Nest Building Teamwork

the two chicks as they became more active. I discovered I could relax in my car with the camera on my tripod shooting bursts of images whenever things became interesting. My only challenge was avoiding falling asleep. I quickly discovered that the real action occurred about every 45 minutes when the heron that was out hunting returned to the nest to elegantly regurgitate its catch into the gaping mouths of the ravenous kids. My best shots were of the birds as they arrived at the nest and the interaction between the parents as they switched roles and the other headed off to hunt. The heron approach the nest swooping up from below and float briefly

Greetings

before settling into home. Even while taking advantage of these fleeting pauses in the action I still had to turn up the ISO to 800-1250 to allow a sufficiently fast shutter speed to freeze the motion. With my lens pre-focused on the nest I didn’t need to stop down to get adequate depth of field and locked down on the tripod,  I could turn off the image stabilization.






Growth 2010

Parental Guidance

It was fascinating to see how quickly the chicks grew in both size and boldness. In just a couple of weeks they were pushing the boundaries of their nest. I missed their first flights, but I hope they did well.

What a Difference in a Couple of Weeks

 

Sadly the herons were missing last year. I wonder whether this is the same pair, returning after an ill-advised experiment into an alternative life style. Perhaps they were on sabbatical studying yoga in the Rockies. Whatever , we are glad they are back, and it was a joy last weekend watching them meticulously work on enhancing the nest. There were no chicks visible, but the popular opinion is that the eggs have already been laid.


One of the greatest attractions of such a well known location is the opportunity to learn from other observers who are much more familiar with bird photography. The chance to chat about equipment and technique filled the long intervals of inactivity. It can be frustrating however, since, upon arrival, they invariably told me that I had just missed the best opportunities to capture the action.





Pond Life

Although it is natural to stay focused on the dramatic Herons, I had to remind myself not to miss the varied natural beauty and wildlife which is part of a New England bog in the spring. The lily pads were spreading across the shallow areas of the pond forming a multicolored carpet against the reflected shades of green from the surrounding trees, and the skeletal ranks of  drowned trees  provided striking contrast to the soft spring tones. Turtles were sunning themselves on almost every exposed log and the Canada Geese seemed to be saying “hey what about us” as they splashed down and came right up to the bank. On rarer occasions otters or deer might venture to the water's edge.

Splash Down

I'll be returning every few days to check on the progress. The photographic opportunities are great, but even more exciting is the chance to learn about the behavior of these magnificent animals. If you come by to see the show, please be as quiet and unobtrusive as possible.  Frequent human disturbance can lead to nesting failure. The only thing visible last evening was the head of one of the parents as it was settled peacefully down into the nest. All-in-all a good sign for the future.

Showy Canada Geese

Read More