On my way.

[intheflow]

Funny thing happened on my way to Biloxi... I realized I had left a day early! So I decided to spend a day in Shreveport, LA. I was supposed to write essays due next Thursday, but instead I slept late, played on DU, took a nap and went to the park.

I saw lots these very freaky, very cool trees. Does anyone know what they're called?



I'd like to shoot these in foggy conditions, I'll bet these waters look haunted in the fog. (Or maybe I just watched too much Scooby Doo as a child.)

I also saw birds. This egret (or is it a heron?) was calmly eating frogs in the swamp...


...when a nosy photographer chased it into a tree...


...and then deeper into the swampy forest.

(Sorry, Birdie!)

I did not make these birds fly away, though. It sounded like someone fired a gun and these birds flew up.

The bigger birds are pelicans. I'm not sure what the smaller flock is flying above. A kind of sandpiper, maybe? :shrug:

Anyway, that was my lazy day in Shreveport. :hi:

[usedtobesick]

1. and you said that you didn't like these!

great job and I am glad you are getting to relax and prepare!

Miss you!

[bvar22]

2. Those trees are Cypress Trees.

An excellent wood.
Louisiana was almost denuded of Cypress Trees at the turn of the century by the Logging Companies.
Besides its natural beauty and hardness, Cypress wood is much sought after for several other reasons.
It has a legendary reputation of being impervious to termites (not true, but DOES have a natural resistance).
Most of the old New Orleans homes are framed with cypress.
The legendary Louisiana Pirogue and Lafitte Skiff were built of Cypress because of its durability and resistance to water damage.

It takes about 100 years for a Cypress Tree to reach "Harvesting" size.
Since the last Harvesting was 100 years ago, there are already wars being fought between environmentalists and the greedy lumber industry over the Cypress in Louisiana.

[intheflow]

4. Ohhh... so THAT's what cypress trees look like!

I should have known that since they're so beautiful, some corporation would want to exploit them. Thanks for the info and the history. A little more local flavor to add to my knowledge banks.

But now I have to look up the legends of "Louisiana Pirogue" and "Lafitte Skiff". :P

[Blue_In_AK]

3. Very pretty shots, ITF

I was going to tell you that these were cypress trees but Bvar beat me to it. I do believe the white bird is an egret. Are these taken with your new camera? Are you loving it? I sure do like mine -- I can't wait for the weather to warm up.

Have a good time down there, and take care of yourself.

[intheflow]

5. I think it's an egret, too.

But the egrets in Massachusetts were much smaller than this bird. It was huge.

Yes, all taken with the new camera, and most taken with my telephoto lens. I'm not really that happy with the shots, I think they're too blurry. I'm a-feared that I'm growing too unsteady to hand-hold the telephoto lens in my old age.

:nopity:

I'm having a love/hate relationship with the digital overall. I love the instant gratification, but hate all the digital enhancing I have to do before I get the lighting and color to look like how I remember it looking when I shot it. It was so much easier when the film labs did all that color correcting for me! I also wish I could shoot or at least download them in something other than jpeg or RAW.

:nopity:

But now I'm just being persnickety and whiny. Really, I love my new toy. :hi:

[Blue_In_AK]

10. I was having some real issues with the lighting and color

at first, too, but it seems like my shots are requiring less processing lately than they did at first. I think it must be just trial and error until you get it right. I hardly did anything to that picture of the spices I took ... I was so surprised it turned out right.

I think you're being too hard on yourself.

[alfredo]

6. The smaller birds look like some type of gull, but I can't be sure. The

color of the wings looks right.

[intheflow]

7. I don't think they are gulls.

They were smaller than most seagulls, didn't act all arrogant like gulls, didn't screech like gulls, and had petite, dainty little heads (most un-gull-like). I was trying to get closer to get clearer shots of both the pelicans and the shorebirds when the shot/bang rang out. When they flew away they were completely silent, and you know gulls wouldn't behave that way!

[alfredo]

8. The Ring-Billed Gull is smaller than some other gulls, and has a

smaller head. The wing color is right, and the white body. I can't see the head well, but it does look white.


We get Herring Gulls all the way up here in Kentucky and the wings are the same color and have the same dark tip. But they are big birds.

My bird book only shows two white headed Gulls in that region, the Herring and the Ring-Billed.

[intheflow]

9. I think you may be right about the red-billed gull.

I did a Google image search. It's definately not the herring gull, the beak is all wrong. But those red-billed gulls have dainty little heads and beaks. And black-tipped wings.

Ten points to alfredo! :thumbsup:

...but I also possted the vird shots over in the birders group, so it'll be interesting to see what, if anything, they have to say on the subject. :)

[alfredo]

12. The Ring billed could be the one. I will mosey over to the

birder group to see if my instincts were right. They're the experts, I'm just a middle aged guy with a bird book and time on my hands.

[China_cat]

15. Common terns.

[Blue_In_AK]

16. They look like the Arctic terns that come up here in the spring.

The little bird that makes the longest migration of any -- almost 22,000 miles a year.

[China_cat]

17. Could be but where you find cypress

you're more likely to find common and least terns all year round.

[Blue_In_AK]

18. So they just stick around and don't go anywhere, huh?

Their more well-traveled relatives could tell them some stories, I bet. I've always been amazed that those little Arctic guys travel all the way from the north slope of Alaska to Antarctica every year. They nest up here and have their babies and they're EXTREMELY protective. We used to have a great picture of an Arctic tern sitting on my ex father-in-law's head pecking at him. No fear....

[mogster]

11. Amazing photos!

Fog would immediately turn this landscape into something from the Lord of the Rings ;-)

[priller]

13. Glad to see you avoided the casinos :-)

Very nice pictures, btw. That lone cypress is a great shot. Very interesting tree.

[China_cat]

14. It's a heron.

We have them here in SC, too. Egrets are smaller and have shorter necks.

[intheflow]

23. Not according to the one reply I got in the Birder's Group.

Here's a test the USGS put up on it's kid's page to test if kids could identify between a Great White Heron and a Snowy Egret: http://sofia.usgs.gov/virtual_tour/kids/critters/egretheron.html# Here's a hint: snowy egrets have black legs.

Hence, my bird is an egret.

[China_cat]

24. Maybe I need to calibrate my monitor again

but that picture doesn't show black legs on that bird.

[Blue_In_AK]

25. They look black to me, or at least quite dark. n/t

[China_cat]

26. Like I said, I may need to recalibrate my monitor

I wasn't being snarky or even contradictory, only looking for a reason that I'm not seeing what you are.

[Blue_In_AK]

27. I wasn't being snarky either. :-)

Just letting you know what I see from here. I think InTheFlow should go back there, capture this critter and take him to some bird identification place and settle this dispute once and for all.

[intheflow]

29. My original shows black legs.

But you know... it's an aquatic bird... maybe it's wearing fishnet stockings?




Bad, intheflow! Bad!! :spank:

[China_cat]

31. It's already got the feathers.

[usedtobesick]

19. UPDATE FOR ALL

intheflow is there now. She is safe and sound and looking forward to helping. I look forward to her pictures! Light a candle for her!

[CC]

20. Thanks and will do. n/t

[CC]

21. I love these pics

and miss cypress trees. I would of been no help on the birds so glad I was late there. Take care of yourself.

[usedtobesick]

22. I will and I will be with her soon

so it won't be too bad but it will be hard work for her. I am really proud of her.

[F.Gordon]

28. Those things flying in the air are called "birds"

And I'm fairly certain that those tall stick things in your first shot are called "trees".

You're suppose to know this shit. Geez. I can't always be around to do the extensive research needed to find this stuff out every time you go posting photographs "half-cocked" and careless like. :D

The "birds" are nice but I like that first "trees" shot. Love the color but my demented mind would be considering ways to apply an eerie B&W treatment to them.

[intheflow]

30. Everyone's a comedian!

:spank:

If I had the time tonight, I'd show you some eerie b&w effects, boy howdy! You're just lucky I don't have time to do extensive photoshopping every time you post some wise-ass comment in my threads!

:spank:







:rofl: God, I crack me up!