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River otter in marsh pond

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, beaver, Canon 50D, Canon 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens, Huntley Meadows Park, Lontra canadensis laxatina, Northern River Otter, otter on December 18, 2013| 21 Comments »

On Monday I was checking out what looked to be a beaver lodge at one of the ponds at my local marsh, when suddenly a head popped out of the water. It was not a beaver–it was a Northern River Otter (Lontra canadensis laxatina). I was amazed (otterly amazed, you might say), but had the presence of mind to capture the moment with my camera.

I had been told that otters occasionally had occasionally been sighted at the park and that very day I overheard part of a conversation about otter scat, but I never expected to actually see an otter myself. (The conversation revolved around some scat on the boardwalk, and how it was almost certainly from an otter, because of the fish scales and shells in in it).

The otter turned his head in all directions, surveying the situation. Then all too quickly, the otter submerged itself and swam away.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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The chase

Posted in animals, Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Canon 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens, deer, ducks, Huntley Meadows Park, white-tailed deer on November 27, 2013| 5 Comments »

I don’t often see deer in the daylight at my local marshland park, so I was a bit surprised last week when a doe came running out of the cattails and began to pick her way thought the ducks that were foraging in the shallow water. She was immediately followed by a smaller doe, who was also running.

What was going on? What had spooked these two deer? I didn’t have to wait long for an answer. A small buck emerged and started chasing the other two deer through the water.

I don’t know if they were just playing or if the buck had amorous intentions, but it gave me the chance to get a few shots of what passes as “big game” for me.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Five-legged horse

Posted in animals, Humor, Nature, Photography, tagged Abraham Lincoln, Canon 50D, Canon 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens, farm, five-legged horse, horse, virginia on October 27, 2013| 5 Comments »

“How many legs does a horse have if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn’t make it a leg.”

My apologizes to Abraham Lincoln for changing the animal from a dog to a horse in a famous quote attributed to him, but that was what came to mind when I first brought up this image of a horse that appeared to have five legs. The tail is so long that it just about touches the ground and it seems to be almost as rigid as the legs.

Of course, as some of you know, I am a product of the suburbs, so I am happy that I can identify this animal as a horse. Earlier in the day I saw two bulls with horns, but when I took a closer look, one of them seemed to have udders. When we stopped to photograph a farmhouse on the drive home, I could identify sheep and cattle, then suddenly a group of emus came running onto the scene accompanied by a llama (or maybe it was an alpaca).

Is it any wonder I find identifying domestic animals confusing?

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Neighborhood squirrel

Posted in animals, Humor, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Canon 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens, Eastern Gray Squirrel, gray squirrel, Runnymeade, Sciurus carolinensis, squirrel on October 27, 2013| 11 Comments »

The squirrels in my neighborhood are very busy now as they scurry about getting ready for winter. This particular Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) paused several times to enjoy a leisurely snack. Rather than devour the treat on the ground, he would leap up onto this posing stand and delicately nibble away. He almost seemed to be aware that I was photographing him and periodically would change his pose to give me a different look.

I guess that I lucked into photographing a squirrel with modeling experience (and great hair).

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Dogsitting on a Saturday night

Posted in animals, Dog, Photography, Portraits, tagged Canon 50D, Canon 50mm lens, Cocker Spaniel, dog, Freckles on October 19, 2013| 5 Comments »

Freckles is a year-old female Cocker Spaniel who is staying with me overnight while her owner is out of town. Freckles is usually very active, but she managed to sit still for a minute while I took some photos of her.

I used my 50mm lens for this shot (a lens that I should use more often) and I tried to get as close to eye-level as I could. I shot it at f/2.2, which blurred out the beige carpet of my dining room, though I did have to clone out a couple of objects in the background.

I am happy that I was able to capture some of Freckles’ beautiful coloration and I am sure that most viewers will agree that she is a very photogenic model.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Hungry beaver

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, beaver, Canon 50D, Canon 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens, Castor canadensis, gnawing, hungry, hungry beaver, Huntley Meadows Park, North American Beaver on October 14, 2013| 10 Comments »

Whenever I am at my local marsh near sundown, I like to hang around near the beaver lodge to see if I can spot the beavers. Often I can hear them gnawing on branches, but rarely do I get an unobstructed view of one of them.

This past weekend, though, I managed to be at the right spot at the right time and got this shot of a North American Beaver (Castor canadensis). It seemed smaller than the other one I saw that evening, so I wonder if this is a young one.

The light was fading as I took these shots and I had to push my ISO past 1000. Even so, the shutter speed was below 1/30 second, so I was happy that my camera was already on my tripod. I was kneeling on the boardwalk as I took these shots and was afraid that other people would approach and scare the beaver away. I was really happy when an approaching family with several small children saw what I was doing and sat down on the boardwalk and quietly watched the beaver in action.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Deer at dawn

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Canon 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens, dawn, deer, Huntley Meadows Park, Odocoileus virginianus, white-tailed deer on October 7, 2013| 10 Comments »

In the faint light and fog of the pre-dawn hour, I watched the shadowy forms of a small group of deer move slowly across an open area at my local marsh, heading for the treeline. My attempts to photograph them while they were moving were not successful. Once they reached the edge of the trees, however, this male White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) stopped for a moment and looked back at me. A moment later, he was gone.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Muskrat Sam

Posted in animals, Humor, Music, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, muskrat, Muskrat Love, Ondatra zibethicus, Tamron 180mm macro lens on August 22, 2013| 12 Comments »

Growing up in the suburbs of Boston, I was never exposed to muskrats and my first impression of them may well have come from the Captain and Tennille version of the song “Muskrat Love.” So every time I see one now, that song comes into my head and I think of Muskrat Susie and Muskrat Sam doing the jitterbug out in muskrat land.

This past Monday I came upon this little muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) at my local marsh as I was trying to get some shots of a Green Heron. I was on the boardwalk, maybe 18 inches (about 45 cm) or so above the level of the land and the muskrat was close enough that I was able to get this shot with my 180mm macro lens. Once it became aware of our presence, the muskrat slipped into the water and swam away, perhaps returning to Muskrat Susie.

One interesting note about “Muskrat Love” is that the Captain and Tennille chose to sing that song at the White House in 1976 at a bicentennial dinner that included Queen Elizabeth as a guest, according to Wikipedia. If you have never heard the song (or if you want to relive memories of your childhood), here’s a link to a YouTube version. In the introduction to the song, Toni Tennille describes an impassive Henry Kissinger during the performance at the White House (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBYV_7a0FQs).

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Under the boardwalk

Posted in animals, Music, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, beaver, Canon 50D, Castor canadensis, Drifters, Huntley Meadows Park, North American Beaver, Tamron 180mm macro lens, under the boardwalk on August 21, 2013| 8 Comments »

As the light was starting to fade this past Monday, I made one final trip along the boardwalk at my local marshland park and suddenly heard some loud chewing sounds coming from the cattails. Although I couldn’t immediately locate the source of the noise, I suspected that one or more of the beavers was out and about.

Slowly I crept forward until finally I caught sight of a North American Beaver (Castor canadensis), vigorously chewing on cattail stalks. My camera was already attached to my tripod, which was a good thing, because the shutter speed was pretty slow, even when I cranked up the ISO. I didn’t have a really clear line of sight to the beaver and the best that I could manage was the second shot below.

After a short while, some other folks came walking by on the boardwalk and spooked the beaver. The beaver stopped what it was doing, grabbed a piece of a stalk in its mouth, and began to swim in my direction. I did not have much time to react, because there was not much distance between the beaver and me.

The third image shows the beaver as it was headed toward me. I decided not to crop the photo to give you an idea of how close I actually was to the beaver. I was shooting with my Tamron 180mm macro lens for these shots, so I had a moderate amount of telephoto capability.

The first image, which is also uncropped, shows my final view of the beaver before it dove and swam away under the boardwalk. Those of us of a certain generation can’t help but think of the Drifters’ song when we hear those words “under the boardwalk,” sparking memories of the days of summers past.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Inquisitive muskrat

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Huntley Meadows Park, muskrat, Ondatra zibethicus on August 7, 2013| 17 Comments »

It has been a while since I featured a mammal in my blog, so I thought that I would post a photo of this little muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) that I encountered this past weekend at my local marsh. I observes muskrats there fairly often, but most of the time they are swimming away or are submerging themselves by the time my camera is ready.

This muskrat was poking about at the edge of a formerly inhabited beaver lodge when I first caught sight of him. He did not immediately perceive my presence, so I was able to creep close enough to him to get this shot using my 55-250mm zoom lens.

Unlike the beavers, which sleep during daylight hours, muskrats are active when it its light—in theory it should be easy to get a good shot of a muskrat. The reality, though, is that muskrats are small, fast, and elusive, so I have not yet been able to get many good shots of them.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Sweet dreams, little beaver

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged beaver, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Castor canadensis, Huntley Meadows Park, North American Beaver on July 22, 2013| 11 Comments »

To conclude my mini-series on the three local beavers who were temporarily flooded out of their lodge, I am posting an extreme close-up of one of them sleeping and a shot in which I zoomed out enough to show the entire body of a sleeping beaver.

This first shot is probably my favorite of the entire series. The beaver, of course, is really cute, but the slightly open mouth gives it an extra little whimsical touch of personality.

The second shot shows one of the beavers sound asleep, curled up in a ball, leaning against a stump. At the moment of the shot, the beavers were not snuggling as much as they would do a bit later (as in the first photo). I like the way in which you can see the beaver’s feet and tail in this image.

If you missed the earlier postings on my amazing close-up encounter with the three sleeping North American Beavers (Castor canadensis), check out my earlier postings—Snuggling beaver and Restive beaver. If you want to see a higher resolution view of the images (the first one has lots of fine details), click on the photos.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Restive beaver

Posted in animals, Humor, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged beaver, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Castor canadensis, Huntley Meadows Park, North American Beaver on July 19, 2013| 9 Comments »

Have you ever watched an animal sleep? I used to watch my dog sleep. He slept soundly, but sometimes a sound or a smell or a dream would wake him up. He would look around a little to reassure himself that all was well and then would put down his head and go back to sleep.

Yesterday, I did a posting on a trio of North American beavers (Castor canadensis) that had been temporarily flooded out of their lodge and were sleeping on dry land a short distance from their home. The general response to the photo in that posting was that the beaver seemed peaceful and content (and cute!) when sleeping.

Today, I am posting a few photos of the occasions when one of the beavers woke up and looked around, much like my dog used to do. This is actually not the same beaver that was featured yesterday, although part of this beaver was visible in the photo yesterday. This beaver was the one on which the other beaver was leaning as it snuggled.

The first photo shows a pretty alert beaver, leaning on a stump around which the beavers were sleeping. I like the details that you can see of the fur and of the front paw. I was on a boardwalk at my local marshland park when I took these photos and was looking slightly down at the beavers. I was so close that I did not even have to use the full length of my zoom lens and, for example, shot the first photo with my lens at a focal length of 135mm.

The second shot is somewhat similar to the first, but it shows part of the beaver’s tail. It was interesting to see how the beaver’s tail was tucked under the beaver when it was sleeping. I somehow had always assumed the tail was rigid—it seems to be reasonably flexible.

The final image today is not quite as sharp as the first two, but I like it because of the way that it shows both a front and back paw, as well as the tail. The beaver also has a tousled look and somehow unfocused eyes, looking a lot like most of us do when we first wake up.

I am still going over my photos and may post a few more, so stay tuned. I feel really lucky that I was able to see these beavers in this kind of situation in the wild and managed to capture it well enough in photos to be able to share part of the experience with all of you.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Snuggling beaver

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, beaver, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Castor canadensis, Huntley Meadows Park, North American Beaver on July 18, 2013| 24 Comments »

Last Friday, after some violent thunderstorms, I visited my local marshland park, where the staff alerted me that three beavers were sleeping on a patch of dry land near their lodge, which apparently had flooded. The three North American Beavers (Castor canadensis) were all snuggled together and reminded me a little of puppies. I am working up some more images, but thought that I would give a sneak preview of coming attractions.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Frankly, my deer…

Posted in animals, Humor, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, deer, Huntley Meadows Park on July 8, 2013| 6 Comments »

As I was walking along the boardwalk at my local marsh in the early afternoon of a very hot and humid day this weekend, I spotted a deer in the brush, my closest encounter with a deer in a long time.

Immediately I stopped, fearful that I would spook the deer. The deer was close enough that I figured that I could get a good shot. I was wrong. The strong, harsh midday light was coming directly from the side, and despite my efforts to adjust my settings, virtually all of my shots had one side of the deer’s face with blown out highlights and the other side in deep shadows. It might sound artistic, but it wasn’t.

I slowly began to move toward the deer, hoping to get a more favorable lighting situation, when, sure enough, the deer turned around and ran away from me. I thought that all was lost, but then the deer stopped and turned to look back at me. Somehow, the deer had moved to a spot where there was a little shade and I managed to get this shot.

Frankly, my deer, I don’t give a damn that you chose to move away from me—I love you more from a distance.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Muskrat Susie, Muskrat Sam?

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon Rebel XT, Huntley Meadows Park, muskrat, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on March 31, 2013| 5 Comments »

I am old enough to remember the 1977 Captain and Tenille hit song “Muskrat Love,” but inexperienced enough with muskrats not to know if the one that I photographed yesterday is a male or female.

I’ve had the chance to get photos of muskrats in the past, but the muskrat has always been swimming in the water or had been a long way away. Yesterday I came across this as he was eating no more than six to eight feet from where I was standing.

I had my long telephoto on my camera and had to back way down from the 400mm end of the zoom to get this frame-filling shot. I should have been able to get more good shots, but I didn’t notice at the time that my shutter speed was approximately 1/100 of a second and most of my images are blurred. It’s ironic that I had the chance for a close-up at a moment when I had replaced my image-stabilized lens for one with greater reach (but no stabilization).

Still, I got a pretty good shot that captured many of the muskrat’s details, so I am content (until the next time).

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Really wild life in Georgia

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, Travel, wildlife, tagged armadillo, Augusta GA, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Dasypus novemcinctus, Nine-banded Armadillo, Phinizy Swamp Nature Park on March 17, 2013| 23 Comments »

Today I visited the Phinizy Swamp Nature Park in Augusta, GA, hoping that I might see an alligator. Although I did not spot an alligator, I did encounter this Nine-banded Armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) in the Park. (You can actually count the nine bands).

Initially the armadillo was rooting about in the grass and he startled me a bit when he stood up. I was close to ground level and was looking through my telephoto lens, which made the movement seem a little threatening.

I was surprised to see an armadillo in Georgia—I tend to associate them with places like Texas and Oklahoma—but apparently their range is expanding. Information on the internet suggests that armadillos are mostly nocturnal and come out around dusk. I have no idea why this one chose to be out in the middle of the day.

I may post some other photos of the armadillo, but I thought that this pose was unusual enough to justify posting an image immediately.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Muskrat grooming

Posted in animals, Humor, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Huntley Meadows Park, muskrat, Ondatra zibethicus on March 4, 2013| 1 Comment »

I am not absolutely sure what this muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) was doing when I took these photos yesterday, but it look to me like he was grooming himself.

I really like the way that you can see his two little front paws in the first photo—he almost looks like he is praying. In the second photo, it appears that he is rubbing something onto his cheek. Was he putting on make-up because he knew that I was photographing him?

I don’t know the beauty secrets of muskrats, but maybe rubbing cattails on your face helps to reduce wrinkles.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Hungry muskrat

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Huntley Meadows Park, marsh, muskrat, Ondatra zibethicus on March 4, 2013| 6 Comments »

Yesterday was the first time that I was able to get some shots of a muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) out of the water, eating and grooming.

The muskrat was at the edge of a patch of cattails that grow in the middle of the beaver pond at my local marshland park and I actually heard his feeding sounds before I was able to see him. He was a pretty good distance away, but the late afternoon sun illuminated the scene from the left and provided enough light for me to focus the camera.

I am going through the other shots that I was able to snap off before he slid into the water, but thought I’d share this image of the muskrat chewing on what looks to be a cattail stalk. I like the way in which the cattails help to frame the image, rather than block the view, which is usually the case.

I went to the marsh yesterday with the hope of getting some photos of the beavers, which did not make an appearance while I was there, but I ended up with something a bit better—one of the serendipitous joys of photographing wildlife.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Cheetahs at the National Zoo part 2

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, zoo, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, cheetahs, National Zoo, Washington D.C., zoo on February 21, 2013| 4 Comments »

I don’t manage to go the zoo very often, but when I do, I tend to spent a lot of time with the cheetahs. There is something about cheetahs that I find irresistible, their combination of beauty and power, of strength and speed. In the largest enclosure in the cheetah exhibit area, there are normally three or four male cheetahs and they are the ones that I usually observe.

Last September I did a posting about the cheetahs at the National Zoo and this is an update of sorts. This past weekend I tried to concentrate on taking shots of the cheetahs in action. This was a challenge for a few reasons. It was late afternoon and the light was starting to fade and there were limited angles for the shots and some of the backgrounds were very undesirable.

I did finally manage to get some shots that I like, although I have trouble deciding which one is my favorite—I like each of them for slightly different reasons.

I’ll let you decide for yourself which one you like most.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Otterly adorable

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, zoo, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Lontra canadensis, National Zoo, North American River Otter, otter, river otter, Washington D.C. on February 19, 2013| 12 Comments »

The American Trail is one of the newest and coolest exhibit areas at the National Zoo, highlighting North American wildlife, including the North American Beaver (Castor canadensis), that I featured in an earlier post, and the North American River Otter (Lontra canadensis), pictured here.

When I arrived, the zookeepers were spreading food all throughout the area inhabited by two otters. It was a lot of fun to watch the otters scurrying about, searching for the food. They were incredibly energetic and curious (and difficult to capture in a photo).

This is my favorite shot, because I think that it does a good job of expressing some of the otter’s essential traits.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Female lions at the National Zoo

Posted in animals, Humor, Nature, Photography, Portraits, zoo, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, lion, lioness, National Zoo, Washington D.C. on February 18, 2013| 7 Comments »

I don’t know where the male lions were this weekend when I visited the National Zoo, but there were three or four female lions and it was fun to watch them play together.

I tried to get a group photo, but they were about as cooperative as kids, with one of them turning her back and another sticking out her tongue.

After a while they seemed to get bored with me and I caught one of them in a big yawn.

I wanted very much to get an action photo, but the lions seemed content to lounge around together. This is the closest thing I got to an action photo. I like it a lot, even though it is not super sharp, primarily because of the body position and the angle of the shot.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Supplementing a beaver’s diet

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, Portraits, zoo, tagged beaver, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Castor canadensis, National Zoo, North American Beaver, Washington D.C. on February 18, 2013| 2 Comments »

To supplement their diets, the beavers at the National Zoo in Washington D.C. get crunchy vegetables like carrots and corn.

I had the chance to watch them eat this past weekend and took some fun photos of one of the beavers munching away on part of an ear of corn. This beaver, a female named Willow, was able to manipulate the corn really easily with her front paws and seemed to enjoy each bite as she slowly consumed the entire piece of corn.

I watched some videos on photographing animals at a zoo before this shoot and followed some of the tips, like shooting close-ups and paying attention to backgrounds. I did not, however, switch to shutter-priority mode, as suggested, but kept the camera in aperture-priority mode. I may have lost a few shots, because the shutter speed was too slow, but I was able to get decent results by using a more familiar approach.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Interrupting a catnap

Posted in animals, Photography, Portraits, zoo, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, catnap, cheetah, National Zoo, Washington D.C. on February 17, 2013| 4 Comments »

The clicking sound of my shutter caused the napping cheetah to raise his head yesterday afternoon and look directly at me. He didn’t move the rest of his body at all, but stared intently at me for a minute or so. Reassured, he laid his head down again in his den and resumed his nap.

I visited the National Zoo yesterday and took photos of a number of different animals that I will share later, but I wanted to share this one immediately. I like the cheetah’s expression and the positioning of the head and body. The darkness of the den really helps to showcase the beauty of the cheetah (and fortunately for me the cheetah was at the front of the den where natural light illuminated his face).

National Zoo does a good job in taking care of the animals there and, as is the case with the cheetahs, in working to ensure the survival of animals with a limited gene pool. For me, it is enjoyable to visit the different animals and to practice my photography skills to show the animals in the best possible light.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Muskrat food resupply

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Huntley Meadows Park, muskrat, Ondatra zibethicus on February 8, 2013| 1 Comment »

On a cold, windy day I was looking out into the beaver pond, when suddenly my eyes detected movement. Initially, it looked like some debris on the surface was being blown about, but gradually it became apparent that the little pile of debris was headed toward me. Uncertain of what I was looking at, I focused my camera on the unknown material and began to shoot.

Eventually, I realized that what I was seeing was a muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) swimming, pushing along some plants and what looks like some berries. My guess is that he had gone out to gather food and was returning home with the results of his efforts. You can get a better what he is transporting if you click on the photos.

The muskrat was putting so much effort into swimming on the surface that he did not seem to notice me until he was pretty close. By then, however, he was almost home, so he would have had to go underwater anyways.

I don’t know enough about what muskrats eat to hazard a guess about what exactly the muskrat was carrying across the water, but hopefully it looked more tasty to him than it does to me.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Quite a mouthful

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Eastern Gray Squirrel, Huntley Meadows Park, squirrel on February 7, 2013| 9 Comments »

Although this looks like a fall shot, with the faded leaves still on the trees and the squirrel gathering materials to insulate his nest, I took the photo this past weekend.

When I first saw the squirrel, I couldn’t figure out what he had in his mouth, but I could see that it was bigger than the acorns on which I usually see squirrels gnawing. With our recent cold weather, I thought that perhaps the squirrel had become an omnivore and had snatched up a field mouse or other such creature to supplement his diet.

The reality is much more benign. It looks like he is merely gathering materials for his nest. According to Wikipedia, one of the breeding seasons for the Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) runs from December to February. It is likely that the activity that I photographed is related to preparations for the potentially imminent arrival of baby squirrels, which normally are born in February or March (or May to June).

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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My local beaver lodge

Posted in animals, Architecture, Landscape, Nature, Photography, tagged beaver, boardwalk, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Castor canadensis, Huntley Meadows Park, lodge, North American Beaver on February 5, 2013| 4 Comments »

If you look carefully at this photo you can see why I am able to take photos of the local beavers—when I am standing on the boardwalk I am virtually on top of their lodge in the center of the beaver pond.

About 18 months ago, the county replaced the boardwalk surface at Huntley Meadows Park with a synthetic material and shortly thereafter the beavers relocated themselves from another area of the park. I am not sure how the beavers decided on this spot, but they took over one of the benches on the boardwalk and integrated it into their architectural plans. This fall I followed their progress as they added mud and branches to the lodge and built up the walls surrounding the beaver pond.

The entrance to the lodge seems to be underneath the board walk itself and the recent photos I have taken of the beavers and muskrats have been in the pond area to the right. This is also one of my favorite spots for photographing geese and ducks taking off and landing and, during the summer, for getting shots of dragonflies, frogs, and turtles.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Emerging from the icy waters

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged beaver, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Castor canadensis, Huntley Meadows Park, ice, icy waters, North American Beaver on February 5, 2013| 1 Comment »

I was fortunate enough this past weekend to be present as one of the beavers at my local marsh first emerged from the icy waters of the beaver pond and got a series of shots of that process.

It was late in the afternoon and a thin layer of ice covered the small area of open water that the beavers had cleared about 30-35 feet (9-10 meters) from their lodge. I could hear some activity in the beaver lodge and then I saw the shadow of a beaver swimming toward the hole in the ice.

When he reached the opening, the beaver stuck his head out of the ice and then more of his body. The beaver never did come out of the water completely, but seemed content to breathe in the cool, fresh air. From what I have been able to learn, the inside of the beaver lodge is pretty crowded and the air probably gets fetid, which may explain why fresh air was the beaver’s first priority.

I like all three of these shots, but the third one is my favorite. The beaver’s position is especially interesting, as he tips his head back and arches his back a little, as if to let in even more fresh air.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Swimming muskrat

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Huntley Meadows Park, muskrat, Ondatra zibethicus, swimming on February 4, 2013| 6 Comments »

In my last posting, there were photos of what might have been a muskrat or maybe a beaver—this time I know it is a muskrat, because I can see its skinny tail.

I watched as this muskrat ferried back supplies of what I assume is food from the cattail field to the area where he lives. I was standing on a boardwalk and was able to photograph him from above as he swam right toward me. Because of the size of the stalk he was carrying, he swam mostly above water, rather than swimming under water as he normally does.

Once he got closer to me, he dove and I lost sight of him.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Possible muskrat on ice

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Huntley Meadows Park, ice, muskrat, Ondatra zibethicus on February 4, 2013| 3 Comments »

On days when I am trying to get photos of the beavers at my local marshland park, I sometimes see muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) swimming in the beaver pond. The muskrats seem to be swimming from the direction of the beaver lodge so often that I wonder if they are sharing the lodge with the beavers.

Today, there was a thin layer of ice on the beaver pond, but the muskrats had created an open-water channel that they seemed to be using to get to the cattails, one of the foods they eat. Frequently the muskrats will dive and swim away when they become aware of my presence.

Today, however, I was able to get a couple of shots of what I think is one of the muskrats partially out of the water on the ice. It was getting close to sunset and the animal was some distance away, so my photos ended up a a bit grainy and soft. The more I look at the photos, the more I am conflicted about whether this is a large muskrat or a small beaver. Since I haven’t seen a muskrat out of water, I am not sure about its body shape.

Whatever he is, I especially like the pose of the animal in the first image. In the second shot, he almost looks like he is praying—it was a Sunday, after all.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Breaking through the ice from below

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged beaver, breaking through the ice, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Castor canadensis, Huntley Meadows Park, ice, North American Beaver on January 30, 2013| 9 Comments »

The beaver had disappeared from the small open water area of the ice-covered beaver pond. Wondering if he would resurface, I stood in silent readiness with my camera still in my hand.

My eyes were focused on one area of the pond, but my ears detected a sound emanating from another location near the edge of the pond. Somehow I knew instantly what was about to happen—the beaver was about to achieve a breakthrough. The light had faded a bit and I couldn’t see well enough to focus perfectly, but I aimed at the source of the sound and got this shot of the beaver poking his head through a newly-created hole in the ice. From this perspective, it looks like the beaver is pretty small.

As I watched, the beaver placed his front paws on the ice, which appeared to be able to support his weight, and gradually pulled his body out of the water. Naturally, the small hole became a lot bigger as his large body came increasingly into view.

After the beaver was completely out of the water, he bent down over the opening that he had just created. Perhaps he was trying to decide if he needed to enlarge it further or was trying to free a tasty-looking stick from the ice. It almost looks to me, though, that he is peering into the water, wondering if one of his fellow beavers is going to be popping up to join him.

The beaver did not linger long at the new location. After a few seconds on the “outside,” he dove back into the icy waters of the pond.

There are few moments in life that are truly “once-in-a-lifetime” experiences, ones that would be impossible to replicate, but I have the sense that this was one of them. So many things had to work together to make these photos happen—the timing, the location, and the ice, to name a few.

It is supposed to get up to 70 degrees (21 degrees C) today and the ice will almost certainly be gone by the time I am able to return to the marsh this weekend. Perhaps I will get to observe the beavers eating or working or playing or maybe they will remain in the lodge. In either case, I can be happy, knowing that we shared a really special moment together.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Cute while eating

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged beaver, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Castor canadensis, Huntley Meadows Park, North American Beaver on January 29, 2013| 6 Comments »

Who knew that a beaver could be so cute while he is eating?

I am still working on putting together a series of photos of the local beavers, but thought I’d post another one of my favorite images in the interim. I was surprised that the beaver did not notice me (or simply didn’t care) when I was taking this photo. Not only was I looking straight at him, but I also got as close to the level of the ice as I could to get this low-angle shot.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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