Favorite Travel Quotes

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts."
-- Mark Twain
Innocents Abroad

"Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and celebrate the journey." -- Fitzhugh Mullan

"A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving." -- Lao Tzu

Photo Blinds

Cinnamon Teal pair

Cinnamon Teal pair

©Bert Gildart: Question: What does creating good photographic opportunities share in common with finding an outstanding fishing hole?

Answer: Generally, you don’t share the opportunities with the rest of the world, particularly when a friend has created the opportunities.

In this case an Oregon photographer agreed to share a photo blind with me, one that he built in cooperation with a wildlife agency. Though I wasn’t asked to swear to secrecy, I’m certainly not going to draw a map to the area. I will, however, share some of the photos and then explain a bit about the advantages of creating a blind. If you are interested in improving your wildlife images, particularly waterfowl, you should know about photo blinds.

ADVANTAGES OF A BLIND

Let’s call my friend Eric, and then let me share with you that fact that Eric has been photographing waterfowl for a number of years. Early on he realized that if he could conceal himself that waterfowl would ignore his presence, often to within feet of his camera. Contacting a local wildlife agency, he proposed the idea of erecting a semi-permanent wooden blind. Because he knew he might be spending entire days in the blind, he wanted some comfort, so he covered the floor with a rug. Lens holes were created and then his real work began: waiting for the birds to move into position.

Eric was particularly excited the other day because he knew wood ducks and cinnamon teal were courting and nesting, and so we settled inside the blind for a long afternoon wait. From inside we could see birds on the other side of the blind, but it wasn’t quite as easy as I’d hoped, and we waited for several hours before there was any action.

WOOD DUCK LIFE HISTORY

In the interim, Eric told me about some of the bird life he’d seen from the confines of the blind. Wood ducks, he said, nest inside the cavities of trees, much like a woodpecker and once, he said, he watched as ten wood duck chicks leaped from the cavity into the pond below. The mother coaxed them out with a clucking sound.

Wood duck

Wood duck

We continued to share stories, but then suddenly Eric placed his index finger to his lips, pointed and told me to move into position. Position was on the floor just a foot or so above water level and the birds were just feet away, at times not more than 6- to 10-feet away. Ideally, you hope the birds will engage in some type of action, but the several male wood ducks simply sat there, but they looked gorgeous.

Preening Cinnamon Teal

Preening Cinnamon Teal

The Cinnamon Teal, however, climbed onto a small log, and then started preening, creating just the type of images I had hoped for. All together, we spent about five hours in the blind, and we were both pleased with our results. Unfortunately, Janie and I had to leave next day; but Eric opened my eyes to techniques we might use near our home in Montana, where we’re now heading.



Comments are closed.