Michael Despines Photography

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

Jan

08

12 for 19

Today's Shot Posted by Michael / 10 comments

Time to look back at a few of my favorite images from 2019. These may not always be my “best” images from the year but they are special to me for various reasons that I will comment on below. In no special order:

1. Jaguar

Five of my favorite images for the year were captured during our November trip to the Pantanal in Brazil. Here we have a lovely female jaguar. You had me with that look, but with the crossed paws? I’m done….

2. Giant River Otter

Another shot from the Pantanal. With this shot I finally managed to get an image of a giant river otter doing what they do best — eat fish. Great eye contact from both the otter and the fish and I love how you can see how beautiful the armored catfish is. And this is one the few images where there was no obstruction — I have hundreds of images of otters with grass, sticks, leaves, etc. blocking the view. I shot this image on the LAST outing on the LAST day of the trip! You just never know…

3. Green Kingfisher

Continuing with images from the Pantanal. On this trip I managed to get two very nice images of kingfishers. Here is the first of a green kingfisher. I love the colors and that clean background. Such a gorgeous bird.

4. American Pygmy Kingfisher

I love the “other worldly” look of this image of the American Pygmy kingfisher — the 2nd really nice kingfisher shot that I got from the Pantanal this year. You might not imagine it, but photographing a tiny bird, on a moving boat is exhausting. Hundreds of images later, finally one that worked.

5. Toco Tucan

This is the last image on the list from the Pantanal trip. I just love the colors of this bird – amazing! Toucans are more common in southern Pantanal — we were in the north so getting an image of this incredible bird was totally unexpected. We only had two, very brief sightings during the entire trip and I was only able to fire off a few shots before the birds vanished each time. These birds never stopped moving, jumping from branch to branch, while trying to approach and shoot from a small moving boat – yikes! It was hard to even find the find the birds in the view finder let alone compose a good shot. Sometimes you get lucky…

6. Red Fox

The rest of the images are from the good ol’ USA. In 2019 I got my first worthwhile images of red foxes. Here we see a female bringing back a rabbit for her kits at the den. Yes this is a red fox – they have several color morphs that include black, brown, silver, etc.

7. Barn Owl

My first image of a barn owl!! This image was captured before sunrise. See more here.

8. Short-eared Owl

This image is bittersweet. Each winter I could count on seeing short-eared owls in this amazing habitat north of Seattle. But no longer – the fields were flooded over in 2019 to create a salmon habitat. (Was the same place I saw the barn owl).

9. Savannah Sparrow

In 2019 I managed to add a few images to my Sparrow/Tulip series. Savannah Sparrow in Yellow. You can see a red version here (4th image from the top).

10. Moose

In 2019 I made my first trip to Grand Teton NP and captured this lovely fall image of a moose. I plan to go back to the Grand Tetons this winter so hopefully we will see more images from this park on the 2020 list…

11. Ponytail Falls

I made a quick weekend trip to the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon in 2019 and came away with two nice shots. The first was this lovely autumn scene:

12. Wreck of the Peter Iredale

The other nice shot from that weekend was captured along the Oregon coast. In 1906 a steel ship called the Peter Iredale ran aground here. By sheer luck I was there on a day when the tide was low at sunset allowing me to shoot next to the wreck.

Have a favorite? Which one(s) do you like best?

I can’t wait to see what Mother Nature will share with me in 2020!

Happy New Year!

Dec

31

Jungle Cat

Shot of the Month Posted by Michael / 0 comments

Shot of the Month – December 2019

In 2019 I visited the Pantanal in Brazil to photograph jaguars and other wildlife – you can see the highlights in this video. En route to the prime jaguar location we spent one night at small lodge where we saw another wild cat of the region – the Ocelot. Each night the lodge puts out chicken to attract this rarely seen cat. I am not a fan of baiting wildlife as it can diminish their survival skills and promote dangerous human – wildlife interaction. For what it is worth this cat does not show up every night and it seems that he is not dependent on this food supply but only drops in when he wants a supplement. Or perhaps only when he is in the mood for a bit of chicken….

As you can see Ocelots are fairly small, coming in at about twice the size of an average house cat or roughly the same size as a bobcat. The males can grow to about four feet in length while the females are usually about two and half feet long. Ocelots tend to weigh between 28-35 pounds.

These solitary cats are highly nocturnal and use their exceptional eyesight to hunt rabbits, rodents, snakes, fish, frogs, young deer, peccaries, iguanas and other lizards. They are good swimmers and good climbers so they will hunt for fish in nearby streams while also stalking monkeys and birds in the trees. Ocelots hunt by walking slowly along game trails hoping to ambush their prey. They are also “sit and wait” predators, sitting motionless for 30-60 minutes at a den or burrow site. If no luck they move quickly to another site and sit and wait again.

Ocelot Range Map (Source)

Ocelots can be found from southwestern United States to northern Argentina. These cats thrive where plant life is dense and can be found in tropical forests, thorn forests, mangrove swamps and savannas. There are about 800,000 to 1.5 million Ocelots remaining in the Western Hemisphere but their numbers are declining. In the US Ocelots were once found in southern Arizona and throughout much of Texas, and even reaching Arkansas and Louisiana. Alas, human development in these areas has caused Ocelot numbers to plummet and they are now at risk for extinction in the US. Today they can only be found in southern Texas with only about 40 individuals remaining. In Colombia, Argentina and parts of Brazil the cat is listed as vulnerable.

The fur trade in the 1960s and 1970s was devastating to the Ocelot population – in 1970 alone over 140,000 Ocelot skins were traded in the United States. Fortunately most countries now ban the trade of Ocelot skins. While the threats from the fur trade, hunting, and the pet trade have reduced other threats are growing. The loss of habitat and fragmentation of habitat is a major threat as us humans continue to expand our footprint across the planet. Traffic accidents are a growing threat as Ocelots are increasingly hit by cars as new roads crisscross their shrinking habitat. Logging and poaching of their prey species are additional threats to their survival.

Although these lovely cats are rarely seen our world would be much poorer without their nightly jaunts through the jungles of our dreams and fables. Let’s hope that we can find a way to allow the Ocelot to roam our jungles for many years to come.

Until next month….m

And for your easy viewing pleasure, our Pantanal Highlight Video (includes images of the Ocelot):

Sources:

Nikon D4S, Nikon 70-200mm (@ 95mm), f/2.8, 1/125 sec, ISO 6400

Nov

30

Sailing into History

Shot of the Month Posted by Michael / 5 comments

Shot of the Month – November 2019

While this ship is clearly no longer sea worthy its rusting hull can, at least for a few more years, take our imagination on a journey back in time. The hull, located on the beach at Fort Stevens Park, is all that is left of the Peter Iredale, a four-masted steel barque that ran aground on the Oregon coast on October 25, 1906. The ship had departed from Salina Cruz, Mexico (about 60 miles south of San Diego) a month earlier bound for Portland, Oregon with 1,000 tons of ballast and a crew of 27. Nearing the end of its journey the ship encountered a fierce storm just four miles south of the Columbia River channel and was driven onto the beach in the driving winds. The force of the impact was so great that 3 of the 4 masts of the ship snapped when it hit the sand. All crew were rescued from the ship and there were no casualties.

Above we can see the Peter Iredale in all his glory — the steel ship was built in 1890 in Maryport, England and was 285 feet long. The ship was sent to Portland to pick up a cargo of wheat that would be sailed to England. Below we can see the ship not long after it ran aground.

There was little damage to the hull so initially the plan was to tow the ship back to sea. However, the recovery team had to wait a few weeks for favorable weather and during this time the ship sank deeply into the sand and it was impossible to move it. And so there it has stayed for the last 113 years.

And, in case you were wondering:

Who the heck is Peter Iredale?

He is the bloke that owned the ship. He had a shipping firm called Iredale & Porter and was a business big shot in Liverpool, England.

Did the crew screw up and cause this mess?

Well, a naval inquiry was held by the British Vice-Consulate to determine the cause of the wreck. The British Naval Court ruled that the sudden wind shift and the strong current were responsible for the stranding of the ship, and that the captain and his officers were “in no wise to blame” and in fact the captain (Captain H. Lawrence) and the crew were commended for their attempts to save the ship.

I only spent one afternoon at the wreck site and as luck would have it, there was a low tide near sunset allowing me to walk right up to the hull. Here a few images from different perspectives and as the light transformed as the sun went down.

Here is a landscape orientation as some clouds rolled in:

As the sun nears the horizon the light weakens but there is a soft pink hue (alas, we lost most of those lovely clouds):

Here we can see the full side of the remaining hull in the last light:

On that fateful day, just before leaving the beach, it is reported that the red-bearded captain stood stiffly at attention, saluted his ship, and said:

May God bless you and may your bones bleach in these sands”

He then turned and addressed his men with a bottle of whisky in his hand. “Boys,” he said, “have a drink.”

I don’t know if this salty tale is all true, but I like to believe that it is.

Ayyye! Until next month….m

Sources:

The Oregon History Project

Peter Iredale (Wikipedia)

Here is a fun video on the shipwreck:

And here you can see historic images of the wreck over the last 100 years:

https://www.oregonlive.com/travel/2018/03/watch_oregons_iconic_shipwreck.html

Nikon D850, Nikon 17-35mm (@ 17 mm), f/8, 1 sec, ISO 64. HDR composite of 5 exposures (-2,-1,0,+1,+2 EV).

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Foxy Mama

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Toco Toucan

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12 for 19

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Jungle Cat

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Sailing into History

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