Wildlife Photo (Bat) Ryukyu Flying Fox an Endangered Species

Today's wildlife photo is presented to you by Rusty Robertson. He shot this one yesterday in the Cherryblossoms up on Nago Mountain while I was staying warm and dry and still recuperating from hiking up that monster last weekend.

The Ryukyu Flying Fox (Pteropus dasymallus) also known as a Fruit Bat, is an Endangered Species. These bats grow to the point where their wingspan is about a meter wide and make some fairly loud noise flapping them.  So, most people who don't know about them get pretty shook up when they see one flying around as the sun starts to set.

From watching too many vampire movies, they get the idea these humongous bats are going to swoop down, pick them up, fly away to a tree in the dark and suck all the blood out of their neck.

For an endangered species, it's the one I see the most of in Okinawa, Japan.  In fact, I see them everyday. They are out, flying just before sunset and I see them early in the morning, before the sun gets everything lit up. After sunrise, they settle down to sleep, somewhere in the trees.

There's really no reason to be afraid of these bats. They don't eat people and they don't want your blood. They are Fruit Bats. They eat fruits, flowers, leaves and maybe, an occassional bug.

Rusty now, he's being featured here as a photographer because I'm really impressed with his work. He has only had his first DSLR camera about a month and he's already starting to shoot like a Professional wildlife photographer.  I'll be keepin' an eye on him; he's my apprentice, he drives a really cool getaway car and has him a GIRL WITH MUSCULAR ARMS.

They went to see the Cherryblossoms yesterday and discovered the flowers were blooming better yesterday than they did during the annual Nago Cherryblossom Festival.  Plus, caught this Ryukyu Flying Fox munching away on the flowers.

So, now that everybody knows this endangered species doesn't go around biting people, I thought the photo would be great for my weekly Travel Photo Thursday shot at BUDGET TRAVELERS SANDBOX.

Wildlife Photography Tip #6: Use Flash When You Have To

While I normally don't like to use flash in any outdoor photography, there is an exception. This shot was taken on a day in Okinawa, Japan where the skies went from blue to grey in a matter of seconds.

The bird, a Japanese White Eye landed among the Cherry blossoms and was in fairly horrible light.
He wasn't much more than 6 feet away from me, standing under the tree. I removed my lens hood, popped up the camera flash, focused and fired.

Camera flash doesn't phase wildlife. I was able to let the camera flash recharge and took several more shots of this bird before it flew away. Keep in mind, an on-camera flash isn't effective for shots more than 10-12 feet away from you.

Flash photography is not my preferred method but, a shot made with flash on wildlife is better than going home with no shot at all !

Wildlife Photo (Bird) Mejiro in Cherryblossoms (桜) and Some Lindsay Lohan Stuff

The Japanese White Eye (Zosterops japonicus) is called a Mejiro, in Japanese. They are fast flying little birds that feed on insects but have a thing for sweet nectar, as well.  I'd have used the term "sweet tooth" but even Lindsay Lohan knows birds don't have teeth, I reckon, anyway.

Back to the birds who fly: The Mejiro really do flit and fly around too fast to catch a good shot with a camera, most of the time. But, when the cherryblossoms (桜) bloom they just can't resist them. And they'll slow down or stop for just enough time to focus on them and you can take a quick portrait.

Once the cherryblossoms are gone, for some reason, you have a hard time catching these birds.  I'm not sure if there's some kind of alcohol or drugs in the blossoms that make the birds act that way. Maybe we should ask Lindsay Lohan, she may know. Anybody seen her lately?

The Year in Photos: Okinawa, Japan 2010

A photo a month taken on the Island of Okinawa by Ryukyu Mike during the year 2010. Enjoy !

 January: The first location in all of Japan to see Cherryblossoms bloom is the island of Okinawa.

February: A Buddha Statue in the Bonsai Gardens behind the Gold Hall Cafe in Kin Village.

March: A Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus) along a riverbank in Kin Village.

April: Kin Village Elementary School Graduation. Ouch, my Granddaughter is a teenager, now !

May: The sun broke out over a pineapple field in Nago. During rainy season, this was a rarity.

June: A King Cobra's hindsite is as good as most people's at Okinawa World's Snake Park.

July: A view of the northernmost point on Okinawa taken from the cliffs above Hedo Point.

August: A Festival known as Unjami dedicated to the gods of the sea in Ogimi Okinawa.

September: Paper lanterns at a Full Moon Festival in Kin Village Okinawa.

October: Students perform the Eisa Dance at an Undokai (Sports Day) Kin Village Okinawa.

November: A Black-backed Wagtail (Motacilla lugens) at Kin Red Beach in Okinawa.

December: An Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) in flight over the west coast of Okinawa, Japan.

This is just a small sample to give you an idea of the places I've been and scenes  I try to capture with my camera during the course of a year. Many of the critter, culture, castle, festival and scenic shots I've taken throughout the year 2010 are waiting to be uploaded or are on hold pending publication.



Have a Happy New Year!

Cheers,
Mike

Butterflies in Your Stomach

Ever get Butterflies in your stomach ? It happens to me all the time when I get really, really nervous. It used to be when I was a youngster (About half a century ago) and the teacher asked you to get up in front of the class and recite the Declaration of Independence, or something.

Now, it usually only happens right before I get arrested or almost apprehended, like today. And it happened a few months ago, too, so soon I should develop a tolerance for it, just like I did for History teachers. Either that, or quit doing stupid things that might get an innocent looking fellow like me get apprehended !

The end of the month is coming around real soon ( I know because my wife says PAYDAY is just around the corner because FEB is a short month) and writers have to meet deadlines and need the photos they're writing about, like YESTERDAY ! Well, my favorite writer because she speaks better English and Japanese than me, needs some Cherry Blossoms by an Elementary School photographed this week. Friday would've been a good time for her but not for me. So, the sun looked right for shooting this morning and I decided I'd go shoot and surprise her with a "Mission Accomplished" before the day was done.

When all my morning chores were done I grabbed a camera bag and tripod and walked to the school. Not wanting to disturb the people in the office, I spotted a Gym teacher taking a class out to the soccer field and asked if it was OK to shoot pictures of the Cherry Tree and got a Thumbs-Up .

Well, when I do a shoot like this I'm all over the place playing with light and camera settings, taking shots at every imaginable angle, looking for the best background and most importantly being real careful to NOT GET ANY KIDS in my pictures !

About half an hour into my work HERE COMES SECURITY !!! " Hey, this is a school NO CAMERAS ALLOWED " the guard yells as he rushes me waving his arms like an Olympic Swimmer. When I explained , in my Japanese as a fifth language, that I was doing the shoot for a story on Cherry Blossoms for a the English Teacher at the School and that I had asked the Gym Teacher out on the field for permission beforehand, the guard backed-off and let me continue. But, I saw him walking towards the office when he left me and that's when the Butterflies started. My instincts, from being a wildlife photographer, told me what to do next: RUN FOR YOUR LIFE !!!

Instead, I did the wise thing; shot from a few more angles, slowly working my way towards the gate. I even saw one of my Grandsons out on the grounds for recess. He barely said "Hi" to me. Either he knew I was working because he saw the camera and tripod or noticed the guilty expression on my face, or he just got asked to recite the Gettysburg Address and had Butterflies in his stomach, too !

Anyway, once I cleared the school grounds, I hurried across the street, stopped in a store for a quick coffee and once I was sure nobody was going to come after me, climbed a tower and looked back at the school and when I was sure all the Butterflies were gone; RAN LIKE HELL all the way home!