June 29th - Reesor (lower) Pond

[Shortsighted]

It was not so humid today and therefore I visited Reesor (lower) pond because it is so close.  At first, I saw nothing at all.  Then I noticed Barn swallows careening over the pond.  There were a couple of Mallards on the far NE end of the pond but nothing up close.  At the far north end there was a Pied-billed grebe, which later appeared at half the distance, and later still, it popped up out of the water maybe 150 meters distant, but at that point it was into the sun ... figures.  I could hear the loud call of something at a distance within the tall grass.  May have been a sora, or a morhen.  I noticed a nest some distance off from the observation mound and I believe it was a kingbird nest.  There was an Eastern kingbird perched nearby.  A Gray catbird also showed up.  Also, a Marsh wren and a couple of Yellow warblers and the requisite RWBBs.  It was so nice not to have a soupy humidity.


Nest with at least a couple of chicks




Gray catbird


Pied-billed Grebe

[Shortsighted]

I visited Reesor (lower) pond again today (June 30th) and it was definitely hotter & less wind.  I heard the Moorhen calling again but it did not show itself.  This time the call came from my side (west side).  The kingbird nest was just too far away from the observation mound and therefore I moved around to the south side to get a better look.  The parent birds would visit every 15 minutes to feed the three chicks within the nest.  The Pied-billed grebe was farther away today but I could see that there were three young grebe. 


Kingbird nest from observation mount.



Kingbird nest from south side of pond ... a little closer.



Parent kingbird perched on same tree as the nest


Pied-billed grebe and three young birds way out on the pond

[Shortsighted]

 I returned to the ‘barely there’ pathway on the south end of Reesor (lower) Pond, henceforth referred to as RLP, to distinguish it from Reesor Pond in Markham, located near Reesor Rd & #407.  While RLP pond is somewhat smaller in area then the pond in Markham I believe that its main deficiency lies below water level ... it’s quite shallow.  Right now it is especially shallow.  Pond or puddle?  The bottom of the pond is boot-sucking muck (BSM).  One might be tempted to step into the shallow water with hip waders in order to acquire a better spot for photography but that would be a mistake.  Within a few steps of intrusion into those shallow waters any invading boots would be swallowed whole and escape would be impossible.
 
 I took my 1969 tripod (that’s not a model number) so that I could daisy-chain teleconverters behind my lens and see what I might capture of the kingbird nest while using manual focus and a very small iris opening.  I set a 5-second timer on my shutter so that any vibration from touching the shutter button would have time to attenuate.  I also tried a rapid burst with my hands still on the camera while just ranging the focus ring back and forth very slightly in the hope that at least one frame might actually be in critical focus.
 
While using my Canon 7D Mk II, I tried 600mm, 840mm, 1200mm and 1680mm by playing with teleconverters.  1680mm was useless and 1200mm was hit & miss (soft at best).  The sun was low and at my three o'clock position therefore creating brutal contrast.








Another nest on pond











Original nest





Parent kingbird

[Shortsighted]

I decided to revisit Reesor (lower) Pond in the evening, thereby getting the light from a different compass point.  Light from the west favoured the second nest.  The chicks in that nest were much younger and I couldn't tell if there was only one chick, or two.  The parent kingbird would sometimes rest on a stick emerging from the water, scanning for dragonflies which see better above and below them than they do straight ahead, which was perch-level.  In one shot you can see a large dragonfly sticking out of the chick's open mouth.


Kingbird perched on stick not far above water-level


Can see the coronal red patch


Parent bird arrived with dragonfly




Dragonfly in chick's gaping mouth


Parent kingbird nestled on ... nest.