Whale watches are usually about the whales.  Last Monday, they were more about other things:

Some of these photos were taken from a boat.  Others were taken at the shoreline:

There are complications that occur when you can no longer see clearly when your eyes are irritated.  Most of this boat ride involved double vision and a lot of annoyance on the part of my eyes.  I anticipated this.  After two days finding myself having problems with the wind at the beach, I knew the boat ride would be complicated.

So loaded up with eye drops, we went on the boat, and it actually turned out okay– I kept one eye closed most of the ride, which was easier than I thought it would be (it’s amazing how quickly you can get used to this sort of thing) and relied primarily on my right eye to track birds and do photography.  It seems to have worked.

I only ever see Bonaparte’s Gulls in the Spring and fall.  This photo, by the way, was taken from a moving boat:

As was this photo of a Northern Gannet:

One thing I’ve learned from some of my limitations over the summer is not to be afraid of playing with camera settings.  I decided I would try maxing my camera out for shutter speed to improve chances at getting good photos from a moving boat.  Most of these were shot in the 1/2000s to 1/4000s range, making for some very nice crisp clear shots, even though I had to sacrifice some quality of photo (I shot a lot of them at ISO 800, which tends to be a bit grainy, but it kind of made it easier to get photos such as these red-necked phalaropes, which were crazy difficult to get given how bouncy the boat was at the moment:

It’s also one of the reasons this Parasitic Jaeger is a little out of focus:

By sacrificing depth of field for shutter speed, not everything worked perfectly, but it paid off for shots like this:

It also paid off for shots of these Greater Shearwaters.  Even with the poor quality of the middle one (not sure what went wrong there, need to work on figuring that out), I was able to capture the freeze frame of the two birds fighting over a piece of meat quite well.  Also, a quick anatomical note– notice the bill on this Greater Shearwater?  It’s got a feature which is common to pelagic (ocean-dwelling) birds.  It’s a tube on the beak which helps it filter saltwater.  I rarely get photos where that particular organ is clearly visible, so I like this first one a bit:

It also gave me some great opportunities to get this Cory’s Shearwater, a bird I’ve only ever seen once before (you’ll notice that the beak on this one is a bit lighter than on the greater– that’s the best way to ID them):

And these Wilson’s Storm-Petrels came out nicely as well:

(Since storm-petrels are about the size of large swallows, I’m always glad to get photos of them that look even remotely clear)

Earlier in the weekend, I got this photo of a Black Skimmer.  It’s only the 2nd time I’ve ever photographed one (the first year was about the same time of year last year)

Around the same spot, I had good looks at common terns:

I also saw, for the first time, Forster’s Terns that morning, but got some really nice looks at them from the boat (once again, that super-high shutter speed paid off):

And a few others– I think two of these are common Terns, but the tail is do deeply forked in one that I suspect it’s something else:

Oh, and did I say something about whales?  We only saw two whales.  One was a Minke, which I didn’t photograph, and one was this Fin Whale:

Not as exciting as Humpbacks, but still nice.

It’s been kind of a long Summer.  The Myasthenia Gravis has been heavily limiting as far as photography goes, but that doesn’t mean I’m without ability and that doesn’t mean I can’t push myself from time to time.  It just means that pushing myself sometimes comes with a short term cost.  

This weekend was kind of worth the work.  

Kind of really worth the work.

All in all, it was three days worth of photography, some of it difficult, some of it ridiculously easy.  Heading down to the beach near low tide can be very effective– small sandpipers will hang out near the shore or in shallow pools to feed.  This Dowitcher, for example:

Was about 30′ away, which is how I got such a nice shot of it.

Snowy Egrets are getting ready to head out, but aren’t quite gone yet:

This Semipalmated Plover was digging in the dirt, and you can still see the remnants on its beak:

Extensive activity is still difficult for me– the more I exhaust myself the more I get double vision so I’ve been avoiding situations in which the photographs might be easier or simpler to work with, but that didn’t work so well this weekend– the beach was blowing in my eyes which irritates them, and there was bright sun which also does irritation.  So most of these photos were done with one eye closed and a lot of hope.  

I think they paid off.

I was hoping to get American Golden Plovers.  I didn’t succeed but I did get such gorgeous sights of Black-Bellied Plovers that I didn’t mind so much:

Similarly, I can’t argue with these shots of a Sanderling feeding on the shore:

Speaking of Sanderlings, you’ll also see a smaller bird, the Semiplamated Sandpiper.  I put a lot of effort into getting this side by side photo where you could see the differences.  Sanderling is lighter and larger:

And here you get the semipalmated next to the larger, and with a darker, greyer, head, white rumped sandpiper:

Other white-rumped sandpipers are here:

And just to confuse things, the western sandpiper looks a hell of a lot like the semipalmated, but with more red on its wings:

The spotted sandpiper, on the other hand, is a bit bigger.  In the Fall, it’s easily identified by the stark white “comma” shape by the front of its wings:

And sometimes you only get to see sandpipers in flight.  This photo contains three of the sandpipers we’ve talked about earlier:

I’ll explain in the comments how to ID them but first I’ll make this a mini advanced birder quiz.  Can any of you ID the three birds in this photo?

I’m not certain about this one: I think this might be a greater and lesser yellowlegs in the same shot, but I’m only about 75% on that.  What do you all think?

Finally, I kind of love this shot: I was photographing a semipalmated sandpiper as it took flight and I figured for practice I’d just try to track it.  Not easy, but fun to do sometimes.  When I looked at the photos later I realized it was pissing off a flock of yellow legs.  I have a series of shots of it flying, flying over them, them getting annoyed, at them calming down again.  This was the apex of it, with maximum proximity to the yellowlegs group, and maximum annoyance on their part:

As usual, these are all smaller versions of the photos.  There are much bigger ones on my web site, and all of them are clickable, getting to the larger shot.  

As usual, feel free to treat this as an open birds and birding thread.  I haven’t been able to bird as much as I’d like lately so I’d love to get vicarious birding pleasure from the rest of you.  What have you been seeing lately?

(UPDATE: Okay, so Phish is not defunct, they’ve been touring, so there’s that. Also… I am getting reminded in the comments of how many other kind of awful/mean/what-the-hell things Ober has written in the recent past, so maybe I’m being too gentle…)

So there was this little benefit concert last night. Some defunct band called Phish that reunited to raise money for Vermont Irene victims. You may have heard of them.

7 Days’ Lauren Ober sure has. She heard from angry hordes of Phishdom assembled when she dared to make fun of them. Yeah, it probably wasn’t the best idea (Ober is a good writer, but comedy is as much about the timing and target as the actual wordsmithing… but that’s OK, she’s young, she’ll get it) – but holy freaking crap, do they go after her. Phish? Yeah, like piranha maybe. Ye gods. Well, at least it bumped their website stats. Check it out, but be prepared for your eyes to bleed (here, and here, where 7 Days felt the need to squeeze an apology out of her, which is disappointing).

I tellya, the things people get riled up about. If only that energy could be channeled to something worth getting riled up about, eh?

So anybody attend? Any stories? Me, I’m not so much into the Phish thing. With that in mind, I’ll share this YouTube video, which livemusic.com labeled “What Phish Sounds Like to People That Don’t Like Phish” when they linked to it.

( – promoted by odum)

Come join Moving Planet Vermont, the largest climate action ever held in Vermont at the State House in Montpelier at 2pm on Saturday Sep. 24.

Let’s show our support for a bold vision for a just transition to a sustainable future.

After Irene, Beth Sawin, a mom, biologist, and co-director of Climate Interactive, who lives in Hartland asked:

How to make good decisions, under pressure of time and in the face of loss, suffering and immediate need?

She answered her own question:

There is no perfect formula, of course, but from my community a few key messages emerge:

We can connect the dots between events we just lived through and global rise in greenhouse gases concentrations, and we can work together with others around the world to help phase out the pollution that makes future Irenes ever more likely. And, as we rebuild, we can make Vermont a stronger, smarter place, powered by clean energy and ready for the extremes our already destabilized climate will likely send our way.

The unique political dynamics of Vermont put us in an optimal position to enact bold climate legislation. In so doing, Vermont can show other states that such policies invigorate communities, encourage healthy lifestyles, do not hurt business, and raise our collective consciousness about our natural environment, all while allowing us to move into a healthy future.

Vermont has the opportunity to lead the nation — the world, frankly — in progressive climate legislation. Moving Planet Vermont is our opportunity to show our support for a bold vision for a just transition to a sustainable future.

WHEN: September 24, 2-6:30pm

WHERE: State House, Montpelier

See www.350vt.org for more information.

Hello.

Don’t know if you guys check out this blog (you should), but here goes:

There are elections next year.  Now, there are good Democrats and bad Democrats.  Good Progs and snot-nosed Progs.  And, I believe it is safe to say, there are good Republicans too.  I include the two of you in this category, and I remember what Jim Jeffords did in 2001.  But, fellas, your Party nationally is becoming something beyond the pale.  It’s not just the Tea Party nitwits who have joined your Party.  It seems like the entire Republican Party has an agenda that would not only repeal what’s left of the New Deal and Great Society, but also many basic Constitutional rights, all in the interests of the Very Very Rich and the Corporate Persons who are using your Party for their own self-interests, rather than the good of the country.

National Security should also encompass Economic Security for all the people.  Union busting, the attack on Collective Bargaining, the downsizing of social programs (including FDR’s Social Security), and the overall War On The Poor (as opposed to LBJ’s War On Poverty) seem to have become solid planks in your Party’s Platform.  And this is really really BAD.  It is Un-American.  (Bill–Do you collect Social Security?)

Your Party nationally seems to have lost its Moral Compass, and is also providing aid and comfort to the enemies of this nation.  What the Hell is the story, guys?  And where do the two of you, and other Vermont Republicans, stand?  Because next year’s elections should not be about which Party is going to give more to the Rich and the Corporate Person.  Do you think the Republican Party will win on that kind of platform?  Come on!

I would ask the two of you, and other Vermont Republicans, to come out on record opposing the direction your Party has taken nationally, and reaffirm some old fashioned Republicanism that used to hold the public good and the nation’s good over all the interests of our enemies, either foreign or domestic.

Can you do that?

Of course you can.

Oh, and show us some meat and potato programs you have for the working poor in Vermont.  Not just talk.  Real action.  After all, if your Party succeeds in eviscerating all federal programs, it will be up the the Vermont Legislature to take care of Vermonters.  And not just the ones who can vote.

Thank you,

Peter Buknatski

Montpelier, Vt

This via Andy Bromage at Blurt:

Earlier today, two undocumented migrant farm workers – one of them an outspoken critic of a controversial immigration enforcement program – were detained by state police following a routine traffic stop on I-89 in Middlesex and handed over to the U.S. Border Patrol. Brendan O’Neill, an organizer with the VT Migrant Farmworker Solidarity Project, said farm workers Danilo Lopez and Antonio (whose last name is unknown) were racially profiled by state police…

The situation escalated this afternoon, when activists from the Solidarity Project showed up at the Middlesex state police barracks to protest the farm workers’ expected deportation. When the Border Patrol tried to leave with the handcuffed immigrants in SUVs, five of the protesters locked arms and blocked the government vehicle – provoking a standoff that ended with three of them being carted off and arrested.

Bromage indicated that Gov. Shumlin has ordered an investigation.

I have no other info at this time… anyone else?

It comes as no surprise that poverty in the U.S. is on the upswing, but some of the statistical representations of this fact are quite staggering.

A report delivered today to Congress by Sen. Bernie Sanders and the Senate Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging starkly poses the question:

Is Poverty a Death Sentence?  

As explained in the report, the brutal answer seems quite possibly to be “yes;” especially if you happen to be poor and female.

Some salient facts gleaned from the report:

.  46-million Americans, roughly one in six, live in poverty

. Life-expectancy for low-income women has actually declined over the past twenty years in 313 counties of the U.S.



Senator Sanders concludes that the very institutions enabling the rich to occupy that privileged high plane of health and longevity in America, share the blame and therefore, the responsibility, for undermining the health and longevity of its population as a whole:

As bad as the current situation is with regard to poverty, it will likely get worse in the immediate future.  As a result of the greed, recklessness and illegal behavior of Wall Street we are now in the midst of the worst economic downturn since the 1930s.  Millions of workers have lost their jobs and have slipped out of the middle class and into poverty. Poverty is increasing.

Regardless of how much the poor are despised by Tea Party Republicans, by virtue of sheer numbers, their plight cannot be ignored except at ultimate peril to the entire nation.

(As I’ve said before – and maybe someday I’ll write about it – I can’t get too worked up about the proposed Lockheed Martin partnership with Burlington by way of the Kiss administration. But I do LOVES me some good ol’ lefty activism/democracy/sticktuitiveness, so I wanted to make sure and front page this video. Good stuff! – promoted by odum)

Yes, I no longer have any faith or expectations about the radical radical (white) Left getting its shit together about Capitalism.  Wisconsin came and went as just another story to the Lefties.  Perhaps they really do think Israel is at the root of all the world’s problems, or may it just be that the radical radical (white) Left doesn’t really give a shit about working people and unions because working class Americans and union-busting ain’t intellectual enough issues for the radical radical (white) Left.  

Makes one want to become A Dem and “work within the system to change it.” (Jesus!)  Or maybe the radical radical (white) Left is invested in Capitalism more than it lets on, actually fears working class Americans.  Eugene Debs (6% of the Presidential vote in 1912, 3.5% in 1920 while he was in prison) is NOT resting in peace.  

You can’t have peace without justice, and justice needs to be fought for here at home, supporting workers and unions.  And first, you need TRUTH.  You have to say:  “It’s all about Capitalism and ITS Economy, stupid!”

Green Parties, Hip Parties, Above It All Parties (“DEMS & REPUBLICANS ARE ALL THE SAME!”), Tea Parties, Eco Parties, Anarchists, Libertarians, Elitists, Nitwits, Holocaust Revisionists, Secessionists, Snake Handlers, Lunatics and Crooks–Where’s a Regular American Working Person to turn?  Where’s this THIRD FUCKING PARTY the Left has gone on about for decades?  You know–The Hope And Change And Revolution Party?  Whatever.

Well, fuck ’em.  If the radical oh-so-radical self-righteous (white yuppie) Left is more absorbed in talking-to-itself, I might as well talk to myself.

The following is my little SLAM at the radical radical (white yuppie second-home in Canada)) Left.  Repetitionally inspired by Sue Prent’s “I Don’t Believe In God” prayer.  Fun.  Or NOT:

           COUNTER BEAT-OFF!

(The New Hip Blog For Left-Handed Masturbation!  All The Issues That Name The Facts, Tell The Tales, And Expose The International Zionist Conspiracies Controlling New World Order!  The Who What Where Why When Of Alternate Alternate Alternate Media!)

TODAYS POSTS:

Why Obama Bombed Kenya On Tel Aviv’s Orders

by Suzanne St. Vincent Davis-Wasp (Esq.)

Who Knows How Many Hundred Dollar Bills It Would Take Israel To Reach Another Galaxy And Colonize It

by Zeke Toyboy

Where Are The Black Panthers Now When We Need Them To Fight The Jews

by Disgruntled And Anonymous White Christian Leftie Yuppie In Chevy Chase, Maryland



When Israel Plans To Use Nuclear Weapons On Tasmania

by Joe The NanoVirus

What The Fuck The CIA Is Doing To Help Israel Acquire All Our Old Fifties Toy Lead Soldiers

by The Fucking Rodriquez Brothers



Why Who Knows What Went Where When We Didn’t Know How And It Wound Up In Israel

by Nomen Clature



How Two Out Of Three Kosher Bats Out Of Hell Ain’t Bad For Hank And Hal

by Meat Loaf III With Gravy

Israel Wants To Move Into Your Backyard

by Andrea Peaceninne

Why D.C. Is Sending Our Cats To Israel

by Peta Litterbox



Cats Are Murdering Palestinian Babies

by Gaza Wheatgerm



Break The Israeli Boycott On Mice For Palestine

by Joe The Exterminator

Israel’s Secret Settlements In Antarctica

by Ipod S. Authority



Israel Took My Parking Place

by The Donald The Duck

Israel Is Under My Bed

by Jesus St. Child-Nightmare



Vermont Must Help Palestine Secede And

Vice-Versa

by Peter Diamondstonecutter & Tom Nayloringit



Israel Wants Your Teenage Daughter’s Body

by Fat Prince Saudi Of Arabia



Israel’s Anti-Gay Marriage Lobby In D.C.

by Bruce Lesbian



Israel’s War Of Genocide Against Gay Penguins In Antarctica And Why We Must Support Tasmania

by Dr. Ruth Twitter

Global Warming And Israel’s Desert Wasteland In Antarctica

by Gore Vidal-Goretex

The Untold Struggle Of Christian Polish Folk Singers In Jerusalem

by Woody Dylan Anderson

Israel’s Expanded Fall Line-Up On FOX TV

by Sarah Jessica Parker

Why Israel Fears The New Hip Left

by Larry, Darryl, & Darryl



Why Your Customer Service Rep In India For Verizon Sounds Like He’s Talking In Yiddish

by Ralph Nader IV

How The Jews Took Over The Peace Movement

by Silent Joe The Vigiler

Israel’s Plot To Destroy All Life On Earth A Little At A Time Starting With Gay Penguins In Antarctica

by Mildred Bedridden

Why Israel Should Be Held Responsible For All Natural Disasters And Divorces

by Weather Underground & Jennifer Aniston

Why Israel Was A Pain In The Ass Before It Even Existed

by Chinese University Professor Emeritus Dim Dim Bulb



Israel’s Masterplan To Take Over Your Every Waking Moment

by Dr. Phil & Dr. Speed



Israel Really Hates You (And Your Pets)

by Heinrich ‘The Beast Of Auschwitz’ Herman (89 Years Young!!)

Why The Left Needs To Focus More On Israel

by Dharma Freakout

Because Israel Just Took Over This Blog

by Barry Goldwasser Seinfeld

Oy Vey

by……………………………………

THE END

Peter Buknatski

Montpelier, Vt.

(Come on you fuckin’ radical radical white Lefties.  The issue is how to stop the American Corporate Reich from turning this country into a Fascist Shithole.  Hitler blamed the Jews.  The Rich and Corporate, with the help of the Republicans, are blaming the working poor–wages, benefits (including Social Security, Unemployment Compensation, Food Stamps, Disability, DISASTER RELIEF, child care, special education), and the RIGHT TO ORGANIZE and Collective Bargaining are under attack here at home.  It’s A POGROM.  Get With IT!

And, stop this waste-of-time BS about the United States being the Client State of Israel.  It’s (duh) the other way around.

Perhaps it is true that the Dems & Republicans are One Party.  In that case, I’d advocate voting ALL REPUBLICANS out of office.  I mean, who needs ’em, right?)

(cross-posted from Vermont Watch, here)

Will be heading over to state house to listen in to the afternoon segment of Government Accountability Committee meeting shortly. They are mainly focused on “Measurable  Outcomes for Mental Health Services & Substance Abuse Treatment &  Recovery” today (here).

To my knowledge, this particular committee is the hold over of what used to be termed or known as “Challenges for Change”, which a lot of taxpayer funds, resources and time spent was on doing and, all the nickel and dime’ing done in the name of “CoC” ended up costing lots more than it was supposed to have saved and, we have been paying for it since in a number of ways, the least of which has been taxpayer dollars and that is no small bit of change or challenge to pay for either (pun intended).

However this does that mean certain of those within either the legislative or administrative branches of state government will ever get a clue and leave it alone, heck no, of course not. They just call it something else, move on so-to-speak and keep on keeping on as if they are really doing something different and better when it is neither.

The fact is “Government Accountability” is an oxymoron, at best, particularly when it is government as well as political officials of the same trying to police itself.