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Barred Owl

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Barred Owl, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, owl, Strix varia, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on February 7, 2015| 18 Comments »

One of my goals this winter was to get some shots of an owl in the wild. Every time that I have visited my local marsh early in the day or near dusk, I have looked and listened for an owl, but have come up empty-handed, except for one owl that I saw flying away from me.

Yesterday morning I finally spotted one when it flew from one tree to another as I approached. I initially assumed that it was a hawk, given that it was 11:00 in the morning. I thought it was unusual that the bird had not simply flown into the air, as hawks seem to do when I get too close.

Once I managed to spot the bird amid all of the branches, I was shocked to see that it was an owl. I was able to take a few photos of the Barred Owl (Strix varia) in its initial perch before it flew away deeper into the woods and even got a slightly blurry shot of it on a more distant perch.

Whenever I get a shot of a new species, I am so excited about it that I want to share my photos immediately. Now that I have met one of my goals for the winter, I’ll be looking to see if I capture some better images of this owl and maybe even find Great Horned Owls, which are reportedly present in my local marshland park.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Sparrow details II

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Melospiza melodia, song sparrow, sparrow, stopping power, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on February 4, 2015| 12 Comments »

When you are walking or driving around, looking for subjects to photograph, which ones will actually cause you to stop, grab your camera, and take some shots? Does it take an impressive and relatively rare subject like the bald eagle that I featured in yesterday’s posting? Would you stop to photograph a sparrow?

Over the past few years, I’ve read a lot of blog postings and seen some amazing photos, but I must confess that only a few of them have made such an impression that I remember their content. In a memorable posting in July 2013, Lyle Krahn, an amazing photographer and thought-provoking blogger, put forward a concept called “stopping power. Here’s an extract from that posting:

“I think every beautiful scene has stopping power. That’s my term for the ability of a scene to make a person stop hiking or driving in order to pull out a camera and make images. Did you ever wonder what makes you stop? Do you ever hear the music?”

I hear the music almost all of the time and the threshold for my “stopping power” is really low—almost any sound or color or movement is enough to cause me to stop when I have my camera with me.

Do I really need more shots of sparrows? Last week, I spent some time watching and photographing this sparrow, which I think is probably a Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia), as it pecked about in the shallow water at my local marsh. The light was coming in from the side and I had to wait and wait for the bird to lift its head to a position where it would not be in the shadows.

In the end, I got a couple of shots that I really like, images that show some of the beautiful details of this little sparrow, a bird that has “stopping power” for me.

Be sure to check out Lyle’s website, Krahnpix, for some incredible wildlife shots that are guaranteed to stop you in your tracks. His quirky humor and provocative prose will both entertain you and prompt you to think a little more critically about your photography and maybe even your life.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Bald Eagle in Maryland

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Bald Eagle, Canon 50D, eagle, Fort Washington Park, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Maryland, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on February 3, 2015| 5 Comments »

I tend to take the majority of my wildlife photographs within a few miles of my home in Northern Virginia, but yesterday I boldly decided to cross the Potomac River and venture into Maryland in search of Bald Eagles. One of my fellow photographers has repeatedly posted beautiful photos of eagles at Fort Washington Park and I wanted to see if I too could find them.

Fort Washington is a historic park, now run by the National Park Service, that was built to defend the river approach to Washington D.C. almost two hundred years ago. The park is a bigger than I expected and I wandered up and down walking paths, wondering where I might find the eagles. I spent a lot of time near the water, but eventually decided to climb to the higher ground, where the artillery positions were located.

As I was about to enter the fort, I glanced over at a tree in the distance and saw the shape of a large bird—it was a Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). As luck would have it, it started to rain as I started to take some photos, but I managed to get a few relatively clear shots. I had to climb down one hill and up another to get closer to the tree and the eagle flew off before I could get any closer shots.

I don’t know if that tree is a favorite perching spot for the eagles, which I saw soaring at a distance a bit later in the day, but I’m confident that I will return to this location, hopefully when the weather is a bit more hospitable, to search again for a bald eagle.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Sparrow details

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, sparrow, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto, white-throated sparrow, Zonotrichia albicollis on February 2, 2015| 15 Comments »

During the dead of the winter, it’s sometimes difficult for me to find birds to photograph. The birds seem to be using common sense when it’s cold, gray, and windy outside and take shelter to stay warm. At times like this, I pay more attention than usual to the details of the birds that I do manage to photograph, like this White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) that I observed last week.

At first glance there is nothing particularly special about this sparrow. As you look more closely, though, do you notice the silvery gray of its bill or the yellow lores? What are lores? I don’t know many technical terms about bird anatomy, but several years ago I learned that the lore is the region between the eye and bill of a bird. I love the beautiful shade of brown of this bird’s eyes and its little white “beard,” with a few spiky dark hairs sticking out from its chin.

Yes, it’s “only” a sparrow, a bird that you may see so often that you don’t even notice it, but I challenge you to take a closer look and you may lose yourself in the beauty of the sparrow details.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Belted Kingfisher in January

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Belted Kingfisher, Canon 50D, female Belted Kingfisher, kingfisher, Lake Cook, Megaceryle alcyon, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on February 1, 2015| 6 Comments »

Yesterday, the last day of January, I set out for a small pond, hoping to see a female Belted Kingfisher who hangs out there. I didn’t have high hopes that I would see her and thought the pond probably would be frozen. I was happy to discover that the pond was only partially frozen over and thrilled when I hear the unmistakable call of a Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon).

Before I could get in range, the kingfisher flew into a tree that was a good distance away, adjacent to the wall of an elevated section of railroad tracks. The tan color in the first photo is that wall. After I had observed her for a few moments (and she seemed to be observing me), she flew a little higher in the trees and I took the second shot. The colorful design was painted on a railroad tanker car.

I am still hoping that I will be able to get some closer shots of this kingfisher, but I was quite pleased to be able to capture these images of one of my favorite birds.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Robin in January

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, American robin, Burke Lake, Canon 50D, robin, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto, Turdus migratorius on January 31, 2015| 9 Comments »

When I was growing up in New England, the appearance of robins was viewed as a harbinger of spring. Although I rarely see them during the winter, American Robins (Turdus migratorius) are with us throughout the entire year here in Northern Virginia. Yesterday was sunny, but cold and windy, and on a walk around a local lake I spotted a small flock of robins, looking a little bedraggled in the winter weather.

It’s a little early, but I’m ready for spring to arrive, though we have a lot more winter to come.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Dark-eyed Junco?

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Dark-eyed Junco, junco, Junco hyemalis, Runnyeade, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on January 30, 2015| 10 Comments »

Looking at the birds in the trees in my neighborhood this past week, I spotted a dark-colored bird that I could not identify (and had never seen before). I managed to get some clear shots and have been looking at identification guides on the internet and have tentatively identified it as a Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis), though I must confess that I don’t feel really confident about my identification.

What do you think? I’d welcome any assistance that more experienced birders could provide in identifying this little bird.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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January goldfinches

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, American Goldfinch, Canon 50D, goldfinch, Spinus tristis, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on January 29, 2015| 5 Comments »

I mistakenly thought that goldfinches left our area in the winter, so I was surprised earlier this week when I saw a group of them in the trees in my neighborhood. Since then I have checked the range map for the American Golfinch (Spinus tristis) and learned that this bird is with us all year.

Maybe I am so used to seeing the brilliant yellow color of the males in the spring that the duller winter plumage blended in so well with their surroundings that they were invisible to me. Once I spotted them, I struggled to get photos of them. The sun kept moving in and out of the clouds and the goldfinches spent most of their time in the dense bushes.

I tried using my pop-up flash to remove some of the shadows and totally blew out the background when I really overexposed some of the images. Still, I like the effect in the first and second images and it does help you to see some of the details of the goldfinch. The final image was without flash and was more properly exposed, though I don’t like the fact that it was shot at a steeper angle than I would have preferred.

I’m going to have to start looking more closely at the trees in mysuburban neighborhood. Who knows what other birds may be present there that I don’t know about?

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Woodpecker excavation

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, excavation, Huntley Meadows Park, Melanerpes carolinus, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto, woodpecker on January 28, 2015| 8 Comments »

In the distance I could hear the sound of a woodpecker busily at work. It took a little while for me to finally spot the woodpecker, but eventually I caught sight of him and watched him as he pecked away.

I was happy to be able to identify the bird as a Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus), a fairly common species in my marshland park. I was surprised, however, to note that the woodpecker was excavating a cavity that was already large enough to contain its entire head.

I know that Red-bellied Woodpeckers make their nests in cavities and wonder if this might be an early stage of building a nest. Could the bird merely be building a storage area for food? I have lots of questions and multiple possible explanations for what I saw but don’t really have any answers. I think that I remember where I saw the woodpecker and may try to find the tree again and check to see if I can tell whether the woodpecker has worked more to enlarge the cavity in the tree.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Identification challenge

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Baeolophus bicolor, Canon 50D, Runnymeade, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto, Tufted Titmouse on January 27, 2015| 6 Comments »

How much of a bird do you need to see in order to identify it? Can you identify a bird merely by its silhouette? If I hadn’t been watching this bird before it dove off of the branch, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have been able to identify it from the silhouette.

Are things easier if the bird is in the shadows, but some color is visible and the shape is more recognizable?

Even if your identification skills are weak, this last shot is clear enough that you could eventually determine that it is a Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor), a frequent visitor in my neighborhood. These birds are small and a little tough to see, but they have really loud voices. (Check out the website of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to listen to its song).

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Good Mourning, Dove

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, dove, mourning dove, Runnymeade, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto, Zenaida macroura on January 26, 2015| 9 Comments »

As I walked through my neighborhood yesterday, I was struck by the large number of Mourning Doves. In most cases, I heard the distinctive whistling sound that their wings make when the doves take off and didn’t actually get a good look at the birds.

One Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura), however, was cooperative enough to sit still for a moment and I was able to get this shot. I love the peaceful look and subdued beauty of these birds, whose soft call reminded someone of a lament, which accounts for their name

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Amidst the mallards

Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Anas acuta, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Northern Pintail, Northern Pintail Duck, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on January 25, 2015| 11 Comments »

On Friday, as I was walking toward a group of ducks, I saw a flash of white, a white that was brighter than that of a mallard duck. In the midst of the mallards, there was a couple of Northern Pintail ducks (Anas acuta) and I managed to get this shot of the male.

Before he swam away, the duck extended his neck and looked all around. I was amazed to see how long his neck was—it appeared to be almost as long as a goose’s neck.

Once again, I was reminded of the value in closely examining a group of birds. Others might have passed by the group of common ducks without bothering to notice this beautiful Northern Pintail amidst the mallards.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Winter snack II

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Dryocopus pileatus, Huntley Meadows Park, Pileated Woodpecker, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto, woodpecker on January 24, 2015| 9 Comments »

Yesterday, I was walking through the woods when I noticed pieces of bark falling through the air. I assumed that this activity was caused by hyperactive squirrels and was shocked when I looked up to see a Pileated Woodpecker high in the trees.

Pileated Woodpeckers (Dryocopus pileatus) are really loud when they are foraging for food and their forceful drumming often sounds like a jackhammer. This woodpecker, however, seemed to be in stealth mode and he was removing sections of bark by putting his bill underneath the bark and twisting his head a little.

There were quite a few branches between me and the woodpecker, so it was interesting challenge trying to find a visual tunnel that would permit me to photograph him without too many obstructions. As anyone who photographs birds knows well, focusing was also an issue and I ended up with some photos of a blurry woodpecker, but beautifully in-focus branches. I was pretty happy, though, that I managed to get a a couple of relatively clear shots.

The woodpecker was undoubtedly searching for something to eat. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, a Pileated Woodpecker’s primary food is carpenter ants, supplemented by other ants, woodboring beetle larvae, termites, and other insects such as flies, spruce budworm, caterpillars, cockroaches, and grasshoppers.

I have no idea what delicacy this woodpecker was seeking, but in the second photo it looks like he might have found some tasty little snack. Bon appétit!

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Burst of winter color

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Cardinalis cardinalis, Huntley Meadows Park, male Northern Cardinal, Northern cardinal, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on January 21, 2015| 14 Comments »

During these gray days of winter, bright colors are hard to find, so I jumped at the chance to photograph this male Northern Cardinal when I spotted him Monday high in a tree at Huntley Meadows Park, the local marshland where I take many of my nature photos.

For another burst of color, check out today’s posting “Winter Blues…” by fellow photographer and blogger, Walter Sanford, with gorgeous images of Painted Skimmer dragonflies that he photographed last June at the same park.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Round sparrow

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto, white-throated sparrow, Zonotrichia albicollis on January 20, 2015| 4 Comments »

Many people in my area were off from work in honor of Martin Luther King Day and my marshland park was full of families enjoying the cool, sunny winter day. Not surprisingly, there was not a lot of wildlife to be found, but after a week overseas and a weekend away at a wedding, it was nice to return to familiar surroundings.

I was able to capture some interesting images of a White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) perched on a branch. The little bird had puffed up its feathers and was amazingly round. and almost looks like he is dozing, with his eyes half closed.

Can sparrows close their eyes?

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Flyover at dawn

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Travel, tagged birds in flight, brown pelican, Canon 24-105mm, Canon 50D, dawn, Norfolk, Norfolk Virginia, Pelecanus occidentalis on January 19, 2015| 1 Comment »

Walking along the waterfront of Norfolk, Virginia as the sun was beginning to rise, I noticed a pair of larger birds approaching that were definitely not gulls. I am not sure what kind of birds they are, but the shape of the bill suggests to me that they might be Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis).

There was just enough light to partially illuminate the underside of the wings and the sky was divided into areas of pastel blue and pink. The flyover of these two birds was a great way to start the day.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Raised by a sparrow?

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Downy Woodpecker, Huntley Meadows Park, Picoides pubescens, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on January 12, 2015| 6 Comments »

I was a little surprised to see this Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) down on the ground amid the sparrows, pecking away at the dried vegetation and the crazy thought came to mind that it might have been raised by those sparrows. I assumed that Downy Woodpeckers ate only insects, but learned on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website that “About a quarter of their diet consists of plant material, particularly berries, acorns, and grains.”

Eventually the woodpecker emerged from the undergrowth and climbed up a slender stalk, permitting me to get an unobstructed view of its beauty.

Downy Woodpecker

Down in the weeds

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Confused heron

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Ardea herodias, Canon 50D, Great Blue Heron, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on January 11, 2015| 12 Comments »

This Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) seemed a little confused when the ponds froze over at my local marshland park and appeared to be trying to stalk fish that he may or may not have been able to see through the ice.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Red-tailed Hawk overhead

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, birds in flight, Buteo jamaicensis, Canon 50D, hawk, Huntley Meadows Park, Red-tailed Hawk, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on January 10, 2015| 23 Comments »

It was finally above the freezing mark yesterday, which made my trek around Huntley Meadows Park a bit easier to tolerate. Among the highlights was this Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) flying overhead with a very determined (or maybe hungry) look on its face. Although Red-tailed Hawks are common in many places, most of the hawks that I see at my local marsh are Red-shouldered Hawks, so it was a nice treat to capture a Red-tailed in flight.

The blue sky provided a clean background for these shots, though I must confess that I am still having some difficulties finding and keeping moving subjects in the frame and in focus when at full zoom. I’m hoping that I have lots of opportunities to practice this winter.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Sparrow in January

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Melospiza georgiana, sparrow, swamp sparrow, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on January 9, 2015| 15 Comments »

Some winter days, it’s really hard for me to find birds to photograph, but I can usually count on seeing some sparrows busily at work, pecking away in the underbrush for what look to be the tiniest of seeds.

This past Monday, before the arrival of the Arctic weather, I observed this beautiful little sparrow, which I think is a Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana). Sparrows are tough for me to identify, so I apologize in advance if this turns out to be another kind of sparrow.

The bird kept its head down most of the time and remained stayed primarily in the shadows. For just a moment, though, it lifted its head and turned toward the light and I was able to take this modest little portrait of one of my faithful winter companions at the marsh.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Big bills after Christmas

Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Anas clypeata, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Northern Shoveler, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on January 7, 2015| 7 Comments »

No, this is not a commentary on overindulgence during the holidays. Instead it is a response to one viewer’s comments on a recent posting that showed a pair of foraging Northern Shovelers with their heads almost buried in the weeds. The viewer preferred one photo over the other simply because it showed this bird’s unusual bill.

On Monday, a day that was sunny, cold, and windy, I observed another pair of Northern Shovelers (Anas clypeata) and took some shots that show their bills in all of their oversized glory.

I can still remember my surprise at the length of the bills when I saw these birds for the first time. Initially I thought it was an optical illusion, but it became clear pretty quickly that the bill was unusually long. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the Northern Shoveler’s bill has has about 110 fine projections (called lamellae) along the edges that help in straining food from water.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Full wing extension

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Ardea herodias, birds in flight, Canon 50D, Great Blue Heron, heron, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron on January 6, 2015| 2 Comments »

Can you identify the bird in the first photo? There is an almost abstract quality to the image that I really like that focuses on the bird’s wide wingspan more than on the identity of the bird. The unusual viewing angle, looking forward from his extended feet, enhances that effect.

As you can see in the second photos (and as you probably easily guessed), this was a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias). Yesterday, a blustery but sunny day, I came across this heron at my local marshland park as he tried in vain to catch some lunch. Without much warning, he took off just after I snapped the second photo, perhaps to find a better fishing spot, and I was able to capture the more unusual view that I have shown as the first image.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Adjusting its sleeping position

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Branta canadensis, Canada Goose, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on January 5, 2015| 4 Comments »

Standing one-legged on the frozen pond, this Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) briefly stirred to adjust its position as I passed by. A few seconds later, the goose slipped one leg and its head back under its wings and gradually drifted back to sleep on a cold winter morning.

In case you are curious about the physiological explanation of the one-legged pose and why the goose’s feet don’t freeze to the ice, check out this blog posting from last November by Sue of Back Yard Biology.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Drying out its wings

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, cormorant, Double-crested Cormorant, Kingstowne, Phalacrocorax auritus, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on January 4, 2015| 8 Comments »

I will sometimes see other birds open their wings and stretch them out for a moment, but the Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) is the only bird that I have observed that leaves its wings open for an extended period of time.

Initially I was confused when I heard the cormorant had to dry out its wings because they got waterlogged. How does a waterbird survive if its wings are not waterproof?

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, my favorite website for information about birds, provides the following explanation of this phenomenon:

“They have less preen oil than other birds, so their feathers can get soaked rather than shedding water like a duck’s. Though this seems like a problem for a bird that spends its life in water, wet feathers probably make it easier for cormorants to hunt underwater with agility and speed.”

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Early bird—Scene II

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, dawn, Hooded Merganser, Huntley Meadows Park, Lophodytes cucullatus, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on January 3, 2015| 9 Comments »

Oh say can you see by the dawn’s early light? Peering through a break in the bushes, I could just barely make out the unmistakeable shape of a male Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) as he slowly paddled away from the shore of a small pond at my local marshland park.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Early bird

Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, birds in flight, Canon 50D, dawn, duck, early bird, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on January 3, 2015| 8 Comments »

There is something really special about the moment when the darkness of the night finally gives way to the early light of the dawn and the sky is tinged with delicate shades of pink and orange. The silence is broken by the sounds of awakening birds as their day begins.

It’s not an optimal time for wildlife photography—there is simply not enough light to reveal all of the colors and the details of the subjects. Recently, though, I managed to capture a sense of the dawn in this image of a duck ascending into the air, heading for an unknown destination.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Side-by-side Shovelers

Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Anas clypeata, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Northern Shoveler, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on January 2, 2015| 9 Comments »

Last week, when the weather was a bit warmer and the ponds had not yet frozen over at my local marshland park, I managed to get some shots of a pair of Northern Shovelers (Anas clypeata) in action.

I quickly realized that trying to photograph two birds, rather than a single one as I usually do, significantly magnified the difficulty in getting a good shot. The two North Shovelers rarely would stay together and would wander in and out of the frame. Even worse, one of them would move closer or farther away, challenging my ability to keep them both in focus.

Northern Shovelers forage by swimming along with their bills in the water, straining out food, and never seem to completely submerge their heads. I was happy that I was able to capture some shots in which the eyes are visible, even though the bills are in the water.

I really like the first image, because the positions of the male and the female are synchronized, yet I also really like the second image, because the positions are completely out of synch. I may be confused, or perhaps a lot of different things appeal to me, depending on how I consider them.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Contemplating 2015

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Ardea herodias, Canon 50D, contemplation, Great Blue Heron, Kingstowne, new year, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on January 1, 2015| 14 Comments »

As you contemplate the promises and possibilities of the new year that has just begun, are you more like the pensive Great Blue Heron in the first image or the intensely focused heron in the second photo? (For the record, the Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) in both photos is actually the same one that I photographed last weekend at a local water retention pond.)

I’m more like the first heron—I am full of optimism and hope, but don’t have specific plans or resolutions.

Best wishes to all of you for a healthy, prosperous, and blessed new year.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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The eyes have it

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Aythya collaris, Canon 50D, Kingstowne, Ring-necked duck, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on December 31, 2014| 5 Comments »

Although the rings on the bills of the Ring-necked Ducks (Aythya collaris) are very distinctive, it is their beautiful eyes that really draw me in, whether it be the startlingly yellow eyes of the male or the more subtle brown eyes of the female.

I never see these ducks in the ponds of my local marshland park, but each winter over the past few years, I have seen them in a small water retention pond in the middle of a suburban townhouse community near where I live.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Amid the branches

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged birds in flight, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteo lineatus, hawk, Red-Shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk on December 30, 2014| 14 Comments »

Where’s Waldo? As I was observing a Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) in the early morning, it took off and I captured this first image, in which you can just barely make out the hawk’s face and body amid all the branches.

In the second image, the sunlight hit one of the hawk’s wings just right and illuminated it against the backdrop of the tangled branches, making the hawk a bit easier to pick out.

UPDATE: Several readers have noted that this is almost certainly a Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), not a Red-shouldered Hawk—I still have lots of work to do on improving my identification skills.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Big-eyed Grebe

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Grebe, Kingstowne, Pied-billed Grebe, Podilymbus podiceps, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on December 29, 2014| 8 Comments »

As I gazed out into the center of a small, man-made pond, I spotted gulls and geese and a few ducks. Suddenly a small bird swam into view that I couldn’t identify. It looked a bit like a duck, but the bill seemed to be very different.

I’m stepping out into the unknown by speculating that this might be a Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps), although it doesn’t quite match any photos that in my identification guide or that I could find on-line. I wonder if it is a juvenile bird. I would welcome a clarification, correction, or confirmation from more experienced birders. Thanks in advance for your assistance.

As you can tell, it was a bright, sunny day when I took this shot this past weekend, a welcome respite from the gray days of winter. Alas, it is cloudy again today, with rain forecast for much of the day.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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