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Archive for the ‘Birds’ Category

Northern cardinal

Posted in Birds, Flowers, Gardening, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , on September 14, 2012| 5 Comments »

I have even greater respect for photographers who can capture clear images of birds after my experiences today. Previously I had shot a few photos of birds, but primarily in a garden setting. Today I tried to photograph some bright red birds that I think are Northern Cardinals in a meadow with lots of vegetation. Even though these birds are much bigger than the insects that I often photograph, they seemed to spook a lot easier and rarely placed themselves within the limits of my lenses. I think that I understand now why dedicated bird photographer need those huge lenses that I see them carrying. It also proved impossible for me to isolate the background (and foreground), which was often cluttered and blocked a clear view of the bird.

This is the best image I managed of the cardinal. The focus is not perfect and I had to do a mega-crop, but I like the overall look of the image and there is a clear view of the face.

Cardinal

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Tiny Monarch caterpillar

Posted in Birds, Flowers, Gardening, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , , on September 11, 2012| Leave a Comment »

I love examining milkweed plants, because I always find interesting insects there to photograph. Yesterday I spotted a tiny caterpillar on a milkweed leaf that I was pretty sure was a Monarch butterfly-to-be (Danaus plexippus). The colored stripes were very similar to the one whose photo I previously posted, but this one was significantly smaller.

I decided to do some research on the life cycle of the Monarch to try to find out why this caterpillar was so small. The website butterflybushes.com has a wonderful article on the development of the Monarch. I learned that the larva is so small when it hatches that it can barely be seen, but it then consumes its body weight in milkweed leaves daily (Don’t try that at home!). During the 9-14 day larval stage, the caterpillar sheds its skin five times. Obviously this little guy is in a much earlier stage of development than the previous one, who was probably about ready to move to the pupal stage.

Here are a couple of shots of the little Monarch caterpillar that I took with my Canon 100mm macro lens.

Tiny Monarch caterpillar at rest

Tiny Monarch caterpillar eating milkweed

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Confrontation Between Snapping Turtle and Great Blue Heron

Posted in Birds, Flowers, Gardening, Nature, Photography, Reptiles, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , , on August 31, 2012| 6 Comments »

The water level in the marsh at Huntley Meadow Gardens here in Alexandria, VA has been getting lower and lower as the summer has progressed. I suspect that the situation had made it more difficult for some of the inhabitants to find food and may have increased competition for the available food.

Previously I posted photos of a Great Blue Heron catching a fish in the remaining water of the pond of the marsh. Last week I had the chance to watch a series of confrontations between a Great Blue Heron and a snapping turtle. It seemed to start when the  heron grabbed a fish out of the water just as the turtle was approaching him. I had the impression that the turtle might have been pursuing that same fish. The snapping turtle made a series of aggressive runs at the heron, getting really close to the heron’s legs. I have seen pictures on-line of a snapping turtle pulling down a Great Blue Heron, so I waited with fear and anticipation to see what would happen. The heron left the water this time without any bodily injury. (I have some photos of this initial confrontation that I might post later, but their quality is not as good as those of the second round of confrontations.)

The heron eventually went back into the water and it wasn’t long before the snapping turtle came at him again. (I could almost hear the music of the movie “Jaws” in my head as the turtle made a run at the heron.) Like a matador side-stepping a charging bull, the heron awkwardly avoided the turtle who was approaching him faster than I’ve ever seen a turtle move. The heron then turned his back on the turtle and started walking away, perhaps feeling the hot breath of the turtle who continued to pursue him. Finally, the heron took to the air, deciding that he had had enough of the persistent turtle.

I managed to capture the highlights of the confrontation with my camera. I continue to marvel at the wonders of nature as I observe new creatures and see familiar ones act and interact in new ways.

Snapping turtle approaches Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron steps to the side as snapping turtle gets aggressive

Great Blue Heron walks away with snapping turtle in pursuit

Great Blue Heron decides to leave his problems behind

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Green and Blue Herons in the rain

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , on August 30, 2012| 3 Comments »

I love to shoot in the rain. This past weekend the weather was threatening, but I went to Huntley Meadows Park anyway and was happy to see both a Great Blue heron and a green heron. It was already sprinkling a little when I started to take some photos of this little green heron and I had my umbrella out. I like the effect of the raindrops on the surface of the water. The light was interesting too and the heron cast a reddish, blurry reflection in the water.

Green heron in the rain

The weather started to worsen as I headed toward the location where I previously had seen a Great Blue heron. That area has a two-tiered observation area and I knew the lower level is partially sheltered from the rain. I arrived just in time as the rain started to come down really hard. The first photo of the Great Blue heron shows him standing in the water as the rain pours down. It didn’t seem to bother him at all. The quality of the photo is not that great (the light was bad and I upped the ISO), but I like the effect. The second photo shows the same area as the downpour is ending and the water appears as a very vivid green and looks almost tropical.

Great Blue heron in the driving rain

Great Blue heron as the rain tapers off

The rain may not be the time to take perfect photos, but I personally like the look that it gives to some of the photos that I shoot.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Great Blue Heron Catches a Great Big Fish

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on August 26, 2012| 7 Comments »

Rain was gently falling as I observed a Great Blue Heron at Huntley Meadows Park, a marshland in Alexandria, VA. I was surprised to see how the open water area had shrunk to just a small pool over the past couple of months, presumably because of the lack of rain.

Nonetheless, there was a heron in the middle of that pool, seemingly intent on catching a fish. I was not at all convinced that there were any fish in such a small body of water, but the heron soon proved me wrong. He extended his neck and made a strike into the water and came up with a fish. As he brought the fish out of the water, he opened his wings widely (as the second photo shows), perhaps to counterbalance the weight of the fish. The heron’s wingspan was definitely impressive. He kept his wings partially extended as he moved the fish around in his mouth (as you can see in the first photo) and then swallowed the fish whole.

My photos are not technically great, but they did capture the moment pretty well.  I am thankful that I once again had the privilege to watch such a beautiful creature in action.

Great Blue Heron positions fish prior to swallowing it

Great Blue Heron opens his wings as he pulls a fish out of the water

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Wading green heron

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on August 23, 2012| 1 Comment »

This past weekend I managed to get this shot of a green heron wading in a shallow stream. At that moment I don’t think he was yet aware of my presence.  I had an unobstructed view and the light was cooperative enough to make a nice reflection in the water. If you click on the image you can see some additional details of the green heron.

Wading green heron

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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American Goldfinch on a cone flower

Posted in Birds, Flowers, Gardening, Nature, tagged , , , , , , on August 20, 2012| 6 Comments »

The cone flowers have lost their petals and have dried up in the summer heat, but the loss to my eyes seems to be a definite gain for the birds. The seeds in the cone flowers appeared to be the favorite food of an American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis) that I spotted today at Green Spring Gardens.

Normally I see the goldfinches only as a flash of bright yellow zooming past my eyes. In the past when I tried to photograph them they seemed to startle very easily at the slightest movement. Today I was able to creep up closer and got some relatively unobstructed shots of a goldfinch.

I may post some more photos later, but here is one of my initial favorites.

American goldfinch on a cone flower (click to see the photo at a higher resolution)

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Green heron in a tree

Posted in Birds, Flowers, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on August 19, 2012| 2 Comments »

This is a shot of a green heron in the third different location where I have seen a green heron within the past month or so, all within a five mile radius of where I live in suburban Northern Virginia, outside of Washington DC. I came upon this little guy while I was walking down a stream bed and he flew into a tree when he became aware of my presence. Luckily he was still very visible in the foliage and, in fact, the green leaves serve as a nice backdrop to highlight the beauty of this green heron.

Green Heron in a tree

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Egrets, I’ve had a few

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on August 17, 2012| 4 Comments »

This morning I went shooting at Cameron Run, a tributary stream of the Potomac River in Alexandria, VA. I frequently commute along a road that parallels this stream and have often seen large white wading birds as I drove by. Today I decided to investigate and see if I could get some photos and determine if they were herons or egrets or some other kind of bird.

I did manage to get some shots of the birds in the water and even in the trees, but learned how difficult it is to get a proper exposure with a pure white bird. I’m pretty confident that the birds are Great Egrets (Ardea alba), which are also known as Great White Egrets. A passerby with binoculars (who seemed to know what he was talking about) told me that the orange beak is one of the characteristics that distinguishes the egret from the heron. If you want to know more, there is lots of interesting information about the Great Egret in an article on the website of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

The Great Egret is a really impressive looking bird, so much so that it is the symbol of the National Audubon Society, according to Wikipedia.  The Cornell Lab article points out that Great Egrets were hunted nearly to extinction for their plumes in the late nineteenth century, sparking conservation movements and some of the first laws to protect birds.

I was struck by the fact that the Great Egret roosts in the trees and seems to enjoy doing so with other egrets. In one cluster of trees I saw three egrets that appeared to be grooming themselves—they definitely did not seem territorial. I was impressed too by the wingspan that I got to see when I startled one of them and he flew up to a nearby tree.

Now that I know what kind of birds these are and where they hang out, I’m sure I’ll be back to watch them and, hopefully, to photograph them.

Great Egret in a tree

Great Egret in the shade

Great Egret fishing in the stream

Reflections of a Great Egret

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Green Heron Sentinel

Posted in Birds, Flowers, Gardening, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on August 17, 2012| 1 Comment »

After I got home from work today I rushed to a nearby garden to get in a few shots before the light disappeared totally. I was happy to spot a green heron (I’ve photographed them before at the pond area of this garden) and managed to take a photo of him that I really like. The green heron is standing the edge of a rocky cliff and appears to be keeping watch.  (In reality it’s more like a rock wall).

Green Heron Sentinel

I decided to add one other photo of the green heron that I managed to take before he flew across the little pond to the rock wall. It is a little more of an unposed shot than the first one, which almost looks staged, and captures him in his more natural environment.

Candid shot of a green heron

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Take-off of a Great Blue Heron

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on August 15, 2012| 3 Comments »

I haven never really paid attention to how birds take off. This past weekend I was photographing a Great Blue heron wading in the water of a nearby pond.  Without any prior indications, he suddenly took to the air. I happened to be in a good position to get a few shots of the different positions his wings assumed as he lifted off from the water. As you can see, I was almost directly behind the heron.

The first photo is my favorite because of the way in which the wings frame the extended legs and the barely visible head. Out of the three photos I have posted here, this was the second one shot.

The photo below shows the heron just as he was taking off from the water. The wings are blurry and are almost like a silhouette. It seems like he had to flap them really hard to lift out of the water. I like the fact that I was able to capture part of his reflection in the water.

Lifting off from the water

This final shot shows his wings in what I consider to be a normal flying position. I haven’t observed herons enough to know if they eventually pull in their legs tighter when they fly higher, but I assume that to be the case. In this photo I managed to get more of a complete reflection in the water than in the previous one.

Spreading his wings

I learned a few things when shooting these photos. First, and perhaps most importantly, I learned how important it is to be ready at all times, because a static situation can become very dynamic very quickly. Secondly, I now understand better why serious wildlife photographers have really big (and expensive) telephoto lens—it’s tough to get in close enough. Finally, I appreciate much more the abilities of those who are able to capture moving subjects like this heron with perfect focus and sharpness. My photos are not very sharp and clear, but I still found them interesting enough to want to share them.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Green heron on a limb

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on August 13, 2012| 2 Comments »

This past weekend seems to have been my heron weekend. I posted some photos of a great blue heron that I saw on Saturday. However, I realize that hadn’t yet gone through all of my photos from Friday, which included this shot of a green heron perched on the dead limb of a tree.

The tree was overlooking a muddy pond and I couldn’t tell if the green heron was just resting or whether he was preparing to hunt for prey. The situation afforded me an unobstructed view of the green heron and I quickly started taking some shots, suspecting (as turned out to be the case) that my luck would not hold for long. The green heron soon jumped from his perch and moved farther away into some undergrowth when he focused his attention on the water.

I was totally fascinated and watched him from a distance for quite a while. Several times he “alerted” by extending his neck and leaning toward the water, but I didn’t managed to see him catch anything.

This image captures some of  of the green heron’s gorgeous colors. I especially like the chestnut color around his neck and the intensity of the yellow of his eyes.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Fishing with a blue heron

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on August 12, 2012| 2 Comments »

Here is a close-up of a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) who has just speared a fish of an unknown type. I was able to watch the whole process from the shoreline of the pond and took some shots.

I note that the photo here is not a super crisp, clear image. It is a crop of a shot that I had to tweak because of some problems getting the exposure right (reflected light off the water and shadows were both problem), but I like the fact that you can see both the heron’s and the fish’s faces.

In a posting on 24 July I showed a green heron swallowing a frog whole. I was not able to see how this blue heron consumed the fish because he carried it into a shaded area along the shoreline.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Blue heron with open mouth

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 12, 2012| 5 Comments »

Here is another shot of a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) that I photographed 11 August 2012 in Alexandria, Virginia.

At first I couldn’t figure out why he had his mouth open in so many of my pictures. As I went over the photos, however, it looks like he may have had a stick or bone stuck in his mouth. Is that possible? Earlier in the day I watched as he speared and ate a fish and it’s possible he picked up some debris when he caught the fish (my photos of him spearing the fish turned out really dark but I’ll see if I can salvage any to post).

Eventually he did close his mouth.

Click on the image for greater details.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Wading Great Blue Heron

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on August 12, 2012| 6 Comments »

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) photographed 11 August 2012 in Alexandria, Virginia.

Click on photo for greater details.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Coy young duck

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on August 11, 2012| 4 Comments »

I came across some ducks this afternoon while walking around a man-made pond in my suburban neighborhood and decided to take a few shots.

This is my favorite photo. I think is a juvenile male mallard duck (corrections are welcome) on the basis of some quick internet searching. I am particularly struck by the expression on his face and in his eyes as well as by the beautiful, iridescent blue feathers on his tail.

He definitely seems shy, or perhaps he is merely being coy, being an inexperienced young drake.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Green Heron on the rocks

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on August 6, 2012| 7 Comments »

It may sound like a new summer beverage sensation, but the title is meant to be literal.

I captured this shot of a green heron  just as the rain was beginning to fall this afternoon. I was at the same pond at a local garden where I had previously seen a juvenile green heron (and that was right after the rain). Maybe green herons like to come out to play in the rain—I’ll have to remember that in the future.

There really wasn’t enough light for a high quality image, but I think that I managed to capture the unique look and style of the green heron.

(I also got some photos of a juvenile green heron this afternoon but I’ll save them for another posting.)

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Portrait of a Young Green Heron

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, Reptiles, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on July 24, 2012| 4 Comments »

Yesterday’s blog entry featured the adventures of a young green heron catching and swallowing a frog. After the snack was consumed, though, the heron moved from the boardwalk into the marshy area. There he perched on a branch and seemed to pose for me, maybe figuring that his exploits were worthy of a magazine feature.

The resulting photograph is one of my favorite shots of the whole day, because I think it captures well the rugged beauty of this young bird. The background is a little distracting but I like the reflections in the water and the angle of the ranch.

I decided to include two additional action shots from yesterday. The photos seem to show that I probably was incorrect when I stated that the heron had speared the frog when he initially caught it. It looks like the heron was merely holding the frog with his beak as he adjusted its position. Now that I think about it, the process of swallowing the frog would have been complicated if the frog had been speared.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Not Seeing Eye to Eye

Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, Reptiles, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , , on July 24, 2012| 21 Comments »

One can only imagine what is going through the frog’s mind as he looks into the crazed eyes of the green heron who has just speared him. Is he looking for mercy? Is he resigned to his fate?

I watched the prelude to this moment unfold this afternoon at Huntley Meadows Park, a marshland park here in Virginia. The green heron was intently scanning the water from the edge of a boardwalk that runs through the march. Periodically he would extend his neck down toward the water.

Several times we heard an excited “eeep” sound followed by a splash, indicating another frog had escaped. After a few more minutes, however, the heron dived into the water and reappeared on the boardwalk with the speared frog you see in the first photo.

When you look at the comparative size of the heron’s mouth and the frog, it hardly seems possible that the green heron could swallow the entire frog. The heron took his time shifting the position of the frog and then all at once he turned his head, bent his neck back a little, and down went the frog. It happened so quickly that I was able to snap only a single photo that shows the frog’s webbed feet as the only remaining parts that have not yet been swallowed.

In this final photo the heron no longer has a slim neck. I have no idea how long it will take for the frog to reach the heron’s stomach but I am pretty sure he was not yet there when I took this photo.

And don’t try to talk with the heron during this period. Why not? Read the caption of the last photo!

I can’t talk now. I have a frog in my throat.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Juvenile Green Heron

Posted in Birds, Gardening, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 16, 2012| 7 Comments »

Stereotypes of a heron’s  appearance

This past weekend I visited a pond at a local garden and encountered this interesting bird. He looked a little like a heron but had a totally different body type—he was shorter and squatter than the herons I was used to seeing. I have photographed blue herons and white herons and have a mental picture of what a heron looks like. They are tall and slender and posses a fashion model’s elegance. Could this really be a heron?

Surveying the situation

Playing and posing like a child

I was alone with the bird for quite some time for the gardens were deserted after a thunderstorm. The beautiful bird, later identified as a juvenile green heron, seemed to be unusually willing to remain as I attempted to photograph him. At times he even seemed to be posing for me. Like a child he was enjoying himself, running around and playing in the water. He definitely was not intent on adult-type tasks such as catching food.

Full body shot. Don’t I have great legs?

Is this enough of a smile for you?

It’s a green heron

I am pretty confident that this bird is a green heron (Butorides virescens). Wikipedia helped me determine that he is a juvenile because of the brown-and-white streaked feathers on his breast and the greenish-yellow webbed feet. (The adult green heron has a darker bill and a more pronounced  chestnut-colored neck and breast.) NatureWorks has some summary information if you want to quickly learn about green herons.

This grass feels really good on my bare feet.

A tool-using bird

My favorite website for information on the green heron, however, belongs to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, which includes range maps and audio files. It also noted the following truly amazing fact about green herons, “The Green Heron is one of the few tool-using birds. It commonly drops bait onto the surface of the water and grabs the small fish that are attracted. It uses a variety of baits and lures, including crusts of bread, insects, earthworms, twigs, or feathers.”

Ready for my close-up

Maybe the green heron should have its own reality television show, “Fishing With a Green Heron-Choosing the Right Bait. You Don’t Even Need a Hook”

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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