20 Apr2015
Written by Ruth Hoyt. Posted in Birds, Blog
I was guiding a group of photographers at the Laguna Seca Ranch Saturday and we were fortunate to get some sunshine that evening. We noticed a Greater Roadrunner on the ranch road leading down into the photo blind area, then saw that he had something. The longer we looked, the more uncertain we were as to what he had, but he eventually turned just enough for us to see he had a male Mesquite Lizard. Even from the great distance we were photographing, we could see the turquoise coloring on the lizard’s belly! Be sure to click on the photo to see the entire image.
Saturday Night Date?
19 Apr2015
Written by Ruth Hoyt. Posted in Birds, Blog
I was photographing in misty, drizzly weather at the Laguna Seca Ranch Friday morning. A Long-billed Thrasher came along and, from below, eyed a cactus near the water hole. I aimed at the top of the pads, hoping I’d catch the right moment. As it leapt up I fired away. When I saw the results, the bird’s pose reminded me of Darth Vader but with the wrong color cape and eyes. Click on the image to see the entire photo.
Darth Vader, is that you?
17 Apr2015
Written by Ruth Hoyt. Posted in Birds, Blog
As I was photographing this Great Kiskadee on the Laguna Seca Ranch, a Golden-fronted Woodpecker landed on the dead snag the kiskadee had been using as a fishing spot. When the kiskadee returned and touched down on its perch, the woodpecker didn’t want the company. The wet kiskadee had to fly off to find another place to dry. Be sure to click on the photo to see the entire image!
Confrontation – two’s a crowd!
16 Apr2015
Written by Ruth Hoyt. Posted in Birds, Blog
I was thrilled to capture a series of images of a Green Jay while photographing on the Laguna Seca Ranch this evening. The jay was calmly perched on a dead tree limb, but suddenly it noticed a Summer Tanager in the brush and fluffed itself out as much as possible. I assume this behavior was to create an illusion of being larger than what it actually was. The jay relaxed slightly a couple of times but then re-fluffed, which gave me plenty of chances to test my camera’s frame rate and buffer! (Canon EOS 7D Mark II, 300mm f/2.8 lens + 1.4x extender, ISO 1600, 1/4oo sec @ f/5.0)
A Green Jay fluffs out to make itself appear larger.
15 Apr2015
Written by Ruth Hoyt. Posted in Birds, Blog
I’ve got ranch guests at the Laguna Seca Ranch this week who brought props for their photos. It seemed a little odd to have additional color at the water hole, and I didn’t take many images, but when I saw this Pyrrhuloxia on my computer monitor, it stopped me in my tracks. Does it look like a painting to you, too?
Pyrrhuloxia on a lichen-covered perch with a backdrop of Indian Paintbrush flowers
