Grey November Skies
- Matt Lucas
- Dec 13, 2024
- 13 min read
November was a much slower month for nature photography. I had so many images from the month of October, especially from the second trip around Nova Scotia, that I decided to focus on finalizing the edits from those shoots rather than pile more photos on top of what I already had. I did manage to log a few new species of birds, which is always exciting, along with capturing a few mammals and landscape shots. Not sure that I captured anything award winning, but that is never the point.
Nov. 9
After too long of a break from the field, I finally made my way back to the outdoors to a crisp, cold morning at Ducan’s Cove. I’ve photographed here a few times before, but I haven’t had too much luck running into wildlife, and usually walk away empty-handed. I didn’t have high hopes for this outing either as I tend to need a couple outings to shake the cobwebs off after an extended break.
I got there shortly before sunrise and made my way towards the coastline. Just before doing so, a gentleman approached me asking if this was a good area to hike. Assuming he was new to the area, I gave him a few tips on where he should go and what paths to follow, but to be honest, unless you plan on hiking the trail near the beginning of Chebucto Head Road, there isn’t much for extensive paths, save for what’s along the lighthouse near the point and the road leading up to it. He seemed pleased enough to walk to the lighthouse and went on his way, completely missing the White-Tailed Deer that were resting in some thick shrub just off to the side.
I saw the massive buck first, the second buck I’ve seen this fall, just sticking its head up from the bush. While I did take several photos of him, I couldn’t lock down any final compositions as there always appeared to be branches obscuring a clean shot. The same can’t be said for the doe that was next to it though. I took a few images of her before continuing along the road.
While there wasn’t much else for wildlife from this short shoot, save for a massive flock of Double-Crested Cormorants heading southbound, I did manage to capture a stunning landscape image of the sun rays piercing the dark clouds over the ocean. I even managed to take this photo handheld with relative sharpness. Loved how the final image turned out.
Nov. 11
I had received word that there were a couple of Sandhill Cranes spotted near Milford Station so I was eager to try and track them down for a photo op. Beth wanted to join too so we first went to a favourite spot of mine, Oakfield Provincial Park, just to warm ourselves up and see if we could see some owls first thing.
No owls, but in the wet weather we did manage to come across a few bird species that gave us some brief photography opportunities. We walked along the park a bit, not really seeing anything, and same went for the nearby golf course. I did spot a Red-Tailed Hawk flying several hundred metres away, but was too slow to notice to get a picture of it. Heading back along the train tracks, several Black-Capped Chickadees and Golden Crowned Kinglets began feeding on either side of us. One of the Golden Crowned Kinglets remained still long enough for me to get a happy photo of it.
On the opposite side where Fish Lake is located is where we found a few Common Goldeneye feeding. As per usual, they stuck pretty close to the center of the lake, though I did manage to take a few images of a pair taking off in the rain. I went for a wider crop for the final image, showcasing the dark, yet colourful aspects of the environment, while somewhat freezing the motion of the ducks taking off.
Heading back up along the road to where we had parked, I spotted several deer feeding in one of the grassy fields on the opposite side. I signaled to Beth to slowly walk over to have a look. We hunkered down low and watched them for a bit, and I managed to get a couple cute photos of what looked like the mother and her fawn looking back up at us. We waited to continue along after it appeared that the deer weren’t too bothered by us, walking to the opposite side of the road. The deer eventually moved on in the other direction, continuing to feed as they did so.
We got to Milford Station around 9 AM with the drizzle still coming down. Beth and I ventured down the road looking and listening for the Sandhill Cranes. There were a few Song Sparrows feeding along the path on either side of us, and a Bald Eagle in a lone tree several hundred metres away. We also saw a large number of Canada Goose flying overhead in several v-shaped formations, a common sight this time of the year.
Beth and I walked around for over an hour, stopping every so often to listen and scan the fields around us. We hit the treeline without having seen or heard any sign of them and decided to start heading back. The moment we were within eyesight of the car we heard the distinct calls of the Sandhill Cranes. We both looked at each other excitedly and headed back in the direction we came from, thinking that the cranes were nearby. We spent another 60 or so minutes looking over the area, but no luck. While I felt bad for Beth for not being able to see the cranes during this outing, she still seemed to enjoy herself, despite the miserable weather. What a trooper.
Nov. 16
Determined to find those cranes, I ventured back out to Milford to try and find those buggers. I wasn’t very hopeful as the cranes had been around the area for a few weeks now and were bound to be moving southward any day. The weather was pretty much the exact same as it was the previous week: cold, light rain with a slight gust.
I went back to the same spot I went the previous trip to Milford. I walked along the road, watching the Song Sparrows hop from shrub to shrub. I noticed a different coloured sparrow in the mix and identified it as an American Tree Sparrow. I ended up doing a final edit to one of the photos taken of the American Tree Sparrow, but the photos were busy with blades of grass and branches. I tried a few different edits on this. Not sure if it works at all, but I felt like experimenting anyway.
Like last time, after a couple hours of searching around, I did hear the Sandhill Cranes squawking again in a couple fields away from me. Two of them took to the air behind a string of trees and landed somewhere I couldn’t reach. After another hour or so, the two of them took off again, calling as they did. This time I managed to get a couple of pictures of them, but they were taken while they were wayyy up in the sky, with very little detail. I did a final high key edit to the shot to add some creative element to the photograph, but certainly nothing award winning. I was just glad I’d gotten to see these majestic creatures before they continued on south. Hope I get the chance to photograph them again next year.
On the way back home I noticed a large hawk perched on the top of a dead tree overlooking a river. I pulled over to snag a few shots of the Red-Tailed Hawk looking stoic in the light rain as it scanned the area for food. This photo might be one of my favourite Red-Tailed Hawk shots to date.
Nov. 21
I had the afternoon off today as I had an appointment in Dartmouth. That appointment: getting a big ole dinosaur tattoo on my leg. I had brought my camera gear with me hoping I would have some time afterward to do a lap around Sullivan’s Pond and Birch Cove Park. I am certainly thankful that I did. Moments before my tattoo appointment, I received upsetting news about my grandmother, who was very dear to me, had died. I don’t want to get into it here, as I don’t want these blogs to get too deep into my personal life like last time I tried this blog habit out. All I’ll say at this juncture is thank the gods that I found photography and Beth, and that I also have an amazing support system through my friends and family.
Walking around Birch Cove, I found a bird I wasn’t expecting to see until next spring. A Black-and-White Warbler was feeding amongst the bushes with some White-Throated Sparrows and Song Sparrows. I took a few shots of it doing its best nuthatch impression - walking up and down the trunk of a tree. My favourite shot of it was of it landing on a thin branch with some dead leaves in the background and foreground.
I spotted a pair of Northern Cardinals moving from house to house looking for feeders. I caught the male pausing for a moment with some yellow foliage in the background. I cropped in quite a bit on this photo to get rid of the unnecessary branches, but think it looks okay.
My last image of the day was of a Ring-Billed Gull. One was preening near the edge of the pond and I was able to get down low to get eye-level with it. With the massive sprinkler in the background, I waited for the gull to look my way and took my exposure. I wish I had a bit more time to play with the composition, but thankfully there are usually a large number of ducks and gulls that frequent the area so I’ll have my chance again.
Nov. 24:
I needed to venture out to a spot where I was highly likely to get some great compositions. Nothing like walking around Rainbow Haven and Bissett Trails to get me out of a funk, however brief. Started off the morning by going to Rainbow Haven and did my regular look around the park. It was pretty quiet for the first hour and a bit. I was hoping to get a sight of the Red Foxes, but not a peep from them. When I reached the beach I noticed a Red-Throated Loon near the shoreline and got down low to get a shot of it. The loon must’ve spotted me because after it came up from the water it made its way further out into the ocean. Thankfully, another Red-Throated Loon was even closer, so I waited for it to dive under the water and slowly crawled my way over to get a closer look. Again, nothing award winning, but I think these are the best Red-Throated Loon photos I’ve taken so far. Every time I’ve seen them before they’re usually way too far for me to get a decent composition of.
Not long after the Red-Throated Loon did I snag a few shots of a Common Raven flying over the treeline behind me. Kicking myself for not upping the shutter speed on it, but I liked the looks of the clouds enough to select it for a final edit.
My last keeper from Rainbow Haven was a pair of male Buffleheads taking off from the water. I was lying down on the rocky shoreline snapping away with the wind at my back, when they suddenly turned in my direction. Birds will usually take flight in the direction the wind is blowing to save on energy and help create lift. And that’s exactly what the Buffleheads did. I wasn’t expecting it, but thankfully I was ready for when they took off. Wish I’d up the shutter speed a couple notches though.
After an extended lap around Rainbow Haven, I headed towards the Bissett Lake Trails. There were a few unique species of waterfowl that I was hoping to find, so I hurriedly made my way over to the boat launch area. My main target was a Tufted Duck, a species of duck that I’ve only seen in Newfoundland, before I was into photography to the degree that I am now. The other two species were American Coot and the Pied-Billed Grebe.
While I didn’t find the Tufted Duck, I did find the other two. The first was two Pied-Billed Grebes, a lifer for me. There was a large group of different species of waterfowl near the centre of the lake, but the grebes were feeding near someone’s dock where there were some cattails sticking out from the water. The final edit I settled on was of one of the grebes hiding amongst the reeds.
There were three American Coots feeding near the massive cattail bed located to the left of the boat ramp. One of them came “close” enough to be singled out for a photo op, but I still had to crop quite a bit in to get a final comp. You can see the coot feeding on some underwater plant life.
The last image from the day was of a Turkey Vulture soaring super close to the ground. The image I’ve included here was of one soaring right above my head. It felt ominous, but still very cool to watch as it did several laps above my head before moving on. Thank the gods it didn’t go # 2 all over me head. Who knows what that would’ve smelt like.
Nov. 26
I had my camera with me at work and I decided to venture along the Chain Lake trails, a trail I hadn’t explored in a few months. I wasn’t expecting anything major from this shoot, but still wanted to get out and practice.
I created some photos of Downy and Pileated Woodpeckers doing their woodpecker thing in the trees. I’ve been trying to think of more interesting compositions to create when photographing woodpeckers as most of mine are of woodpeckers in their classic vertical pose in a tree. Any time I can get them on the ground is a good opportunity to try this, but with the Pileated Woodpecker, I cropped out a large chunk of its body to just have its jovial looking head poking out from the bottom of the frame.
I also tried getting more creative with the Mourning Dove I photographed in a patch of gravel in the woods. This one was blended in well with the dead foliage surrounding it, so I opted for a black and white final edit, a style I haven’t tried with wildlife photography for some time. I felt the subject popped more in the frame with the black and white as opposed to the more muted colours of the day. This is a style I think I want to experiment more with.
Nov. 27
I had my camera again for my lunch break, but my subject this time was much more specific. As part of my alternative D20 photography challenge for the month of November, I was tasked with photographing plant life. I was really pleased with the end results of these and was happily surprised with the variety of plant life to photograph just outside my office. One of the images included below comes from the next shoot I did, which might have been my favourite image of the bunch. It is the one of thornbush with the frosted over leaf tips. Beth and I walked past it and it immediately caught my eye. The sun backlit the subject, highlighting the frost flakes and the veins of the leaves so beautifully.
Nov. 30
The lovely Beth joined me for this outing as we headed towards Shubenacadie to search for a few unique waterfowl species located in the area. Our first stop was at Snides Lake where the low, cool mist was just hovering above the still water. Nearly perfect shooting conditions, however, most of my subjects were hanging out in the center of the lake, as is custom. The bulk of this group consisted of Canada Goose, but one of the subjects we were hoping to find was a Cackling Goose, a nearly identical cousin to the much more numerous Canada Goose, only smaller and stubbier.
We walked along the side of the road, hoping to get a closer look at the geese and potentially see one of our targets. I left Beth for a moment and got down low so as to not spook the geese from the shoreline. In doing this I spooked a Ring-Necked Pheasant hen, as is custom. Unfortunately, either the pheasant or my silhouette pushed the geese to err on the side of caution and they slowly paddled away back to the center of the lake. I slowly got up with my lens in hand and glassed over the gaggle to see if I could find my quarry. Nothing except Canada Goose.
As we made our way back to the car, Beth, as is custom, pointed out a Double-Crested Cormorant perched on a dead tree in the water that my blind eyes missed. Opted for a wide crop with this shot, but I liked the frost covered foliage and mist off the water as the cormorant curiously watched onward.
The next spot was Snides Lake and the MacInnis trail just down the road from where we were. We waited for a loud train to pass before hopping over the tracks to peek behind the fence overlooking the pond. There we found several hundred Canada Goose, and a few other unique species joining the party.
There were four Common Mergansers, two females and two drakes, feeding along the shoreline. I created a shot of a male keeping watch as the other three dove under the water to search for food. One of the other unique species of waterfowl we found, and one of the targets of the day, was a Cackling Goose, surprisingly easy to identify as it waded alone, only for a brief moment, enough for me to get a shot. I edited the photo in a way that highlighted the subject from the rest. With a vignette and creating a radial gradient around the subject, the Cackling Goose is easily seen amongst its nearly identical, larger cousins.
Before leaving for the day, again, Beth’s hawk eyes spotted a pair of Bald Eagles overlooking the Shubenacadie River. I pulled the car over and snagged a few shots of them before watching them takeoff. There was also a doe and her fawn feeding in a nearby field, but they were aways off and took off before I could get any decent shots of them.
November seems to be my weaker month as far as photography goes, and that was also the case last November. Either from my taking a break from the extensive shoots I did in the prior month, the slow changing of the seasons, or the natural changes in animal behaviour that comes with that, I need to learn to slow down and be more watchful with my nature outings. I am starting to think about my nature outings a little differently. I tend to exhaust myself with a lot of hiking, and notice that towards the end of the hike that I tend to get sloppier with my photography. For 2025, I think I might start planning more stationary outings, and not be so impromptu with my planning. Always learning, always learning.
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