America’s #1 Secret Location
I hate to start the new year by asking such an existential question but here goes. If I answer the question of what is the #1 secret location and then answer it, is it no longer a secret location? Well, given that my readership is less than 1% of the world’s population (massive understatement), I’ll contend that my secret is safe with you. So, what is the answer to the original question? In a word: “Caddo Lake”. OK, that’s technically two words but you get the point.
Half in Texas and half in Louisiana, this very large lake with its bayou inlets provides hours into days of exploring. (As always, click on any image to enlarge)
This was my second trip there when I recently returned in November with my Madeline Island (Wisconsin) group of photography friends I had met in 2015. The combination of such a unique landscape and the variety of birds lured me with no coaxing needed whatsoever.
Caddo Lake is getting discovered by more photographers but fortunately it’s still relatively remote, being four hours from Houston on two-lane roads. David from our group somehow found a guide with a pontoon boat for us who went by the name of “Ole Jigger”. We shall call him OJ for short – NO, WAIT, terrible idea - what was I thinking? I was leery of doing a boat tour with OJ, I mean Ole Jigger, because he took only cash, had no definite schedule, and docked out of what appeared to be his home on – get this – Sesame Street. David assured us that Ole Jigger was real and legit and just a “good ole boy”. But a shred of doubt even came over David about that location. I mean, could there be a “real” Sesame Street beside the one on TV? Would Ole Jigger wind up being a guy who simply dressed up as Big Bird, collect $75 each from us, and then pack us into a tiny rowboat only to feed us to the alligators that roamed the lake? Spoiler alert: far from it!
Boat captain Ole Jigger dressed in subzero weather although it was “only” in the mid-30s Fahrenheit
Captain Jigger took us out for a three-hour sunrise tour and later that day a three-hour sunset tour, both absolutely glorious.
It was an unseasonably cold day when we set out some time between 4:30 and 5:00 AM. And try being in a speeding open boat in 34-degree weather in total darkness. Brrrrrr. But when the sun did finally rise, there was not a cloud in the sky. That early morning sunlight was especially stunning, bathing the exotic cypress trees and locust plants in a warm, orange light that can only be described as “enchanting” as in Harry Potter magical.
Birds were everywhere. We saw Great Egrets, Great Blue Herons, Ospreys, Tricolored Herons, Pileated Woodpeckers, Kingfishers and many others that allowed us to get much closer in our pontoon than I could have imagined. Ole Jigger deftly steered and slowed the boat to a float so that we could unobtrusively “sneak up” on our awaiting photography subjects.
It was still quite dark before sunrise when I caught this Great Blue Heron jumping trees
At one point I saw an Osprey dive into the water and I assumed it was to catch a fish. It was way too far away to photograph but to my surprise, it started flying towards our boat. In fact, it went right by us although it was backlit and thus in the shadows. But it made for an interesting and unique perspective with what is called “rim light” around the Osprey and the fish due to the sun being in back of the subjects. I especially like when the Osprey shook itself of the water and created bright water droplets around it.
Osprey carrying its dinner, a fish, as it flies home. Notice the “rim light” around the fish and Osprey’s front wings.
The same Osprey as above is carrying its fish in flight after creating thousands of water droplets from shaking itself.
The sequence below is of a Great Blue Heron taking off from some cypress trees.
In the sequence below a couple of Great Blue Herons were amazingly close. Notice the clearly visible tongue of the one Heron.
In the sequence below a Great Egret preens in a cypress tree.
And in the two photos below, A Great Egret and a Great Blue Heron show how they use their feathers as parachutes to slowly glide across the trees.
Very last light of the day casts a magenta color over Caddo Lake
So, there, now my secret is out and I have no one to blame but myself. So, shhh!…don’t tell anyone else, unless, of course, you share this post with someone else. And please do!