I had not planned on going out on Saturday (2/12) as the weather was not really conducive to birding. I had heard about some owls at Colleyville Nature Center and was planning on heading out there on Sunday, as the weather was to be improved. However, Friday was a particularly bad day, so I just needed to get into the woods and clear my head. I am glad I went out even though the lighting was terrible and I was not expecting to take any decent photographs. My first stop at the Fort Worth Nature Preserve Cross Timbers Trailhead resulted in the usual suspects that hang out in the at area, American Coots, American White Pelicans, Mallards, etc.
After hanging out that for a bit, I decided to head down the road to see if the racoon was back in the hollow tree. I was driving slowly, noticing the birds flitting about in the trees. I came to one area and I saw some woodpeckers, so I went to the next parking area and walked back and sat on a downed tree to let the area calm. I saw four members of the Picidae family: Red-bellied Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Downy Woodpecker, and a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (a new species for my life list). So I was feeling pretty good about then. I am looking forward to visiting the Woodpecker Woods again soon.
Canon EOS 5Ds R with Tamron 150-600 mm lens; 600 mm; ISO-6400; f/6.3; 1/2000 sec.
After a while, I went back to driving to the hollow tree, but it was empty. I decided to head to the Marsh Boardwalk to see what was hanging out in the shallow area (I got a Swamp Sparrow the week before, another new member of my life list). However, I only saw some Mallards, Green-winged Teal, and a Canvasback. As I walked out onto the platform, I noticed a small group of Hooded Mergansers about 150-200 yards to my right. Although not new to my life list, the only picture I had was a fairly blurry one that I had to “over process.” They knew I was there, even at that distance, as they slowly swam in the opposite direction. I did manage to get some nice shots, but from 200 yards, they are not too detailed.
Canon EOS 5DS R with Tamron 150-600 mm lens; 600 mm; ISO-1600; f/6.3; 1/1600 sec.
Later that afternoon while at home, my viewfinder autofocus decided to stop working. Live View autofocus still worked (through the LCD screen on the back of the camera), but I shoot 99% of the time using the viewfinder. After hours working with it, researching, and talking with Canon support, it is getting shipped to the service center to be fixed. That left me without my new camera to go see the owls on Sunday. Fortunately, I had my older Canon Rebel T3i camera, so off I went early in the morning to be there about sunrise. The Colleyville Nature Center was awesome. However, my photographs were not. I think the camera’s sensor needed a good cleaning (I picked up the camera today from getting it cleaned), but I did manage to get a few good pictures of a squirrel, and I did get to take a photograph of the Barred Owls. Who knows when I will get my camera back, but at least I have a back up for now.
Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Tamron 150-600 mm lens; 150 mm; ISO-6400; f/5; 1/1600 sec.
Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Tamron 150-600 mm lens; 600 mm; ISO-400; f/6.3; 1/250 sec.