Turn, Turn, Turn…
In 1965, The Byrds had a hit song called “Turn, turn, turn” which had lyrics dating back more than 2,00 years. The lyrics are almost verbatim from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 and posit that everything in nature and life has a specific place in the natural order of things. While Pete Seeger wrote the piece as a protest song, the original biblical scripture is more about the fact that everything in life has a “time”….a “time to live, a time to die”. The Natural Digital blog’s post from early in May mentioned the yearly appearance of the Rose-breasted grosbeak like clockwork on Kentucky Derby weekend. I’ve grown to expect this as if it was choreographed and is set in stone. Another “scheduled appearance” is that of the Mountain Laurel blossoming on Bear Mountain the week of Fathers’ Day weekend. The beautiful white and pink flowers appear early in the week, cover large portions of the mountainside for two weeks or so before starting to fade, and eventually revert to the all glossy green hue of the foliage sans flowers by the end of the month.
Mountain laurel Nikon Z9 with Z 24-70 f/2.8 lens @ 39 mm 1/200 sec, f/9, ISO 1800
Rivaling the beauty of any gardens, the spectacular dense coverage of the flowering evergreen shrubs blanket large areas of the forest for all too brief a period, and so it is imperative that in order to see this marvel of nature, you must visit the summit of Bear Mountain at the proper time. Whether viewed from afar or examined at close proximity, the beauty of these blossoms cannot be denied.
Mountain Laurel cluster Nikon Z9 with Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 lens @ 70mm 1/200 sec, f/11, ISO 80
Prairie warbler Nikon Z9 with Nikon Z180-600mm lens @ 600 1/1000 sec, f/7.1, ISO 280
Overlapping the advent of the Mountain laurel is another colorful seasonal visitor, the Prairie warbler. This beautiful songster will remain on site for much of the spring and early summer and makes his presence known with his classic vocalization and its brilliant plumage. The Prairie is a reliable species at several specific locations near the summit of the mountain and today he proved this point by easily being observed by sight and sound.
A second reliable species at or near the summit is the Worm-eating warbler seen below. I heard his song, a long trill that sounds much like a Chipping sparrow’s vocalization. As one of my mentor’s told me years ago, “If you hear a Chippie in the woods, it’s a Worm-eater.” I sat in my blind (aka RAV4) along the roadside, listening to the constant trilling and eventually the bird appeared for a total of perhaps 8 seconds. The camera was preset for the proper exposure and the autofocus quickly acquired the target bird. I was lucky to grab this shot as after this all-too-brief encounter, he was not seen again. Like the Boy Scouts motto says, “Be prepared”.
Worm-eating warbler Nikon Z9 with Z 180-600mm lens @600 1/800 sec, f/8, ISO 4000
Laurel over a rivulet Nikon Z9 with Nikon Z 24-70 f/2.8 @ 24mm HDR composite of 5 images - 1/20 sec, f/11, ISO 64
One final shot of the beautiful Mountain Laurel overhanging a small rivulet on the mountainside to close out today’s post. If you are reading this when it was posted, you still have a week or two to visit Bear Mountain (hopefully during the week to avoid the crowds) and take a ride up Perkins Memorial Drive. Keep checking the hillsides above you on the ride up. When you begin to descend, bear right at the sign for the “Scenic View” and then keep an eye out down slope as you slowly drive along the narrow road. It is a sight to behold…..well worth the time and effort.
Tech Tip - The last shot was make with a shutter speed of 1/20 of a second. This slow speed was used to try and create a smooth buttery texture for the flowing water. I would have preferred to have used a tripod and used an even slower shutter speed, but without it, the shot had to be made hand-held. Today’s cameras and lenses are mostly equipped with excellent Vibration Reduction (Nikon) or Image Stabilization (Canon) technology which will “hold” your camera steady at slow shutter speeds. Ideally, I like to shoot landscape images at ISO 64 with an aperture of f/11. Let the camera determine the proper shutter speed and your image will be sharp from front to back and free of unwanted “noise” or that we used to call “grain”.
