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Archive for February, 2023

Will you be my friend?

Posted in Photography, Birds, Nature, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on February 28, 2023| 3 Comments »

As I was exploring a small pond last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I spotted a male Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris). Other than a few mallards at the other end of the pond, the Ring-necked Duck was all alone at the pond. I captured this image as the Ring-necked Duck swam up to a weathered mallard decoy and appeared to be trying to interact with it.

After a few moments without response from the mallard, the Ring-necked Duck slowly swam away, looking elsewhere for companionship. Perhaps he will have more luck with the turtles that were sunning themselves on the shore of the pond.

Ring-necked Duck

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Sitting on eggs?

Posted in Photography, Birds, Nature, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , on February 27, 2023| 2 Comments »

Over the last few weeks I have been seeing a lot of activity around three Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) nests at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. This past week I finally observed eagles hunkered down in two of the nests, which suggests to me there may finally be eggs in those nests. The third nest is so large and deep that it is impossible to see if there is an eagle (or even two) inside, especially if it is sitting on eggs.

The two nests in the photos below are fairly small, so you can just see the the top of the white head of the eagles. In both cases I was quite far from the nest when I captured my shots, so I really had to look carefully to see if there were any eagles visible in the nests. With a little luck, I’ll see eaglets in those same nests in the upcoming months and maybe I will be fortunate enough to get a few shots of them.

Bald eagle nest

Bald Eagle nest

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Beaver in February

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on February 26, 2023| 13 Comments »

It was only three o’clock in the afternoon, so I was a bit shocked on Thursday when I spotted this North American Beaver (Castor canadensis) at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I have only seen beavers at this wildlife refuge a couple of times in the past and it was always near dawn or dusk.

I managed to snap a few photos before the beaver dove into the shallow water, swam through a culvert under the trail, and disappeared into the deeper waters of the bay.

beaver

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Wading Wild Turkey

Posted in Photography, Birds, Nature, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , , on February 25, 2023| 8 Comments »

On Thursday I was thrilled to capture this shot of a Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) as he waded across one of the small streams at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Out of the corner of my eye I had caught a glimpse of the another Wild Turkey that had opted to fly over the stream a moment earlier, so I was prepared when this turkey emerged from the woods and slowly made its way across the stream.

During his crossing, the turkey flapped his wings from time to maintain his balance and to generate a bit of extra momentum, I suspect. In the image below, the turkey had almost reached the far bank of the stream. I like the sense of movement in the shot that is heightened by the open wings, the forward lean of the body, and the “beard” hanging away from the body.

Wild Turkey

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Cooperative Canvasback

Posted in Photography, Birds, Portraits, Nature, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on February 24, 2023| 1 Comment »

Yesterday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge I had a short portrait session with a handsome male Canvasback duck (Aythya valisineria). When I asked him to smile, he gave me a wide, openmouthed grin, as you can see in the first photo. I like the way that the informal portrait shows his black and white breeding plumage, his chestnut-colored head, and his striking red eyes.

The Canvasback needed a more serious shot for work, so we captured the profile image that you see below. Most of the time I have trouble convincing birds to pose for me, so it was nice to come upon this cooperative Canvasback.

Canvasback

Canvasback

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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An explosion of coots

Posted in Photography, Birds, Nature, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , , on February 23, 2023| 6 Comments »

One of my favorite trails at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge follows the shoreline. In many parts of the trail, vegetation partially blocks my view of the water, but there are also open areas that let me get clear shots of ducks and other waterfowl. As I was nearing one such open area on Tuesday the water suddenly exploded—I had spooked a flock of American Coots (Fulica americana) that had been feeding close to the shore.

I quickly brought my camera up to my eye and snapped off a few photos. When I reviewed the resulting images on my screen, I really liked the sense of motion that I had managed to capture in the coots and in the water. I decided not to crop the two photos below, so you can get a sense of what I was seeing when I looked through my camera’s viewfinder. Neither image is super sharp, but I think that the slight blurriness enhances the almost abstract “feel” of the photos.

What do you think?

American Coots

American Coots

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Turtles in February

Posted in Photography, Reptiles, Nature, wildlife, Winter, turtle, tagged , , , , , , , , on February 22, 2023| 1 Comment »

I was delighted yesterday to see that some of the turtles at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge were taking advantage of the spring-like weather to bask in the sun. I believe that the turtles spend most of their time in the mud at the bottom of the pond during the winter and in you can see mud still caked on the back of at least one of the turtles in the photo.

I think that the four turtles on the left are Red-eared Sliders (Trachemys scripta elegans) and the two on the right may be Painted Turtles (Chrysemys picta). I spotted a few small flies buzzing about yesterday, but it is almost certainly too early for my beloved dragonflies to appear. Several butterfly species, including the Mourning Cloak, overwinter as adults, so there is a chance that I will see one in the coming days.

turtles in February

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Changing angles

Posted in Photography, Birds, Nature, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , on February 21, 2023| 4 Comments »

Sometimes I am able to get shots of Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) when they are perched in the open, but most of the time I have an obstructed view of the eagle when I first spot it. I will then move as slowly and carefully as I can to a spot from which I have a somewhat clearer view of my subject. From that spot I will lean and twist and bend in an effort to find a visual tunnel through which I can see at least the head of the eagle—it is ok for me if the body is blocked by vegetation, but I really want to see the eyes of the eagle.

When you initially look at the two images of the eagle below, you may think that the second one is simply a cropped version of the first one. If you examine the little branches more closely, you will see that I took them from two different shooting angles.

I was a bit farther away when I captured the first image and my goal was to frame the eagle with the larger branches. In the second image, I had moved a bit closer to the eagle and was showing upwards toward it. This second angle provides a somewhat more intimate portrait of the eagle as it is nestled in among the small branches and spiky balls of the sweetgum tree.

I know that I am going to have a limited number of encounters with eagles, so I try to make each one “count” by taking shots from as many different angles as possible, never knowing for sure which photos will have the most impact until I review them later on my computer screen.


Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Eagle flight

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on February 20, 2023| 7 Comments »

My good luck with Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) this winter is continuing. Last Wednesday I was able to capture these images of an eagle in flight at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The eagle was flying from a nest to another perch and my camera was at my eye and ready as it flew by me.

I am pretty happy with these shots, but, of course, I’ll be returning to the refuge again and again with the hope of getting even better ones.

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Mockingbird and sumac

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , , on February 19, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Although there are increasingly signs that spring is on the way, we still are very much in the gloomy grip of winter. Somehow this rather monochromatic image of a Northern Mockingbird. (Mimus polyglottos) is a good match for the “feel” of this time of the year. I spotted this mockingbird last Wednesday as it was perched on a clump of sumac plants at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Most of the berries were already gone this late in the season, but the mockingbird managed to find a few. I captured this image as the mockingbird lifted its tiny prize upwards and prepared to swallow it.

Northern Mockingbird

 

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Heron in a tree

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , , on February 18, 2023| 2 Comments »

From time to time I spot a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) in a tree, but usually the heron is perched in a distant tree. On Wednesday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, however, I did not see the heron until I was almost underneath it. The heron was standing high in a tree that was overhanging the trail on which I was walking. The heron seemed a bit jittery, but instead of worrying about me, it kept glancing up in the sky—perhaps it was worried about the eagles that were flying about that day.

I captured a few images through the branches when I was below the heron and then moved past it a bit. I now had a slightly better view of the heron and was able to capture the final shot as the heron began to lift off from the tree.

Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Juvenile eagles at play

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on February 17, 2023| 5 Comments »

Last Thursday I enjoyed watching some juvenile Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) chase each other around in the waters off of Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. They were really far away, but I managed to capture this fun image of them in action, with some Bufflehead ducks in the foreground adding additional visual interest.

It is a little crazy to attempt such long-range shots. The images are not super sharp and the contrast is often lacking. If I were a professional, I’m pretty sure that I would not post images like this one that are not of the highest quality. However, I’m an amateur, which means that I don’t have to worry about reputation or marketablility—I feel free to post images that I judge to fun, cool, or interesting, like these shot of juvenile eagles at play.

juvenile bald eagles

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Titanic pose

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , , , on February 17, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Although it may look like this Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum) was trying to recreate the “I’m Flying” scene from the movie Titanic (with Jack and Rose on the bow of the ship), it was simply trying to dry its feathers. It baffles my mind a bit to think that a bird that spends most of its time in the water has feathers that are not waterproof. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, “They have less preen oil than other birds, so their feathers can get soaked rather than shedding water like a duck’s. Though this seems like a problem for a bird that spends its life in water, wet feathers probably make it easier for cormorants to hunt underwater with agility and speed.”

The little grouping of cormorants that I spotted last Thursday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge looks like a family to me, with two parents and a juvenile, judging from their poses. In case you are curious, the little duck in the left-hand corner is probably a scaup.

As most of you know, I like to include the Latin name for my subjects whenever possible. Some of my readers live in other countries and may encounter the same or similar birds and insects, but know them by their names in their own languages. Strange as it sounds, Latin becomes our common language. According to Wikipedia, the Double-crested Cormorant has a relatively new Latin name. “It was formerly classified in the genus Phalacrocorax, but a 2014 study supported reclassifying it and several American cormorant species into the genus Nannopterum. The International Ornithology Committee followed this classification in 2021.”

Double-crested Cormorant

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

 

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Protecting nesting eagles

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , on February 16, 2023| 2 Comments »

Recently I have featured a number of photos of Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and their nests. Some of the photos make it look like I am close to the nests, but in fact I took the photos from quite a distance away with a telephoto zoom lens. In mid-December each year, the authorities at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge put up barriers to keep people from disturbing the nesting eagles.

The first photo below shows one of the barriers. The tallest tree to the left of the road is where the eagle nest is located. If you read yesterday’s posting entitled Three eagle nests, you make recognize the nest as the one in the sycamore tree in the third photo.

This year, a sign was posted at each of the barriers that explains the potential negative impact of the close presence of humans on the eagles. Hopefully these signs will help deter visitors from walking past the barriers. I have been told that in past years trespassers have in fact been apprehended and have paid hefty fines.

bald eagle

Bald Eagle

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Three eagle nests

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , , on February 15, 2023| 1 Comment »

It is fascinating to compare the size and construction of these three Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) nests that I photographed last Thursday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The first nest is by far the largest and is one that I feature quite regularly in my blog, including in yesterday’s posting. The second nest is new this year and, according to some fellow photographers, may be a converted osprey nest.

In recent months I have not seen any eagle activity at the nest in the sycamore tree in the third photo, so was not sure if it was being used this year. I was therefore delighted when I spotted a bald eagle in the nest last week and watched as its mate also flew in and they both perched on one of the branches of the tree. Although this nest was used in previous years, I believe that there were no eaglets born in it last year. It appears that one of the supporting branches for the nest broke off a year or so ago, dumping part of the nest, which was never very large, onto the ground.

Bald Eagle nest

Bald Eagle nest

Bald Eagle nest

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Rising out of the nest

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , , on February 14, 2023| 6 Comments »

The sky was almost completely overcast last Thursday morning at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge and looked almost white in my photos, making some of my shots look like they were taken in a studio. Still, the uncluttered backdrop helps to draw the viewers attention to these cool images of a Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) as it took off from the very large eagle nest at the refuge. The final photo, taken with my iPhone a few days earlier, gives you an idea of the setting in which the nest is located—the photos make it look like I was a lot closer to the nest than I actually was.

I spotted eagles perched on or in three separate nests that day, a clear sign that nesting season is almost here. The fact that the eagles did not remain continuously in the nest suggests to me that they are not yet sitting on eggs. I will continue to monitor the nests and with a little luck I may be able to see some eaglets in the upcoming months.

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle

eagle nest

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Cormorant dispute

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , , on February 13, 2023| 7 Comments »

Last Thursday I observed an apparent territorial dispute between two Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) over a prime perch in the waters off of Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. A third cormorant seemed to be conflict-averse and had turned its back on the loud disagreement.

In many of my photos, the subjects are stationary and the resulting portraits may be pretty, but they are not very exciting. I love it when I am able to capture action, especially when it involves the interaction of multiple subjects. Images like this one tell a story or perhaps they tell multiple stories, depending on your interpretation of the elements in the image.

This image is kind of cool too, because of the pops of orange in the area surrounding the bills of the cormorants. The rest of the image is mostly monochromatic and the viewers’ eyes are inevitably drawn to those brighter colors.

Double-crested Cormorant

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Dropped fish

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , , , on February 12, 2023| 8 Comments »

Last Thursday I spent some time observing a juvenile Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge that, judging from the coloration of its plumage, I guessed was about a year old. The eagle unexpectedly dropped to water level and I saw a small splash, suggesting to me that it had caught a fish. I snapped off a couple of quick shots as the eagle took to the air, hoping to capture an image of the eagle and the fish. I was so far away, though, that I doubted that I had captured an in-focus shot of the action.

When I later reviewed my photos on my computer, I was shocked to discover that the eagle had dropped the fish and that a couple of my photos actually showed the fish in mid-air. Perhaps the eagle was inexperienced at fishing or was distracted by some of the other eagles in the area. Whatever the case, the eagle did not yet seem aware that it had lost the fish when I captured the first image. A split second later, the eagle looked down and saw the falling fish that, alas, it was unable to recover.

Like most other fishermen, this eagle now has a story to share with his friends of “the one that got away.”

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Point and shoot

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on February 11, 2023| 4 Comments »

Sometimes I am able to carefully compose my photos and ensure that I have the proper settings on my camera.  Frequently, though, I am forced to react instantaneously and merely point and shoot, with a primary goal of keeping my subject within the frame and hopefully in focus. Landscape and studio photographers may have the luxury of using  a slower, more deliberate process, but wildlife photographers rarely do.

On Thursday I spotted a tiny Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa) in a tree at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The kinglet, which is only about four inches (10 cm) in length, was frenetically moving from branch to branch and I had trouble tracking it in my viewfinder. Suddenly it dropped down to ground-level and was briefing in the open.

I reacted quickly and fired off a short burst of shots. Amazingly, one of them came out pretty well, the first image that you see below. Why do I say “amazingly?’ My Tamron 150-600mm lens was fully extended  to 600mm and the lens is supposed to be “soft” at that focal length. More importantly, the shutter speed was only 1/125th of a second. However, I was able to get away with such a slow shutter speed because I was using a monopod, which helped to steady my camera.

A slow shutter speed may have been ok for a stationary subject, but it was no match for a moving one. A split-second after the first image, I captured the second image below in which the kinglet is almost completely blurry, though the branch on which it is perched is still pretty sharp. Note, however, that one of the kinglet’s feet is still on the branch and is in focus. Apparently I capture the moment when the kinglet was starting to flap its wings, but had not yet pushed off from the branch.

Although I have referred to “my” technique as “point and shoot,” there actually is some pre-planning involved. I am familiar enough with my favorite wildlife refuge that I know which subjects are likely to be found in specific locations. I also try to pay attention to my camera settings and adjust them to the amount of light available to increase the chances of getting a proper exposure for my reactive shots.

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Golden-crowned Kinglet

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Raft of coots

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , , on February 10, 2023| 4 Comments »

On Monday I spotted a large raft of American Coots (Fulica americana) in the waters off of Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Some of the coots were clustered so tightly together that that it reminded me of the Metro at rush hour. Many of us seem to like a bit more “personal space,” but these coots did not seems to mind being shoulder-to-shoulder with each other. Do birds have shoulders?

I have no idea how many coots were in this group, but there seemed to be hundreds of them, as you can see in the second image. If you look closely at that photo, you may notice some other species, including some scaups, intermixed with the coots. The image is mostly made up of shades of gray, which make the brown tones of several of the ducks near the center of the frame really stand out.

I visited the same wildlife refuge yesterday and did not see a single coot—I guess they were just passing through our area.

American Coots

American Coots

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Distant eagle nest

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , , on February 9, 2023| 1 Comment »

Whenever I am walking on the trails at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I am always on the lookout for Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). At this time of the year especially I keep my eyes for signs of new eagle nests. At the moment, I am aware of three nesting sites on the refuge, although I am not sure if all three are being used this year.

On Monday I spotted the bright white head of a mature Bald Eagle in a distant tree. As I trained my long telephoto lens on the eagle, I noticed that it was perched just above what looked to be a nest. I moved a bit further down the trail to get a somewhat less obstructed view of the nest and looked carefully to see if I could spot an eagle sitting in the nest.

Although I was standing quite still and was partially hidden from view by heavy vegetation, the eagle seemed to sense my presence and took off. I was happy to be able to capture a couple of shots of the eagle as it was flying away.

This may be another new nesting site or it may be a view of one of the newest nest from a different angle than I usually see it. Several roads at the refuge are not closed to protect the nesting eagles, so there is really only one nest that I can monitor closely—the very large nest that I have repeatedly featured in blog postings.

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Canvasback ducks

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on February 8, 2023| 3 Comments »

There were lots and lots of ducks in the waters off of Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge on Monday, including this group of what look to be Canvasback ducks (Aythya valisineria), a species that I do not see very often. As the Cornell Lab of Ornithology notes, the Canvasback is a “diving duck that is gregarious during the nonbreeding season, forming large single-species rafts or mixing with Redheads and scaups. It dives underwater to feed on plant tubers, seeds, and clams.” If you look closely at the first photo, you can see several Canvasbacks in the process of diving as the group slowly swam by me in the deep waters of the bay.

Most of the ducks were quite far away and stayed with the group, but one of them came a little bit closer to shore. I am not certain what the duck was doing, but it was bending, twisting, and stretching its body, coming partially out of the water several times, as you can see in the second image. As the Canvasback was doing those “exercises,” a smaller Pied-billed Grebe swam into view in the background and I captured the third image—I love it when I can capture two different species in a single frame.

Canvasback ducks

Canvasback

canvasback

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Catwalk model

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on February 7, 2023| 4 Comments »

This Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) was slowly striding through the shallow water at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge when I spotted him yesterday afternoon. He seemed to have a swagger in his step, showing off like he was walking on a catwalk and knew how handsome he looked. I really liked his pose and posture and the cool reflection in the water was a nice bonus.

Great Blue Heron

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Kingfisher in the brush

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on February 6, 2023| 3 Comments »

During a visit in late January to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I was thrilled to spot a female Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon). The kingfisher was perched relatively in the brush a pretty good distance away and surprisingly did not seem to be aware of my presence. Normally kingfishers are really skittish and often fly away before I am within the range of my camera.

This kingfisher seemed to be a little distracted by a helicopter that was flying overhead and kept glancing upwards, as you can see in the second photo. The chestnut-colored stripe on the breast of the bird helps me to identify it as a female, because males have no such stripe.

Belted Kingfisher

Belted Kingfisher

Belted Kingfisher

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Eagle couple in a sweetgum tree

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on February 5, 2023| 2 Comments »

Most of the times when I see a Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) couple, one or more of the eagles is partially hidden from view. I spotted these two eagles in a sweetgum tree during a recent visit to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge and was delighted to see that I had an unobstructed view of both of them. Equally important for me was the fact that they were both at approximately the same distance from me, which meant that I could get them both in focus.

The eagles were alert and appeared to be surveying the landscape. I do not know for sure, but I suspect that the eagle on the right is the female, which tend to be larger in size than the male counterparts.

Bald Eagle couple

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Fluffy heron

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , , on February 4, 2023| 5 Comments »

During a recent visit to Green Spring Gardens, a county-run historic garden in my area, I spotted a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) that looked extra fluffy. I suspect that the heron had just fluffed up its feathers in an effort to stay warm.

Despite the cold weather, the heron was standing in the shallow water of a small, man-made pond, attempting to catch something to eat. The heron seemed to be carefully tracking some prey and plunged its beak into the water several times. During the time that I was observing it, however, the heron was unsuccessful in its fishing efforts.

Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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At water’s edge

Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on February 3, 2023| 2 Comments »

I love the way that the coloration of this Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) is an almost perfect match for the environment where I spotted it last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

Great Blue Herons are one of my most frequently photographed  subjects, especially during the winter months, and I am always looking for unique ways to capture images of them. From a technical perspective, this image is far from perfect, but its aesthetic appeal really pleases my eye—in addition to the colors, I really like the variety of textures in the photo..

Have a wonderful weekend.

Great Blue Heron

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Wings of an eagle

Posted in Birds, Nature, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , , on February 2, 2023| 6 Comments »

This Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) was perched just above the large nest last Tuesday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I was ready when the eagle started to extend its wings, as you can see in the first photo, and managed to capture a series of shots during its takeoff. The images show a variety of the wing positions used by the eagle to lift off and fly forward.

The wings of the eagle were so long that when it extended them upwards, the tips were out of the frame—note that the eagle’s feet were still on the perch in the second photo. When the eagle extended its wings fully to the side and moved upwards into the air, I once again was not quick enough to zoom out and clipped the tips of one wing in the third shot. The final two photos show some additional positions of the wings as the eagle continued to move away from its perch.

The day when I captured these images was an unusually fruitful one for me. I had multiple encounters with eagles and came away with some pretty good shots. As most wildlife photographers are well aware, those kind of day are quite rare, so I was happy to take advantage of my good fortune when the opportunities arose.

 

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Another eagle takeoff

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , , on February 1, 2023| 3 Comments »

I initially hesitated to post another sequence of shots of a Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) takeoff, given that I posted a similar set of photos in yesterday’s blog posting. However, I never tire of seeing eagles and I hope that you agree with me. Unlike yesterday’s eagle that flew downward and away from me, the eagle in these shots had a more level flight path and I was able to capture a couple of images as it zoomed past me.

Eagles are a tough subject to photograph because of the extreme contrast between the white feathers on their heads and the dark feathers on their bodies. If the exposure is too far off from what it should be, it is easy to blow out the highlights on the head or to have super deep shadows on the body, both of which lead to a loss of details. When I took these shots, the light was pretty bright, creating shadows that further complicated my efforts.

None of these images is quite as sharp as I would like them to have been, but I am pretty happy with the overall results. Eagles are special and I consider any day when I spot one to be a good day. Capturing shots of one is a bonus.

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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