Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Ardea herodias, Canon 7D, Great Blue Heron, heron, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 18-400mm on August 14, 2025| 4 Comments »
On Monday I spotted this Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) on a stump in the middle of a pond at Huntley Meadows Park. The heron seemed to be fully attentive and somehow his pose struck me as regal, like that of a monarch surveying his kingdom. The wonderful reflections in the pond added additional visual interest to the image that I was able to capture.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Summer, wildlife, tagged Ardea herodias, Canon 7D, Great Blue Heron, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, standing on one leg, Tamron 18-400mm, Woodbridge VA on July 30, 2025| 8 Comments »
When it is really hot outside, birds try to avoid direct sunlight, like this Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) that I spotted last week during a visit to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The heron was relaxing in the vegetation at the edge of a small pond and appearing to be standing on a single leg, with the other leg probably tucked under.
In the winter months, I often see herons using this position as a way of conserving body heat, which obviously was not needed on this hot, humid day, so I am wondering if the “missing” leg was simply hidden by the vegetation.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, counted cross stitch, Nature, owl, Photography, wildlife, tagged 100 Owls, Asio otus, counted cross stitch, cross stitch, Gray Owl, Just Cross Stitch magazine, Long-eared Owl, owl, Owl Forest Embroidery, Strix nebulosa on July 22, 2025| 16 Comments »
During the past couple of months the weather has frequently been inhospitable for wildlife photography, either hot, humid, or rainy (or some combination of those three conditions). Some times in the past I have gone out anyways with my camera, but this year I have been increasingly staying indoors.
What have I done to keep myself occupied? During the mid-1980’s I was introduced to counted cross stitch. One of my friends used to stitch quite often and I commented to her that someday I should try it myself. I was a bit shocked the next time I saw her when she gave me a pattern, a needle, an a cross stitching kit. When I was growing up, I remember my Mom cross stitching some pillow cases, with the pattern printed onto the fabric. This “new” version that I was introduced to was counted cross stitch, i.e. the fabric was blank and I had to replicate the pattern with a series of x’s in the designated colors.
I discovered that I really liked this new hobby and found it to be both creative and therapeutic. I continued to cross stitch regularly throughout the late 1980’s and 1990’s. Cross stitching seemed to be really popular at that time and I remember subscribing to multiple cross stitching magazines (and accumulating a lot of cross stitching patterns and materials).
My life style changed when I retired from the Army in 1997 and my attention shifted to other aspects of my life. I gradually stopped cross stitching completely, though I never did get rid of my “stash.”
I returned to stitching a few years ago after I finally stopped working and had a bit more free time. Several ladies from my church work at a wonderful local needlework store called “In Stitches” that focuses exclusively on needlepoint and counted cross stitch and they encouraged me to get more involved in activities there, including stitching nights twice a month.
I’m discovering that cross stitching has had a kind of resurgence in recent years and there are numerous FlossTube channels on YouTube in which stitchers of all sorts showcase their works in progress (WIPs) and completed projects. More recently I’ve been involved with a number of cross stitching channels on Twitch. I used to think that Twitch was only for gamers that wanted to watch others play video games and only recently learned that there is a whole series of “Makers and Crafters” channels in which you can watch others working on their own projects and chat with them as they do.
On one of the Twitch channelsI was watching, the streamer @TheDaceman0 was working on a sampler called 100 Owls by Owl Forest Embroidery. I loved the pattern, which is available as a free download here, but did not want to commit to stitching all 100 Owls. I started with the Long-eared Owl (Asio otus) in the second photo below and recently stitched the Great Gray Owl (Strix nebulosa) that you see in the first photo below.
As you can see, my wildlife interests are sometimes reflected in the subjects of my stitching as well as in my photography. Last year I happened to stitch yet another owl pattern, shown in the third photo below, that was a bit more stylized and was included in the Halloween edition of Just Cross Stitch magazine. It’s fun to rediscover a dormant hobby and to see how it has evolved during the period when I was inactive. There are now a lot more options for fabrics and threads than in the past, but, for the moment at least, my tastes have not changed and I continue to use the same materials and techniques that I used in the 1980’s and 1990’s.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, flycatcher, Great Crested Flycatcher, Myiarchus crinitus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 18-400mm, Woodbridge VA on June 17, 2025| 2 Comments »
Earlier in June I spotted this cool-looking bird at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I am not really sure what species it is, but I think it might be a Great Crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus). The bird was mostly hidden in the foliage, but I managed to get a couple of reasonably clear shots of it.
I love the wash of yellow on its belly that gradually fades into the gray of its throat. There are a few other birds in the flycatcher family that are somewhat similar in appearance, so I could be off in my identification, but this is the one that most closely matches the descriptions and images in my identification guides.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, Summer, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Icteria virens, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 18-400mm, Woodbridge VA, Yellow-breasted Chat on June 10, 2025| 5 Comments »
Last Monday I spotted this beautiful Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria virens) at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I thought that this was my first encounter with this bird species, but a search of my previous blog postings revealed that I got some long distance shots of one in 2022.
Many of the migrating warblers that are passing through my area have various yellow markings, so I assumed that this was simply another warbler. The reality, however, is hardly simple. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, “The Yellow-breasted Chat has always been a mystery to taxonomists—it looks similar to warblers but is larger, with a more varied repertoire of songs and calls, and also has other differences in behavior and anatomy. The species was placed in the warbler family (Parulidae) for decades, but in the late 2010s was given its own family (Icteriidae), in recognition of these differences.”
If that were not confusing enough, the name “chat” is used for a number of different birds throughout the world. According to Wikipedia, “Chats (formerly sometimes known as “chat-thrushes”) are a group of small Old World insectivorous birds formerly classified as members of the thrush family (Turdidae), but following genetic DNA analysis are now considered to belong to the Old World flycatcher family (Muscicapidae). The name is normally applied to the more robust ground-feeding flycatchers found in Europe and Asia and most northern species are strong migrants.”
All of this scientific explanation leaves me utterly confused. The only thing I know for sure is that the Yellow-breasted Chat that I photographed was a real treat for me—its bright yellow color immediately brought a smile to my face and lifted my spirits. For me, that is more than enough—I’ll leave the arguments about taxonomy and classification to others.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged American Redstart, Canon 7D, immature American Redstart, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Setophaga ruticilla, Tamron 18-400mm, Woodbridge VA on June 9, 2025| 4 Comments »
When I photographed this bird last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I really had no idea what it was. Some aspects of its overall coloration reminded me a little of a Tufted Titmouse, but its shape and size were not right. Its mottled and patchy color suggested to me that this might be an immature bird and I wondered if it might be some kind of warbler.
When I returned home I searched though my identification guides and looked at lots of photos on-line and concluded that this was probably an immature male American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla). Some folks on Facebook confirmed my identification, which was helpful, considering that I had never before seen this species. As I suspected, this Redstart is a New World warbler—apparently there is also an Old World Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros) that is completely unrelated to the one that I spotted.
Each spring I am absolutely delighted to find any warblers at all. Often I hear the warblers singing in the leafy trees, but only rarely do I manage to catch a glimpse of their beauty.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Osprey, osprey mating, osprey nest, Pandion haliaetus, Tamron 18-400mm, Woodbridge VA on May 22, 2025| Leave a Comment »
When I first spotted two Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) sitting in a large eagle nest last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I assumed that one of them was sitting on eggs. I was therefore a bit surprised when one of the ospreys mounted the other in what I assume was an act of mating. That suggests that there are not yet any eggs in the nest.
After a brief period of activity, the one that is probably the male flew away from the nest and I managed to capture a couple of photos of his departure. Both of the ospreys are in the frame in the second and third photos below and I really like the way that I captured the wing span of the departing osprey and his spread tail feathers. I encourage you to click on these two images to get a closer look at the ospreys, particularly the male.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged American Goldfinch, Canon 7D, goldfinch, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Spinus tristis, Tamron 18-400mm, Woodbridge VA on May 20, 2025| 9 Comments »
As I have noted in several recent posts, I have real troubles spotting birds when the trees are fully leafed out. In other seasons, when the trees are bare, birds tend to fly to new perches when they detect my presence and I can often track them when they are in flight and follow them visually to their new perches. Now, however, the birds seem to remain in place and sing loudly, but remain invisible to my eyes.
Last week I managed to capture an image of an American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) when he popped into view momentarily outside of the tree canopy at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The little goldfinch was visible for only a short period of time, but fortunately I was looking in the right direction at that moment.
Later in the day I spotted another goldfinch perched in a distant tree. For some reason, the tree had no leaves, so it was easy for me to see the bird. I grabbed a shot and tried to move a little closer, but the bird could see my movement and immediately flew away. I hesitated to post the second photo below, because the bird is so small in the frame, but decided that I really liked the contrast between the bright yellow of the bird and the starkness of the branches and the white sky, a nice counterpoint to the lushness of the vegetation in the first photo.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Bald Eagle, bald eagle takeoff, Canon 7D, eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 18-400mm, Woodbridge VA on May 19, 2025| 12 Comments »
As I rounded a bend in a trail last Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I spotted a Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) in the foliage of a tree right in front of me. The eagle and I both reacted instantly, but its reflexes were faster than mine and the eagle took the air. I managed to capture a few shots of the departing eagle, a testament to both my luck and a quick reaction in bringing my camera up to my eye.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, cormorant, Double-crested Cormorant, Nannopterum auritum, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 18-400mm, Woodbridge VA on May 13, 2025| 1 Comment »
The feathers of Double-crested Cormorants (Nannopterum auritum) are not completely waterproof, so periodically they have to dry out their wings. I often see cormorants completely out of the water, perched on rocks or logs with extended wings. This cormorant last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge apparently decided, however, that a perch was not necessary—it simply spread its wings in the air and held them in that position.
A bit earlier I captured the second image below. Usually I see cormorants in the deep waters of the bay, but this cormorant was in a small pond at the wildlife refuge. The pond is mostly surrounded by trees that are now in bloom and I was happy to capture some of the colors of the trees in their reflections on the surface of the water.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Meleagris gallopavo, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 18-400mm, Wild Turkey, Woodbridge VA on May 10, 2025| Leave a Comment »
The trees are now covered with leaves, providing hiding places for the tiny songbirds that I can hear but cannot see. Fortunately, some birds are so big that it is hard to miss them, like this Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) that I spotted this past Wednesday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
This turkey was slowly walking away from me and I captured this shot when he was in motion. I don’t think that a Wild Turkeys can balance themselves on a single leg when stationary, though perhaps there is a special kind of turkey yoga that enhances their balancing abilities.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Bald Eagle, bald eagle nest, Canon 7D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Osprey, Pandion haliaetus, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on April 17, 2025| 5 Comments »
Earlier this season, it looked like a pair of Bald Eagles had occupied a large nest at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Each time that I visited the refuge, I would check the nesting site to look for indications that an eagle was sitting on eggs. Unfortunately, the nest is so deep and so high up that it is almost impossible to tell if an eagle is inside of the nest.
Last week, I watched a pair of Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) fly into the nest and seize it and captured this shot of them doing so. Generally ospreys use much smaller, thrown-together nests, but I guess that this pair decided to advantage of what I assume is a currently unoccupied eagle nest.
As I watched the two ospreys approach the nest with dangled legs, I couldn’t help but think of the scenes from the Wizard of Oz movie in which the flying monkeys seized Dorothy. The mind works in strange ways.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, warbler, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Setophaga dominica, Tamron 150-600mm, warbler, Woodbridge VA, Yellow-throated Warbler on April 12, 2025| Leave a Comment »
This Yellow-throated Warbler (Setophaga dominica) was pretty far away when I spotted its little patch of bright yellow feathers this past Tuesday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I doubted that I would be able to get a recognizable shot of it, but decided to take a chance, given that it was the first warbler that I had seen this spring. The resulting shot won’t win any contest, but I am happy that I was able to document my sighting.
Warblers pass through my area each spring at about the same time as the leaves begin to appear on the trees. It can be a bit frustrating for me to be able to hear some of these little birds without being able to see them when they are hidden in the foliage. It is a little game of hide-and-see that I play every year and this time I was able to capture a shot of one of my colorful fellow players.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Agelaius phoeniceus, blackbird, Canon 7D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Red-wing Blackbird, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on April 7, 2025| 1 Comment »
I have been hearing a lot of Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) during recent visits to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge and was delighted to finally capture a shot of one last week that shows the distinctive yellow and red shoulder patch of the males of his species.
I was hoping that the blackbird would fly to some lower branches, but he seemed content to perch high above me in a tree. I was pleased, though, to be able to capture this fun little portrait—it is tough to convince birds to pose for me.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Cardinalis cardinalis, male Northern Cardinal, Northern cardinal, Prince William County VA, Tamron 18-400mm on March 31, 2025| 9 Comments »
I spotted this male Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) as he was hopping around on the ground near a stream last week in Prince William County, Virginia. I was delighted when the cardinal bent over and drank briefly from the shallow water. In the first photo, I captured the moment when the cardinal lifted his head and dribbled a few drops of water from his mouth.
It seemed like the cardinal suddenly became aware of my presence and realized that my previous photo might not have been very flattering, which is usually the case when you snap a shot of someone eating or drinking. He then struck a profile pose for me to show his better side. Note the slight tilt of the head that helps to present a slimmer neck—clearly this cardinal had some previous experience as a model.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Cardinalis cardinalis, female Northern Cardinal, Northern cardinal, Prince William County VA, Tamron 18-400mm on March 28, 2025| 4 Comments »
Springtime has definitely arrived in Northern Virginia. All kinds of trees are starting to put out buds and leaves and Washington D.C.’s famous cherry trees are now in full bloom.
On Wednesday I explored a creek in Prince William County, hoping to find some early dragonflies. I was not successful in my quest, but I was quite happy to capture this image of a female Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) with some of the bright spring colors that have recently emerged. The subdued coloration of the female Cardinal does not stand out quite as much as that of her male counterpart, but I find it her more refined colors to be even more beautiful than those of the male.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Eastern Phoebe, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, phoebe, Sayornis phoebe, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 27, 2025| 1 Comment »
In some locations the reappearance of Eastern Phoebes (Sayornis phoebe) is one of the first indications that spring is returning. I am not sure if Eastern Phoebes are with us year round in Northern Virginia, but I know that it as been quite a few months since I last saw one.
On Tuesday I spotted this phoebe in a tree at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Branches were partially blocking my view of the bird, but I managed to find get a clear view of its face (and most importantly of its eye) by making small adjustments to my shooting position.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged brown thrasher, Canon 7D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, thrasher, Toxostoma rufum, Woodbridge VA on March 26, 2025| Leave a Comment »
I was delighted to spot this Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum) last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I had to move around a lot to get a clear view of its head, though I was pretty sure it was a thrasher when I caught a glimpse of its bright yellow eye and long tail. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology did a great job in describing the challenges of spotting this species, “It can be tricky to glimpse a Brown Thrasher in a tangled mass of shrubbery, and once you do you may wonder how such a boldly patterned, gangly bird could stay so hidden.”
Brown Thrashers are present year round in the southern portions of Virginia, but I think they move north into my area of Northern Virginia during the breeding season. Before long we should have lot of other birds, including warblers, migrating through our area and, of course, dragonflies and other insects will soon reappear. Yesterday i noted a posting in Facebook with photos of dragonflies that were recently taken in central Virginia. I will probably venture out later today to see if I can spot any dragonflies myself.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Osprey, osprey nest, Pandion haliaetus, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 24, 2025| 2 Comments »
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) are very opportunistic birds—they will make a nest almost anywhere there is a bit of space. Last week I spotted an osprey perched on the roof of a duck blind in the water and captured this cool little image.
These little shack-like structures on stilts have been built in the waters off of Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge and are used a few weeks a year during duck hunting season. It is a little disconcerting during that time to hear shotguns being fired only a short distance away, but the money collected for hunting licenses is used for waterfowl habitat improvement and restoration in Virginia.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Carolina Chickadee, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Poecile carolinensis, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 22, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Buds are beginning to grow on many of the trees in my area as we welcome the beginning of spring. However, it looks like this little Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) that I spotted on Tuesday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge was impatient and chose to nibble on a tender young bud that had barely started to develop.
The lighting conditions were not optimal, but I like the way that I was able to capture the way that the chickadee used its tiny bill to poke into the underdeveloped bud. It may not seem like much, but I suspect that the chickadee welcomed the taste of the tender spring bud after a long winter of gnawing on hard, wizened seeds.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 7D, inquisitive osprey, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Osprey, Pandion haliaetus, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 21, 2025| 2 Comments »
Something attracted the attention of this Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) on Tuesday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge and it kept looking down at the ground. At first I thought that the osprey had caught a fish that it was trying to protect from competitors, but when I zoomed in, I did not see any fish.
Perhaps the osprey was looking for its mate or was merely curious to observe all the things that were going on. I don’t think that the osprey had spotted me when I took these shots, but that is also a possibility.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, Winter, tagged Ardea herodias, Canon 7D, Great Blue Heron, heron, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 18, 2025| 9 Comments »
When Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias) take off from the water, they really stretch out and usually I cut off part of their bodies when trying to photograph them in action. Last week, though, my timing was good and I captured this little sequence of images as a heron took to the air, flew for a short distance, and “stuck” its landing in the water.
I was really happy with the way that I was able to capture so many details, from the arc of the water droplets as the heron rose out of the water to the bird’s different-colored feathers. In the final photo, the spread wings, wind-blown “hair,” and the wonderful reflection combine to create a really cool mood in the image.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged beauty is everywhere, Canon 7D, Common Grackle, grackle, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Quiscalus quiscula, Tamron 150-600mm, uncommonly beautiful, Woodbridge VA on March 14, 2025| 5 Comments »
When in the shadows, Common Grackles (Quiscalus quiscula) appear to be all black, but in the bright sunlight their iridescent feathers shine in an array of colors. I photographed this uncommonly beautiful Grackle as it perched in a dead tree on Tuesday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
Beauty is everywhere.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 7D, first osprey, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Osprey, Pandion haliaetus, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 13, 2025| 7 Comments »
When does spring begin? If you use the meteorological calendar, spring begins on the first of March in the Northern Hemisphere. Most folks here in the United States, though, consider that spring begins with the vernal equinox that falls on 20 March this year.
I look for other signs that mark the beginning of the new season. Yesterday, for example, I saw a few blooming daffodils and crocuses, some of the first spring flowers to appear, and I also spotted some buds starting to open on trees.
On Tuesday, I spotted my first Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) of the season at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, a sure sign that spring will soon be here.The osprey in the photo was vigorously tearing into the flesh of the fish, stopping periodically to call out to another osprey. I wasn’t sure whether the other unseen osprey was a competitor or a mate, but suspect that it was the latter. A short time later, the osprey flew away to an elevated nesting platform, where I spotted three ospreys that appeared to be sharing the freshly-caught fish, as you can see in the second image below.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in 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 March 11, 2025| 20 Comments »
I do not pay too much attention to the statistics that WordPress provides about my blog, but I could not help but notice this morning that, according to the “official” statistics, I have now had over a half million views since July 2012 of 5,33p posts. Wow! It’s a bit of a mystery to me how exactly WordPress counts those views, so I am not sure if the stats are fully accurate, but those numbers indicate a lot of effort on my time.
More than that, though, those statistics reflect an incredible amount of support and encouragement from so many of you. Thanks to all of you, whether you have followed my photographic wanderings for a day for for years. The second image below is a screen shot of the overall statistics for the blog this morning.
As you may have noticed, I have slowed my pace of posting a bit over the last six months as more of my free time has been increasingly devoted to other interests and activities. I’ll be keeping up with the photography blog, though, at least a few times a week and quite possibly more frequently than that as the weather warms up.
During a recent visit to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I captured this shot of a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) in action. Most of the time these herons thrust their bills violently in the water in attempting to catch fish, but this one was doing so much more gently that normally. The water level was low because it was lot tide and the heron may have been trying to pluck a small fish out of the water. On this attempt, though, he was not successful, but the heron’s open bill made for a nice photo.
I thought about posting one of my “best” images for today’s blog entry, but decided instead to continue my habit of posting recent images that appeal to me. As many of you know, I am generally content to post photos of everyday creatures to highlight the beauty that surrounds us all of the time if we slow down and take the time to observe it. Beauty is everywhere.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 7D, Melanerpes carolinus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA, woodpecker on March 10, 2025| 1 Comment »
During a recent visit to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge I caught a glimpse of bright red deep in the vegetation. I was pretty sure that it was some kind of woodpecker, but I wasn’t absolutely sure. I maneuvered around a bit and managed to determine that it was a Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus).
I was happy to capture this image that shows the head of the woodpecker clearly, even though most of its body is partially hidden. This gives you an idea of the kind of view I often get when I am out with my camera. Some photographers might not even try to get a shot of the subject under these circumstances, but I will give it a shot most of the time. Often my shots are blurry, but sometimes I get a decent shot that I like, like the one in this blog post.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 7D, Carolina Chickadee, chickadee, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Poecile carolinensis, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 6, 2025| Leave a Comment »
It is still a bit early for trees to be budding with new growth, so birds like this little Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) have to be content to forage for seeds among the dried up vegetation from the previous growing season. Last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge I spotted this chickadee that seemed to have struck the jackpot—there was an abundance of dried seeds on the tree on which the bird was perched.
The chickadee had to bend and stretch a bit to reach the seeds, but, as you can see in the second photo below, it had some success in finding food. Before long, spring will arrive and lots of fresher food should appear for the birds, including insects. Chickadees are omnivorous, but like most birds that stay with us during the winter, their diet is mostly a vegetarian one when the weather gets cold and most of the insects disappear.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged cormorant, cormorant reflection, Double-crested Cormorant, Nannopterum auritum, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Woodbridge VA on March 5, 2025| 1 Comment »
Most of my recent photos of Double-crested Cormorants (Nannopterum auritum) has show the birds taking off. Indeed, cormorants tend to be quite skittish and react quickly when they detect my presence. Last Wednesday, I spotted a cormorant in the waters off of Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge that was so focused on repeatedly diving under that the did not notice me.
I was really happy with the photo that I captured of the cormorant, especially the way that it shows the bird’s beautiful rippled reflection. You may note that the cormorant is really low in the water, with most of its body submerged. As I noted in a recent post, cormorants’ feathers are not completely waterproof and can become waterlogged. For that reason, cormorants need to periodically come out of the water and stretch out their wings to dry them.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged Ardea herodias, Canon 7D, Great Blue Heron, heron, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, portrait, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 3, 2025| 9 Comments »
I see Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias) quite often at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, but generally they are far away from me. Last week, however, I was lucky to get close enough to a heron to be able to capture a portrait-like image of the big bird. How did I do it?
The heron was standing in the waters off of the shore of the refuge and was mostly hidden from view by the vegetation. I was walking along a trail parallel to the water and discovered a little break in vegetation that gave me a clear view of most of the heron. I twisted and turned my body, trying to make sure that no branches were blocking my view and zoomed in with my telephoto lens. I had to wait a little while and eventually the heron lifted its head and turned to the side, giving me a perfect profile pose.
Some wildlife photographers are always searching for new species to photograph, but most of the time I am content to photograph the same species over and over, capturing the changing seasons and environments in which I find these beautiful creatures.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 7D, cormorant, Double-crested Cormorant, Nannopterum auritum, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 2, 2025| 2 Comments »
This past Monday I spotted some Double-crested Cormorants (Nannopterum auritum) in the waters off of Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge and once again they took off immediately, even though I was quite a distance away from them. Fortunately I anticipated that this would happen and was able to react quickly enough to capture the action. The second photo below shows the way that cormorants bounce across the water, leaving a trail of small splashes, to gain the speed needed to lift off from the water.
The first photo, my favorite of the two, depicts the cormorant on its last bounce, making final preparations for takeoff with its feet just barely in the water. I really like the position of the extended wings in this image and if you zoom in and look at the face, you will get a look at the brilliant turquoise eyes of the cormorant.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Bucephala albeola, bufflehead, bufflehead duck, Canon 7D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on February 28, 2025| 7 Comments »
I was delighted on Monday to photograph this male Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) duck in good light, which allowed me to see the beautiful purple-green iridescence on its head. Male Buffleheads have a large white patch that wraps around the back of their heads that makes them easy to identify from a distance. It is rare, though, for me to be close enough and in the right light to see the beautiful head coloration.
Buffleheads are small, large-headed ducks that migrate to my area of Northern Virginia during the winter and I often see some of them during my visits to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. During the summer, Buffleheads breed near ponds and lakes in boreal forest and aspen parkland of Canada and Alaska, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 