Buffalo Auction
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Last week I received a call from good friend and photography cohort, Bob Gress. He had made a spur of the moment decision to drive up to the Maxwell Wildlife Refuge for the Buffalo Auction, or to be politically correct, the Bison Auction. I had never attended the auction & had nothing better to do. It sounded fun. The problem was, I only had 40 minutes to change clothes, figure out what photo gear to take, pack it, let the dog out for a bathroom break, and meet him at a location about 15 minutes drive from my house.
There were not many photo opportunities at the auction but, I really enjoyed the experience. Maxwell has resident herds of bison and elk. Each year, since 1978, the refuge has auctioned off a few buffalo. This year 65 animals were sold to people who were going to raise them for meat, or establish a herd, or even add to their existing herd. Calves from this year, as well as yearlings and adults were auctioned. It sometimes got a little too exciting, especially when a group of adult buffalo would enter the ring. They would tend to panic and run around the small enclosure, looking for a way out. I was kneeling, photographing through a gap in the corral railing when an adult bull charged and slammed into the solid steel corral wall in front of me. I looked up see him trying to come over the top. WOW! Thankfully, I have never been that "up close and personal" with bison when photographing them in Yellowstone (and hope I never am).
People's Choice
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I am proud to announce that my cardinal photo won the People's Choice Award in Botanica's photo contest this year. The cardinal and I thank everyone that voted. The photo was taken the morning after our record 16" snowfall last winter. Botanica had been transformed into a winter wonderland over night and I was the first visitor in the gardens that morning. I caught the cardinal in the Woodland Bird Garden taking a short break from dining at the feeders.
I encourage all of you in the Wichita area to visit Botanica and bring your camera, take some photos and enter them in next years contest.
Halloween Mouser
A few feral cats reside in Sim Park in Wichita. It's only fitting that wild cats live in a wild park. Much of the park is unmaintained. It must be an exciting place to hunt. The cats often make their way through the gardens at Botanica to pick out delectable items from the garden menu. This gray beast caught my eye as it hid beneath the shrubs waiting for me to pass by.
Actually, the exposure of this photo was a mistake. We all admit our mistakes, right? The shot was grossly underexposed since I had quickly put my flash on the camera but, neglected to adjust the exposure. At first I was disappointed when I saw this on the computer screen. It was originally much darker than this. But, then as I played around with the image, trying to coax something out of the darkness, this great gray hunter emerged. The flash had reflected off his retinas, creating an eerie eye shine.
Happy Halloween!
Puffed Bittern
I went over to Botanica last week to see what there might be to photograph. I had arrived early and the gardens were just opening. The cold temperatures must have been delaying visitors this morning. I had the whole place to myself, except for a few staff gardeners. The season for photographing flowers is near an end. A possible frost is in the weather forecast. I knew it was probably too late to find any water lily or lotus blooms but, it doesn't hurt to check. As I entered the pond area on the boardwalk, I looked over the edge into a cluster of pickerel weed. I was startled by sudden movement within eight feet of me. The source of the commotion was an American Bittern that had puffed up into a defensive posture at the sudden site of me.
I quickly pulled back enough to be out of the bird's sight while I fumbled with changing lenses. When I peered back over the the side of the boardwalk again, I was surprised to see the bittern had not sneaked off into cover. It was still frozen in that defensive posture. I got only a few shots before it slowly moved into the cattails. I have observed and photographed bitterns many times but, have never seen this puffed up posture before. The common view of a bittern is depicted in the photo below. The bird is more often seen frozen in a vertical stance as it tries to blend in with reeds or cattails.
I like surprises! What a memorable morning!
Victor/Victoria
Last week produced the first bloom of the season on the giant Victoria water lily at Botanica. A little later than usual but, worth waiting for. Historically, the species was discovered in the Amazon river basin in the early 1800's. Mature plants have pads (leaves) that can reach 10' in diameter and flowers that can be 18" across. You will not see any that large at Botanica but, they will still look impressive floating among the standard lilies. The plant has some interesting features: flowers are produced one at a time; each flower only last a couple of days and are only open at night; the bottom of the leaf pads are covered in thorns to prevent fish from feeding on them; air trapped in spaces within the leaves make them so buoyant that large mature pads can support the weight of a small child.
The flowering cycle is quite unique. On the first night, the flower bud opens pure white as a female, emitting a pineapple fragrance to attract pollinating scarab beetles (which don't exist here). By sunrise, the flower is closing back up for the day. When the flower opens on the second night, the color has changed to pink and it is now a male flower full of pollen to be dispersed to other first-night flowers. By the next morning, the flower has withered and disappears beneath the surface of the water.
It can be a challenge to observe the Victoria water lily in bloom since the flowers are only open at night and each plant produces only one flower every few days. Your best chance is to visit on a cloudy morning which delays the closing of the flower. This flower was still open at 10:30 a.m. due to persistent clouds that morning. I was unable to make it back the next day to see the pink phase.
