May 30/2017
Location #2
Brydon Lagoon
Langley City BC Canada
When on assignment for the Langley Times I would often visit Brydon Lagoon. Sometimes, when it was a slow news day I would go down just to get some cute shot for the front page. No editor I ever worked for could resist a cute photo of a duckling or gosling.
On one such occasion it was for a story about the gate keepers of the pond, the people who made sure the old water treatment pond eventually became a wildlife reserve and not just another faceless subdivision.
People like Anthea Farr and Rhys Griffiths and other members of The Langley Field Naturalists.
I shot this image at Brydon so I could add copy and images later.
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| Not exactly a Pulitzer Prize winning shot but.... |
Below is the photo page that eventually ran in the Langley Times and Sideroads, a monthly magazine published by Black Press which often allowed me a free-reign to run nature stories.
**Notice how I left negative space to include a title or more pictures. Often it is best to shoot both vertical and horizontal images for publication.
The Finished Product
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| The finished product made in ©InDesign and ©Photoshop |
In those days I saw many species of birds at Brydon but I never gave a thought to their names or how they played an important role in the bio-diversity of the park.
The more I visited the more I learnt about the birds of Brydon. Not only is there a pond and floodplain but several wooded areas and a salmon bearing creek. Coyotes, Beaver, Northern River Otter and Muskrat all make their homes there and can occasionally be seen early in the mornings.
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I sometimes go for a walk and leave my DSLR at home. Instead I take my Nikon 24mm-2000mm P900 bridge camera just in case I find something interesting. A few days ago I was on my last circuit of the pond before making my way home when a Green Heron perched about fifty metres in front of me. It was getting dark so I set the camera on aperture priority and hoped that the bird wouldn't move too much. I shot it handheld at 2000mm. I squeezed the camera tightly, held my breath and pressed the shutter. Bingo!
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| Green Heron |
Sometimes it feels good not to be laden down with ANY gear when all I really want to do is spend some time with the birds. I always feel a little 'naked' without some kind of recording device so I carry a 8 megapixel iPhone 5s in my pocket ...just in case. The phone comes in very useful for sound recording and the odd scenic that I include in my side presentations.
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The image below was taken moments later during the last light of the day. Unlike the picture above this one has a more an artistic feel to it, at least that's my humble opinion!
I pressed the shutter when the bird was motionless. I have at least twenty other images in which the heron was moving and all have motion blur.
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The background is the sky's reflection while the other shot of the heron has trees reflected in the water.
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Sometimes human intervention is needed to find birds at Brydon. One such day was May 19 when local birded Sue Dietlein (Coastal Observer) spotted a Lark Sparrow. The Lark Sparrow is more often associated with a drier climate.
I went down to Brydon in fading light with high hopes and managed to get this shot. Rather than crop too tightly I tried to leave a little of the dry grassy area the bird favoured, the same type of habitat it is normally found. I have seen the species in the Okanagan and at Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta but never in the Lower Mainland.
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| Lark Sparrow. |
One of the keys to enjoying the birding experience is getting out in the field. I go most mornings before appointments and other commitments, sometimes I'll go for an hour in the evening.
One morning I went down at 7 a.m and was one of only two people at the pond. Nothing too much was stirring just a few Common Yellowthroats and Orange-crowned Warblers. Barn, Tree and Northern-rough-wing perched above me resting waiting for the sun to warm the air.
While a bald eagle swooped over the pond it sent every duck and duckling scurrying for shelter. A Green Heron also took flight,. The Bald Eagle re-appeared but this time a with an Osprey in tow, a bird I had never seen at Brydon although another birder told me they appear every June for a few days. There lies the crux of the matter, to see good birds and lots of them, a person has to be in the field.
Parting Shot
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| Bushtit |
Brydon Lagoon is very near to my home I walk the trails most days for exercise and mental health. I spend time listening to birds, absorbing the sights, sounds and smells.
See
Anyway next time you're in Langley, check out the Brydon Lagoon you won't be disappointed.
John Gordon
Langley/Cloverdale
BC Canada
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