Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Bald Eagle, Canon 7D, eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, vigilant eagle, Woodbridge VA on December 27, 2024| 5 Comments »
As I was exploring Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge last week, I spotted a Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) perched high in a sweetgum tree. The eagle seemed to be surveying the entire area, like a king keeping watch over his kingdom. I am pretty sure that he spotted me, but may have judged correctly that I was not a threat, and therefore the eagle remained in place as I passed on by.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Nature, Photography, Reptiles, turtle, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 7D, Chrysemys picta, Eastern Painted Turtle, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, painted turtle, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 26, 2024| 6 Comments »
Do turtles show affection? If so, how do they overcome the obstacle posed by their hard shells?
Last week on an unusually warm December day, I spotted two Eastern Painted Turtles (Chrysemys picta) sitting on a log in a small swampy pond at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. They were sitting pretty close to each other, which was not unusual given the small size of the log. What really struck me, though, was the way that they appeared to be rubbing the sides of their faces against each other.
Was this a sign of affection? It certainly seemed that way to me.
I’ve met people who appear to have as tough an exterior as these turtles. How do you reach people like that? Persistent small act of unrequited kindness may help to penetrate those barriers. For me, that is what Christmas is all about, an attitude towards others that lasts a whole lot long that a single-day celebration.
A belated Merry Christmas to all of you who celebrated yesterday and best wishes for a happy and healthy 2025 to you all.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Bald Eagle, Bald Eagle couple, Canon 7D, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 24, 2024| 5 Comments »
Last week I spotted a Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) couple perched near each other in a tree at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Although it is not quite nesting season here in Northern Virginia, the eagles were within eye sight of the large nest that you can see in the second photo below. It is hard to get a sense of the massive size of the nest from the photo, but it is so large that the eagles disappear from sight when they are sitting on eggs in that nest.
I suspect that the eagles will soon occupy that nest and, with a little luck, I hope to see some baby eagles in the next few months.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged American Goldfinch, Canon 7D, goldfinch, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Spinus tristis, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 19, 2024| 2 Comments »
The last time that I recall seeing an American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) was during breeding season, when the goldfinch was bright yellow in color. That breeding season is long gone and the plumage of goldfinches is a lot drabber in color. I spotted this goldfinch on Tuesday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge and captured this moment when the little bird was sticking out its tongue.
I am not sure if the bird was singing at the time or was merely clearing its throat. Whatever the case, it definitely was cool to be able to see the tiny tongue of the little goldfinch.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged Ardea herodias, Canon 7D, Great Blue Heron, heron, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 18, 2024| 16 Comments »
This last week or so, I have had several opportunities to capture “artistic” shots of Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias) at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. In these cases the heron was not actively engaged in fishing and was standing in the vegetation a bit removed from the water.
In the first two photos, I was struck by the beautiful light that was falling on the heron. I particularly like the heron’s pose in the first image in which the heron has his neck stretched out, giving him a very slim profile. In the final photo, the heron was partially hidden by the reeds and is much more hunched over in an effort, perhaps, to retain his body heat.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 7D, messy eater, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, white-throated sparrow, Woodbridge VA, Zonotrichia albicollis on December 17, 2024| Leave a Comment »
Are you a messy eater? Do you feel a need to constantly wipe your face with a napkin? Do you wonder if you have visible food stuck between your teeth? If you are like most people, you are very self-conscious about your appearance.
Birds, on the other hand, don’t seem to mind it when the remains of their last snack remain on their faces. Of course, the absence of mirrors and selfie cameras on cell phones probably makes them less aware of how they look or they simply don’t care.
Last week I spotted this White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge with some berry residue on its upper bill. Perhaps I merely caught the sparrow taking a momentary break from the feeding that seems to occupy the sparrows for most of their waking hours during the winter.
I felt an impulse to pull out a napkin to wipe this little sparrow’s face, but resisted that impulse and continued on my way, happy in the knowledge that the sparrow had been successful in finding something to eat.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Autumn, Photography, Urban, wildlife, tagged barge, Canon 7D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Potomac River, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 16, 2024| 3 Comments »
I confess that I know almost nothing about boats, so I was not sure what I was looking at when I spotted this enormous floating object in the Potomac River off of Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge last week. Eventually I figured out that it was a boat pushing some kind of barge up the river. It looked a bit like a tugboat, but instead of “tugging” the boat, it seemed to be pushing from behind.
I have seen the difficulties that some folks have in towing a trailer, so I can’t imagine how difficult it must be to steer something like this. Fortunately the tugboat seemed to be taller than the barge, so presumably the captain was able to see where he was going, and it appeared that he was able to stay on course pretty well.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in animals, Autumn, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 7D, Didelphis virginiana, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, opossum, Tamron 150-600mm, Virginia Opossum, Woodbridge VA on December 15, 2024| 4 Comments »
My mind was busy trying to identify the animal crossing the trail ahead of me on Thursday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, but my reflexes took over and I was able to capture these shots of what turned out to be an opossum (Didelphis virginiana), an animal that I rarely see. When I was doing a little research I learned that Virginia Opossums, also known as North American Opossums, are the only marsupial in the United States—most marsupials, including kangaroos, wallabies, and koalas, are found in Australia and New Guinea.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 7D, Cardinalis cardinalis, female Northern Cardinal, male Northern Cardinal, Northern cardinal, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 14, 2024| 1 Comment »
Most of the leaves have fallen from the trees by mid-December and the remaining birds have to work a lot harder to find food than in the warmer months. During a visit on Thursday to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I spotted a small group of Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) foraging among the colorful fallen leaves.
Unlike many other colorful birds that migrate out of our area, cardinals remain with us throughout the year, providing a pop of color in an often monochromatic winter landscape. Although the males, like the one in the final photo, are easier to spot, I often prefer the more subdued beauty of the females, like the one in the first photo.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Ardea herodias, Canon 7D, Great Blue Heron, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 13, 2024| 9 Comments »
Yesterday I watched a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) fishing at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. After an extended period of cold and cloudy days, it was a treat for both of us to be out in the somewhat warmer weather. Although the the heron was really focused on its task, its results were modest—the fish that it caught may well be the tiniest fish that I have ever seen a heron catch.
I am hoping that the heron was eventually more successful later in the day—it would take a lot of those tiny fish to satisfy its appetite.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged American Coot, Canon 7D, Fulica americana, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Oxyura jamaicensis, raft of coots, Ruddy Duck, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 9, 2024| 4 Comments »
At this time of the year I often see large groups of ducks, often referred to as “rafts” because the ducks gather so closely together, in the waters off of Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Frequently there are different species of ducks intermixed, though in my experience there is usually a dominant species.
In later November, I spotted a large group of American Coots (Fulica americana) during a visit to the refuge, as you can see in the first photo below. Coots are pretty easy to identify because of the shape and color of their bills. In addition to the coots, a number of Ruddy Ducks (Oxyura jamaicensis) were part of the raft. I encourage you to click on the image to get a better look at the individual birds.
Technically, coots are not ducks, though, because they have lobed rather than webbed feet. The coots that day were too far away for me to get a shot of their feet, so I am instead including a photo I took in April 2017 that shows those lobed feet and the coot’s distinctive red eyes.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Ardea herodias, Canon 7D, Great Blue Heron, Great Blue Heron fishing, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 3, 2024| 2 Comments »
Some birds, like the ospreys and Great Egrets, leave our area and migrate to warmer climates as winter approaches. Others, like Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias), remain with us and have to work harder to find food.
Last week I spotted a heron standing in the shallow water of one of the tidal ponds at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. In the past I have often seen herons wait patiently for extended periods of time to catch large fish, but this heron was content to strike often and pluck small fish from the water—every few minutes he would catch another fish, swallow it in a single gulp, and return to fishing.
I encourage you to click on the image to get a better look at the small fish in the heron’s bill and the visible spray of water droplets. I also really like the dynamism of the heron’s pose that suggests both the energy and the focus of the heron.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Bald Eagle, Canon 7D, eagle nest, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 2, 2024| 2 Comments »
It is still a little early for the Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) to begin nesting at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, but both members of an eagle couple were perched in a tree near a large nest last week when I visited the reserve. One of the eagles was partially blocked from view by the tree’s branches, but I was able to capture this image of the other one as it kept watch over the nesting site.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 