Mixed Bag

[SCraig]

Another gorgeous morning. That's two in a row so far. I headed for Radnor Lake again since it's close to home and in the early morning hours is always quiet and peaceful.

Saw the resident Barred Owl sitting by the edge of the lake ...

A Portrait of a Wood Duck
Followed this one along the bank for a few minutes and got a couple of decent shots (except for the branches) ...

A White-Tailed Deer Enjoying The Morning Sunshine ...

A Typically Reclusive Green Heron Hiding In A Tree ....

Even A Bluebird Dropped In To Take A Look ...

And A Couple OF The Lake Itself ....
These two are cell phone shots. All I had with me was my D7100 with a 150-500 lens and my cell phone, and the 150-500 doesn't lend itself to landscapes. These were shot about halfway down the lake looking to the west so there is about as much more to it looking to the east as well. The south side, the side I was walking along, is an old paved road that has been closed to through traffic. The north side has walking trails as well but they don't get very close to the lake except in a couple of shot areas. The rangers are absolutely rabid about enforcing the rules, one of which is "Do NOT Get Off The Established Paths". The fine for doing so is $250 and they don't mind handing out citations (I haven't gotten one yet but I have been warned several times). As can be seen, it is a nice place to spend a few hours.

I noticed that the EXIF data shows GPS coordinates, and just for the record they are a couple of miles off. Radnor Lake is a couple of miles southeast of the coordinates given.

 

[JacaRanda]

What a wonderful mixed bag . I really love the reference shots of the lake and looks like a perfect, beautiful day out.

Owl, Duck, Deer, Heron, Bluebird - That my friend is an extremely successful photo outing!!!!!!!

 

[Derrel]

Wow, what a gorgeous area that is. I like the owl pic the most out of these. SUch an area...deer, green heron, bluebird, owl, wood duck all in one afternoon...man...here we get tame mallards...beer cans! cigarette butts! footprints, footprints, footprints!

 

[tirediron]

Great series Scott!

 

[baturn]

Amazing photos from what had to be an awesome morning. Beautiful!

 

[sm4him]

Well, you KNOW I'm jealous of that owl photo!
I'm also jealous of your two beautiful days in a row. I had all day yesterday to shoot--and it was overcast, kinda cold and spitting rain the whole day. Today IS beautiful, and warming up quickly, but it's also Easter, so family obligations call.
Another beautiful day on tap tomorrow--thinking I might just have to take a day off from work. Might just head to Lake Tansi; you ever been there?

 

[SCraig]

What a wonderful mixed bag . I really love the reference shots of the lake and looks like a perfect, beautiful day out.

Owl, Duck, Deer, Heron, Bluebird - That my friend is an extremely successful photo outing!!!!!!!

Wow, what a gorgeous area that is. I like the owl pic the most out of these. SUch an area...deer, green heron, bluebird, owl, wood duck all in one afternoon...man...here we get tame mallards...beer cans! cigarette butts! footprints, footprints, footprints!

It is a gorgeous place now because the water is still relatively cool, but it won't last. During the summer and into late fall the lake gets an inch-think layer of green algae on it that completely covers it. In a month I'll have to go to one of my alternate places because it is messy and smelly.

For birds and wildlife it's hard to beat though. In addition to these I've seen otters, coyote, eagles, hawks, turkeys, Great Blue Herons, a dozen or so species of ducks and a couple of dozen species of song birds. One morning I counted something like 40 deer scattered around all over the place. Today I only saw 10 It's one of the reasons I like to go there, I never know what I'm going to run into.

Derrel, that owl has been hanging around in the same area for the past 6 weeks or so. I've seen it every single morning that I've been there since early March. I know it's the same one because he is very protective of that area. I saw two there one morning and this one ran the other off. He loves crayfish and sits on a limb right over the edge of the water watching for them.

Great series Scott!

Amazing photos from what had to be an awesome morning. Beautiful!

Thanks, guys. It was a fun morning. From late fall to early summer I usually head over there both Saturday and Sunday mornings. It's only about 5 miles from home so it's not like it's a long trip over there

 

[SCraig]

Well, you KNOW I'm jealous of that owl photo!
I'm also jealous of your two beautiful days in a row. I had all day yesterday to shoot--and it was overcast, kinda cold and spitting rain the whole day. Today IS beautiful, and warming up quickly, but it's also Easter, so family obligations call.
Another beautiful day on tap tomorrow--thinking I might just have to take a day off from work. Might just head to Lake Tansi; you ever been there?

Yeah, I knew you'd be jealous of the owl. I started to invite you up since I've seen it a dozen times or more, but sure as I did it would be the one day he wasn't there.

The days are getting better here now but it won't be long before it's hot and humid. The Renaissance Festival runs each weekend in May and even on the first weekend I'm usually sweating. That's only 2 weeks away so I suspect it will start heating up now. One good thing is that means it's time to get my motorcycle out again.

Lake Tansi rings a bell but I can't place it. I know I've never shot photos there but I think I've been there once for some reason or other.

 

[Ec1981]

Great set of photos, really liked the lake shot, very pretty, and peace full photo

 

[MSnowy]

Nice set.

 

[Raj_55555]

Awesome shots Scott, #1 & #3 are the pick of the lot for as far as I'm concerned. The last one is great considering it's taken on a cell phone.

 

[SCraig]

Great set of photos, really liked the lake shot, very pretty, and peace full photo

I like it there. I get annoyed by the never-ending rules but I still go there a lot. I walked there a lot during the winter months and to be honest it's especially nice when it's raining. Most rainy mornings there were only one or two other people there and it was really nice to enjoy relative quiet for a little while.

Nice set.

Thanks, Michael. Much appreciated.

Awesome shots Scott, #1 & #3 are the pick of the lot for as far as I'm concerned. The last one is great considering it's taken on a cell phone.

Thanks. #3 would have been my favorite of the group had it not been for that stupid stick. When he moved out of the brushy area where I had a clear shot he was also out of that area of golden light. Sometimes we just can't win

 

[oldhippy]

I live in a forest, no animals WTF. Lol great set as usual. Ed

 

[robbins.photo]

It's a fantastic set - and boy gotta go with Derrel on this one, that owl shot is just amazing. Gorgeous landscapes to round it out though, makes me want to visit there someday.

 

[nate_mcnasty]

I love the portrait shot of the woody! nice work!