Michael Despines Photography

May

30

Green Kingfisher

Shot of the Month Posted by Michael / 1 comments

Shot of the Month – May 2020

On our first trip to the Pantanal in 2017 we learned that this incredible ecosystem was home to five types of kingfishers. I am a sucker for bold colors so I was hopeful that I might capture a few on “film.” While I was hopeful I was not optimistic, as most kingfishers are tiny and skittish making it very difficult to capture a good image. Seems that they do things differently in the Pantanal. On our first day on the water, during a three-hour boat trip on the Pixaim River we saw ALL five species. And even better, the birds often took no notice of us as we drifted by as they scanned the water below for fish. On our second trip to the Pantanal in 2019 I captured the image above of a male Green Kingfisher (GK). The female GK looks similar though she does not have the rufous colored chest feathers.

Small fish are the mainstay of his diet so you can usually find the GK perched on a low-hanging branch near the water’s edge as the bird looks for fish that swim near the surface. Aquatic insects are also on the menu.

Target acquired, Dive!

Target missed! Time to shake it off and get back in the game.

The Green Kingfisher can be found from Southern Texas through most of Central and South America. Their numbers are dropping in Texas due to loss of habitat but they are still plentiful further south. To raise their young GKs build a horizontal tunnel into the side of the river bank. The tunnel is about three long and about two inches wide. (Two inches wide – that gives you a sense of how small these birds are)

This kingfisher, Chloroceryle americana, for you science types, is a real beauty and surely leaves the other birds green with envy.

Until next month…..m

Sources:

Wikipedia (Green Kingfisher)

Audubon

ebird

whatbird.com

Nikon D4S, Nikon 600mm, f/4, 1/1000 sec, ISO 720 (Shot in Manual Mode with Auto ISO)

Apr

30

Kit Kaos

Shot of the Month Posted by Michael / 0 comments

Shot of the Month – April 2020

Over the years I have seen a fair number of foxes but the sightings were usually brief and never really produced any good images. In 2019 I hit the jackpot as I was able to spend two full days near a fox den. The den was home to two females who were caring for four kits. A “typical” day would have me show up at sunrise (near 6 am) and sit by the den for about 6 hours. Around noon I would head into town for a quick lunch and then back to the site from around 2 pm till after dark (7 pm-ish). The females would leave the kits at the den as they went off to hunt. The mothers were seemingly tireless in their efforts and would come and go throughout the entire day to ensure enough food for the pups. During these periods the kits did little and often just disappeared into the safety underground. After an hour or so, though sometimes after much longer, a female would return with a rabbit, mouse, or vole. At this point, all hell would break loose. The pups would burst out of the den excited at the opportunity to feed. Mom would give the prey to one of the kits who would then run off with their “kill.” The others might chase it to try and steal the meal. Mom would then allow the kits to nurse for a few minutes. After feeding the young’ins would be in high spirits and run around like sugared-up toddlers and engage in all sorts of hi-jinks, roughhousing, assorted shenanigans, and general mischief. This chaos could last for ten to thirty minutes. Mom might leave fairly quickly to head off on the next hunt leaving the kits to their antics. Eventually, the kits would tire out or get bored and head down into the den.

And just like that, poof, an empty field. And then we waited for the return of one of the females with the next meal. So my day was made up of long waits of nothingness and then frantic shooting once the females appeared. As the day drew on the periods of nothingness seemed to get longer and longer. Pick at the grass. Pace around a bit. Lie on your back and look at the sky. Review some images. Pick at the grass…And then boom! Foxes are running everywhere and me trying to figure out which act of this three-ring circus to focus on.

It was a blast.

Here are the two moms – both are red foxes. Check last month’s post to understand how this is possible.

Moms heading off to hunt

Mom’s Back!

And now that we are fat and happy, let the games begin

Finally running out of steam

Who knew that kaos could be so kute and kuddly?

And in case you missed it, here is another adorable family moment.

Until next month…..m

Nikon D4S, Nikon 600mm,, 1.4x TC (effective 850mm), f/7.1, 1/1000 sec, ISO 1600

Mar

31

Red? Fox

Shot of the Month Posted by Michael / 2 comments

Shot of the Month – March 2020

Here we have a lovely female red fox bringing a meal back to her kits. Please do not adjust your set (old person reference). Nor is that a typo. You might want to sit down for this, but, red foxes are not always red. I know, I know, it is a crazy, topsy-turvy world out there…

Despite the very firm, very unambiguous sounding name, red foxes come in a surprisingly large variety of colors. Most are categorized under three main color variations or morphs (if you want to sound all zoological and whatnot).

Red Morph

The red morph red fox is primarily red/orange in color and is the most common type of red fox.

Silver/Black

Silver foxes are a melanistic morph of the Red Fox that have a range of colors from bold silver to almost complete black. The silver version has silver-tipped hairs interspersed among the black fur. Black foxes vary in color and may have some brown fur also.

This whole naming thing is starting to sound pretty bogus, but ok, let’s carry on.

Cross Morph

Cross foxes are red foxes with a prominent black stripe along the spine and a stripe along the shoulders at a right angle which gives the appearance of a cross – hence the name of this morph. This color variation is only found in North America.

Regardless of the color mix all Red Foxes have one thing in common — that white-tipped paint brush of a tail. How’s that for a handy identification tip?

So, a Red Fox can be any color mix of red, orange, white, black, grey, silver, and brown as you can see in this graphic below. (Note: The four morphs shown at the bottom of the graphic are not found in the wild but are the result of selective breeding)

Source

In the image below we see the same female silver fox waiting patiently as her kits jostle for an opportunity to nurse.

Here is the same female as she heads off to hunt for more food for her family:

And here is a male silver fox that I found at a different den site with one of his kits:

And here he is with two of his kits:

Wasn’t life easier when you just needed the “Red” crayon to color in the fox drawing? Well, now there is no going back. Next time you will have to break out the BIG box of crayons. You know, that big box of 64 crayons with the sharpener in the back? Yeah, that one. Let the games begin…

Until next month…..m

Sources

The Fox Website

All Things Foxes

Black Foxes UK

Wikipedia (Cross Fox)

Wikipedia (Red Fox)

Wikipedia (Silver Fox)

Nikon D4S, Nikon 600mm, 1.4x TC (850mm effective), 1/1000 sec, f/11

Feb

29

Foxy Mama

Shot of the Month Posted by Michael / 0 comments

Shot of the Month – February 2020

This month an installment from the “Awwwwl Collection.” In this image I captured an adorable Maternal Mammal Moment (MMM) — a mother Red Fox (RF) with one of her kits as they look into the warm light of the morning sun. Mom is actually looking at rabbits off in the distance and the kit is, well, just being a goofball.

If you spend much time in nature you are going to see a red fox or twenty. The wily Red Fox is a survivor and exceptionally skilled at adapting to almost any environment. How successful? The RF is the most wide-spread carnivore in the world and she can be found across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America (except southwestern US and Mexico) Europe, Asia and parts of Northern Africa. Red Foxes were introduced into Australia which has caused all sorts of problems…sigh. Humans….

Foxes are the smaller members of the dog family (Canidae) but you can clearly see their kinship with jackals, wolves and other other dogs. There are about 30 species of foxes though only 12 of these, in the “vulpus” genus, are considered “true foxes.” Of this group of diminutive dogs the RF is the largest and most common of the group.

Is that like being a jumbo shrimp?

The Red Fox is about the size of a medium size dog and typically weighs around 25 pounds. For comparison the dessert dwelling fennec fox is about the size of a chihuahua and the arctic fox only weighs about seven pounds and most of that is fur!

Although RFs are listed as a carnivore they are really omnivores and can eat just about anything. Red Foxes feed primarily on small rodents (mice, rats, voles, squirrels, woodchucks, pocket gophers, deer mice) though they will also hunt rabbits, game birds, reptiles and other small animals. They will also eat fruit, bugs, worms, vegetables and if they live near the ocean they dine on fish and crabs. As you can see their diet can vary widely depending on what is available. In some areas, in the autumn RFs will dine exclusively on fruit including blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, cherries, persimmons, mulberries, apples, plums, grapes and acorns. They will also munch on grasses, sedges, and tubers. Whew, who’s hungry??

The family/social life of the Red Fox is also quite varied and hard to fit into any one category. Foxes are definitely less “pack” oriented than wolves and other dogs. RF’s may live in small groups of related individuals or may live on their own depending on their environment and temperament. I feel ya. Foxes are solitary hunters and only dominant females will give birth to kits. Foxes form monogamous life pairs with their mates. Alas these life pairings are rather short – the life expectancy for foxes, for some unknown reason, is only about 4 years in the wild!

For those playing at home:

Male Fox = Reynard

Female Fox = Vixen

Young Fox = Kit

A group of Foxes = Skulk, Earth, Leash

Us humans have a complicated relationship with foxes. On the one hand our mythologies and folklore are full of tales of the wiley fox and their supernatural powers. I wrote about some of these tales here. On the other hand foxes are considered pests and killed at every other opportunity in many countries. Germany kills about half a million foxes each year, while England kills about 25,000 annually to highlight a few kill zones. And let’s not forget the whole fox hunting controversy in England. The fur of Red Foxes is one of the mostly highly sought after and results in fox farms with millions of foxes suffering in cages under terrible conditions. Wild foxes are likewise trapped for the fur trade and suffer painful deaths for fashion.

A Lovely Family Moment

Despite this onslaught Red Foxes continue to thrive and even expand their range. The crafty creature has learned how to live in cities and now populates many an urban landscape – it is estimated that 10,000 Red Foxes now live in London alone.

Stick it to the Man. Well done, mate.

Until next month….m

A few other images from the “Awwwwl collection”:

Nikon D4S, Nikon 600mm, 1.4x TC (effective 850mm), f/11, 1/1000 sec, ISO 2500

Sources:

Animal Fact Encyclopedia

Live Science

National Geographic

Wikipedia (Red Fox)

Jan

31

Toco Toucan

Shot of the Month Posted by Michael / 2 comments

Shot of the Month – January 2020

I find it impossible to look at this image and not smile and shake my head in amazement. How does mother nature come up these incredible combinations of sizes, shapes and colors? This particular combination gives us the glorious Toco Toucan (TT). I photographed this fine chap in the Pantanal in Brazil. It is pretty obvious to see why Mr. TT is one of the world’s most popular birds.

Follow Your Nose

I was first introduced to TTs as a child as the mascot for my favorite cereal, Froot Loops (hey, this is a judgement-free zone!), was based on this bird. Toucan Sam became the cereal’s mascot in 1963, hence he is just slightly older than me, and for some reason he had an English accent.

Source

Toucans have been used to sell stuff for quite awhile – they were recommending Guinness Beer back in 1935. In Brazil they get political as they hawk the Social Democratic Party (see what I did there?). In popular culture, Senor Tucan provided Dora the Explorer occasional advice. In the world of Pokemon you can find Toucannon who is likewise crafted after Mr. TT.

On a more etheral plane TT’s can be found on many South American tribal totem poles as an incarnation to fly to the spiritual world. The ancient Aztecs believed that the Toucan’s beak was created from rainbows as a reward for being the messenger of the gods. Nice.

Yes, let’s talk a bit about that glorious beak. But, before we dive in, a quick reminder:

Bill = Beak. Although many people refer to beaks as pointed bills, like what raptors have, in modern ornithology (the science of studying birds) there is no recognized difference in the terms. Beak, bill, all the same. Just saying…

Size

Typically 1/3rd of the total length of a Toco Toucan is all beak. The beak is 8 inches long while the total length of the bird is about 25 inches. Although the beak looks heavy it is actually very light as it is mostly hollow and is made up of a honeycomb of keratin (the same protein that makes up fingernails and horn). The TT is the largest of the 40 species of toucans in the world, but even with that large beak it only weighs less than 2 pounds!! Birds are light!!

Function

So why the massive beak? Scientists are not sure but there are many theories. Many people assume it plays a role in attracting a mate, though no evidence has been found yet to support that idea. It does seem however that the bill is an effective tool for regulating the bird’s body heat. Toco Toucans are found in the tropical forests, savannas, and shrublands of South America. Living in such hot, humid climates where evaporation is slow, it can be difficult for an animal to cool off. The TT’s bill represents 30-50% of the bird’s body surface area making it the largest bill relative to body size of all birds. If the TT gets too hot he can direct more blood to pass through the beak and depending on conditions it can dissipate 25% to 4x the heat produced by the bird’s body! That is incredibly efficient and effective. For comparison, elephants use the massive surface area of their big ears to regulate body heat in the same way but they can only shed about 10% of the heat that their body produces.

The big bill is also useful for feeding. The TT eats primarily fruit and that long bill allows the bird to reach distant fruit that may otherwise be too far away. Fruit on a branch that is too small to support the bird’s weight? No problem, just leeeean over and snatch it with that uber long bill. The long bill also allows the bird to sit in one place and still reach a lot of fruit – not having to move around as much saves energy. Speaking of fruit, did you notice that the beak is serrated? You can really see the notched edges of the bill in the upper image. The serrations allow the bird to peel fruit. Although these birds primarily eat figs, oranges, guavas and other fruit the long beak is also useful for catching insects and for reaching into tree cavities to catch young birds and eggs — a vital source of protein.

Ahhh, the Toco Toucan — a bird of the tropics with that Technicolor, swiss-army knife of a beak made from rainbows that acts as tool, knife, radiator and portal to other realms.

Cool bird.

Until next month…..m

Nikon D4s, Nikon 600 mm, f/4, 1/1000 sec, ISO 200

Source

Animal Spot

The Amazing Toucan Bill

Animal Fact Guide

National Geographic

Wikipedia – Toco Toucan

Wikipedia – Toucan