Images in the Backcountry Blog » Backyard Wildlife

Black Phoebe

Mike Matenkosky — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 18:13:43 +0000

A few months ago I saw a pair of Black Phoebes hanging around my backyard habitat, but they never got close enough to take a decent picture.

I saw them yesterday hanging around near the back porch and on top of the pool. I put a stick in grass a within an hour I had a VERY cooperative Black Phoebe allow me to photograph him or her for over a half hour! Pretty cool bird, even though they’re sort of drab.

Black Phoebe

I got about 60 pictures and decided to move my location since the sun wasn’t cooperating. Unfortunately he never came back….until today. I’m going to try and capture a few more shots this afternoon, when the sun isn’t so harsh.

Mourning Dove, Black Phoebe and a Red Admiral Butterfly

Mike Matenkosky — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 17:59:12 +0000

I’ve been lazy in posting some of my new “finds”. Since the weather is nasty today, I thought I’d catch up with my latest photos.

This Mourning Dove was kind enough to land close by, a bit too close to frame the whole body.

Last year I saw one Black Phoebe in the trees and never saw it again. This year I saw a pair, a bit closer, but never landed in my “studio”. This was the best I could do.

Black Phoebe

I’m not a Butterfly Photographer, but I saw this Red Admiral Butterfly in my blind a thought I’d capture him…just because.

Red Admiral Butterfly

The White-crowned Sparrows are still here….

Orange-crowned Warbler and a Rufous Hummingbird

Mike Matenkosky — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 19:00:53 +0000

I have been processing photos from my latest Yosemite trip all afternoon. I happen to see a larger bird flying away….definitely NOT a hummingbird. I figured it was our Orange-crowned Warbler again. I saw him once last year, but I never got a good picture of it. I wasn’t going to try again since feeders aren’t very photogenic!

A few hours later, I can see he’s landing on one of the branches I put under the feeder…cool!! Decided to take a break from processing and just watch for a while. As I was watching, I noticed a red-brown hummingbird. I’m used to seeing the Annas and Black-chinned Hummingbirds, but this guy was different. I grabbed my camera and waited by the porch.

Since all I wanted was a picture of the hummingbird for ID purposes, I didn’t bother with getting my flash. Honestly, I plain forgot! I got a few photos and realized I should get my tripod and flash.

Rufous Hummingbird, some what overexposed

Couldn’t manage to get another photo of the hummingbird, but did get my Orange-crowned Warbler that evening….

Orange-crowned Warbler

Merced NWR 3-24-10

Mike Matenkosky — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 20:48:08 +0000

It about a month since I’ve been out the Merced NWR. I normally stay until sunset, but since the time change and because the kids are done before sunset, I only stayed for a short time. One of the pools are now dry, the Geese are gone too. I found several Killdeer to be cooperative, but still had to shoot this from the window.

Killdeer

Saw a Great Blue Heron fishing in on of the ponds. Tried to get a better background but he started moving behind the reeds.

Great Blue Heron

Saw a rare “Giraffa mylarii” too!

15 Minutes of Excitement!

Mike Matenkosky — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 04:50:41 +0000

Spent the afternoon at the “Matenkosky NWR” or maybe “The Backcountry NWR”, haven’t decided what to call my backyard ‘refuge’. Anyway, it was a pretty boring afternoon. I had hoped for the Yellow-rumped Warblers that I’ve been courting these last few days to get closer, but no luck…..until near sunset.

All of the sweet light had vanished and all of a sudden this Yellow-rumped Warbler decided to perch on one of my “calibrated” sticks…Jackpot! I got two nice photos.

Figuring I can now pack up and go back to the house, then I saw a Lawrence’s Goldfinch! I saw a pair of them a few days ago and never saw them again. This time I saw two males hanging around….Jackpot again!

So I had 4 hours of boredom and 15 minutes of excitement!

My First Lawrence’s Goldfinch!

Mike Matenkosky — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 03:42:30 +0000

I had a two hours to kill until I had to pick up the kids at Awana. I got my camera, tripod and cushion an headed to the Matenkosky NWR….my backyard. I was hoping to capture a better photo of one of the Yellow-rumped Warblers that I’ve been seeing, but no luck. Instead, I saw a pair (male & female) of Lawrence’s Goldfinches….my first!

I was able to get two great poses of a White-crowned Sparrow this afternoon too.

He’s having a bad hair day, but I love that I got him with his beak open and in the water!

This American Goldfinch was a bit upset….

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Mike Matenkosky — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 04:44:27 +0000

I made some changes to my backyard pond this afternoon. Didn’t get any visitors by the shore though. I’ve been seeing a pair of Yellow-rumped Warblers in the trees these last few days. This evening I got one to land in the grass for one photo. Hopefully the next few days they’ll come closer and longer so I can capture a few more photos.

Got another Oregon Junco this afternoon.

Scared by a Robin?

Mike Matenkosky — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 03:34:42 +0000

Yep, it’s true. I’m so used to seeing the smaller songbirds in my backyard blind that I got startled by a Robin! This is my first Robbin of the season and I wasn’t used to seeing them. Needless to say I missed that shot…so what else is new.

Saw this poor White-crowned Sparrow with an apparent broken or injured leg. He seems to be well-fed for now, so hopefully he’ll survive.

My backyard pond is working out great!!

Got a Dark-eyed Junco as the sun went down.

The Day of the Goldfinches

Mike Matenkosky — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 18:14:14 +0000

I made a few minor changes to my backyard pond. Some of the birds couldn’t figure out how to come to the water. In the process of trying to hide the plastic, I used large rocks to line it. As I looked at the pond it looked more like a rock quarry than a pond, so I took out a section of rock and replaced it with some sod….weeds really. Seems to work better now. Within seconds of me sitting down inside the blind, I had my first visitor, an American Goldfinch. I’ve been noticing that the Goldfinches really like the pond. I see an occasional Sparrow or Junco at the pond so I hope the improvements will help with my ‘species pond count’.

The New Backyard DIY Photography Blind, Pond and Waterfall

Mike Matenkosky — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 04:21:03 +0000

Last year I wanted to build a small DIY photography blind in my backyard. I had an old play house that my kids used to play in. It worked, but I had to sit sideways and shoot. Not very comfortable. I need something larger and I also wanted to add a small water feature. I got tired of using a clay pot as a bird bath….not very realistic.

Since my knees/legs are fixed straight, I sit on my old wheelchair pad on the grass. Pretty comfortable. I need to hide my legs and tripod though, so building a square box is out of the question. I drew up a set of plans. I went out Home Depot and bought $20 worth of 3/4″ schedule 40 PVC pipe and ‘a few’ fittings. I had an old tarp so I covered it with the PVC frame work using a few spring clamps from my old blind.

Next I constructed my pond and waterfall. Right now it’s about 4 feet square and 3 to 6 inches deep. I’m glad our area is fine dirt/sand because trying to dig a hole without the use of your knees was a challenge. I lined the pond with 3.5 mil plastic and drove out to the foothills to get ‘a few’ rocks.

I found a Waterfall Kit from Zoo Med Laboratories at the local pet store. Its a quiet small submersible pump and I use an extension cord to power it. No, it’s not plugged in 24 hours a day. I just use it when I’m shooting.

It’s still a work in progress. I’ve already widened the pond from 2 feet to 4 feet and I may widen it more. I can add or remove rocks, twigs and logs to suit the occasion. I plan on buying another hummingbird feeder close to the waterfall in hopes to capture a hummingbird while bathing.

So if I can build something like this, I’m sure you can too! I hope I’ve inspired you to build one for yourself. Have fun with it and keep shooting!

A picture is worth a thousand words, so here’s some photos…

My Studio

Sitting inside the backyard blind

The View

The 3/4″ Schedule-40 PVC Framework

The Backyard Pond and Waterfall

The Kitchen You can see the feeders and the old Christmas Tree that has holes drilled in so I can fill it with my Peanut Butter Suet.

The Backyard Waterfall

The Other End of the Waterfall

The Submersible Pump

A Lincoln’s Sparrow Taking a Bath