Camera Critters: Back In Action

After being without a DSLR since July 2nd, since my Canon 40D broke down, it was a relief when UPS delivered a refurbished Canon 30D early Friday morning and I was back in business again.
The 40D is currently at Canon for factory service.

It soon became obvious that there were a few differences between the cameras with the 30D having a smaller LCD, and the viewfinder image not being as bright or large. The 40D was the first of that series of cameras to have the ISO visible in the finder and I found that I missed having this feature.

That being said, I could easily fall in love with this camera, as it performs well. Even though it is rated at 8.2 Megapixels and the 40D is 10.1, the 30D is capable of delivering superb image quality.

I pressed it into service that evening. It felt good to be back in action once again.

The fawns are now eating some plant growth to supplement their mother's milk. As the summer progresses they will continue to nurse, but they graze and browse on plants more and more. One may find them nursing on occasion throughout the autumn, but it is rare and the doe does not permit them to feed for any length of time.

Canon 30D: 500mmF4 1/ 200 Sec. F4 ISO 400

The rabbits are feeding on the succulent grasses in the wildlife meadow, and I was fortunate to capture this one during his brief visit on Friday evening.

Canon 30D: 500mmF4 1/ 60 Sec. F5 ISO 800

For more Camera Critters posts, visit Misty Dawn.

Ladino Clover and An Encounter With A Young Rabbit

In the last two months I have posted a lot of material pertaining to the meadow I planted for wildlife. As mentioned before, I plant a strip of grain with Ladino Cover growing in the understory. On the following year this usually results in a good growth of the clover, which is an excellent forage crop for wildlife during the warm months.

The photograph below is a close-up look at a Ladino Clover blossom.

Canon 40-D: 100mm f2.8 macro 1/60 sec. f11 ISO 400

In addition to the whitetail deer, woodchucks, and wild turkeys which we have seen in the meadow, one may occasionally spy a cottontail rabbit. At one time these animals were quite common, but today a sighting is rare in this area. In this instance the rabbit was not actually in the wildlife meadow, but he was nearby. There are a few old hay bales there with clover growing around them and this young rabbit has made this his home. He likely uses the bales as a hiding place from predators such as foxes, hawks, and coyotes.

At one time they were a popular small game animal and may still be in certain parts of the country, but since they are so scarce, few hunt them in our area.

Canon 40-D: 500mmf4 L 1/45 sec. f5.6 ISO 400

Stay tuned for more photographs of the plants and animals that may be found in a meadow devoted to wildlife.