Spontaneous Trips

Sometimes we decide last minute to go out and shoot. Most of the time we plan it out fairly well. this past weekend we planned only Saturday and had nothing planned for Sunday. On Saturday we spent our day on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Most of it spent at the Eastern Neck NWR in Rock Hall, Md.
Once we arrived it was very clear that this Refuge was more than a wildlife refuge. They had recreation areas and allot of public access. As we drove thru we noticed allot of people walking and riding bikes. And motorcycles driving thru. We knew that it probably wouldn't be a fruitful trip. But we stayed anyway and took some shots that weren't so bad. The biggest event was spotting the red fox trotting down the road. We watched him/her for about 20 minutes as it searched for bird eggs in the thicket by the marsh. As quickly a he/she appeared, it disappeared.
We spent more time shooting butterflies and bugs and flowers. But as we shot these we were inundated with people walking around and asking questions. Seems this is a Nice place but if you're serious about shooting wildlife you're better off looking elsewhere.
We spent about 2 hours walking through the woods and had no luck spotting anything. We heard plenty of birds and rustling in the trees and bushes.
We took a solitude break away from everyone near the shore of the bay. While there we were treated to a close up of a hawk flying next to the truck. and as we exited we spotted a groundhog on the side of the road who seemed just as interested in us as we were of him.
Ospreys made a nest atop a power pole. We watched as a young osprey took it's first attempts at flight. It was a glorious sight to see him sour. He would take off and a parent would fly just over top of him and he would then land back in the nest not going more than 20 or 30 yards away.
On Saturday night we decided we would go out again and go back to Maryland. We saw some signs for a wildlife park or something and followed the signs but found nothing. But, as we drove along a very secluded road we decided to stop at a marsh and shoot. As we did Kathy spotted a Bald Eagle in a tree about 100 yards away. She motioned for me to get the 1000mm lens but i couldn't get it out fast enough and it flew off. fortunately Kathy got some awesome shots before it flew away.
We then drove off and decided to head for the Rappahannock NWR in Warsaw, Va. As we arrived I knew there wouldn't be many people there. I had been there before and there are no signs on the roadways directing you there so I knew there wouldn't be any tourists or curiosity seekers.
We arrived and parked and headed out. One of the many things we have been trying to shoot are amphibious creatures. They are very elusive and it takes allot of patience. This I don't have. But Kathy does. She sat in the same spot for about two hours and got some great shots of some green frogs. also, we were able to get some shots of a couple turtles in the water doing what two turtles would be doing if they knew they were alone.
So that was our weekend. Not much but we did get some good footage and we have posted them on the site.
Till next time....................

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