[wisb] Woodcock Nest - Birders & Nature Photographers - All Naturalists & Conservationists
- From: "PL Billings" <plbillings@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 13 May 2010 11:37:11 -0500
This is a long posting. I am passionate about wildlife photography and the
challenge to capture natural behaviors of birds and mammals.
As a serious amateur wildlife photographer my passion to capture natural
behavior was at it's height when I located a Female Woodcock and her nest of
four eggs (the initial observation of the nest was here on Wis. Birding List)
(A Woodcock is a very secretive bird in both the breeding and hunting seasons).
I seek birds at nesting sites to photograph behaviors during the breeding
season. I managed to capture a male and female Green-winged Teal after the
female selected the male for mating, with a second male (out of focus) in the
background. It is titled "Springtime Winner and Loser". This Spring I managed
several photographs of bird nesting site behaviors, including a pair of
Red-tailed Hawks feeding three immature birds in a nest. It takes several
hours spent in natural areas (wildlife photography or just observation wildlife
Means: "Being In The Right Place At The Right Time") waiting for activity.
First:
Every person that reads and posts to this website has a passion for birds and
many have a passion for photographing their behaviors. Many wildlife
photographers and painters (using photographs to paint) create their work after
spending hours in our natural areas observing the behaviors of birds and
animals. Most of these photographers and painters are not part of funded
scientic project. They have a personal passion to observe behavior and then
hope to capture that behavior on film, digital file, and the canvas.
Who are the Naturalist's:
Observing wildlife, including birds nesting or mammals with dens, has been part
of the citizen naturalist's life ever since John James Audubon began
documenting his observations in America. Audubon, like many citizen
naturalists today, was not educated in sciences. A naturalist has a passion
that grows over the years. Audubon worked in various businesses to earn a
living but his main passion was observing and documenting wildlife in America
(like many of us today). His methods used in the 1800's would be questioned by
today's Audubon Society members. No one questions his passion to paint
wildlife in natural poses including nests, eggs, and predators. His passion
for expanding the knowledge about birds to the general public was, in part, why
the Audubon Society selected his name for their organization.
Opinion:
We have our personal opinions on wildlife photography, hunting (birds/animals),
birding, natural observation, and conservation. Regardless of how we spend our
time in natural areas we are all conservationists first. A person that enjoys
observing wildlife in natural areas (including most hunters) tries to leave the
area as he found it or better (cleaning up garbage from previous visitors).
Photographing Wildlife Behaviors:
The attached link to a photograph by Roy Toft (selected at random my me for
this posting) of an American Bald Eagle protecting a nest of immature birds
beautifully shows a natural behavior. The North American Nature Photography
Association
Mission -
NANPA promotes the art and science of nature photography as a medium of
communication, nature appreciation, and environmental protection.
NANPA provides information, education, inspiration and opportunity for all
persons interested in nature photography.
NANPA fosters excellence and ethical conduct in all aspects of our endeavors
and especially encourages responsible photography in the wild.
Roy Toft
Roy Toft Photography
16655 Falcon Heights Road
Ramona, CA 92065 USA
(760) 788-6003
Web Email
http://www.nanpa.org/showcase_popup.php?url
The following information on John Audubon was selected by me from internet
articles presented by
National Audubon Society, Inc. and the Wikipedia
In 1803, at the age of 18, he was sent to America, in part to escape
conscription into the Emperor Napoleon's army. He lived on the family-owned
estate at Mill Grove, near Philadelphia, where he hunted, studied and drew
birds, and met his wife, Lucy Bakewell. While there, he conducted the first
known bird-banding experiment in North America, tying strings around the legs
of Eastern Phoebes; he learned that the birds returned to the very same nesting
sites each year.
With no other prospects, Audubon set off on his epic quest to depict America's
avifauna, with nothing but his gun, artist's materials, and a young assistant.
He was a person of legendary strength and endurance as well as a keen observer
of birds and nature. Like his peers, he was an avid hunter, and he also had a
deep appreciation and concern for conservation; in his later writings he
sounded the alarm about destruction of birds and habitats.
Copyright: 2010 by National Audubon Society, Inc.
John James Audubon (April 26, 1785 - January 27, 1851) was a French-American
ornithologist, naturalist, hunter, and painter. He painted, catalogued, and
described the birds of North America in a form far superior to what had gone
before. Born in Haiti and raised in France as a youth, in his embrace of
America, and his outsize personality and achievements, he represented the new
American people of the United States.
His father encouraged his interest in nature; "he would point out the elegant
movement of the birds, and the beauty and softness of their plumage.
He was hearty and a great walker, and loved roaming in the woods, often
returning with natural curiosities, including birds' eggs and nests, of which
he made crude drawings.
In 1803, his father obtained a false passport so that Audubon could go to the
United States to avoid conscription in the Napoleonic Wars. Even in 1803 the
United States had immigrants with false passports!
Studying his surroundings, Audubon quickly learned the ornithologist's rule,
which he wrote, "The nature of the place-whether high or low, moist or dry,
whether sloping north or south, or bearing tall trees or low shrubs-generally
gives hint as to its inhabitants."[
Risking conscription, Audubon returned to France in 1805, where
he met naturalist and physician Charles-Marie D'Orbigny, who improved Audubon's
taxidermy skills and taught him scientific methods of research.
Audubon's room was brimming with birds' eggs, stuffed raccoons and opossums,
fish, snakes, and other creatures. He had become proficient at specimen
preparation and taxidermy.
He frequently turned to hunting and fishing to feed his family, as business was
slow.
Audubon had great respect for native Americans: "Whenever I meet Indians, I
feel the greatness of our Creator in all its splendor, for there I see the man
naked from His hand and yet free from acquired sorrow."[
After a short stay in Cincinnati to work as a naturalist and taxidermist at a
museum, Audubon with his gun, paintbox, and assistant Joseph Mason, traveled
south on the Mississippi. He had made a personal commitment to find and paint
all the birds of North America for eventual publication. Audubon called his
future work Birds of America. He attempted to paint one page each day. Painting
with newly discovered technique, he decided his earlier works were inferior and
re-did them.[35] He hired hunters to gather specimens for him.
Audubon returned to America in 1829 to complete more drawings for his magnum
opus. He also hunted animals and shipped the valued skins to British friends.
Art and methods
Audubon developed his own methods for drawing birds. First, he killed them
using fine shot. He then used wires to prop them into a natural position,
unlike the common method of many ornithologists, who prepared and stuffed the
specimens into a rigid pose. He frequently depicted the birds' nests and eggs,
and occasionally natural predators, such as snakes.
Audubon's influence on ornithology and natural history was far reaching. Birds
of America is still considered one of the greatest examples of book art.
In his journals, Audubon prophetically warned of dangers that threatened the
enormous flocks of his time, including over-hunting and loss of habitat.
Several species which he recorded have become extinct, including the Carolina
Parakeet, the Passenger Pigeon, the Labrador Duck, and the Great Auk.
Proud to be a Naturalist with a camera,
Phil Billings
Oregon, Wisconsin
Dane County
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