Allyson Marks – Page 4 – Wildlife Intrigued

Gulls, Gulls, Gulls…by Brad Marks

Hello everyone and welcome to July or as I call it now “Ja’ Y’d You F Up Your Summer”. Just a quick update, I made it through surgery and everywhere I walk the 6 Million Dollar Man theme can now be heard. Big thanks to my wife for having to pick up the slack (although hiding my running shoes is a bit cruel!), Brad has been keeping my spirits up and truly appreciate all of your kind thoughts and wishes for a speedy recovery. Unfortunately, I have a ways to go…not to mention now having to tear the house apart for my shoes…the race is this weekend!!!! Luckily, Brad has several posts in the hopper to fill the void. Take care everyone.

Take it away Brad…

Doesn’t that title remind you of a song from the hair bands of the 1980’s, MTV, and a specific lifeguard sitcom? Just try to get that out of your head while you read the story.

In the past, we at Intrigued have talked about “LBJ’s” (little brown jobbers). There should also be an acronym for the nearly endless variety of gulls. The company Brian and I used to work for had thousands of acronyms. There were so many . . . how many were there . . . there were so many acronyms that we had a spiral-bound notebook just to be able to keep track of them all. Whenever I see a seagull flying around, even this far inland in central Illinois, I think it’s just another seagull, or just another gull (JAG). The word “seagull” is a generic term for any gull-like bird near water. Many of the “gulls” I see on a regular basis are nowhere near a major body of water. I don’t normally take the time to tell the gulls apart. I usually just call it a seagull, remind myself to tag it later in Lightroom as a “gull”, and then move onto the business of enjoying the rest of our vacation.

On our recent winter trip to South Carolina, I was doing the same thing. Jan and I took photos of “gulls” we saw flying near the ocean. It wasn’t really until we took a walk on Sunset Beach that I realized “Hey, these don’t all look the same.” I thought, “Great, something else I need to identify when we get home.” And before anyone asks, I don’t think any of these were named Jonathon Livingston.

Hit the jump to see more gulls, gulls, gulls!

Giant Flying Fishing Machines…by Brad Marks

Well, Mr. Murphy reigns supreme once again. First the good news. My 50K simulation run last Monday was a huge success. Made it through the planned 26 miles on that hellspawn of a course and ended upright. Big thanks to Linda running support for me, driving from each checkpoint to the next to keep me fueled and my spirits up. A great feeling to complete knowing I only had to grind out 8 or so more for the actual race in two weeks (as are most trail races, actual course is longer than stated). Taper officially started the next day with a quick run with friends at another park we train at regularly. A little more than .5 miles into it, an unexpected root and an unwavering tree resulted in an ambulance ride. Ortho-surgeon confirmed surgery for tomorrow. In short, I will be out for a while dealing with recovery and getting over the absolutely sickening reality all the training since December is now for naught. In the meantime, we will be heavily relying on Brad to keep you entertained… starting today! Take care everyone, Brad or I will try to keep you posted on the progress.

Take it away Brad…

Have I mentioned before what a gold mine Huntington Beach State Park is for birders? Nearly two weeks after our February trip, I’m still sorting, selecting, editing, and writing about the birds Jan and I saw while we were there. The more seasoned birders told us it was not a very good birding week to be there. Not good?! They assured us that later in the season we could expect to see 100 (or more) species in a single day. As it was, we saw 26 species at Huntington alone. That’s 26 of the 56 we saw on the entire trip from just this one location.

Just past noon the tide was about halfway through outbound cycle. Jan had walked to the end of the existing portion of the observation deck near the nature center. I had not seen brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) that close before, and the long zoom lens really helped bring them up close and personal. So close, in fact, that I had to back off the zoom a bit to fit them in the field of view.

Hit the jump to learn more about these unique fisherbirds!

Building Team Intrigued…by Brad Marks

Howdy everyone! Just got back from attending the Midwest Region Haunt Convention up in Chicago with Ron and “partner in haunt” Brad S. (yes, I have lots of friends that happened to be named Brad ha). This was our first time attending this Halloween themed gathering and it was a BLAST. Got to see some of my heroes in the industry, try out new props/gadgets/mechanisms, take in all the attendees in costumes (a shocking amount of them) and most of all, came back with a ton of new ideas to add to our own haunt this year! Pretty exhausted from hours of walking around the exhibits and the long car ride up and back. Was getting ready to write up a post and realized Brad had sent me on our latest corporate outing. Let’s go with that while I test a quick rest from the trip.

…take it away Brad.

In the middle of May, Brian suggested we have an Intrigued team building event. The entire staff of photographers and writers was invited. No, there weren’t any rope courses, trust-falls, tug-o-war events, or overpaid motivational speakers. We did talk extensively about the Legal department and how much copier paper they had been using lately. It was Brian’s day off from intensive training for an upcoming ultra-event. I think the next event is “only” a 50k trail run. I’m working up to 10-15 miles on my bike and mowing my 1-acre lawn, only using the self-propelled feature for mowing up the hills. I did my best to keep up with Brian on the trails in the deep woods at Jubilee College State Park. We are both, after all, retired.

We met early in the morning at Intrigued HQ and drove the corporate Jeep (the corporate motorhome was out for cleaning and it wasn’t far enough away to use the corporate jet) to the north entrance of Jubilee State Park. This entrance is mostly used by people camping and riding their horses over miles of trails. The sky was clear and blue, not a cloud to be seen. The trees were sporting their full leafage (is that a word?) and blocking our view of most of the birds.

Brian parked the Jeep (skipping the valet service) and we began assembling our cameras. It was an honor to be in the presence of The Beast, Brian’s Nikon 200-400mm lens. Normally, I use a monopod to hold up my nearly 9 lb. (8 lb. 12 oz.) camera/lens combination (D300 with battery grip and Nikon 200-500mm lens). I believe that I end up with better results taking gravity out of the equation. But for the team building event, I decided to hand-carry the camera by the lens foot. Of course, I had the camera strap wrapped around my wrist as a failsafe. Brian hand-carries the much heavier combo of The Beast and his camera (8 lb. 15 oz.) all the time. In other words, we both carried a full gallon of milk (or your favorite almond/soy substitute) plus a glass or two, all day. (By the way, employees of Wildlife Intrigued all use Nikon cameras and lenses. If anyone from Nikon wants to talk sponsorship for the shameless plugs above, please contact our Legal Department. You may have to leave a message because they are probably out buying more copy paper.)

Just as I was putting the lens cap in my pocket, Brian pointed and said “Look over there.”

Hit the jump to learn what caught Brian’s eye and to read more about our corporate outing!

Blue Imposter…by Brad Marks

Welcome to June everyone! Admittedly I am a bit behind – things are…hmmm…let’s go with “normal” for Intrigued…translated…running around like headless chickens trying to get everything that needs to be done between the runs. I naively thought there would be an abundance of time after I retired, nope! This month is especially demanding as it is the last month of hard training before the first ultra of the season scheduled for the first week of July (link here). Heat conditioning, hydration/nutrition validation and worst of all, 20+ mile brutal hill runs…my body can’t wait until taper. While I ice to keep the black and blue bruising out of my legs, will turn the post duties over to Brad to tell us about a different kind of blue.

…take it away Brad!

It’s not really an imposter, but the name for this nearly white bird doesn’t seem to fit very well. A little while ago I wrote about the great blue heron (link here). This one is about a smaller heron cousin: the little blue heron (Egretta caerulea), another +1. This is a juvenile version of the little blue heron. No, not a middle-school type of juvenile making fart jokes. I’m talking about the juvenile variety that doesn’t have its adult plumage yet. Contrary to what the name implies, the only thing blue on this little heron at this point is the end of its bill. For now. Its feathers will turn darker blue in its second year and look similar to a smaller version of the great blue heron. The only coloring kept from childhood into adulthood is the bill and greenish legs. The white feathers are replaced by a purple-maroon colored neck and a dark slate-blue-colored body. Until their darker adult plumage grows in, they are very easy to spot in their surroundings.

Hit the jump to read more about this incognito wader.

Technicolor Heron…by Brad Marks

It’s agility dog show weekend which means we are packing up the steel mule and heading out to…well, somewhere other than here. I am generally told the destination at some point between getting on and getting off the mule. If I am lucky I packed enough underwear for whatever length of stay it turns out to be (yep, I cheat and get an idea of how many days and climate zones are being crossed by seeing what Linda ends up packing). She also indicated I don’t need to bring running clothes, so this one sounds fairly shot. While out, Brad will once again be at the helm of the Intrigued armada. Fingers crossed he keeps the flowers watered and more importantly, prevents our lawyers from throwing a kegger – last time I left they papered all the inside walls with photocopies of their butts. We had to disinfect the copier before the rest of our departments would even come near it. Good luck Brad ha!

Take it away Captain…

I often wonder where the names come from for some of the birds I see and photograph. Many are very obvious: red-winged blackbird for example. (Even though it should really be the “red with a splotch of yellow”-winged blackbird.) Or the red-headed woodpecker. Nailed that one. Not so obvious is the red-bellied woodpecker (have to look very close to see the red, and if you are close enough to see it you are probably too close).

Today’s subject is no different. While technically not “technicolor”, it is tricolored. No, not the RGB (red/green/blue) colors so many former IT people know about. But there are certainly more than the three main colors as the name implies. At first glance, tricolored herons (Egretta tricolor) look like a miniature version of the great blue heron in stature and color. However, when this one turned towards us there is a bright white patch on its throat and breast.

Hit the jump to read more about this Great Blue Heron mini-me!

Bigger Than Your Head…by Brad Marks

Greetings everyone, we are back with another adventure from Brad’s queue. Today’s feature is a perfect reflection of today – too big of a bite as it were. Ever had one of those days when you feel a 1,000 percent and decide to step up your game in celebration? My friend had to bail on our trail run today, so thought “Hey Bri, let’s put on the big boy pants and go hit the second hardest trail course in the area”. Mind you, Inner Bri has NEVER turned down a challenge and now several hours later sitting here wondering at what point an alien is going to pop out of my lungs. 2 months to go before I have a 50K on the big daddy course – Inner Bri is evil ha. I’ll let Brad take you through what kind of bite his subject took.

…take it away Brad! (note, you can use the image links to view the full sized images)

Like most of you, winter gets old pretty fast for us. Jan was looking at fun, quick, and warm trips for a February getaway from central Illinois. Not that the weather can’t be lovely in central Illinois in February, but it’s usually not. She found an inexpensive hotel suite in Myrtle Beach. I asked what’s there to do in Myrtle Beach (not knowing since we’d never been to South Carolina before). She said there are more than a few nature and wildlife reserves in the immediate area. By the way, did you know that Myrtle Beach is the mini-golf capital of the world? There are over fifty, fifty as in “five-zero”, mini-golf establishments located in Myrtle Beach. Jan and I saw two or three new ones being built.

One of the best winter locations for birding (IMHO) is Huntington Beach State Park, south of Myrtle Beach. The park has multiple environments to attract all sorts of birds: seashore habitats, tidal marsh habitats, brackish and somewhat tidal habitats, freshwater habitats, forest habitats, and open grassy area habitats. Need I say more? It’s a fantastic place to see a plethora of birds in a variety of habitats without traveling to multiple states over multiple days.

Hit the jump to read about Brads hungry GBH(ippo)

Gone Fishin’…by Brad Marks

Welcome to May everybody! I mentioned this in my last post, but this year is sailing by. Good news, Brad has successfully returned home from his field assignment. Sounds like our quest for the incredibly elusive Ptarmigan will continue on. I wanted to start getting a few of the pending posts popped off his growing queue – word is there might be another batch coming soon. The weather took a turn for the cold this weekend and decided to go with one that fit the chilly temps. Put your mittens and hats on folks and brace yourselves for the cold Mighty Mississippi winds.

…take it away Brad…

I think most people remember the first time they saw a bald eagle in the wild. I know I certainly do. The story was featured right here on Wildlife Intrigued in an article called Yellowstone Feathers and Fur. At the time I thought I would probably never see another bald eagle in the wild so I absorbed as much of that opportunity as I could. Little did I know I’d be able to fill a couple of memory cards the next time I saw a bald eagle. Or see dozens of them in the same place. There have been a few stories about bald eagles on Wildlife Intrigued over the years. I suppose this one was also influenced by Brian in a way. He tells me that the photos are important, but the story about them is often more important. Even if a photo is worth a thousand words, it’s still nice to read the words. That’s why I thought I’d try this one on for size. By the way, I like to have music playing in the background when I write stories. Guess which song was shuffled while I was writing? The answer is at the end. (No peeking ahead of time)

Hit the jump to read more about Brad and Terry’s fishin’ adventure!

Urban Turkeys…By Brad Marks

Hi all, we have finally made our way to Dauphin Island for the migration. A bit of a letdown for our first couple of days, but things are likely to improve with the current storm. Not to wish additional hardships on our Gulf crossers, however, the high winds and rain will likely result in fallout conditions as soon as the weather improves. Going to let Brad take the Intrigued controls back over while I go in search for an umbrella.

Take it away Brad…

Legend has it, if Ben Franklin would have had his way, the turkey would be the national symbol of the United States. We all know the turkey “lost out” to the bald eagle, but you have to admit we ended up with a much better symbol. However, the turkey has since taken over, at least in population numbers.

In 2022, Jan and I ended up seeing turkeys in five states. That’s correct, five different states. Some of the states may very well be obvious, but I bet at least one will surprise you. It sure surprised me. I’ll walk through our year of turkeys from East to West.

But first, a little turkey history and lore. What is a group of turkeys called? Hands up for “gaggle”? The word gaggle is thought to be based on an old English word “gagelen” meaning to cackle. Maybe a “gang,” but only if in neglected urban areas. What about just a plain old flock? The word “flock” is good generic term for any grouping of birds. How about a “rafter”? Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding. We have a winner. A group of turkeys is properly referred to as a rafter of turkeys. I guess this is like a “murder” of crows, which doesn’t make sense to me either. Some think the term “rafter of turkeys” comes from the fact that they like to sleep in tree branches or other high-up places. Yes, you read that correctly. Turkeys like to sleep off the ground, usually in trees. Or where the rafters of a house or barns would be.

Hit the jump to read more about Brad’s year of Turkeys!

Under the Sea – Part II of II…by Brad Marks

Yesterday we reached the second stopover on our current adventure. Quite the surprise I already have 5 more adds to the Average Year (bring me to 245). Three of them were standard fare that had managed to eluded me back home, one is an absolute asshat (link here) that pains me to give even the slightest attention, but the 5th was a nice pickup from a miss this year at Conroe, Texas (link here) – every time I hear their “squeak toy” call it puts a smile on my face…even better when they make it into the tin. We break camp tomorrow and move onward. Not knowing what the connectivity is going to be like, wanted to cut the suspense, as they say, and bring you the second part of Brad’s underwater adventure.

Take it away Brad…

Welcome back. When we left off last time in Part 1, our intrepid underwater photographer was sorting through stacks of negatives in envelopes and piles of printed photographs. (Did you like the alliteration?)

Since the mishap with the leaky seal in our underwater camera, I had been trying to find a replacement camera to fit the housing. It had been several years since we bought the Sealife film camera. In that time, Sealife quit making underwater film cameras in favor of digital versions. However, since they were very proud of their new products (they really do make a good camera), and digital cameras were still very expensive in general, the prices had increased accordingly. Not wanting to pay far too much (IMHO) for a camera we only use every few years, I kept searching. I wanted to find a housing for my Nikon DSLR. But when I saw I’d have to give up two appendages to purchase one of those, I thought it best to keep looking. Ironically, in early 2010, I found a small company that made reasonably good underwater cameras and housings for a reasonable price. We ended up buying an Intova underwater housing and camera kit. Intova just happened to be a Hawaiian company, not that it was any influence over our purchase. Unfortunately, they have since been bought out by a larger photography company who decided to discontinue the product.

On our next trip to the Big Island of Hawaii during the summer of 2010, I was eager to give the new camera a test run. One key difference between the digital camera and our old film camera (purely coincidence) is that its hard clear plastic case has TWO silicone seals to keep seawater out. Plus, now I put a small desiccant packet in the case with the camera, can’t be too careful. The Intova case has more tiny buttons than you can easily use underwater, but it does a decent job focusing at a distance or close-up. Unfortunately, the camera takes almost a half-second to actually take the photo once you press the shutter release button (newer ones are nearly instantaneous like a DSLR). The subject and photographer are always moving. Just point and pray.

Under the Sea by Brad Marks — (digital photo, 2010)

Hit the jump to learn what this intriguing creature is and a few more of those below the surface inhabitants.

15 Minutes of Fame…by Brad Marks

As promised, it is time to pop another offering from Brad’s growing queue. He has been working overtime to bring you a number of new adventures, many of which we will be releasing during my fast approaching migration trip. To wet your whistle, here is an adventure which happens to be closer to home. Note, I thought monopods were just for whacking faster runners when wildlife decides to make a S’more out of photographers. Who knew there was another purpose ha.

Take it away Brad…

Usually, these posts include some sort of travel or exotic location where there just happens to be a bird or three worth photographing. Brian heads to a bird sanctuary near the border in Texas. Jan and I have normally just returned from a fantastic vacation location. This time was a little bit different.

During our last trip to Colorado, I noticed my monopod (an aluminum Manfrotto 680B from the mid 2000’s) was slipping. It was having trouble supporting the weight of my Nikon 200-500 plus the D300 with battery grip. The middle section would slide down 4-5 inches, followed closely by the top section sliding 1-2 inches. I tried to tighten the joints with the plastic tool included with the monopod; no luck. When we arrived home, I discovered that parts are no longer available for this particular model. I also found several people on-line that had simply tightened the joints beyond what may be prudent. While that was not something I wanted to do, I wondered if the bolts had loosened because of usage. I grabbed my favorite metric socket set and loosened all the joints to look for debris. Finding none, I slowly tightened the bolts on the locking levers, about 1/16 of a turn each time. Try the joint. Adjust as necessary. Repeat. At some point I hit the magic friction point because the monopod stopped sliding with the lens/camera combo mounted on top. And it didn’t feel like I was going to snap off the locking levers. Now I had to verify the results.

Hit the jump to see the results of Brad’s verification efforts!

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