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Archive for the ‘Birds’ Category

Common Yellowthroat

Posted in Art, Birds, Music, Nature, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on May 11, 2013| 9 Comments »

I have been hearing the calls of this little warbler for several weeks, but today was the first day that I got some clear shots of the male Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas).

I was fortunate that the foliage was not too dense when I initially spotted the bird and even when he moved to a second spot in the same tree, I had a relatively unobstructed view. Birders at my local marshland tell me that the male comes north before the female and that soon the females, which are not so brightly colored, will arrive.

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Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Thirsty gosling

Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on May 10, 2013| 9 Comments »

The last few weeks I have been following the adventures of a family of Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) at my local marshland and encountered them this morning as they were foraging in the muddy grass.

There are currently four goslings (there may have been six initially if this is the same family I saw previously) and it was fun to watch them as they would wander off a little from their parents and then scurry back quickly.

It was hard to get clear shots of the youngsters, but I did manage to get this shot that I like when one of the goslings walked to the water’s edge to get a drink.

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Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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From the highest tree

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on May 10, 2013| 4 Comments »

On a heavily overcast day with intermittent rain, most birds seemed to be in hiding, but this male Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) took the opposite approach by flying to the highest tree and loudly announcing his presence to the world with his distinctive call.

I like the way that the limited lighting caused this profile shot to turn into almost a silhouette, but somehow the colorful shoulder markings managed to show through.

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Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Focused Green Heron

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on May 8, 2013| 13 Comments »

I stopped dead in my tracks on Monday when I spotted this Green Heron (Butorides virescens) as I was walking along the boardwalk at my local marshland park.

Only rarely have I had such an unobstructed view of this beautiful bird. My camera was already affixed to my tripod and I slowly opened its legs and set it down, all the while keeping my eyes on the Green Heron. I didn’t dare to make any sudden movements and felt like I was moving in slow motion as I inched my way forward to the edge of the boardwalk.

I don’t know if the heron was actively hunting for prey, but he seemed really focused and unaware of my presence (or was willing to ignore me). Initially upright, the heron gradually leaned more and more forward and appeared to be focusing even more intently.

My breathing seemed loud in my ears and my shutter sounded like a machine gun to me, but the heron hung around long enough for me to get some pretty good photos. Eventually, though, he got spooked and flew away, but I think I have an idea of the general area in which he hangs out, so I hope to encounter him again.

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Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Wood Duck entering nesting box

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , on May 5, 2013| 3 Comments »

Yesterday I watched and waited as a female Wood Duck (Aix sponsa), perched on top of a nesting box at my local marsh park, decided when it was the right moment to enter into the box and work on her nest.

Initially I was surprised when I spotted the duck atop this particular nesting box, because Hooded Merganser babies had exited from the box only a week earlier. The female moved around a bit on top of the box, looking in both directions (second photo). Eventually she bent her head lower and lower, as if checking to see that the entrance to the box was clear (third and fourth photos.

When she finally did take off, she flew a little to one side (fifth photo) and made a tight little circle in the air. In the final shot, you can see the female duck with her eyes on the target, approaching it from just below the level of the bottom of the nesting box.

I led with the shot that I like the most. I am amazed that the duck can synchronize her movements so well and arrest her forward momentum to keep from banging into the back of the box (and to keep her wings from getting stuck).  The lighting kept changing as waited for the action to develop, to the point that I moved into manual mode, something that I only rarely do. I am happy that the sun was shining at the moment when she entered the box, because I think the shadow adds to the interest of the photo.

I missed seeing the Hooded Merganser duckings leaving the box—maybe I will be luckier with these Wood Ducks.

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Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Portrait of a Barn Swallow

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on May 5, 2013| 14 Comments »

With the arrival of blue skies, I was finally able to a close-up shot of a Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) with a natural backdrop (vice the white background of the overcast days).

The lighting was beautiful and the swallow cooperated by turning its head slightly, enabling me to capture the catch light in its eye. The shadows are pretty minimal, but help to keep the image from being too flat.

I even like the serious expression on the swallow’s face, as though he had decided that this was a formal portrait.

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Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Wood Ducks take to the air

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on May 4, 2013| 5 Comments »

Wood Ducks (Aix sponsa), especially the males, are probably the coolest-looking ducks, but in the past few months the only ones that I have seen have been flying away from me, generally from branches on which they were perched.

I was not really expecting that I would see any Wood Ducks on the ground when I approached a tiny pond earlier this week. However, I did notice a little movement at the water’s edge and had just focused on that area, when suddenly a pair of wood ducks took off. I snapped off a few shots, not really expecting that they would be in focus and was pleasantly surprised at the result

The ducks in this image ended up pretty much in focus, especially the male’s head, his most prominent and colorful feature. The wings have some motion blur, but it’s not too distracting.

I’d like to say that my focusing skills are getting better, but I know that this shot was primarily the result of luck. It doesn’t really matter that much how I got the shot—what matters more to me is that I like the result.

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Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Unexpected visitors—Glossy Ibises

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , on May 4, 2013| 2 Comments »

Yesterday at my local marsh, several birders were really excited about the unexpected presence of a pair of Glossy Ibises (Plegadis falcinellus). I missed seeing them fly in, but spent almost an hour watching them forage in the distance, listening to the debate among the birders about whether these were Glossy Ibises or White-faced Ibises—they concluded the birds were Glossy Ibises.

I think that these strange-looking wading birds tend to be found nearer the coast and it is relatively rare, though not unprecedented, to have them at our marsh. I was not able to get any close-up shots, but I did manage to take some photos that show their downward-curved bills and colorful breeding plumage. The last shot really gives you a sense of the color—one of the ibises opened its wings to hop over a little patch of water.

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Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Nesting swallow

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , , , on May 3, 2013| 5 Comments »

Today I got this shot of a Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) gathering materials for a nest. I suspect that the swallow is using the nest that is attached to the metal pole on which it is perched, although I never actually saw the swallow enter the box.

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Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Another swallow confrontation

Posted in Birds, commentary, Humor, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on May 3, 2013| 10 Comments »

Are Barn  Swallows normally hostile toward each other?

As I was looking over once more the shots that I took on Monday, I came across this little series of images of two Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica) interacting. I had passed over these photos when I did my first sorting, because they were seriously underexposed. Unlike the photo that I posted earlier this week of a confrontation between two swallows, I was not using a flash for these photos, which meant, however,  that I was able to take a burst of photos. (When I used my pop-up flash, I had to wait for the flash to re-cycle in order to shoot again.)

I tweaked these photos in Photoshop Elements (and cleaned up the background a little) and was amazed to discover that this confrontation seems to have escalated a bit beyond the previous one. The flying swallow seems much more aggressive and threatening, going beyond the squawking I had seen before, and looking more like he was ready to attack the sitting swallow, who seems to be paying attention to the incoming bird.

These photos would have been better with a higher shutter speed and better light, but I am amazed that I was able to capture this moment. I love interactions between members of the same species (and between different species) and I enjoy trying to catch those moments.

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Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Heron sheltered from the rain

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , , , on May 2, 2013| 9 Comments »

As I was getting ready to leave the marsh on Monday, I noticed this Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) on the other side of the beaver pond.

He did not appear to be fishing, but was perched on a fallen tree, seemingly seeking shelter from the falling rain. He was hunched over a little, like he was trying to retain body heat.

It’s not often that I see a blue heron completely out of the water (assuming I don’t count all of the times when they were flying away from me), so I was happy to get this shot.

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Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Portrait of a Tree Swallow

Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on May 2, 2013| 7 Comments »

This portrait of a Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) looks almost like it was shot in a studio, but I am pretty sure that if it had been, I would have chosen a more attractive item on which to have her perch.

The green rusted metal post holds up a nesting box and this swallow may be building a nest in it or in one of the other nearby boxes, because she had a long piece of grass in her mouth when I started shooting. I think it might be a female, but it’s hard to tell, because males and females look a lot alike, though, according to my Peterson bird guide, the female is “slightly duller” than the male.

This was another shot that I took this past Monday, when the sky was heavily overcast. I made an effort to frame this shot with the swallow up against the sky and I think that I used my pop-up flash to add a little light. I probably will continue to experiment with the technique, especially when it’s really cloudy,  for I like the result that I got here. It does looks a little sterile and unnatural, but so often the background gets really cluttered and distracting.

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Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Green Heron in cattail shoots

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on May 1, 2013| 13 Comments »

On Monday as it was raining,  I encountered a Green Heron (Butorides virescens), one of my favorite birds. Initially he was perched atop an abandoned beaver lodge, but he took to the air as I approached. He flew to the edge of a cattail patch, where new shoots have started to appear during the last couple of weeks. The cattail shoots help contribute to the green backdrop for this Green Heron.

I was happy that I was able to get an unobstructed path to this little heron—normally Green Herons are at the edge of the water or are in trees, where it’s almost impossible to get a clear shot.

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Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Wet baby geese

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, tagged , , , , , , , , on May 1, 2013| 13 Comments »

On Monday, I watched a family of Canada Geese (Branta canadensis), the parents and five little goslings, as they made their way from a little pond to forage in a field of cattails nearby. It was raining at the time, as you can see in the first photo, where two of the babies are swimming along (there was one parent to the front and one to the rear in the little convoy).

Once they made it to drier land, the little geese vigorously munched on small bits of vegetation. In the second photo, there is a little piece of a plant hanging out of the mouth of the baby goose. When they were in the water, the goslings looked like round balls of fluff, but they look more gangly and awkward on land.

I noticed a couple of geese sitting on what appeared to be nests. If so, I suspect I will be taking more photos of cute little baby geese.

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Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Circling hawk

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on April 30, 2013| 7 Comments »

I haven’t seen many hawks in the last month or two, so I was delighted when I spotted this Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) circling in the distance this past weekend.

Most of the hawks that I had previously seen at my local marsh have been Red-shouldered Hawks, but I am pretty sure this one is a Red-tailed. The hawk never came close enough for me to get a really good shot, but I am content that I was able to get some shots in which the hawk is recognizable as more than an indistinct blob in the distance. Several of the shots I am posting look almost like they have a rock formation in the background—it was only, however, a dead tree.

These images are aspirational ones for me. They represent the kind of photographs that I am working to be able to produce in the future with greater sharpness and more pixels (I had to do a lot of cropping). They are a step on the path of my journey into photography.

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Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Pre-confrontation

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on April 29, 2013| 6 Comments »

Here’s a photo of the Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) that I took today just prior to the confrontation that I featured in my previous blog entry. The sky was almost completely white, because the day was heavily overcast, and it totally disappeared when I was adjusting the RAW image.

This was one of the first times that I used flash to add a little light and bring out the colores and it seems to have worked out pretty well. Some of the more dedicated bird photographers that I see use a Fresnel lens attachment for their external flash units to give more reach to the flash—I am not sure that I am ready to go that far yet.

I managed to get a pretty good amount of detail in this shot, even capturing some of the raindrops on the swallow’s wing.

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Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Confrontation

Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on April 29, 2013| 14 Comments »

I was focusing my camera on a Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) perched on a branch, when out of nowhere another Barn Swallow appeared and started screeching as it hovered in midair. Fortunately I had enough presence of mind to press the shutter release.

It was raining most of the day and I was shooting one-handed under an umbrella much of the time. For this shot, I decided to use the built-in flash on my camera to add a little additional light. The reflections in the screeching bird’s eyes add to its almost maniacal look.

The bird on the branch was totally impassive. It turned its head toward the hovering bird, but did not appear to react in any other way.

The overall feel of the image is almost like a cartoon.  I really like the way it came out (and recognize that it was mostly luck and fortunate timing).

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Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Green Heron in a tree

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on April 29, 2013| 5 Comments »

I was thrilled this past Saturday when I caught sight of this Green Heron (Butorides virescens), because green herons have only recently returned to the area after spending their winter in warmer locations.

The lighting situation, however, was really problematic. There was beautiful dappled sunlight in the background, but the heron was mostly in heavy shade and his back was illuminated with harsh sunlight. I played around with a number of different settings and this was one of the better images.  I still had to make some adjustments in post-processing to pull some of the details out of the shadows, which made the final image a bit grainy.

I really like the Green Heron’s pose, as he looks off into the distance. I don’t think that he was actively fishing, but was merely relaxing in the shade of the tree.

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Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Heron reflection

Posted in Art, Birds, Landscape, Nature, Photography, Portraits, tagged , , , , , , on April 28, 2013| 10 Comments »

The Great Blue Heron was too far away for me to capture many details, but the light early yesterday morning was especially beautiful, so I decided to pull back and try to capture the landscape, something that I don’t do very often.

I love the rich bands of color that I managed to capture in this shot and the gorgeous reflections in the water at my local marshland park. The red color, I believe, is from buds that were stripped from the trees by winds and rain this past week.

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Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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New little goose

Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on April 27, 2013| 5 Comments »

It’s hard to imagine anything cuter than this tiny little Canada Goose that climbed into the water at my local marsh for a swim along with his siblings and his parents. They were close enough to me that I was able to frame the shot pretty much like you see it.

I really like the expression of the gosling as he seemed to turn his head to look at me and also like the contrast between the bright colors of the gosling and the more muted tones of the full-grown geese.

I just missed the drop of 15 Hooded Merganser ducklings from the nesting box this morning by about twenty minutes. Hopefully I will have the chance to celebrate more new lives like this little goose in the coming weeks.

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Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Posing blackbird

Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on April 27, 2013| 4 Comments »

Male Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) are loud and visible almost all of the time, but this one blackbird seemed even more determined than usual to pose for me. It was almost as though he was an experienced model, changing poses and holding them for a few seconds to allow me to get the shot before striking a new pose.

I wonder if he could have his own fashion show. Of course, we might have to alter the terminology a bit—I am not sure he would be keen to strut his stuff on something called a “catwalk.”

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Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Not an American Crow

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Travel, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on April 24, 2013| 11 Comments »

Walking through some of the parks here in Vienna, Austria, I couldn’t help but notice that the crows here are not at all the same as the crows in my part of the United States.

I am here in Vienna for work for a few days and have spent my free time walking through the parks, checking out the birds and plants.  Most of the birds that I see are pigeons, but I was really struck by the large black-and-white crows that periodically fly onto the scene.

A little research on the internet reveals that these are Hooded Crows (Corvus cornix), and not the  all-black American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) that I am used to seeing.

The only camera that I have with me is my trusty Canon A620 point-and-shoot. It is compact, but its 4x zoom makes it less than ideal for capturing birds. However, several crows were relatively cooperative yesterday and let me get close enough to get these shots.

I’ll probably post a few photos of buildings in the next day or two, but wanted to let folks know that I am still drawn to seek out nature, even in the midst of a big city.

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Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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A few more yellowlegs

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on April 23, 2013| 6 Comments »

The soggy, overcast weather this past Friday kept people away from my local marshland park and allowed me to get these shots of a Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca).

I don’t normally see these birds and if I do, they are almost always beyond the range of my lens. This day, however, there were a couple of yellowlegs and another smaller shorebird, which I was told was a Solitary Sandpiper, that moved back and forth in the water, remaining within range for quite some time.

The lighting was a little  tricky for me, with the sky almost white most of the time, though sometimes the sun would peek out from behind all of the clouds. Most of the shots were a little underexposed, but I was able to correct them with a few little tweaks in post-production. I especially like the lighting in the first photo, in which the water has some color to it.

I am happy, though, that I was able to get some pretty clear shots of this beautiful bird, thanks in part to some careful focusing and the use of a tripod. (If you want to see another shot of the yellowlegs, checkout my earlier posting.)

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Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Egret in the air

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on April 22, 2013| 4 Comments »

I continue my efforts to capture photos of herons and egrets in flight whenever I can and here are a couple of shots from this past weekend of a flying egret.

In theory, it should be easy to photograph these birds—they are large and fly slowly—but the changing backgrounds and direction of flight has often made it tough to get the proper exposure and focus.

The egrets were gone all winter, but they are back now. I am hoping that I will continue to see them often enough to be able to get some better photos of them (or at least to try).

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Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Yellowlegs in the marsh

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , on April 20, 2013| 5 Comments »

Yesterday on a heavily overcast day, a few shorebirds were closer to the shore than usual at the pond area of my local marsh, including this one, which I was told is a Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca). As I looked through my bird identification book, I realize that identification of shorebirds is pretty difficult, given that many of them look almost the same, so I can’t guarantee that my identification is accurate.

I am working on a few more images of the yellowlegs, but thought that I would share this one initially, because I was able to capture the bird as it was reaching into the water. The light was not bright, but there was enough of if to produce a beautiful reflection in the water as the bird reached below this surface with its bill.

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Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Glowing duck

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged , , , , on April 18, 2013| 3 Comments »

The last month or so I have been keeping an eye on a couple of female Hooded Merganser ducks that are using a nesting box at my local marshland park. One of my fellow photographers has already posted a photo of one of them, surrounded by a dozen or so cute little ducklings, so I may have missed one of the moments that I was hoping to catch.

A little earlier this month, though, I had a special moment with one of them, when I arrived at the park early in the morning, just after the sun had risen. The small female duck was more out in the open than usual, though she was still pretty far away. Initially she seemed to be taking a bath, as she stuck her head under water and would shake a little. Eventually she climbed out of the water onto a log and began to groom herself.

The light at that moment from the back and the side made the spiky reddish-blond hair on her head glow and also created a nice reflection in the water. She seemed unhurried and unafraid as she basked in the beautiful early morning light.

For at least a moment, the two of us were freed from the cares of our everyday lives.

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Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Red Spring Beetle

Posted in Birds, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Portraits, tagged , , , , , , , , , on April 17, 2013| 5 Comments »

An insect on the edge of a leaf is a perfect candidate for a macro shot and when I saw this one from a distance in my neighbor’s garden, I got to work without a clue about its identity.

When I looked at the photos initially, I thought I had captured images of a Red Milkweed Beetle (Tetraopes tetrophthalmus), because of its bright red body and curved, segmented antennae. (I have a self-identified obsession with this insect that I discussed in a blog posting last year.) However, there were a few problems with that identification. This beetle seemed smaller; it was on a plant that was definitely not a milkweed plant; and it seemed too early to be seeing a milkweed beetle. My identification was further complicated by the fact that I never did see the back of the beetle.

So what insect did I photograph? I have been going over photos at bugguide.net, one of my favorite sources and wonder if this might be a Lily Leaf Beetle (Lilioceris lilii). Tentatively, though I like the name that I invented for this post, Red Spring Beetle.

I may not be sure about the identification of this insect, but I know that I like the photos that I managed to get, especially the first one. I captured a pretty good amount of detail and I like the way that he posed, looking directly at me.

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Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Standing heron

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on April 15, 2013| 4 Comments »

Although it is exciting to be able to capture a photo of a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) flying or catching a fish, I find them to be beautiful even when they are standing still.

I came upon this heron early one morning a week ago or so and was struck by the serenity of the moment. The heron seemed pensive and the beautiful morning light helped to provide some wonderful reflections in the still water of the beaver pond.

The second shot was taken a little later that same morning, after the heron had groomed himself. In this photo, I am amazed at how tall the heron looks with his neck fully extended.

It was rare for me to be able to get unobstructed shots of a heron from relatively close range, and I was pretty happy to be able to get shots like this.

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Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Birds or insects?

Posted in Birds, Bugs, commentary, Insects, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , on April 13, 2013| 4 Comments »

Standing at an apparent crossroad, I was struggling to decide if I should continue to focus my attention on birds, as I did much of the winter, or switch back to the insects that populated so many of my photographs last summer.

This photo of a Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) from yesterday suggests that maybe I don’t necessarily have to choose one or the other, that maybe I can live in both worlds at least some of the time.

I wonder how often in my life I set up these kind of false choices, when I would be better served by thinking more expansively and creatively.

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Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Ruffling a few feathers

Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on April 12, 2013| 2 Comments »

I arrived at the marsh early in the morning, just as this Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) was getting up. He seemed to be going through his pre-breakfast routine, grooming and preening and getting ready for the day ahead. It was fascinating to watch him contort his long neck as he sought to arrange his feathers just so. The water was calm enough that he could have used it as a mirror, if he had wanted to do so.

I am not sure if he was trying to make himself look bigger and fluffier, was airing himself out,  or just wanted some additional air for insulation, but at one point he shook himself vigorously. I was fortunate enough to get the first photo as he was in the process of ruffling the feathers.

Eventually, my feathered friend decided that he was presentable and stood motionless, as though posing for me. I’ll post some of those images later.

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Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Daunting challenge

Posted in Birds, commentary, Nature, Photography, Winter, tagged , , , , , , , on April 11, 2013| 8 Comments »

Most often I see small woodpeckers high up in the trees, pecking at the smaller branches there, but this male Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) seemed determined to take on the challenge of the trunk of this substantial-sized tree. I really like his pose, as he appears to be contemplating how best to tackle this problem.

Does he dream of great things, like excavating holes in trees like those in the second and third photos? Maybe he was an orphan and was raised by a family of Pileated Woodpeckers and doesn’t recognize any limitations in his size.

I am still trying to get photos of the larger woodpeckers that made the impressive series of holes. I hear a jackhammer-like sound when they are working, but they manage to elude me each time.

For now, I am content with my photo of the smaller woodpecker, attempting to punch above his weight class.

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Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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