In the Field: Photo Blog by Richard Wong» Fullerton Arboretum http://www.rwongphoto.com/blog Photography field reports by Richard Wong. Richard's work has been published in magazines, books, advertising, and offers fine art prints of his work. Images may be licensed as rights-managed stock photos by contacting Richard directly at Richard@rwongphoto.com or (626) 422-6151. California stock photography, fine art prints, photo blog: www.rwongphoto.com Thu, 09 Sep 2010 12:00:29 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.3 en hourly 1 Green Heron http://www.rwongphoto.com/blog/green-heron/ http://www.rwongphoto.com/blog/green-heron/#comments Tue, 16 Feb 2010 12:00:48 +0000 Richard Wong http://www.rwongphoto.com/blog/?p=2979
Green Heron

Green Heron Ruffling Feathers

I’ve had luck in the past with birds at the Fullerton Arboretum so I took the gargantuan 500mm lens out for another test run. A quick run through of the ponds revealed nothing more than common ducks and American coots until I was about to leave when two green herons flew from out of nowhere with one landing on the opposite shore. I walked over there and used the plants as a blind so I could sit close by and observe without disturbing the bird. I put on the 1.4x teleconverter on the lens and photographed through the openings in the plants and got clear looks at the bird as a result. The green heron is pretty small so it took 1120mm worth of focal length to get these tight portraits even though I was no more than 15 feet away.

Since the green heron is a long-legged wader bird, which are slow and deliberate in their movements, it was much more fun to photograph with the bulky lens than trying to chase wood ducks around a lagoon. I had never seen a green heron before so it was exciting to be able to photograph it this sort of environment.

See more of my bird pictures.

]]> http://www.rwongphoto.com/blog/green-heron/feed/ 2 The Beginning of Life http://www.rwongphoto.com/blog/the-beginning-of-life/ http://www.rwongphoto.com/blog/the-beginning-of-life/#comments Thu, 17 May 2007 13:42:00 +0000 Richard Wong http://rwongphoto.com/blog/the-beginning-of-life/ American Coot (Fulica americana) Feeding Baby Chicks, Orange County, California Picture: American Coot (Fulica americana) Feeding Baby Chicks, Orange County, California

I had never seen anything like this before yesterday. Judging from the bald heads, I would say that these baby American Coot chicks were probably born yesterday or the day before. Man. I am getting really sleepy right now after lunch, but I have stuff to do so I can’t take a nap.

Added 5/21/07: On Friday, I forgot to mention that at least two of the baby wood duck chicks seem to be doing well. In fact, they have finally developed little feathers on the wings. They still can’t fly yet as far as I know. Come to think of it, I have never seen an adult wood duck fly either so I’ll have to research that one. A part of me wishes they would stay small and cute, (they still look cute but look less cute now than two weeks ago) and on the other hand I’m glad to see they are progressing. The mother duck wasn’t anywhere to be seen so I guess the two babies have been left to fend for themselves now that it is 3+ weeks later. I photographed another mother wood duck w/ five little chicks or the same one gave birth to more chicks? So I guess the other two chicks from the four remaining original group died in the past week and a half. Can you imagine what it would be like to give birth to nine babies and have seven of them die within the first month? Hopefully I can get back down there one morning this week to verify my observations.

See more of my bird pictures.

]]> http://www.rwongphoto.com/blog/the-beginning-of-life/feed/ 2 I’ll Stand by You http://www.rwongphoto.com/blog/ill-stand-by-you/ http://www.rwongphoto.com/blog/ill-stand-by-you/#comments Wed, 25 Apr 2007 22:41:00 +0000 Richard Wong http://rwongphoto.com/blog/ill-stand-by-you/ I just finished watching today’s episode of American Idol “Gives Back”. There was a video of Carrie Underwood singing an acoustic version of The Pretenders, “I’ll Stand by You” to a group of African children. I obviously have a crush on Carrie and she has the most amazing voice so I had to purchase it on iTunes just right now. :-) The proceeds go to benefit Hurricane Katrina victims and African Aids victims so I shouldn’t feel too guilty for my bit of self-indulgence.

“I’ll stand by you. I won’t let nobody hurt you. I’ll stand by you…”

Female Mother Wood Duck and Baby Chicks Resting Near Pond, CSU Fullerton, California Photo: Female Mother Wood Duck and Baby Chicks Resting Near Pond, CSU Fullerton, California

A children’s book anybody?

See more of my bird pictures.

]]> http://www.rwongphoto.com/blog/ill-stand-by-you/feed/ 0 A Day in the Life of a Baby Wood Duck http://www.rwongphoto.com/blog/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-baby-wood-duck/ http://www.rwongphoto.com/blog/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-baby-wood-duck/#comments Sat, 14 Apr 2007 15:35:00 +0000 Richard Wong http://rwongphoto.com/blog/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-baby-wood-duck/ My new addiction to bird photography is growing. What I am posting here pretty much sums up why I find this type of photography to be so exciting. I took these over the course of three hours at the Cal State Fullerton University Arboretum on Thursday afternoon.

Baby Wood Duck Chick (Aix sponsa) With Dirt in Mouth, CSU Fullerton Arboretum, California Picture: Baby Wood Duck Chick (Aix sponsa) With Earthworm in Mouth, CSU Fullerton Arboretum, California

I spotted a family of wood ducks almost immediately after arriving, but some poorly-parented little girls kept scaring them back into the water by running after them and throwing bread at them. That was really frustrating to see. I wanted to throw those stupid little kids and their ignorant parents into the pond and see how they felt. Once they left, the baby wood ducks kept approaching me and looking for earthworms near my feet because they knew who I am apparently and wanted some publicity on the internet for their cause. So I laid my tripod on it’s side flat on the ground and took eye-level photos of these baby wood duck chicks within touching distance. The cutest moment I have ever seen in my life.

Female Mother Wood Duck Protecting Family of Chicks by Fighting Off Rival Mallard Duck, CSU Fullerton Arboretum, California Photo: Female Mother Wood Duck Protecting Family of Chicks by Fighting Off Rival Mallard Duck, CSU Fullerton Arboretum, California

While a thrill-seeking photographer such as myself posed no threat to the birds, other ducks were. Notice the baby wood duck chicks hiding behind the mother wood duck as a mallard approaches them. Might be a little hard to see in this little thumbnail but they are clearly visible in the original file. When I was photographing the ducks at the L.A. County Arboretum I couldn’t figure out why the ducks were so hostile and defensive to other birds. Well this photo below might offer an insight as to why that is.

Great Blue Heron Kills Baby Wood Duck Chick for Meal, CSU Fullerton Arboretum, California Picture: Great Blue Heron Kills Baby Wood Duck Chick for Meal, CSU Fullerton Arboretum, California

By the time I took the 2nd photo, the mother was protecting four wood duck chicks. My initial photos of the wood duck family when I arrived at the CSU Fullerton Arboretum consisted five or six chicks… This is a day in the life of a baby wood duck.

See more of my bird pictures.

]]> http://www.rwongphoto.com/blog/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-baby-wood-duck/feed/ 13