Great Days at the Bashakill

Canon EOS Rebel T1i camera & Sigma 150-600mm f/5.0 - f/6.3 DG Contemporary Lens, ISO 800, f/6.3 @ 1/500s Manual exposure

My brother and I took two more trips out to the Bashakill Wildlife Management Area during the last week and a half, both days turned out great. We decided to walk a section of the Long Path Trail, that we had never gone down before. It started on Haven Road and headed towards the boat launch. We always assumed that it was a trail that was more for birds and other woodland animals, because it starts off in a forested section. However, we were surprised to learn that after a brief section of forest, it opens up and parallels the open water of the Bashakill. 

Canon EOS Rebel T1i camera & Sigma 150-600mm f/5.0 - f/6.3 DG Contemporary Lens, ISO 400, f/6.3 @ 1/400s Manual exposure

Further down, the trail also has water on both sides of it. This made it an ideal spot to find ducks and waterfowl. To our surprise, this was the best trail we had ever been down for seeing ducks. We must have seen several hundred ducks. There was a variety of species, but for the most part it was wood ducks, ring neck ducks, and mallards. We also could see the Mute Swans that have been hanging around. The trail also seemed to be a hot spot for Downy, Pileated and Red Bellied Woodpeckers. We also spotted a lot of turtles and frogs along the trail. I did manage to capture a picture of a wood frog on a log. I wish that I had gotten lower to the ground to get a more appealing photograph, but I would have had to lay in mud to do it. I need to get some clothes that I can lay on the wet ground with, so I can take pictures like this.

Canon EOS Rebel T1i camera & Sigma 150-600mm f/5.0 - f/6.3 DG Contemporary Lens, ISO 400, f/6.3 @ 1/400s Manual exposure

With the temperatures climbing weekly I have been seeing a lot more reptiles and amphibians. I was very pleased that we only saw a couple of snakes. My brother says that I almost stepped on one, but I never saw it. During the last few trips, I managed to get photographs of wood ducks, frogs, woodpeckers, and squirrels. I had plenty of opportunities but I feel like I missed out on a few.

Last week, I purchased a lot of new equipment for my trip to Alaska. I figured before I went that I would upgrade some of my equipment, since a lot of my equipment is going on ten years old now. I purchased a Canon 6d mark ii with a canon 24mm – 105mm lens, and it arrived on Thursday last week. During Friday, I made sure everything was ready for the weekend. On Easter Sunday we got up at 5 am and headed out to the Bashakill. We arrived before 6 am, and I decided that I wanted to test out the video time-lapse capabilities of the new camera. Once we arrived, I setup my tripod with my new camera and lens combo and proceeded to set up for the time-lapse. It was simple to setup and before I knew it the camera was snapping pictures. I used the video time-lapse, so the camera would automatically compile the images into a video. I set it up to take 600 images in total, with a 2-second interval. So, it took 600 shots over a period of 20 minutes and compiled it into a 20 second, 4k video. 

Canon EOS Rebel T1i camera & Sigma 150-600mm f/5.0 - f/6.3 DG Contemporary Lens, ISO 800, f/6.3 @ 1/320s Manual exposure

I was very pleased with the way the test turned out, so I uploaded the file on YouTube. I am looking forward to taking more time-lapse now that I know how it functions. We were at the Bashakill for over 6 hours. We saw a lot of action during the morning hours, but as the day progressed the action slowed. I did not get to many opportunities with the new camera for photographs, but I am hoping soon I will be able to get out again and test it out. 

Canon EOS Rebel T1i camera & Sigma 150-600mm f/5.0 - f/6.3 DG Contemporary Lens, ISO 800, f/6.3 @ 1/500s Manual exposure

The photographs included in this post were not taken with my new camera. I hope that everyone enjoys the images and the video. Until Next Time.

Canon EOS Rebel T1i camera & Sigma 150-600mm f/5.0 - f/6.3 DG Contemporary Lens, ISO 800, f/6.3 @ 1/500s Manual exposure

Good Week

Last week I did get a couple of chances to finally get outside and get some photographs.  I was very happy to see some wood ducks, but only got some shots of the male.  Plus I also photographed a Great Blue Heron that was just in a swamp along the side of the road while I was driving.  It was quite a surprise and I was very happy that I had my camera along with me.

I was very happy with the heron shots.  I wish on the second shot that I got the entire reflection but the grass took out the reflection of the head.  But overall I believe these shots were pretty good. 

This wood duck shot was a little overexposed but I still like it, so I decided to post it.

The wood ducks were a great surprise.  Normally they stay hidden and are hide to find close enough to get good shots.  So I was very lucky to see them, and it was much better to see wildlife than my white dorm room walls.  I also tried my fathers set of extension tubes with my canon 55-250 mm lens and it worked quite nice.  But I still wish I could get the objects to appear even closer, while still standing at a distance.  I will try and upload the macro shots tomorrow.  I still have to process them.

Last Week

I spent most of my week home at the Bashakill Wetlands.  It was pretty nice out but most mornings there was a fog that made it hard to photograph.  I still took thousands of photographs and I am narrowing it down to my best images now.  Within the next few days I will hopefully get a chance to post some of the photographs that I took.  Over the period of the week I saw many different duck species including, mergansers, mallards, and wood ducks.  Plus plenty of Canadian Geese.  I also saw some Swan's but was unable to get a photo.  Near the end of the week I saw a couple of Great Blue Heron's but was unable to get a good photograph.  Also I took many pictures of Red winged black birds and tree swallows.  Plus there was an abundance of turtles.  Also I saw my first snake of the year, which I believe was a ribbon snake.  Scared me when it brushed passed my feet.  Can't forget that I saw a couple eagles on my trips, but the number has drastically dropped since January.  I guess I was going to see a couple since there is a nest there, but I also saw a couple immature bald eagles that aren't nesting there.   It was a really odd sight to see some of these species so early, but it was extremely warm for this time of year.