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A Late Summer Walk Around Prophetstown State Park

by Pinola Photo

Taking A Walk Around Prophetstown State Park

Monday morning I went out to Prophetstown State Park for a little walk. I tried to go out with no expectations, but I wouldn't go if I didn't think that I would come away with a photo. I made a couple of photos that I liked, but as I was walking back down the trail I felt like the trip was not a great success yet. I had seen a lot of birds and wildlife, but I had not always seen them in a spot that was good for photography. I had my head down walking when something flew up from the brush near me. This dickcissel was startled at first, but then sat up on this perch so that I could have a mini photo session with it. It was a photo that I really liked, and the rest of my walk back to the car was a good one.

Grabbing A Quick Meal

When I walked down near the river I saw some egrets downstream a bit. Everything in front of me though was empty. Then I heard a noise in the water. This heron came walking into view. It checked me out for a while, but kept walking. It was severely backlit, but I haven't been around the herons so much lately so I decided to hang out and watch the bird for a while. Once it was a little more comfortable that I wasn't a threat it started to hunt. It found this little fish and plucked it out of the water. Then I saw something that I have not seen before. It spit the fish back into the water. It was a fun photo, and being backlit allowed the water droplets to really show up.

Patience Pays Off

Just after I made the heron photo above I heard a commotion in the water. I looked just a few feet away from the heron, and I saw this small family of river otters swimming around. The momma saw me and looked up at me for a while. When you see their teeth and realize that young ones are in between you and the momma you have to start planning your retreat. I never want to cause distress in the animals. The otter checked me out and then finished the meal in her mouth. If you look closely at the photo you can see the frog hanging out of the mouth. This encounter only lasted for a couple of seconds, but was pretty cool.

Everything In One Frame

On this trip I wanted to try and photograph a green heron and a hummingbird. At one point I had seen neither of them. Then this green heron flew into a small tree. As I moved my camera over to look at it a hummingbird flew into the frame. This photo will never win any awards, but I thought that it was pretty cool. I never did make the photo of either of them that I had in mind, but I did get to see them.