Hognose Image from a Reader

Sometimes you get sent a picture that knocks your socks off. I opened this email and was blown away! The location was Ohio, and I was able to guess the general area with ease. Many thanks to all readers who send in their pictures, but I am always stoked to open up one like this.

Spring should be just around the corner. Hopefully, my hognose luck will be better this year than last.

BH

Bora Bora 2013: Part II

This is a continuation of our recent trip to Bora Bora in Feb 2013. If you missed Part I, click here.

I hope to start sharing more pictures from our diving in these installments. We chose to dive with Topdive Bora Bora as there was an office located at our resort. I can recommend them highly. We booked a group package ahead of time and prepaid to save a little money. We were very pleased with our experience. We dove mostly with Cyril, but also interacted with Julian, David and Freddy. They were wonderful to work with and catered well to our skill levels and wish lists.

Cyril waiting for the group at the end of a dive

Molly was very newly certified and was extremely nervous regarding diving with sharks and at depth. Despite a recent diver who was the victim of a fairly significant lemon shark attack the day we arrived, they went out of their way to allay her fears and Cyril made sure to keep an eye on her comfort level while diving. There was no pressure from them regarding her fear, just reassurance. We started with a few dives that didn't have as high numbers of sharks, and luckily did not see any on these dives. The next few days did feature some sharks, but Molly was able to acclimate well and ended up being quite comfortable with the local reef sharks in fairly high numbers by the end of the trip. I am fairly certain she actually enjoyed the diving greatly!

I was very proud of Molly during this trip. She logged 10 dives and I watched her blossom into a capable and relaxed diver. She worked to fine tune her buoyancy as the trip went on and her skills far surpassed many other new divers we interacted with on our many days of diving. I found my own comfort level increased as the trip went on because I really didn't have to spend time worrying about her. I know she will only improve from here and I look forward to many future dives with her. Just six months ago I was practically begging her to get certified, and we seriously wondered if she would dive at all on the trip!

Rob and Cassy are also fairly newly certified. It was great to have a couple of close friends to share the trip and experience with. We played some mean games of euchre while topside during our lazy afternoons!

You might notice the different hues in the water and obvious clarity differences. Most of the diving in the open ocean, out of the lagoon had deep blue, clear water. Parts of the lagoon had great clarity, but other parts were very sandy, or had high amounts of plankton. We tended to dive these sites more due to the presence of wildlife that we focused many of our dives on. The next installment with focus on the animals we saw while diving, especially while I was shooting wide-angle.

Stay tuned for Bora Bora Part III.

Happy diving!

BH

If you want to read the rest: Part I, Part II, Part III and Part IV.

Bora Bora 2013: Part I

Molly and I took a five year anniversary trip to Bora Bora this past February with our friends Rob and Cassy. It was a great trip and a nice way to escape from the old man winter and the snow. We stayed at the Pearl Beach Resort Bora Bora for about 10 days. Rob and I dove a bunch, and the girls also joined us a number of days. This was a great chance for me to get my camera rig salty and log some bottom time with it.

Bora Bora is located in the leeward group of the Society Islands of French Polynesia. It is best known for its beautiful blue lagoon and mountain vistas. The protected lagoon provides a unique opportunity for hotel bungalows located over the water, which was the main reason the girls wanted to go here. It is in the middle of the south Pacific, pretty much due south from Hawaii. The flight to Tahiti was about 8 hours from LA.

This is why we were here.

The main entrance to the Pearl Beach Resort Bora Bora.

The walkway to our bungalow.

The Pearl Beach Resort has a small coral garden located in a safety zone inside the bungalows. It is managed by a biologist who grooms the coral on artificial structures. There was an abundance of fish life around the coral structures, and almost every night we would see blacktip reef sharks and rays cruising around under and around the bungalows. A few of the days the biologists were around there to move coral, and appeared to be monitoring the fish around the formations.

Coral gardens at Pearl Beach Resort

The bungalows were nice, although a little outdated and not quite as nice as I expected.

Each bungalow had a little coral formation below it with some resident reef fish. This was visible through a little window in your room.

Where were there during the rainy season. It might have saved us some money, but it was really just the best time to escape Michigan. This meant the weather had the potential to be pretty bad. For the most part we were lucky. There were typically a few brief but strong storms every couple of days. The only day we really got rained out was the very last. Unfortunately, the hotel took this time to repair some things during their off season. Two of the three restaurants were closed limiting the menus available. We also never really had a look a the old volcanos without cloud cover obscuring their peaks.

I spent the first day fooling around with my camera in the coral garden and taking some split levels with Molly and Rob.

The blog is here to focus on wildlife, so soon I will share the results of our dives!

If you want to read the rest: Part I, Part II, Part III and Part IV.

BH

Wet Gear

I have been planning and obsessing over underwater camera gear for a while now. With the herping season nonexistent, I had to find something else to keep my outdoor interests.  (I know it's winter, and scuba diving doesn't exactly make sense!) I finally squirreled away the money, and made the decision to take the plunge into the underwater world as we have an upcoming trip in the south Pacific in February. Hopefully by this time next month I will be able to share pictures from the bottom of the Bora Bora lagoon!

I researched all the different options for my Nikon D7000 and ultimately decided on the Nauticam NA-D7000. From reading numerous reviews, it seemed to provided me with the best access to key controls,  options for lighting and growth in the future. I picked out some strobes, and ports for my lenses and bam. I guess I have a new hobby.

The inside of the front of the rig, with the all important O ring.

And the back.  So sexy. Did I mention I can use all my buttons?

My wide angle port. Hoping to snatch some crapy pics of big sharks and mantas!

And the macro set-up. Umm macro.

I really don't quite know what I am doing, but it sounds like a fun adventure. I took everything in the pool last week and fired it all up. I should be good to go. Maybe I can start getting shots of woodies, mudpuppies and gators from underwater in the future?

I should have some pics - crappy or not - of a nice warm location to share soon. Until then, keep trying to survive winter!

BH

One Last Paddle, Again!

Michigan was lucky to have a few warm spells in November and I managed to sneak up north for a day to take advantage of the weather. Curtis and I met on the fringe of wood turtle territory, although in a river system they are not known from. The conditions were sunny, but cool in the mid to low 50s. It probably wasn't the best time of the year to try and explore fringe rivers, but it was a little closer of a drive for the two of us on a day trip.

We had a some great access, and quickly prepared for the trip. The old trusty explorer made this excursion and is still treating me well.

I am usually not an advocate of drinking while paddling. I focus on the turtles and save that for the campfire, but on a lazy day we couldn't resist bringing one for the water.

We quickly started seeing map turtles basking along the river though. I think we ended up with about 15 for the day.

This turtle was gaping like a crocadilian. I don't see them do this too often.

We were able to watch a pileated woodpecker for a while, but I was unable to get a clear shot.

A great way to enjoy a fall paddle.

Happy Herping,

BH

Herp ID Help: 5

Although this is pretty easy, I will give you two pictures of the same species. Cell phone pictures can be kinda blurry sometimes!

Click for snake ID:

Both pictures are again of Eastern Milksnakes Lampropeltis triangulum.

BH

Herp ID Help: 4

Looks very similar to some of the snakes already posted...

Click for snake ID:

But this is a young Black Ratsnake Pantherophis obsoleta. They have much more distinct markings when they are young, which usually fade into the classic black most people are used to. Some individuals will retain a light pattern into their adult age.

BH