March | 2021 | Mike Powell

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Archive for March, 2021

Bee fly in March

Posted in Flowers, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged bee fly, Bombylius major, Canon 50D, Claytonia virginica, Greater Bee Fly, Prince William Forest Park, Spring Beauty, Tamron 180mm, Triangle VA on March 31, 2021| 16 Comments »

Is it a bee? Is it a fly? It is a Greater Bee Fly (Bombylius major), a parasitic bee mimic that is one of the earliest spring pollinators of wildflowers. I photographed this bee fly as it was feeding on the nectar of a Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica) on Monday at Prince William Forest Park.

I was quite happy to be able to capture so many of the details of this curious creature, including its long proboscis, spindly legs, patterned wings, and fuzzy body. In case you are curious, the body of one of these bee flies is about six-tenths of an inch (15mm) in length and its wing span is about one inch (25mm). I recommend that you double-click on the image to get a better looks at the little details of this bee fly.

If you would like to learn more about these fascinating little bee flies, including their parasitic behavior, check out the article on the US Forest Service website by Beatriz Moisset entitled “A Pollinator with a Bad Reputation.”

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Are we there yet?

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged Alexandria VA, Are we there yet?, Canon 50D, Canon 60mm, Cindy Dyer, closed tulip, Runnymeade, tulip on March 31, 2021| 7 Comments »

Some of the tulips in the garden of my good friend Cindy Dyer are almost ready to bloom. Already we have a hint of the beauty that is to come—a preview of coming attractions. Many of the flowering trees in my neighborhood recently popped open, seemingly overnight, but others plants, like this tulip, force us to wait patiently for their fully beauty to be revealed.

Delayed gratification is supposed to be good for the soul, but sometimes I feel like a small child cooped up in a car on a long journey, incessantly repeating the same question—”Are we there yet?”

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Spring beauty and spring beast

Posted in Flowers, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged Canon 50D, Claytonia virginica, Prince William Forest Park, Spring Beauty, Spring Beauty wildflowers, tachinid fly, Tamron 180mm, Triangle VA on March 30, 2021| 26 Comments »

One of the signs of spring where I live is the emergence of small wildflowers in the wooded areas, including Spring Beauties (Claytonia virginica), like this one that I photographed yesterday at Prince William Forest Park in nearby Triangle, Virginia. According to the description of the Spring Beauty in Wikipedia, “the individual flowers bloom for three days, although the five stamens on each flower are only active for a single day.”

I do not know if this was “the day” for the stamens of this particular flower, but a large hairy fly was definitely attracted to its nectar. I cannot identify the species of the fly, but think that it is a kind of Tachinid fly. The large family of Tachinid flies differ in color, size, and shape but many somewhat resemble house flies and tend to feed on liquids such as nectar.

When I showed this image to fellow blogger and dragonfly enthusiast Walter Sanford, he noted the low angle at which I had taken this shot and characterized it as a “belly flopper photo.” Walter has seen me in action multiple times and knows that I will often try to get as low as I can to get a shot, which was pretty low in this case, given the fact that Spring Beauties are often only a few inches tall.

How low do I go? Check out a posting that Walter did in 2016 called Opposing viewpoints to see a shot of me sprawled on the ground trying to get at eye level with a snake and my posting that same day called Close to a garter snake to see the kind of images that you get when shooting at such close range.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Basking

Posted in Nature, Photography, Reptiles, spring, turtle, tagged Canon 50D, Chrysemys picta, Chrysemys picta picta, Eastern Painted Turtle, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, painted turtle, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 29, 2021| 11 Comments »

The warm weather on Friday brought out a lot of turtles at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, including this group of Painted Turtles (Chrysemys picta). I too enjoyed soaking up the sun, but felt more of a need to distance myself from other members of my species than these turtles did.

In terms of photography, I love the way that the red stripes on the turtles’ neck really stand out in an image made up of mainly muted colors. I thought of removing the leaf in the background, but decided that I liked the touch of whimsy that it added to the image.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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More grape hyacinths

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Canon 60mm, Cindy Dyer, Grape hyacinth, Muscari, Runnymeade on March 28, 2021| 3 Comments »

I never realized that grape hyacinths (g. Muscari) come in so many different colors and varieties. Here are some that I spotted yesterday morning in the garden of my good friend and neighbor Cindy Dyer. The coloration of the flower in the first photo is what I traditionally associate with grape hyacinths—it is not too much of a stretch to imagine that it looks like a little cluster of grapes. The ones in the second image are much paler and have a bluish rather than purplish tint.

Some of you may recall that I recently featured a grape hyacinth that was different in shape as well as color. If you have not seen that posting, check it out at Unusual grape hyacinths. We have had a lot of rain and warmer weather recently and I can’t to wait to see what pops up in Cindy’s garden next. I usually alert Cindy of newly-opened flowers well before she notices them, a system that Cindy has nicknamed “Powell’s Flower Forecasts.”

Happy Palm Sunday for those who are celebrating that Christian holy day today.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Natural abstract art

Posted in abstract, Art, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged Canon 50D, Lorton VA, Occoquan Regional Park, stream, Tamron 150-600mm on March 27, 2021| 23 Comments »

I searched a stream in vain for dragonflies last weekend, but became fascinated by the abstract patterns of the water moving through areas festooned with moss, algae, and grasses. Later in the year I am almost certain to find Gray Petaltail dragonflies near this stream and the surrounding seeps. For the moment I was content to let my mind run wild, feeling a bit like I was underwater as I observed the abstract shapes created by the moving water.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Is it safe yet?

Posted in Nature, Photography, Reptiles, spring, turtle, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Chrysemys picta, Chrysemys picta picta, Eastern Painted Turtle, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, painted turtle, pandemic, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 26, 2021| 15 Comments »

When I spotted this Eastern Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta picta) on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I immediately thought how apt a visual metaphor it was for our lives this past year. Surrounded by its protective shell, the turtle tentatively looked out at a hostile world, wondering if it was safe to stick out its neck and move forward.

It is still not completely safe, but conditions appear to be improving somewhat in many parts of the world. Yesterday I had my second Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination shot and I hope that as many people as possible will choose to get vaccinated when they have the chance.

In the meantime, we owe it to each other to continue to wear our masks, to wash our hands, and to practice social distancing. None of us really like these restrictions, but they will protect us as we await the day when we can all come out of our shells.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Acrobatic squirrel

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Eastern Gray Squirrel, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Sciurus carolinensis, squirrel, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 26, 2021| 10 Comments »

I was watching an Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge as it hung upside down and nibbled on the buds of a tree when suddenly its back legs lost their grip. The squirrel was dangling from its front paws only when I snapped this shot.

Initially the squirrel continued to chew on the bud it was holding. Realizing perhaps the precariousness of its position, it eventually stopped eating and successfully scrambled back up into the tree.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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First spring tulip

Posted in Art, Flowers, Gardening, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Canon 60mm, Cindy Dyer, Runnymeade, tulips on March 25, 2021| 7 Comments »

During growing season I keep a close eye on the garden of my friend and neighbor Cindy Dyer, since I have no gardening skills at all. On Tuesday I took a few shots of one of the cute little red tulips that opened just a few days ago, the first tulips of this spring that I have spotted.

Unlike most tulips, which tend to be spherical in shape, the blooms of these tulips are slender and angular. As I look at the second photo, for example, I see a series of triangles.

Cindy has a new raised bed in the back yard of her townhouse that looks like it has more tulips, judging from the leaves that have popped up from the soil. It will be a surprise for us all when they emerge, because neither she nor her husband can recall what specific varieties they planted last fall.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Springtime chickadee

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Carolina Chickadee, chickadee, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Poecile carolinensis, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 24, 2021| 20 Comments »

I tend to be a bit obsessive about trying to get my subject in sharp focus when capturing wildlife images. So I was a little disappointed, but not surprised, when I saw that the focus in this shot of a Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) was a bit soft. I was quite a distance away when I saw this little bird moving about in the tree branches on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge and I was able to snap off only a couple of shots before it flew away.

The more I looked at this image, the more I have come to like it. There is something really pleasing about the bird’s upward-facing pose; the lighting around the chickadee; the out-of-focus background; the simple structure of the branches; and especially the spots of bright spring color in the flowering tree. This image conveys to me an overall feeling of the beauty of the emerging spring.

This type of shot also serves to remind me that photography is as much about art as it is about science, that it is ok to break whatever “rules” I choose to impose on myself. Beauty can be found in sharp, detailed photos, what I normally strive to create, but it can also be found in “artsy,” impressionistic images like this one.

What do you think? Does the soft focus on this chickadee bother you?

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Springtime butterfly

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Cabbage White, Cabbage White butterfly, Canon 50D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Pieris rapae, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 23, 2021| 19 Comments »

Yesterday was a beautiful spring day and I finally managed to photograph my first butterfly of the year, a Cabbage White (Pieris rapae) that I spotted in the underbrush at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Within the past two weeks I have had several sightings of larger butterflies that overwinter as adults, including the Mourning Cloak and the Question Mark/Eastern Comma butterflies, but was unable to capture images of them.

This little butterfly almost certainly emerged recently from a chrysalis and is a female, judging from the two black spots on each of the forewings (males have a single spot on each forewing). Cabbage White butterflies, known by many different names, originated in Europe and have now spread to many parts of the world including Australia and New Zealand, according to Wikipedia.

I look at the butterfly as a beautiful little creature, but in its caterpillar form it is considered to be a dangerous agricultural pest that is responsible for large-scale damage to the cruciferous plants on which it voraciously feeds. As adults, however, Cabbage Whites butterflies feed on nectar from many flowers, including dandelions, red clover, asters, mint, and strawberries and do not cause any damage.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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No guarantees

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Cardinalis cardinalis, female Northern Cardinal, Lorton VA, Northern cardinal, Occoquan Regional Park, Tamron 150-600mm on March 22, 2021| 18 Comments »

Wildlife photography is full of uncertainty—there are no guarantees of success. When I go out with my camera, I never know if I will find any subjects to photograph.

I stay alert and almost always something will appear, like this beautiful female Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) that I spotted a week ago at Occoquan Regional Park.

Beauty is everywhere—sometimes you just have to look a little harder to find it.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Osprey delivery service

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Osprey, osprey in action, osprey nest, Pandion haliaetus, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 21, 2021| 8 Comments »

Some of the newly-returned Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge were busy on Friday building or renovating their nests. In past years I have seen ospreys make nests in a wide range of locations, both natural as well as man-made. This osprey was ferrying out sticks to a nest on a distant channel marker in the bay, where its mate waited patiently for each new delivery.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Muskrat in March

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, muskrat, muskrat tail, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Ondatra zibethicus, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 20, 2021| 21 Comments »

I turned my head instinctively when I heard a splash in the water yesterday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge? What had made the splash? There were no logs on which a turtle might have been sunning, so I assumed it was one of the many diving ducks that have spent the winter with us. I watched and waited for the duck to resurface so that I could identify its species.

Imagine my surprise when a furry rather than feathered head broke the surface of the water from below. I only had to hesitate a second before I decided that it was a muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) rather than a North American Beaver (Castor canadensis). Why? It was midday and beavers are generally active only at dawn and dusk; the animal was really small and beavers tend to be a lot bigger in size; and I had a really good look at the tail that was a long, thin “rattail” and not flat like a beaver’s tail.

In the past most of the muskrats that I have seen swimming have kept their tails in the water, often using it for propulsion. Maybe this muskrat was simply treading water, watching me as I watched it. It has been a long time since I have seen a muskrat, so this sighting was a nice treat for me.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Unusual grape hyacinths

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Canon 60mm, Cindy Dyer, Grape hyacinth, Muscari azureum, Runnymeade on March 19, 2021| 23 Comments »

I was totally fascinated by the shapes and colors of this tiny flower that has started to bloom in the garden of my friend and neighbor Cindy Dyer. Cindy told me it was a type of Grape Hyacinth, which confused me a little, because all of the grape hyacinths that I had previously seen were shaped more like grapes than little bells.

I searched on-line and eventually discovered that this flower is Muscari azureum, a species also referred to as Pseudomuscari azureum or Hyacinthella azurea. According to gardenia.net, “Muscari azureum is a lovely, compact china-blue grape hyacinth, with bell-shaped flowers that are not constricted at the mouth. Therefore it looks more plump and fuller than others.”

It was a challenge for me to photograph these flowers because they are so small and grow so close to the ground. Additionally the rather naked early spring garden soil in which the flowers were growing does not make a very photogenic backdrop. I used a macro lens to get close to the flowers for the first two shots in order to isolate them somewhat from the background and focus the viewer’s attention on the intricate details of the flowers.

For the final image, I backed up a little to give you a view of the overall scene and the challenges I described above. As you can probably tell, the two flowers at the far left of the frame were the ones that were featured in the first two photos.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Mockingbird in March

Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Lorton VA, Mimus polyglottos, mockingbird, Northern Mockingbird, Occoquan Regional Park, Tamron 150-600mm on March 18, 2021| 5 Comments »

Sometimes the colors in a photo draw me in as much as the actual subject, as is the case with this image of a Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) that I spotted last Saturday at Occoquan Regional Park.

The soft shades of brown and gray harmoniously create a mood that I really like. Even the wispy, dried grasses in the foreground, which might have bothered me under most circumstances, add a nice texture and organic feel to this in situ portrait.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Turkey Vultures in March

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, carrion, Cathartes aura, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, turkey vulture, vulture, Woodbridge VA on March 17, 2021| 17 Comments »

Some people find Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) to be creepy, but I think they are handsome in their own way and fill a useful function in keeping our roads at least partially free from carrion. I spotted quite a few Turkey Vultures on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, some clustered on the ground and some circling in the skies.

The two vultures in the first photo were part of a group of five that were spread across a trail near the partial remains of what looks to have been some kind of animal. I did not want to disturb them, so I gave them a wide berth and continued on my way after capturing the image.

I had no such worry with the vulture in the second shot that was effortless soaring overhead and did not seem disturbed at all by my presence. It probably was my imagination, but at times it seems like the vulture was tracking me. I think I watched too many cowboy movies as a child in which a lost cowboy stumbled through the desert as vultures circled overhead, waiting for him to die.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Return of the ospreys

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Osprey, Pandion haliaetus, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 16, 2021| 17 Comments »

Some birds return silently in the spring and you have to search hard to find them. Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus), on the other hand, make their presence known as they soar overhead, often calling out in their loud, high-pitched voices that the Cornell Lab of Ornithology compared to “the sound of a whistling kettle taken rapidly off a stove.”

I spotted only a few ospreys yesterday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, some of which I managed to photograph, but know from experience that they are only the advance guard of a larger group of osprey that will arrive soon and begin to build or repair their nests. As you may notice in the second photo, trees in our area are being to produce buds and it won’t be long before leaves begin to complicate my efforts to spot birds.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Snowdrop in March

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Canon 60mm, Cindy Dyer, g. Galanthus, Runnymeade, snowdrop on March 15, 2021| 12 Comments »

My neighbor and photography mentor Cindy Dyer has a new raised flower bed in her back yard and the first flowers to appear in it are some tiny Snowdrops (g. Galanthus), including this one that I photographed on Friday. For me there is something really beautiful about the simple shape and restrained colors of this little flower. I have seen snowdrops appear much earlier at other locations, including in 2012 when I photographed some in bloom in late December—see my blog posting entitled Winter Snowdrops.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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First crocuses

Posted in Flowers, Gardening, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Canon 60mm, Cindy Dyer, crocus, crocuses, crocuses in bloom, Runnymeade on March 14, 2021| 29 Comments »

I do not have my own garden, but my friend and neighbor Cindy Dyer has a wonderful one that I visit often during the growing season. I was thrilled on Friday to see that one of her crocuses is blooming, the first one that I have seen this year. A second crocus had not yet opened, but I was so excited to see these colorful signs of spring that I photographed it too.

During the colder months of the year I shoot almost exclusively with a long telephoto zoom lens. For these images, however, I switched to a 60mm macro lens, a sign of the changing seasons—during the summer months my favorite lens is my 180mm macro lens. As the leaves start to reappear to on the trees, I will be photographing fewer birds and will be focusing on smaller, close-in subjects like butterflies and dragonflies, hopefully within a month or so.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Preening eagle

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, spring, wildlife, tagged Bald Eagle, Canon 50D, eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 13, 2021| 8 Comments »

It was early in the morning when I spotted this Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) on Tuesday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Utterly fascinated, I watched the eagle methodically preening, moving from one area of its body to another, adjusting the feathers and removing some small wispy ones. When you are a national symbol, I guess you have to try to look majestic at all times.

This particular eagle was pretty relaxed and I managed to walk almost underneath the overhanging branch without disturbing it. If you look carefully at the final photo, you can tell that I was shooting almost straight up in order to get the shot. Remarkably the eagle remained in place when I continued on my way down the trail. I would like to be able to claim that I was really stealthy in my movements, but I think it was more likely that the eagle was simply willing to tolerate my presence, of which he was undoubtedly aware.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Early morning bunny

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, Portraits, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Eastern Cottontail, Eastern Cottontail rabbit, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Sylvilagus floridanus, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 12, 2021| 17 Comments »

Frost covered the ground early on Tuesday morning when I arrived at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The first creature that I spotted was an Eastern Cottontail rabbit (Sylvilagus floridanus) foraging in the wintery grass that has not yet turned green. The sunlight was soft and low, making the bunny glow.

It was a wonderfully gentle way to begin a new day.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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A few swallows of spring

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, swallow, Tachycineta bicolor, Tamron 150-600mm, Tree Swallow, Woodbridge VA on March 11, 2021| 28 Comments »

It was great on Tuesday to see that some Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) have returned to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. One was even checking out the local real estate market and was shocked at how expensive housing rentals are in this area.

In the wild, Tree Swallows nest in tree cavities, but they seem to adapt readily to using nesting boxes, like the one in the final photo. At this spot of the refuge there are two nesting boxes and each year there seems to be a competition between Tree Swallows and Easter Bluebirds for their use.

According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, “Tree Swallows winter farther north than any other American swallows and return to their nesting grounds long before other swallows come back. They can eat plant foods as well as their normal insect prey, which helps them survive the cold snaps and wintry weather of early spring.”

Welcome back, beautiful little swallows.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Really wild turkey

Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, displaying male Wild Turkey, male wild turkey, Meleagris gallopavo, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Wild Turkey, Woodbridge VA on March 10, 2021| 16 Comments »

I do not know about the reactions of the lady turkeys, but I was mighty impressed by the display of this male Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) early yesterday morning at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. A lot of male birds go to great lengths to impress and attract females during the early spring, but this wild turkey’s presentation might take the prize for being so flamboyant and ostentatious. I guess he has truly embraced the motto, “Go big or go home.”

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Beauty among the branches

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Golden-crowned Kinglet, kinglet, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Regulus satrapa, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 10, 2021| 9 Comments »

When you look through the photos on my blog, you might get the mistaken impression that I have some magical power over birds, because your view of them is rarely obstructed by branches. I have a confession to make—those photos are not accurate representations of the way that I see birds most of the time. Today’s image of a beautiful little Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa) provides a more typical view of the way that I see birds in the wild as they move about in the thickets and underbrush foraging for food, rarely providing me with a good look.

Despite all of the branches that blocked my view, I managed to capture quite a lot of the kinglet’s details in this shot, including a sliver of its golden “crown,” a close look at its legs and feet as the small bird was hanging from a leaf, and some of the texture of the layers of feathers. I highly encourage you to click on the image to get a better looks at these wonderful detail. As you look at this bird, keep in mind that it is one of the smallest songbirds in my area, with a length of 3.1-4.3 in (8-11 cm) and a weight of 0.1-0.3 oz (4-8 g), according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

I am fond of saying that beauty is everywhere, and I believe that to be true. Sometimes, though, you might not see it at first glance. If you slow down and look beyond those things that threaten to block your view, you may discover beauty hidden among the branches.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Male Red-breasted Merganser

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, male Red-breasted Merganser, Mergus serrator, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Red-breasted Merganser, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 9, 2021| 4 Comments »

How good are you at identifying a bird by its silhouette? When you are shooting directly into the light, one of the challenges of photographing a bird is that many of the details, or even all of them, disappear into the shadows—you often have to rely more on the shapes than the colors to identify the bird.

I could not see the eyes or any of the facial features of this bird that I spotted last Saturday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, but its long bill and distinctive “punk rock” head feathers made it relatively easy to identify it as a Male Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator), a type of diving duck that I see only occasionally. For the record, the white collar also helped in making the identification.

Red-breasted Mergansers are one of the bird species that spend their winters with us. I suspect that it will not be long before they depart for more more northern locations for the breeding season.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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In the nest

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Bald Eagle, bald eagle nest, Canon 50D, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 8, 2021| 5 Comments »

For the last six weeks or so, I have been monitoring two Bald Eagle couples (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge as they have repaired and renovated two different nests. On Saturday morning I made my way to one of them and was delighted to see an eagle sitting low in the nest. I cannot be completely certain, but I think that the eagle is sitting on one or more eggs. If true, the eaglets should hatch in about 35 days or so.

This relatively small nest was damaged last summer when it looks like one of the supporting branches broke off and half of the nest fell to the ground. I observed some of the reconstructions efforts and documented it in an early February posting called Rebuilding the nest. It looks to me like the nest has grown considerably in size since that time.

This nest is located in a sycamore tree just off one of the major trails at the wildlife refuge. Each year the authorities block off all of the nearby roads to allow the eagles to nest in peace. The final photo shows the tree in which the nest is located and the current barrier across the trail from which I took the first photo. A telephoto lens tends to compress distances, so it is hard to judge exactly how far away the tree is from the barrier—I estimate that it is about a hundred yards (91 meters).

I will continue to keep an eye on this nest and hopefully will manage to get a glimpse of some eaglets in the upcoming months. Last year I believe that there was only a single eaglet (check out my May 2020 posting entitled One little eaglet), although in past years there were often two eaglets (check out this April 2018 posting called Baby bald eagles for a look at two adorable little eaglets).

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Banner boy

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Bald Eagle, Canon 50D, Facebook, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 7, 2021| 36 Comments »

I really enjoy posting photos here on my blog because I have the freedom to post multiple images and spend as much time and text as I want talking about them—most other forms of social media have implicit or explicit limits on the content. I post a subset of my blog content on my personal Facebook page and in several Facebook groups.

Many of these Facebook groups are very specialized and are full of experts. I actually prefer to post to groups that are aimed more towards generalists who have a broad interest in nature and wildlife. One of my favorites is called “Nature Lovers of Virginia” and I was thrilled when one of my recent photos of a Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge was selected as the banner photo for the group for the month of March. The enclosed photo shows the banner photo as it looks in Facebook.

I take photos mostly for my own enjoyment, but do love to share them with others. It is a nice plus to get a little recognition from time to time.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Early-morning mood

Posted in Birds, Landscape, Nature, Patriotism, spring, wildlife, tagged Ardea herodias, Canon 50D, Great Blue Heron, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 7, 2021| 9 Comments »

Sometimes you cannot get your subject to cooperate in posing and sometimes it simply does not matter, especially when you are focused primarily on capturing the mood of the moment, rather than the anatomical details of the wildlife creature.

On a recent early-morning trip to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I spotted a distant Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) perched in a tree. The heron was facing away from me and appeared to be basking in the sun, trying to warm up a little after what had been a frigid night. The morning light was beautiful as it illuminated the interlocking grid of branches—in many ways that light became the main subject of this image.

There is a kind of abstract feel to this image that I really like, though it is quite different from most of the photos that I normally take. Somehow it recaptures for me the serenity of that early-morning encounter in a way that a detailed close-up shot would not have been able to do.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Sitting in a tree

Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Bald Eagle, Bald Eagle couple, Canon 50D, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 6, 2021| 21 Comments »

Do you remember what it was like to be so totally in love that you wanted to be physically close to the other person every single moment of every single hour? That was the first thought that came to mind when I spotted these two Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) close together in a tree last Tuesday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I tend to think of eagles as being fierce, powerful, and independent, but this image suggests that they also have a tender, vulnerable side as well.

Look into the eyes of the eagle on the right, which I believe is the male. Doesn’t he look like he is totally smitten, wide-eyed and in love? This stage of total infatuation often happens when you are young, though it can strike you at any time in your life. It brings to mind a playground chant of my youth that was designed to embarrass the persons named in the song. Do you remember the song?

Imagine these two eagles were named Chris and Mike. It would go like this:

Chris and Mike
Sitting in a tree
K-I-S-S-I-N-G!
First comes love
Then comes marriage
Then comes baby
In a baby carriage!

Can you imagine an eagle with a baby carriage? Let your creative imagination run wild. If I had skills as a cartoonist, it would be fun to make a drawing with this eagle couple pushing a baby carriage. Alas, I have no such skills, but would encourage any of you who possess those skills to take on the challenge.

Have a wonderful weekend.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Soft morning light

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, Winter, tagged Bald Eagle, Canon 50D, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, soft morning light, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 5, 2021| 15 Comments »

The early morning sun was still low on the horizon last Tuesday when I spotted this Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The light at this time of the day is so warm, soft, and beautiful that I desperately wanted to get a shot of the eagle.

There was, however, one big problem—the eagle was looking away from me and the view of the back of its head was not very attractive. So I watched and waited and watched some more. Finally, the eagle made a quick glance over its shoulder, smiled, and seemed to ask if I was now satisfied. I was.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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