Michael Despines Photography

Jun

29

American Pygmy Kingfisher

Shot of the Month Posted by Michael / 0 comments

Shot of the Month – June 2020

Warning: Objects on your screen may be smaller than they appear.

In this image, the American Pygmy Kingfisher (APK) appears to tower over us. Fear not, we are not in danger. The APK is the smallest of all kingfishers and is about 5 inches in length and tips the scales at a mere 18 grams (about the weight of 3 American quarters or about 1/2 an ounce).

The wee bird seems so large because I was floating underneath him in a boat at a close distance with a 400 mm lens when I captured the image. I love this shot as the combination of side lighting and blurred background gives the image an other-worldly, mystical vibe.

APKs can be found in the lowlands of the American Tropics from southern Mexico to central Brazil. They are most commonly seen along small woodland streams, pools, puddles, and small channels in mangroves. You can see their full range here. I photographed this fellow in the Pantanal in Brazil.

The head and wings of the APK are metallic green while its body and neck are deep orange-buff, shading to rich dark rufous on the breast, sides, and flanks. The diminutive kingfisher sits by rivers and will dive headfirst into the water after small fish and tadpoles. He will also dine on insects such as cockroaches, aquatic beetles, and larvae.

Chillin by the river:

Scanning the water below…

Uh, too close!

Smallest of kingfishers = Largest of smiles

Until next month….m

Nikon D500, Nikon 200-400mm (@400mm), f/4, ISO 160, +0.5 EV

Source:

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: