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Attack of the crow

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Cathartes aura, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 150-600mm, turkey vulture, vulture on May 1, 2017| 3 Comments »

I was watching a Turkey Vulture high in a tree at Huntley Meadows Park this past weekend, when all at once it seemed to get tense and agitated. Suddenly a flash of black crossed my field of view as I gazed through my camera’s viewfinder.

I had no idea what had happened until I saw this photo–an aggressive crow appeared to be attempting to get the vulture to move. What was unusual was that the attack was not preceded by the loud calls of a crow, nor did there appear to be a group of crows, as is often the case when crows harass larger birds.

The vulture stayed put and eventually lowered its wings. (The second shot shows the vulture seconds before the attack, when it had raised its wings and appeared to be ready to take action if required.)

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Mind the gap

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Cathartes aura, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 150-600mm, turkey vulture, vulture on April 27, 2017| 3 Comments »

As this Turkey Vulture circled overhead, I couldn’t help but notice the large gap in its wing feathers. Some birds seem to fight with each other, which cold account for the missing feathers, but I don’t recall ever seeing a Turkey Vulture squabbling with another bird. What would they fight about? Territory? Food?

Despite the gap, the vulture seemed to have no trouble flying and its wingspan was still pretty impressive.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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No Trespassing

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, swallow, Tachycineta bicolor, Tamron 150-600mm, Tree Swallow on April 21, 2017| 2 Comments »

Last weekend at Huntley Meadows Park, a Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) seemed determined to scare off potential competitors by screaming loudly and vigorously flapping its wings as it sat atop a pole to which a nesting box was attached. The swallow spent a lot of time looking upwards, scanning the skies for rivals. I couldn’t tell if the swallow’s mate was inside of the nesting box or if it was simply staking a claim to the box for future use.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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I’m ready for my close-up

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, female Hooded Merganser, Hooded Merganser, Hooded Merganser duck, Huntley Meadows Park, Lophodytes cucullatus, Tamron 150-600mm on April 18, 2017| 1 Comment »

Hooded Merganser ducks (Lophodytes cucullatus) are usually pretty skittish, but the females are a little less so at this time of the year as they hang around and wait for their eggs to hatch. I spotted this little lady earlier this month on a morning when the light was particularly beautiful. She was unusually cooperative and looked in my direction as if to say, “I’m ready for my close-up.”

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Greater Yellowlegs out of the water

Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Greater Yellowlegs, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 150-600mm, Tringa melanoleuca, yellowlegs on April 17, 2017| 3 Comments »

With so much water currently in the central wetlands area of Huntley Meadows Park, I don’t see many shorebirds at this time of the year. The shorebirds seem to prefer to wade in shallow water. This past weekend, however, I spotted this one as it surveyed the marshland from atop a log. I think it is a Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca), although I admit that I have troubles identifying the different shorebirds, many of which look almost identical to me.

As you can see, the yellowlegs was a long way away. Usually I try to get close-up shots with either a telephoto or a macro lens and am a little disappointed if I can not fill a substantial part of the frame with my primary subject. In this case, however, I was never tempted to crop the image more severely, because the surrounding landscape is an important element of making this image appealing to me.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Stelgidopteryx serripennis, swallow, Tamron 150-600mm on April 11, 2017| 3 Comments »

When some birds zoomed by me this past weekend, I could tell they were swallows by the way that they flew. Their coloration, however, didn’t seem to match the Barn and Tree Swallows that I have previously seen at Huntley Meadows Park.

One of them finally perched and I got this shot of what appears to be a Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx serripennis), a bird that I had never seen before. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, “The species derives its name from the outer wing feathers, which have small hooks or points on their leading edges.”

The bright sun made for a pleasant day, but made it tough to properly expose for the brilliant white feathers on the swallow’s chest. I was happy that I managed to capture a few details of the feathers despite the rather harsh midday sunlight.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Return of the Green Herons

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Butorides virescens, Canon 50D, green heron, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 150-600mm on April 9, 2017| 3 Comments »

As the seasons change, new birds appear and disappear at my favorite marshland park—Huntley Meadows Park—in Northern Virginia. We are fortunate to be along the migratory route for birds flying north and south and are far enough south to be a destination of some overwintering birds.

Unlike the Great Blue Herons, which remain with us all year, Green Herons (Butorides virescens) leave in the autumn and I eagerly await their arrival in the spring? Why? I am utterly fascinated by these squat little birds, despite the fact they have none of the elegance of the Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets. They always strike me as industrious and diligent and go about their work, generally avoiding the spotlight. Green Herons also seem to have an abundance of personality and almost seem capable of expressing emotions. Finally, Green Herons have a subdued, but refined beauty, a beauty that I was able to capture in this image from yesterday morning.

Welcome back, Green Herons. I missed you. Perhaps it is true that absence makes the heart grow fonder.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Female Ring-necked Duck

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Aythya collaris, Canon 50D, female ring-necked duck, Huntley Meadows Park, Ring-necked duck, Tamron 150-600mm on April 8, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Many of the birds seemed to have sought shelter from the strong winds yesterday at Huntley Meadows Park, but this female Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris) went about her daily grooming routine without paying any attention to the weather conditions. She did, however, seem a little shy and struck a coy pose when I pointed my camera in her direction.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Walking coot

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, American Coot, Canon 50D, coot, Fulica americana, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 150-600mm on April 6, 2017| 11 Comments »

Coots look clumsy when bobbing about in the water, but amazingly they look even more awkward out of the water, like this one that I spotted Monday at Huntley Meadows Park. Their green feet, which are not webbed like those of a duck, seem disproportionately large and almost cartoonish, like the oversized Hulk hands that I have seen little kids wear at times in the past.

When I first started photographing birds, I assumed that American Coots (Fulica americana) were part of the duck family. After all, coots swam in the water, were about the same size as some ducks, and sometimes seemed to hang out with ducks.

When I did a little research, however, I learned that coots are not at all related to ducks. As the Cornell Lab of Ornithology points out, “they’re closer relatives of the gangly Sandhill Crane and the nearly invisible rails than of Mallards or teal.”

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Reverie

Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, female Hooded Merganser, Hooded Merganser, Hooded Merganser duck, Huntley Meadows Park, Lophodytes cucullatus, Tamron 150-600mm on April 4, 2017| 2 Comments »

Basking in the rays of yesterday’s early morning sunlight, this female Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) seemed to be caught up in a moment of reverie as she contemplated the start of a new day at Huntley Meadows Park.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Black Vulture in a tree

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Black Vulture, Canon 50D, Coragyps atratus, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 150-600mm, vulture on April 2, 2017| 5 Comments »

As I rounded the corner of one of the remote trails yesterday at Huntley Meadows Park, I stopped abruptly—a large black bird was perched low in a tree almost directly in front of me. At first I thought it might be a wild turkey, but it turned out to be a Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus).

Most of the vultures that I see are Turkey Vultures, which have red heads, and generally I see them soaring high in the sky. When this vulture became aware of my presence, it flew to a nearby tree and looked down at me. I tried not to feel paranoid, but it looked almost like it was going to dive bomb me. The vulture perched in one more tree before finally flying away.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Looking for a temporary home

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Aix sponsa, Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, nesting box, Tamron 150-600mm, Wood Ducks on April 1, 2017| 2 Comments »

Usually it’s the female Wood Duck (Aix spionsa) who is most interested in a nesting box, but during a recent trip to Huntley Meadows Park, I spotted a male Wood Duck who also seemed pretty interested. Maybe he had been watching a lot of home improvement television shows and was thinking of the renovations he could do.

Of course, the female Wood Duck also had to check out the nesting box. After all, she is the one who has to lay the eggs inside of it. Judging from what I have seen in previous years, she will have sole responsibility for taking care of the little ducklings—the male seems to disappear after they are born.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Springtime swallow

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, swallow, Tachycineta bicolor, Tamron 150-600mm, Tree Swallow on March 31, 2017| 1 Comment »

As we move deeper and deeper into spring, more birds are starting to arrive at my favorite marshland, Huntley Meadows Park. Last weekend I spotted my first Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) of the year. Actually I had spotted a few of them a bit earlier zipping around the sky, but this was the first one that I saw perched on the ground.

The Tree Swallows seem to enjoy using the nesting boxes scattered throughout the park and this one was checking out one of the boxes. I was happy also to be able to get a shot of the swallow perched in a tree—despite their names, I rarely see Tree Swallows in the trees.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Heron chasing a crow

Posted in Birds, Nature, people, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Ardea herodias, birds in flight, Canon 50D, crow, Great Blue Heron, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 150-600mm on March 26, 2017| 5 Comments »

I’ve seen crows harassing hawks and eagles, but I’d never seen a crow being chased off by another bird until this past Friday at Huntley Meadows Park, when I witnessed a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) flying after what appeared to be a crow. After the heron caught up and forced the crow to depart, the heron appeared to be squawking a few words of warning not to return.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Wood Duck in a tree

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Aix sponsa, Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, male wood duck, Tamron 150-600mm, wood duck on March 24, 2017| 4 Comments »

As I was making my way to the start of the boardwalk at Huntley Meadows Park early on Monday morning, a helpful birder pointed through the trees to a pair of Wood Ducks (Aix sponsa) that appeared to be seeking a nesting cavity. The female kept moving among the trees, but the male stayed still for a moment and let me get this long-distance shot.

It’s pretty unusual to see ducks in a tree and generally I know they are in the trees only when I hear them flying away. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology website notes that Wood Ducks “are one of the few duck species equipped with strong claws that can grip bark and perch on branches.” This spring I have noted Wood Ducks checking out nesting boxes at the park, but perhaps this couple prefers a more natural birthing experience (or maybe all of the nesting boxes are being used by other Wood Ducks or Hooded Mergansers).

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Osprey’s catch

Posted in Birds, Nature, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Osprey, Osprey with fish, Pandion haliaetus, Tamron 150-600mm on March 23, 2017| 1 Comment »

An osprey circled and circled overhead early Monday afternoon at Huntley Meadows Park and finally made a strike, pulling a good-sized fish out of the water. I captured the first shot as the osprey flew by me with its catch, which is just visible between the wings. In the second shot, the osprey was flying away over the trees.

Ospreys have recently reappeared at my favorite local marshland park and these are my first shots this spring at this location. The last couple of years they have shown up regularly enough that I wonder if there might be a nest somewhere in the park. I have wandered about in many remote areas of the park, but so far have not located a nest for the ospreys or for the bald eagles, which I also see pretty regularly in the park.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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On the boardwalk

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Ardea herodias, Canon 50D, Great Blue Heron, heron, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 150-600mm on March 22, 2017| 2 Comments »

This Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) decided to try out a new vantage point at Huntley Meadows Park on Monday and surveyed potential prey from atop the boardwalk. Although the heron looks to be contemplating diving into the water, it eventually jumped into the water feet first.

I love trying to capture birds in motion, but am happy to settle for images in which there is a kind of tension and anticipation of action, rather than a more static pose.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Ready, set, go

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Cardinalis cardinalis, Huntley Meadows Park, male Northern Cardinal, Northern cardinal, Tamron 150-600mm on March 21, 2017| 4 Comments »

Like a runner at the starting blocks, this male Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) was tensed as he prepared to push off from the top of a dead tree yesterday morning at Huntley Meadows Park.

What a beautiful way to start the spring.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Preparing to fly

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Lake Cook, Osprey, Pandion haliaetus, Tamron 150-600mm on March 20, 2017| 8 Comments »

When I first spotted an Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) yesterday afternoon, it was perched at the top of a tall tree at Lake Cook in Alexandria, Virginia. Suddenly it began a series of what seemed to be warm-up, stretching exercises. The position reminds me a little of the obelisk position that some dragonflies assume to avoid excessive exposure to the sun. A short time later, the osprey took to the sky.

As I attempted to track the osprey circling overhead, I found myself shooting in radically varying lighting situations. The sky was blue, but there were large expanses of gray and white clouds. Some of the time I was also shooting directly into the sun. As a result, the two in-flight shots below look almost like they were shot on different days, when in fact they were taken only seconds apart.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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A big catch

Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, cormorant, Double-crested Cormorant, Lake Cook, Phalacrocorax auritus, Tamron 150-600mm on March 19, 2017| 4 Comments »

This Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) was focusing so intently on the water yesterdy that I thought it was stalking a fish. I was initially shocked at the size of the fish that it pulled out of the water until I realized that it was only a large leaf.

The cormorant waved the leaf around proudly until it finally let go of the leaf. Obviously this bird has a policy of “catch and release.”

Undeterred, the cormorant went back to fishing—I never did see him land one, but he might have been catching small fish during his dives.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Cardinals on ice

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, female Northern Cardinal, Huntley Meadows Park, male Northern Cardinal, Northern cardinal, Tamron 150-600mm on March 18, 2017| 6 Comments »

Early yesterday morning there was a coating of ice on much of the water at Huntley Meadows Park. Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) were taking advantage of this new surface to forage for seeds in the lower parts of the vegetation growing out of the frozen water.

The bright red one is immediately identifiable as a male. The other one looks like it could be a female or an adolescent male. As is often the case with birds, male cardinals start off looking like females before they acquire their adult plumage. I’m leaning towards it being a female because of the color of the bill—with younger cardinals, the bill is often dusky rather than bright orange.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Unusual angle

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Melanerpes carolinus, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Tamron 150-600mm on March 17, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Even familiar birds can look cool and different when viewed from an unusual angle. I photographed this Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) Monday morning at Huntley Meadows Park. I was shooting almost straight up and the subject was mostly backlit and in the shadows, but I could just see the red color at the edge of the head.

As an added bonus, you can just see what appears to be the touch of red on the bird’s belly that is responsible for its name—normally you can’t see it and wonder why it is called “red-bellied.”

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Laughing coot

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, American Coot, Canon 50D, coot, Fulica americana, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 150-600mm on March 16, 2017| 1 Comment »

Do coots laugh? I don’t know for sure, but that’s certainly what this American Coot (Fulica americana) seemed to be doing when I spotted him on Monday morning at Huntley Meadows Park.

A bit later in the day, when the direction of the light was less harsh, I saw some more coots and was able to capture an image that shows more accurately the color of the coot’s body and its eerie red eyes.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Hawk takeoff sequence

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, birds in flight, Buteo jamaicensis, Canon 50D, hawk, Huntley Meadows Park, Red-tailed Hawk, Tamron 150-600mm on March 14, 2017| 11 Comments »

This Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) seemed to be facing in the opposite direction when a sharp-eyed fellow photographer spotted it in a tree across a field. We were able to move quite a good distance across the field before the hawk became aware of our presence and took off.

Instead of flying up into the air, the hawk flew downwards initially and then flew behind the stand of trees, so I was unable to get any mid-flight shots with the sky as the background. However, I did manage to capture a sequence of shots as the hawk was getting ready to take off and also shortly after the takeoff.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Singing in the rain

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged Aix sponsa, Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, male wood duck, Tamron 150-600mm, wood duck on March 13, 2017| 4 Comments »

Male Wood Ducks (Aix sponsa) are colorful and unusual looking and are one of my favorites. I spotted this one atop a nesting box at Huntley Meadows Park on Friday as he was singing in the rain. He stayed there for quite some time, periodically moving from one side of the roof to the other.

I waited and waited to see if a female Wood Duck would emerge from the box. but I never saw her. Perhaps he is keeping watch over eggs that may have been laid in the box.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Morning mockingbirds

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Cameron Run, Canon 50D, Mimus polyglottos, mockingbird, Northern Mockingbird, Tamron 150-600mm, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on March 12, 2017| 2 Comments »

It was below freezing and windy yesterday morning when I headed out with my camera. I didn’t expect to see many birds and was a little surprised when I kept running across Northern Mockingbirds (Mimus polyglottos). They are pretty common where I live, but I just have not seen very many of them this winter.

The first one that I spotted was huddled inside a bush with its feathers all puffed up, probably in an effort to keep warm.

Another one seemed to be trying to warm up by facing the sun.

A final mockingbird seemed undeterred by the wind that was ruffling its feathers and boldly sang out a happy song, greeting the arrival of the new day.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Window of opportunity

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Hooded Merganser, Hooded Merganser duck, Huntley Meadows Park, Lophodytes cucullatus, Tamron 150-600mm on March 10, 2017| 2 Comments »

The Hooded Mergansers (Lophodytes cucullatus) of Huntley Meadows Park seem to spend a lot of their time in areas where they are partially hidden by the vegetation. Occasionally, though, a visual tunnel will open up briefly that lets me get a mostly unobstructed shot, like this one of a handsome male that I spotted this past Monday.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Thinking outside of the box

Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, female Hooded Merganser, Hooded Merganser, Hooded Merganser duck, Huntley Meadows Park, Lophodytes cucullatus, Tamron 150-600mm on March 7, 2017| 2 Comments »

Hooded Mergansers (Lophodytes cucullatus) were really active yesterday at Huntley Meadows Park, including this female, who seemed to be contemplating using this nesting box to lay her eggs a little later this spring.

You might call it “thinking outside of the box”—or not.” 🙂

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Swamp Sparrow in the mud

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Melospiza georgiana, sparrow, swamp sparrow, Tamron 150-600mm on March 6, 2017| 2 Comments »

It’s so easy to overlook the ever-present, drab-colored sparrows when searching for birds to photograph. This past weekend, though, I stopped and watched one as it pecked away in the mud at Huntley Meadows Park, my favorite local marshland park. By slowing down and looking more closely, I was able to marvel in the beauty and industrious persistence of this little bird, which I believe is a Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana).

Slowing down and looking more closely—that’s probably a lesson I could probabl apply to more areas of my life than just photography.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Coot in the wind

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, American Coot, Canon 50D, coot, Fulica americana, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 150-600mm on March 4, 2017| 6 Comments »

The wind was howling yesterday afternoon at Huntley Meadows Park, making the water really choppy and threatening to blow me off of the boardwalk. A solo American Coot (Fulica americana) was one of the few birds that attempted to navigate its way among the waves—it looked almost like a scene at the ocean’s shore.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Cormorant on the rocks

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, cormorant, Double-crested Cormorant, Lake Cook, Phalacrocorax auritus, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on March 3, 2017| 2 Comments »

A new alcoholic beverage? No, in this case, the title of my blog posting is literal.

When I first spotted this Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) on Monday, I thought it was wading in the water. Looking more closely, I realized it was standing on the rocks, giving us a really good view of its dark, webbed feet.

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