Monthly Archives: July 2011

Yellowlegs and Blue Heron

An adult Great Blue Heron has been hanging around the islands and points between Burkehaven and Blodgett Landing on Lake Sunapee the past month. Unlike many of its kind in this area, this one can be approached reasonably closely by canoe or kayak.

Two days ago a Greater Yellowlegs arrived to add color to the mix. Normally found in shallow-water habitats, these sandpipers are distinguished from other wading birds by  their bright yellow legs. There were few wading spots near the  islands but it seemed to enjoy standing on the rocks. This is a fairly rare siting for this time of year inland.

Here are some photos taken during an early morning kayak ride Jann and I took.

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The 30th Prouty, July 9, 2011

I was one of 5,000 participants riding, walking, or rowing to raise money for research at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer Center in the Thirtieth Annual Prouty. I rode 100 miles with a small Panasonic LX5 camera around my neck. Shooting from a moving bike and while refreshing myself with food and water at the many SAGs along the route, I captured what I hope is the sense of the ride from a riders point of view.

Rather than relegate this important event to a Blog entry, I have created a page that relates my experience and shares the images.

Please click the image at the right  to go to The Prouty 2011 page as seen through my eyes.

 

Other Century Rides I have done are described in the Blog Posts below. You can click on any of these to get to them.

Century Ride — This time for Real

Second Century

Northeast Kingdom Lakes

Training for the Prouty

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Cars on LAKE Sunapee

It might be common see two old cars drive by while you are sitting on a picnic table in your yard eating lunch. But when the cars are driving across a lake you sit up and take notice. Here are some photos taken shortly after noon today.

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Great Blue Heron on Lake Sunapee

For years I tried to sneak up on Great Blue Herons in my canoe in order to get a photo. Most of the time the photos were poor; it was hard to get close to these wary birds. Then I visited Florida and found GBHs were very easy birds to photograph. Down south they would hang around fishermen waiting for a handout so people with cameras normally didn’t faze them.

During a recent canoe trip on Lake Sunapee with my wife, Jann, we were able to get fairly close to one and capture a few photos.  I was impressed by the coloration and patterns seen in a front view. Bird books rarely show this and most times these birds don’t seem to want to face directly at me.

Digital cameras make it easier to capture flight photos, mainly because one doesn’t have to worry about the cost of taking a lot of photos. Digital also allows excellent quality at higher ISO than film (these were at 400 and 800). Plus modern AF lenses certainly help. But it seems there is little need anymore to convince people to make the switch; almost all have.

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