House of Feathers - Episode 5
The sun sure rises early this time of year! It certainly helps me get up and out the door a little after 4am knowing that not only I am wondering what will be happening at the nest, but also knowing so many of you are wondering the same thing! Thanks so much for your texts, emails, VMs and posts - I really appreciate knowing that you are enjoying following along with this truly remarkable family at the nest…
Please sit back, exhale, and I hope that you enjoy this episode. This episode is also longer than usual because I just had to… I know how fortunate I am to have had the very good fortune of many unforgettable mornings in nature …. this is one that I put in a personal special category.
The pre-dawn sky was spectacular - pink in every direction. It was 45 degrees which meant once again - fog and mist hanging in the lower fields and rising from streams and wetlands as I drove to Ashfield - absolutely stunning. As soon as I hopped out of the car I went as quickly as I could to the road side view looking into the swamp… I didn’t see the parents. This didn’t surprise me because from this angle they blend in so well and the grasses have become so high that my chance to see them would only be if they were already standing… and no one was standing. So I picked up my gear continued down the road and into the woods. Once again the bird song was so beautiful - I heard the chestnut-sided warblers where I usually do, I heard the yellow warblers where I usually do, I heard the black and white warblers where I usually do. I do find comfort in knowing that I am not the only creature of habit… :)
There is a section when walking through the woods where I have to bend over and walk through some young evergreen trees - when I emerge I get my first glimpse of the back of the swamp. As soon as I came through this section I could see fog and mist everywhere hovering above the swamp - just so beautiful and mystical. I picked up my pace as much as I could and made my way through the section of the woods behind the swamp until I arrived at my stand of trees. It is a very precarious position as I am on moss and roots and it takes me longer than I would like to find just the right spot to set up my tripod on this tiny little soft area. I am to the right of the trees and the nest is in front and to my left. I have to set up first before I can look through my lens. I absolutely love fog and mist but it makes it very challenging to determine what settings I should use when it is coupled with pre-dawn light…. I tried my best to capture the essence of this type of natural beauty.
I was finally set up and could finally scan to the left towards the nest… and my first glimpse of the nest took my breath away…
This devoted parent and magnificent creature with eyes closed with an empty egg shell (on our left)! From everything I have read (and have had the good luck of observing in previous years) the fact that the empty egg shell is there means that I did not miss the birth of the second chick by much! When a chick is hatched the other parent takes away the empty shell etc. from the nest in order to help keep predators away. I honestly don’t know what it meant that this hadn’t happened yet but I did see the other parent standing guard not too far away. As best as I could I slowed my breathing and observed and photographed.
I love that in this shot you can see how completely surrounded by water the nest is…
A few minutes later this beautiful sighting occurred - I am assuming chick #1 because it did not do an immediate face plant! :)
The little one walked around the front of the parent and decided it was time to go back into the House of Feathers for some more resting time…
Drum roll please…………. look closely - our first sighing of chick # 2!!!
Immediately hungry!
Just melted my heart….
Time to figure out how to enter the House of Feathers from this angle!
Incredible … don’t you agree?
Just after I snapped the above shot the little one backed in and I could no longer see it. You know how excited I was about everything that had happened so far… well let me tell you I can’t do justice to explaining what unfolded next - I hope the photographs will do justice to the absolute beauty of the following moments.
A combination of fog and mist rising with the sun just coming up over the mountains behind the swamp created contrast in lighting like no other that I have ever seen. I moved a tiny bit to my right, got down a little lower and was shooting almost directly into the fog, mist and rising sun…..and the result created silhouettes that I am thrilled with -
I hope that you enjoy….
One of the moments we have been waiting for…. our first glimpse of the siblings together!
Absolutely shooting with tears in my eyes… and not from the blinding sun but from the beauty of these precious moments and the resilience of these special creatures…No more commentary from me - please just enjoy this show like no other….I couldn’t leave any of these shots out for you - more than usual but I hope that you agree that they are all worth sharing…
It was finally time now to eat and rest…..
As I packed up to leave I was overcome by being a witness to such hope, beauty and devotion…
I hope it is good with all of you… there will be more episodes to come…