Jim Eckstrom, editor of the Olean Occasions Herald, wrote a column final fall about seeing river otters within the Allegheny Nationwide Forest whereas fishing the Kinzua Creek and regretted that he didn’t have a digicam with him as a result of it was a once-in-a-lifetime have a look at the secretive world of the elusive otters.
After I learn it, I keep in mind considering there isn’t a wildlife photographer alive who hasn’t had that have a minimum of as soon as — or greater than as soon as.
The primary time I needed I had a digicam was once I was an undergraduate scholar on the State College of New York School at Oswego, situated on the south shore of Lake Ontario. I’ve many good reminiscences of being a scholar there — and, no, I didn’t know Jerry Seinfeld, regardless that we shared the identical dormitory.
However the reminiscence that stands out is seeing a snowy owl on high of the coed union constructing. It was daytime and it was snowing like loopy — commonplace in Oswego — and about 20 college students stood in awe of this owl. I keep in mind considering nobody will consider this — and nobody did.
The second time I’d wished I had a digicam was one other owl — a barred owl — that flew proper in at eye degree whereas I used to be climbing in Allegany State Park. I had simply began birding so I knew what I used to be taking a look at and I froze as I stared into that chook’s spooky darkish eyes that appeared to seize all the pieces that’s mysterious in regards to the forest. It’s an expertise I received’t neglect however it will be good to have an image.
The subsequent time I didn’t have a digicam, I used to be parked on the shores of Lake Erie in Buffalo hoping for a glimpse of a reported gyrfalcon. It was within the days when my life listing of birds was driving most of my birding exercise, and I’d already notched prairie falcon, peregrine falcon, merlin and American kestrel and I couldn’t move up the chance to presumably see North America’s largest and strongest falcon that spends most of its time in Iceland.
It was a kind of freezing-cold February days when there wasn’t a cloud within the sky and I sat in my automobile watching the grain elevators the place the chook had been reported. However my thoughts was wandering to a time a few years earlier than once I was working in a manufacturing facility on the lakefront and was trapped within the constructing by the Blizzard of ’77. Police had closed the roads.
I used to be nearly to surrender my vigil when a big, white chook soared across the finish of the grain elevators and perched. The sight of that chook in opposition to the blue sky is burned into my reminiscence and regardless that the chook was far-off, if I’d had a digicam, it was the sort of shot that will have meant all the pieces to me — even when it meant nothing to anybody else.
And it’s not simply birds of prey that “acquired away.” Years in the past, I used to be climbing within the Adirondack Excessive Peaks and adopted the John’s Brook strategy to the height known as Decrease Wolf Jaw. In these days I truly had a digicam with a great lens however determined in opposition to taking it with me on the hike due to the added weight and the misguided notion that I wouldn’t see any birds on the mountain that I couldn’t see elsewhere.
After I reached the highest I used to be taking within the candy aroma of the balsam fir bushes once I heard one thing that sounded virtually — however not fairly — acquainted. Trying round I noticed a household of boreal chickadees flitting by means of the bushes and I couldn’t consider that I had left my digicam in my automotive. It’s true that boreal chickadees might be seen on the high of Whiteface Mountain, which has a highway to the highest, however it’s not the identical as being alone at treeline with simply the noisy little chickadees virtually inside attain.
One in all my worst experiences of that sort got here some years in the past once I was once more climbing in Allegany State Park and walked right into a grove of hemlock bushes when motion caught my eye. I turned and noticed a northern goshawk drop from a department onto the bottom. I used to be not more than 15 ft away from the chook and regardless that it was a grey day and even grayer within the grove, an image would have helped save the reminiscence.
The chook, which was an grownup, confirmed nearly no concern of my presence regardless that I stood there for 5 minutes. Goshawks are well-known for aggressively defending their nests however this was early autumn and this chook was simply passing by means of. The worst half was that it was within the early days of smartphones and regardless that I had my telephone with me I by no means thought to make use of the digicam.
I’m blissful to say that I’ve discovered from these experiences to at all times have my digicam helpful and so I’ve managed to get photos of some — however not all — of the birds I’ve talked about right here however there are nonetheless these occasions when circumstances conspire in opposition to getting the shot.
Not too long ago, I used to be birding in a close-by wetland the place I had seen better and lesser yellowlegs, that are considered one of our earliest shorebirds. Neither chook nests in our space so the one probability of seeing them is in spring and fall migration and once I do discover them, it’s normally lower than 4 or 5 particular person birds.
However on one current morning I occurred to lookup and noticed 15 better yellowlegs flying low in a free formation trying as if they had been coming in for a touchdown. I reached for my digicam however acquired caught up within the strap and by the point I acquired on the birds their grey our bodies in opposition to a grey sky was an excessive amount of for the autofocus on my digicam and away they went.
I hung round for 30 minutes or so hoping they’d come again however they had been heading north to their breeding grounds and had little interest in coming again. I left the world considering there have to be a reputation for the particular sort of folly that makes me suppose nature will cooperate with people.
However none of this has dampened my enthusiasm to get on the market and hold attempting for that good shot. With our favourite songbirds already on their manner right here, spring birding is the right time to observe social distancing or, in the event you’d moderately not go exterior, put out the hummingbird feeder or some orange slices or jelly for the Baltimore orioles. Spring is right here.
(Jeffrey Reed writes a month-to-month birding column for the Olean Occasions Herald. Readers with questions or feedback can name him at 557-2327 or e-mail him at jeffreed58@gmail.com.)
