Category: GA

Early Morning along the Chattahoochee River

by Earthwatcher, posted in Atlanta, Chattahoochee, Chattahoochee National Recreation Area, Earthwatcher, Fujifilm Cameras, GA, Georgia, landscape, landscape images, landscape photos, nature, Nature Photography, river, Uncategorized
Photograph of a portion of a tree projecting outward in and above the Chattahoochee River. The green-brown water of the river covers most of the background of the image. In the upper left quadrant of the picture there is a very large tree trunk projecting, horizontally, from the left edge of the photo outward, above the river. At the end of the large branch, smaller branches project over the river. Those branches have leaves in shades of green and yellow-green. Lying in the water, under the very large tree trunk, is a small section of a decaying tree trunk. The end and left side are dark. The upper surface is gray brown with a few sprigs of yellow-green foliage. Beyond the decaying trunk and beneath the very large trunk are several large roots projecting upward from a dead tree lying mostly submerged in the water. In the distant background, across the river is the dark gray-green foliage of the far shore of the river.
Scene from the Edge of the Chattahoochee;
Island Ford, Chattahoochee NRA, Roswell, Georgia, USA; JUN 2023

I had a rare morning for one of my hikes along the Chattahoochee River. The sun was popping out from behind the clouds, highlighting little vignettes. It was a wonderful morning.

Please click on caption to see image at higher resolution!

Photograph of a layered rock outcrop in a forest with a tiny waterfall and pool in middle of the lower portion of the picture. The rock outcrop is the dominant feature of this picture. It is in the center and rises vertically from the bottom almost to the top. It starts with a gray green rock near the center at the bottom of the image. Proceeding upwards there is a small pool fed by four small streams of water. Above that is a tan rock with a spot of white light on its top and green moss on both sides. Moving up further is the very large rock outcrop. It is layered. The bottom is dark, the middle layer is brown the top layer is gray but is covered with green foliage. On the right side and above the outcrop is the forest. Mostly you see the green leaves though some of the ground and a few small tree trunks can be seen in the foreground. On the left side is an embankment that is mostly brown but with some green foliage and a small gray tree trunk projecting upward at a 30-degree angle.
The Cascade on Summerbrooke Creek;
Island Ford, Chattahoochee NRA, Roswell, Georgia, USA; JUN 2023
Photograph of the shoreline of the Chattahoochee River along with a small island created by flooding due to high water. A channel in the river begins in the lower right corner of the picture. It proceeds toward the upper left corner where it takes a sharp bend and empties into the main body of the river. The water is mostly green with highlights from the sun. The island is in the upper right quadrant of the image. Its foreground is gray. It has some dark tree trunks, some with green leaves. The shoreline begins in the lower left quadrant of the picture and proceeds up along the left side of the picture where it bends and projects out into the water. The ground is dark but is highlighted by the sun. Along the edge are dark colored tree roots leading to the dark trunks of 4 trees clustered together. There is some green foliage at the base of the tree trunks and the trunks are mottled with moss. The background is tree trunks and green leaves.
Vignette of Chattahoochee River’s Edge;
Island Ford, Chattahoochee NRA, Roswell, Georgia, USA; JUN 2023

Please visit my website, www.earthwatcher.us to see my collection of landscapes and wildlife.

These and other images are available to purchase by contacting larry.klink@earthwatcher.us.

If anyone would like a copy of almost any picture in my library, for educational or research use, please contact me and I will happily share a digital copy with you.

Riparian Landscapes

by Earthwatcher, posted in Chattahoochee, Chattahoochee National Recreation Area, Earthwatcher, Fujifilm Cameras, GA, Georgia, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, landscape, landscape images, landscape photos, nature, Nature Photography, North Carolina, Photography, Uncategorized
Image of a forest alongside the boulder strewn Chattahoochee River, under a blue sky. The forest is primarily spring green with darker green trees in the background. The river is darker brown-green in the lower left transitioning to blue then to some silvery reflections from the ripples on the right. The boulders are irregular dark gray mounds in the river.
Early Spring Morning Along the Chattahoochee;
Cochran Shoals, Chattahoochee NRA, Marietta, Georgia, USA; MAR 2023;

Two landscapes; one from this week and one from last October.

Please click on caption to see images at higher resolution.


Image of a waterfall in Autumn. The waterfall is white, broken by some green. The white river projects from the bottom of the water fall, widening to the bottom of the frame. The boulders along and inside the river are light gray and strewn with golden brown and yellow leaves as well as some green moss. There is green foliage along the side of the river and some green, red and orange foliage above and to the back of the waterfall.
Yellow Creek Falls Tail,
US Route 129, Robbinsville, North Carolina, USA; OCT 2022

Please visit my website, www.earthwatcher.us to see my collection of landscapes and wildlife.

These and other images are available to purchase by contacting larry.klink@earthwatcher.us.

If anyone would like a copy of almost any picture in my library, for educational or research use, please contact me and I will happily share a digital copy with you.

 

Tale of Two Finches

by Earthwatcher, posted in Bird Photography, bird watching, birding, Birds, Chattahoochee National Recreation Area, Earthwatcher, Fujifilm Cameras, GA, Georgia, nature, Nature Photography, Uncategorized, Wildlife, Wildlife Photography
Image of a male House Finch perched on a gray tree branch, facing left. The bird is surrounded by small twigs, The background is a blurred gray tree on the left fading abruptly to black on the right. The bird’s head and neck is a coppery orange fading to light gray over the breast. Its beak and legs are gray. Its eye is black. It has a gray-brown patch starting at its beak, across and below the middle, of its eye and finishing as ½ ellipse extending to the back of its head and down to the shoulder.
Male House Finch;
Roswell, Georgia, USA; FEB 2023

Most House Finches are red. However, its color comes from the food it eats during molt. Orange and yellow house finches can occasionally be seen.

I am sharing images of 2 male House Finches. These are very common birds whose range includes all the continental United States. One of the 2 images shows a bird with a red head and neck: the predominant color for these birds. The other showed up in our backyard a few weeks ago with this beautiful coppery-orange colored head and neck. It wasn’t the effect of the lighting; it was true color. I researched this condition and learned that House Finches can also come in Yellow. It all depends on what they ate or maybe they didn’t eat. The color derives from organic pigments known as carotenoids.

Please click on caption to see images at higher resolution.

Image of a male house finch perched on a gray tree branch, facing right. The background is blue sky crossed by gray tree branches of varying sizes. The bird’s head and neck is red, fading to light gray over the breast. Its beak and legs are gray. Its eye is black. It has a gray-brown patch starting at its beak, across and below the middle, of its eye and finishing as ½ ellipse extending to the back of its head and down to the shoulder. Its tail feathers are black with white tips at bottom corners.
Male House Finch;
Island Ford, Chattahoochee NRA, Roswell, Georgia, USA; MAR 2023

Please visit my website, www.earthwatcher.us to see my collection of landscapes and wildlife.

These and other images are available to purchase by contacting larry.klink@earthwatcher.us.

If anyone would like a copy of almost any picture in my library, for educational or research use, please contact me and I will happily share a digital copy with you.

 

A Backyard Skirmish

by Earthwatcher, posted in Bird Photography, bird watching, birding, Birds, Corvid, Crow, Eastern Sierra, Fujifilm Cameras, GA, Georgia, hawk, raptor, Roswell, Uncategorized, Wildlife, Wildlife Photography
Red-shouldered hawk in the nest they attempted to build. The background is gray tree trunks, the front one broken off as well as a bit of light blue sky at the top. The hawk is on top of the nest which is made of gray sticks. The hawk has dark gray wings with light brown spots. Its neck, breast and belly are light orange with white spots. Its head is brown, eye is black, and beak is dark gray.
Red-shouldered Hawk at Prospective Nest Site;
Roswell, Georgia, USA; FEB 2023

We had a skirmish in our backyard. We had a pair of Red-shouldered Hawks attempt to make a nest in the backyard. We were excited. It would have been interesting to watch some baby hawks grow up. But our crows were strongly opposed to that move. It was a loud skirmish with crow caws and hawk shrieks but the crows won. In one of the battles, the crows chased a hawk away and formed a perimeter in 3 trees between the hawks and the nest. We’ve seen the hawks since that battle, but they’ve not attempted to complete the nest.

Please click on caption to see images at higher resolution.

An American Crow perched on a tree branch with its head facing front. The background light gray with small branches. There is a medium gray-brown tree trunk on the left side of the pictures. There is a light gray tree trunk behind the crow. The crow is black with black eye and beak.
American Crow;
Roswell, Georgia, USA; FEB 2023

Please visit my website, www.earthwatcher.us to see my collection of landscapes and wildlife.

These and other images are available to purchase by contacting larry.klink@earthwatcher.us.

If anyone would like a copy of almost any picture in my library, for educational or research use, please contact me and I will happily share a digital copy with you.

 

Lovely Avian Ladies

by Earthwatcher, posted in Bird Photography, bird watching, birding, Birds, Duck, Earthwatcher, Fujifilm Cameras, GA, Georgia, nature, Nature Photography, North Carolina, Photography, Uncategorized, Wildlife, Wildlife Photography
Female Northern Cardinal perched on a small, gray, tree branch protruding from another branch. The background is a medium gray. The bird has predominantly golden-brown body with a red crest. The wings are a medium-dark gray with red stripes. There is a black patch above the beak, around the eye and on its neck. The eye is black. The beak is red. Its legs are gray with a faint reddish cast.
Female Northern Cardinal;
Roswell, Georgia, USA; DEC 2022

I was taught that male birds were bright and beautiful while female birds were dull and drab. They were made that way so that the males could distract predators from the nest. I wasn’t taught so well. In some birds, the male and female look alike. In others, even though the female is drabber, she is absolutely beautiful in her own right. Here are a few examples.

Please click on caption to see image at higher resolution!

A female Eastern Towhee perched on a tree branch against a background of green leaves and brown twigs. The bird has a gray head, back and tail, a white belly and orange between the wings and belly The eye and beak are black.
Female Eastern Towhee;
Beaver Lake Bird Sanctuary. Asheville. North Carolina, USA
Female Eastern Bluebird perched on a medium gray tree branch. The background is dark with a few medium gray twigs interspersed. The bird has a gray head and neck. The primary feathers on its wings and tail feathers are blue. Its other feathers are black with white wing bars. Its neck and breast are orange, and its underparts are white. Its eye, beak and legs are black.
Female Eastern Bluebird;
Roswell, Georgia, USA; DEC 2021
Female Common Merganser, a species of duck, perched on what appears to be a section of a fallen tree that appears black. The background is blue and gray water with somewhat out of focus branches protruding above the surface and behind the bird’s head. The bird has a yellowish-white breast, white neck and white underparts. It has a gray upper body and tail feathers. The wings are gray with a black and white patch. Its head is a dark reddish-brown with a white patch behind the lower side of the bill. It has a black eye and a red bill. Its legs and feet are orange.
Female Common Merganser;
Arboretum Waterfront Park, Seattle, Washington, USA; JAN 2023

Female Hooded Merganser, a species of duck floating on the water. The background and foreground is water in stripes of white, gray, blue and gold. The bird has a gray body and head. It has a brown crest, or hod, atop its head. The wings are dark gray with a small white patch. Its eye is a dull golden color. Its beak is black and is surrounded by a small white patch.
Female Hooded Merganser;
Arboretum Waterfront Park, Seattle, Washington, USA; JAN 2023

Please visit my website, www.earthwatcher.us to see my collection of landscapes and wildlife.

These and other images are available to purchase by contacting larry.klink@earthwatcher.us.

If anyone would like a copy of almost any picture in my library, for educational or research use, please contact me and I will happily share a digital copy with you.

 

Some Woodpeckers

by Earthwatcher, posted in Bird Photography, bird watching, birding, Birds, Chattahoochee National Recreation Area, Earthwatcher, Fujifilm Cameras, GA, Georgia, nature, Nature Photography, Roswell, Uncategorized, Wildlife, Wildlife Photography
Female Pileated Woodpecker perched on a tree trunk. The bird facing left. It is predominantly black with a white stripe along the base of its wings and a white head with a large red crest, black and white stripes and a red stripe. The beak is black. The tree trunk reddish-brown. The background is green with several gray, horizontal tree branches.
Female Pileated Woodpecker;
Roswell, Georgia, USA; DEC 2022

Just a few woodpeckers for all to enjoy.

Please click on caption to see images at higher resolution!

Female Downy Woodpecker perched on a tree branch. The tree trunk is gray with some gray-green lichen. The bird is predominantly black with white spots on its wings and across the back of its head. The background is light and contains some vertical tree branches.
Female Downy Woodpecker;
Cochran Shoals, Chattahoochee National Recreation Area, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; JAN 2023

Red-headed Woodpecker; Island Ford,
Chattahoochee NRA, Roswell, Georgia, USA; NOV 2022
Red-headed Woodpecker perched on a tree trunk. Sex can't be determined. The bird has prominent, bright red head, black back with wide white stipe near the middle and white breast. It has an insect in its beak. The tree trunk is gray with a golden cast. background is blue sky.
Female Pileated Woodpecker;
Roswell, Georgia, USA; DEC 2022
Female Downy Woodpecker perched on a tree trunk. The tree trunk is reddish-brown and gray. The bird is predominantly black with a white stripe down its back, white spots on its wings and across the back of its head. The background is dark.
Female Downy Woodpecker;
Roswell, Georgia, USA; OCT 2022

Please visit my website, www.earthwatcher.us to see my collection of landscapes and wildlife.

These and other images are available to purchase by contacting larry.klink@earthwatcher.us.

If anyone would like a copy of almost any picture in my library, for educational or research use, please contact me and I will happily share a digital copy with you.

An Owl’s Story

by Earthwatcher, posted in Apharetta, Big Creek Greenway, Bird Photography, bird watching, birding, Birds, California, Earthwatcher, Fujifilm Cameras, GA, Georgia, nature, Nature Photography, Photography, raptor, Wildlife, Wildlife Photography

Photograph of a Spotted Owl perched on the branch of a Coastal Redwood Tree in Northern California. The owl has very light gray breast. The remainder is gray with white spots on its back and some white spots on its head.
Spotted Owl on Coastal Redwood
Muir Woods National Monument, Marin County, California, USA; SEP 2013

I’m sharing these pictures because of an interesting relationship.  

I took the image of the Spotted Owl about 9 years ago. I believe it is especially poignant because the owl is on a Coastal Redwood.

This Owl was placed on the endangered species act in 1990 because of habitat loss. It lives in old growth forests like the coastal redwoods of California and Oregon. It sparked a battle between conservationists and the US Government against Loggers who wanted the right to log old growth forests. The Spotted Owl and its habitat won the battle. However, the Spotted Owl may be losing the battle; its numbers have not grown since it was placed on the endangered species list. One possible culprit is the Barred Owl; is encroaching on the Spotted Owl’s habitat and driving it out.

Notice how similarly they look.

Please click on caption to see image at higher resolution.

Photograph of a Barred Owl perched on a tree branch with green and gold leaves in the background. The owl has a very light gray breast with some darker gray feathers intermixed. It has a band of feathers between its head and branch that give the appearance of wearing a dark gray and light gray stipes.
Barred Owl
Big Creek Greenway, Alpharetta, Georgia, USA; OCT 2022

Canada Geese on the Chattahoochee River

by Earthwatcher, posted in Bird Photography, bird watching, birding, Birds, Chattahoochee, Chattahoochee National Recreation Area, Earthwatcher, Fujifilm Cameras, GA, Georgia, nature, Nature Photography, river, Uncategorized, Wildlife, Wildlife Photography

Canada Geese on the Chattahoochee River
Island Ford, Chattahoochee NRA, Roswell, Georgia, USA; NOV 2022

Meandering up the river at sunrise.

Please click on caption to see image at higher resolution.

Please visit my website, www.earthwatcher.us to see my collection of landscapes and wildlife.

These and other images are available to purchase by contacting larry.klink@earthwatcher.us.

If anyone would like a copy of almost any picture in my library, for educational or research use, please contact me and I will happily share a digital copy with you.

Simple American Robin

by Earthwatcher, posted in Apharetta, Big Creek Greenway, Bird Photography, bird watching, birding, Birds, Earthwatcher, Fujifilm Cameras, GA, Georgia, nature, Nature Photography, Photography, Wildlife, Wildlife Photography
Image of a bird, an American Robin sitting on a bush with blue berries and green leaves. The Robin has a berry in its beak.
American Robin Feasting on Berries
Big Creek Greenway, Alpharetta, Georgia, USA; NOV 2022

PLease click on caption to see image at higher resolution.

Please visit my website, www.earthwatcher.us to see my collection of landscapes and wildlife.

These and other images are available to purchase by contacting larry.klink@earthwatcher.us.

If anyone would like a copy of almost any picture in my library, for educational or research use, please contact me and I will happily share a digital copy with you.

Assorted Birds

by Earthwatcher, posted in Bird Photography, bird watching, birding, Birds, Earthwatcher, Fujifilm Cameras, GA, Georgia, nature, Nature Photography, North Carolina, Photography, Wildlife, Wildlife Photography
Photographic image of a predominantly gray and brown Barred Owl perched on a tree branch with green leaves in the background. The owl has a gray breast with heavy brown vertical stripes. It has heavy gray rings around its dark eyes, a yellow beak and what appears to be a white moustache.
Barred Owl
Big Creek Greenway, Alpharetta, Georgia, USA; OCT 2022

These birds are primarily from 2 locations: Beave Lake Bird Sanctuary in Asheville, North Carolina and Big Creek Greenway in Alpharetta, Georgia.

We stopped in Asheville to visit a friend but made our first, early morning stop, at Beaver Lake Bird Sanctuary. It’s a neat little wetland with a boardwalk meandering through it. We enjoyed it a lot.

The Big Creek Greenway is a 10 mile paved trail along Big Creek. Great place to walk; plenty of birds and deer.

Please click on caption to see image at higher resolution.

Vertical photographic image of a Female Downy Woodpecker perched on a gray tree trunk. The bird is black and white.
Female Downy Woodpecker
Roswell, Georgia, USA; OCT 2022
Photographic image of a predominantly brown and gray White-throated Sparrow perched on an angled, gray tree trunk with green and yellow background. The bird has 2 black stripes on its crown with a white stripe in between, white throat, white orbital feathers between its crown and black eye stripe. It has a yellow lore above his beak.
White-throated Sparrow
Beaver Lake Bird Sanctuary. Asheville. North Carolina, USA; OCT 2022

Photographic image of a predominantly brown and gray Song Sparrow perched on an angled, gray tree trunk with green and yellow background.
Song Sparrow
Beaver Lake Bird Sanctuary. Asheville. North Carolina, USA; OCT 2022

Photographic image of predominantly brown and white Female Eastern Towhee perched on a horizontal fallen tree branch with green leaves in the background. It has reddish brown feathers between its wing and breast.
Female Eastern Towhee
Beaver Lake Bird Sanctuary. Asheville. North Carolina, USA; OCT 2022

Please visit my website, www.earthwatcher.us to see my collection of landscapes and wildlife.

These and other images are available to purchase by contacting larry.klink@earthwatcher.us.

If anyone would like a copy of almost any picture in my library, for educational or research use, please contact me and I will happily share a digital copy with you.