A place for quiet contemplation within the Treman Gorge, only accessible via a 15 minute hike. Robert H. Treman New York State Park on a late October afternoon.
Click photograph for a larger view. To do this from WordPress Reader, you need to first click the title of this post to open a new page.
Autumn foot Bridge
Click for a slideshow of this sequence of Lucifer Falls view from the overlook.
Lucifer Falls from Rim Trail OverlookLucifer Falls from Rim Trail Overlook
Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
Standing on Enfield Gorge rim above Lucifer Falls on a clear October afternoon, the slopes of the far gorge cloaked in shades of green, yellow and red.
Below, the Gorge Trail runs below a sedimentary rock cliff.
Click photographs for a larger view. To do this from WordPress Reader, you need to first click the title of this post to open a new page.
Luficer Falls Overlook, northeast
Click for a slideshow of this sequence of Lucifer Falls view from the overlook.
Luficer Falls Overlook, northeastLucifer Falls from Rim Trail OverlookLucifer Falls from Rim Trail Overlook
Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
A full sweep of Lucifer Falls on an autumn evening, the sun hidden behind the gorge walls. Here the Gorge Trail emerges from the shelter of the gorge, emerging into a dizzying view.
Click photographs for a larger view
Lucifer Falls from Rim Trail Overlook
Click for a slideshow of this sequence of Lucifer Falls view from the overlook.
Lucifer Falls from Rim Trail OverlookLucifer Falls from Rim Trail Overlook
Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
Standing on the trail alongside Lucifer Falls, crane your neck, up and up to the cliff top. Look closely to see the protective rock wall of the overlook.
Click photograph for a slideshow. To do this from WordPress Reader, you need to first click the title of this post to open the page on my site.
Lucifer Falls Overlook from the Gorge Trail
The Rim Trail includes this overlook of Lucifer Falls with, upstream, the Devil’s Kitchen waterfall, the path of the Gorge Trail in between.
Â
Lucifer Falls from Rim Trail Overlook
The full sweep of Lucifer Falls on an autumn evening, the sun hidden behind the gorge walls. Here the Gorge Trail emerges from the shelter of the gorge, emerging into a dizzying view.
Â
Lucifer Falls from Rim Trail Overlook
Â
Brink of Lucifer Falls
Â
Lucifer Falls Overlook from the Gorge Trail
Â
Lucifer Falls from Rim Trail Overlook
Â
Lucifer Falls from Rim Trail Overlook
Copyright 2022 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills
“Florida ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) commonly nest on power poles, communication towers, water navigation devices, lighting fixtures, outdoor billboards and other man-made structures as well as in decaying or dead trees.” This quote from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission web site is a fitting introduction. For this, the fourth post of this series (Click me for the first post, “Endless Searching“), I explore images of Osprey nesting behavior.
Early morning winter Cocoa Beach walks offer a new experience with each dawn be it a change in wind, light, or beach-combing offerings. This looming crane was a consistent specter the entire month, poised over a downtown parking garage under construction.
Click any photograph for a larger view.
On the Lookout
Distant Figures
Each winter morning January 2019 I left our ocean side condo to walk the beach, taking equipment according to a whim. For this series I used the Sony Alpha 700 with a variable “Zoom” lens. In this next shot the focal length was set to maximum.
Searching the internet (“Florida Osprey behavior”), a link from http://www.naturesacademy.org states, in Florida, Osprey nesting season is December through February. The following series of photographs clearly show an Osprey with nesting material. The header image for this post clearly shows the markings of the individual holding a large branch.
The second individual is close to the same size, it is a reasonable conclusion the two are flying together. The series was taken in a 33 second time span.
The two were flying around the crane and it is beyond imagination they’d be successful building on an actively used crane. Would construction come to a halt until the nest was abandoned? I wonder.
In following days there were no signs of nesting behavior on the crane.
Copyright 2022, Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
“They walk among us” can evoke horror, still it is a fitting description for the many species successful in an ecological niche occupied by humans. This is the third post of a series featuring the Osprey of Cocoa Beach, Florida. The first post is “Endless Searching,” In this post we follow a householder on a shopping expedition.
Search internet references on Florida Osprey you find there is a mixture of year-round residents and migrants passing through spring/fall to points farther north. This being January, my brilliant conclusion is these are residents of Cocoa Beach, maintaining nests. My next post will have more on this.
Each winter morning January 2019 I left our ocean side condo to walk the beach, taking equipment according to a whim. For this series I used the Sony Alpha 700 with a variable lens. In this first shot, the watchful pose of the hunting Osprey is apparent, long glide with head slightly down.
Click any photograph for a larger view.
On the Lookout
Dive!!
Once these hawks entered my dim awareness and their habits understood, with a lot of luck I was able to click the button at the right time. You can see in the previous post, “Fishing Creatures,” how little time elapsed during a dive, the split second opportunity seen in the following photograph.
Committed
Wow, that is impact. The bird is poised to grab one fish, spotted under the water 50+ feet away, talons extended.
Into the Drink
Success rate? Those days in January, if the Osprey hit the water more than 50% of the time it flew away with a fish.
Our seven year old grandson is an enthusiastic fisherman and might be able to identify this catch. In the distance, on the horizon is Cape Canaveral Air Force Base, the lighthouse and space launch towers .
An image of Osprey / Human closeness. The long lens tends to bring objects closer together, the Osprey is far away from the early morning walkers.
A reader, “ekurie”, in observing Ospreys noticed the catch is oriented to aerodynamic, placed head first toward the direction of flight. The hawk is using the evolutionary adaptations of the fish, to reduce drag in the water, to flying through the air.
This snatch and grab shopper is headed straight home to a nest beyond the shore front condos.
A Well Deserved Meal.
Copyright 2019, Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
We have often travelled Lower Creek Road as an alternate route to visit my son and his family who live in Freeville, a village named for the activity of the Underground Railroad. After noticing this sign in passing for years, this week we stopped on a glorious autumn morning to capture it. I had packed the Sony Alpha 700 dslr for just such an opportunity.
Just off the road, under a maple tree in full autumn color (yellow), ground covered with fallen leaves (brown) on a fine early October morning, the sign reads, “New York, UNDERGROUND RAILROAD, HOME OF WILLIAM HANFORD AND WIFE ALTHA C. TODD, WHO SHELTERED FUGITIVE SLAVES ON THE WAY TO CANADA AND FREEDOM, STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT 1932”. These dark blue background, bright yellow letter signed are found throughout this region and much appreciated.
You must be logged in to post a comment.