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Archive for the ‘Birds’ Category

Heron in the brush

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on December 12, 2023| 1 Comment »

There are almost always a few Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias) at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Most often I see them patiently fishing in the water, but sometimes I have to scan the tangled vegetation surrounding the ponds to find them, as was the case last Friday. Some herons are very skittish and fly away as soon as they sense my presence, but this heron remained in place while I carefully composed this image and continued silently along the trail.

Unlike the Great Egrets, Green Herons, and Ospreys that leave our area in the winter, Great Blue Herons are with us year round. Now that the weather is getting colder and we have already had our first snowfall (it was less than a half-inch (1 cm) or so), I suspect that it is getting harder for herons to find food. I am sure, though, that I will continue to see herons foraging for food, including in the frigid waters of the ponds and the bay—even when the surface of the water freezes, there is enough movement in the water that there are some open areas.

Great Blue Heron

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Cardinal in action

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on December 11, 2023| 11 Comments »

Luck often plays a role in my wildlife photography. This past Friday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, this male Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) was perched when I initially pressed the shutter release on my camera. A split second later, the cardinal took off and I captured this fun image as he flew right towards me.

I often shoot in short bursts, which helps explain how I managed to get this shot. The shutter speed was only 1/250 of a second and that is why the wings are blurred. Amazingly the head, which is the most important element in most wildlife shots, is in relatively sharp focus, especially considering the fact that I took the shot from a long distance away—my EXIF data indicate that I took the shot at 483mm, near the long end of my 150-600mm telephoto zoom lens.

Luck by itself, of course, does not guarantee good photos, nor does having expensive gear—I am fond of saying that patience and persistence are the most critical requirements for getting good shots. I have to be out as often as I can and remain constantly prepared to react appropriately to whatever fortunate circumstances in which I find myself. In that sense, I have to make my own luck.

Northern Cardinal

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Song Sparrow Sentinel

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on December 10, 2023| 2 Comments »

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you look at this photo? Are you attracted to the autumn colors in the background? Do you notice the texture in the rotten tree and how it matches the feathers of the little Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)?

The sparrow’s pose is what caught my attention. As my eyes examined the image, I was suddenly transported to a medieval era and imagined a sentinel positioned along the top of a castle wall, vigilantly keeping watch, alert to any danger.

Yes, I have an overly active, often child-like imagination. Wouldn’t it be fun to be able to experience the wonders of the world with the energy and curiosity of a child? Our adult lives are often way too complicated—I encourage you to find joy today in simple things.

Song Sparrow

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

 

 

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Sleeping Ruddy Duck

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on December 9, 2023| 6 Comments »

Ruddy Ducks (Oxyura jamaicensis) “feed most actively at night, so you’ll often see Ruddy Ducks sleeping during the day, head tucked under a wing and tail cocked up,” according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. I spotted a small group of them, including the sleeping male Ruddy Duck in the first photo, on Tuesday at a small suburban pond in Kingstowne, a community only a couple of miles from where I live.

Earlier this month I spotted a much larger flock of Ruddy Ducks in the waters off of Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. As you can see in the second photo, many of the ducks were sleeping. The ducks were quite a distance from shore, but the bright white cheek patches on some of the males made them easy to identify. Eventually one of the ducks swam a bit closer and I captured the final image—judging from its coloration, this appears to be either a female or an immature male.

I read on-line that the breeding colors of the male are spectacular, with a sky-blue bill, shining white cheek patch, and gleaming chestnut body, but I have never seen Ruddy Ducks during breeding season. As I read further in the entry for the species on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website, I could not help but chuckle:

“The bright colors and odd behavior of male Ruddy Ducks drew attention from early naturalists, though they didn’t pull any punches. One 1926 account states, “Its intimate habits, its stupidity, its curious nesting customs and ludicrous courtship performance place it in a niche by itself…. Everything about this bird is interesting to the naturalist, but almost nothing about it is interesting to the sportsman.” ”

UPDATE: A sharp-eyed Facebook friend noted that the position of the duck in the first photo is a bit more upright than it would be if he were sleeping and suggested the duck was in the process of grooming.

Ruddy Duck

Ruddy Ducks

Ruddy Duck

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Chilling With a Cormorant

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on December 8, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Most of the time when I see Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus), they are actively fishing, repeatedly diving deep into the water and surfacing after and extended period time under the water. On Tuesday I spotted this cormorant at a small suburban pond and it seemed content to float about amidst a large flock of Ring-billed Gulls. As you can see in the first photo, it made for a strange pairing to have such different-looking birds together.

When I circled around the pond a second time the cormorant (or possibly a second cormorant) was hanging out on a man-made structure sticking out of the water in the pond that is probably part of the water filtration system. Often when I see cormorants out of the water, they have their wings spread wide to dry them out, but this cormorant had its wings closed and just seemed to be chilling out. Generally I avoid including man-made objects in my wildlife photos, but I like the juxtaposition of the curves and warm color of the cormorant with the straight lines and cooler cooler colors of the structure.

Double-crested Cormorant

Double-crested Cormorant

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Sleeping heron

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on December 7, 2023| 6 Comments »

It was cold and gray and last Friday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Most of the birds seemed to be inactive, like this sleeping Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) that was partially hidden by the vegetation in a field adjacent to a small pond.

I have often wondered if birds sleep with their eyes closed. I do not have a definitive answer, but if you click on this image to enlarge it and look closely at the heron’s eye, it sure looks like it is closed. I wonder too how birds can sleep in trees without falling over, but this heron was on solid ground, so I do not think that it was at risk of falling. As for me, I think that I have dozed off while standing, but don’t think that I have fallen into a deep sleep.

Great Blue Heron

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Ring-necked Duck Reflections

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on December 6, 2023| 8 Comments »

Yesterday I made a quick trip to a local suburban water retention pond, where several migratory bird species overwinter with us. I was shocked to see that no Canada Geese were there, but did spot two Double-Crested Cormorants, a few Ruddy Ducks, and several pairs of Ring-necked ducks (Aythya collaris). All of these are diving birds, so they mostly hung out near in the deeper waters at the center of the pond.

I spent a good amount of time watching one Ring-necked Duck repeatedly dive into the water and would try to guess when and where he would resurface. Male Ring-necked Ducks have a distinctive appearance, with yellow eyes, a striped bill, and a strangely pointed head.

Clouds would drift across the sun from time, causing patterns on the surface of the water to shift and change. I really got caught up in these reflections and these three photos give you a sense of the swirl of colors and patterns that provided an amazing backdrop for these cool-little ducks.

Ring-necked Duck

Ring-necked Duck

Ring-necked Duck

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Foraging Cedar Waxwings

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on December 5, 2023| 15 Comments »

It is hard to take good photos when the light is limited. It was heavily overcast on Friday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. In many of my photos, the sky looked white and the subjects looked like silhouettes. I made a few adjustments to my camera to increase the amount of light hitting the sensor, but the conditions were challenging.

I was excited when I came upon a flock of foraging Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum). Recently I had encountered only a few of these cool-looking birds, but this was the first time this year that I have seen a whole flock of them. Some birds are really territorial, but these waxwings seemed to have no sense of personal space and were almost on top of each other as they reached for the hanging berries.

These photos are a little flat and dull, but I like the way that I was able to capture a sense of this foraging activity. In the final photo, you can even see a bit of the waxy red secretion on the wings of the center bird that gave rise to the “waxwing” portion of the common name of this species.

Cedar Waxwings

Cedar Waxwings

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Distant buffleheads

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on December 4, 2023| 2 Comments »

Male Buffleheads (Bucephala albeola), a type of sea duck, often appear to be black and white, but when the light is right, you can see the glossy green and purple feathers on their heads. I spotted a distant group of Buffleheads during a recent visit to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge and captured this image that shows two male and a female (or possibly an immature male). I encourage you to click on the image to see the beautiful colors of these Buffleheads.

At this time of the year, large rafts of ducks gather on the bay, usually a long way from the shore. So far I have seen Ruddy Ducks and Scaups, in addition to the Buffleheads shown here. In past years I have also spotted several kinds of grebes and other water birds. Throughout the winter, I try to keep an eye out for these groups of birds, hoping that some of them will drift within range of my camera.

Bufflehead

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Bluebird portraits

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on December 3, 2023| 20 Comments »

I often find myself returning to the same spot where I have previously seen a bird or a dragonfly. Of course, these are winged species that can fly wherever they want, so there is no guarantee that they will remain in a single location. Perhaps they just happened to be at that spot or maybe there is something about that habitat that suits them well and will cause them to remain.

I revisited a spot at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge on Monday where I had spotted a few Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis) almost a week earlier. When I arrived there, I was delighted to see that a small group of bluebirds and was even more thrilled when I was able to get close enough to capture some portrait shots of individual birds.

I really like the way that the background in the first photo is an almost perfect match for the colors of the bluebird. In the second photo, the evergreen tree helps to provide a sense of the environment and the berries below the bird help explain why the bluebird chose that tree. I like the framing of the branches in the final photo and the little pops of red on one of the branch and in the background.

I revisited that same spot again on Friday, but the skies were heavily overcast and, alas, I did not find any bluebirds that day.

Eastern Bluebird

Eastern Bluebird

Eastern Bluebird

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Familiar friends

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , , on December 2, 2023| 11 Comments »

Some photographers are always searching for new and exotic species to add to their “life lists,” but I am generally content to photograph familiar species, primarily in my local area. No matter how many times I see these birds, each encounter is unique, and I never know when a photo may highlight one of these birds in a special way. Here is a selection of photos of birds that I spotted on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

The bright red color of male Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) makes it almost impossible for them to hide completely, but a lot of the time they forage in the dense undergrowth, making it tough to get a clear shot of one. In the first image, the cardinal was partially hidden by the branches, but I managed to focus on its face. If you look closely, you will notice that this cardinal is a bit of a messy eater—he has lots of seed residue on his bright orange bill.

Yellow-rumped Warblers (Setophaga coronata) are one of the only warblers that stay with us during the winter. They tend to stay high in the trees, which means that most of my photos show the underside of the birds’ faces in bodies. In the second photo, the warbler looked down at me and I was able to capture the little patch of yellow on the top of its head, a feature that I do not recall seeing before.

The final photo features a Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum), one of the coolest looking birds that I encounter on a fairly regular basis. I love its rakish black mask and its yellow-tipped tail. I was happy to be able to capture the beautiful wash of yellow on its breast in this shot. Of course, the colorful foliage in the background adds an additional touch of visual interest to this photo.

Northern Cardinal

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Cedar Waxwing

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Grabbing berries

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on November 30, 2023| 10 Comments »

Bluebirds have lots of acrobatic moves they can use to snag berries. On Monday I returned to a spot at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge where I had seen some Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis) the previous week. I was delighted to see several bluebirds zooming in and out of a cluster of trees that had dark blue berries hanging high in them. I don’t think that the unidentified berries were part of the tree, but instead seemed to be growing on vines attached to the trees.

The dilemma for the bluebirds was that the berries were out of reach when they remained perched on tree branches, even when they stretched and reached as much as they could. The bluebirds therefore had to launch themselves into the air and attempt to snag a berry as they zoomed by the little hanging fruits. Yikes!

Needless to say, the degree of difficulty of this maneuver is quite high. It would be nice if bluebirds could hover like hummingbirds and pluck multiple berries while in mid-air, but I don’t think that they can.

The second photo shows an Olympic-level acrobatic move in which the bluebird launched itself into the air from a branch and swiveled its head a full 180 degrees. Wow! When I first looked at the photo, it took me a moment to realize that the bluebird’s body was facing me, but its head was facing in the opposite direction. I was fortunate to capture the moment when the bluebird had extended its wings fully to arrest its forward movement and give it an extra split second to grab a berry. The colorful foliage in the background was a nice bonus.

Eastern Bluebird

Eastern Bluebird

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Goldfinch in late November

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on November 29, 2023| 9 Comments »

As I was observing some birds on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, a burst of bright yellow flashed across my camera’s viewfinder. I was not sure what kind of bird it was, but I definitely wanted to find out. I panned my long telephoto lens and eventually tracked the bird when it landed high in a distant tree.

I was delighted to see that it was a beautiful little American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis). Goldfinches are with us all year, but I am most used to seeing them during the summer months as they feed on sunflowers and other flowers. There is still a bit of warmth in the sun and some color in the trees, but we are moving inexorably towards the cold gray days of winter when bright colors will be in short supply.

Celebrate the color!

American Goldfinch

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Glimpse of bluebirds

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on November 27, 2023| 4 Comments »

The Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis) that I spotted last Wednesday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge were quite far from me, but I was thrilled to catch a glimpse of their brilliant blue plumage as they foraged in some evergreen trees.

I really love bluebirds and though it is a bit of a cliché to speak of “bluebirds of happiness,” these bright little birds invariably bring a smile to my face.

Happy Monday!

Eastern Bluebird

Eastern Bluebird

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Windblown

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on November 26, 2023| 5 Comments »

Although it was sunny last Wednesday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, the wind was kicking up quite a bit, repeatedly ruffling the feathers of this perched Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). It has been a long time since I had hair that was long enough to sport that kind of windblown look.

When I was a child, I had a cowlick in the back of my head that refused to stay in place, despite my lineral use of Brylcreem or a similar product called Groom and Clean. My father, like many men of his generation had a comb over hair style that he somehow fixed in place. When I started going bald, I rejected that style and opted to keep  my hair cut short. Of course, during the 20 years that I spent in the US Army, it was a mandated “choice,” much like the mandatory “fun” that surrounded official social functions.

Bald Eagle

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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What’s for dinner?

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Thanksgiving, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on November 24, 2023| 1 Comment »

This Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) must have decided that it wanted to celebrate Thanksgiving with poultry rather than fish. A Wild Turkey would have been too big, so it looks like the eagle settled for a duck.

As I approached the large eagle nest at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I was shocked to see that there was an eagle in the nest. As I watched, the eagle moved about a bit, bobbing its head up and down. I assumed that it was making minor repairs to the nest, but I was wrong.

It was only when the eagle flew out of the nest that I realized that the movement I had observed had been feeding behavior. I did not get a good look at the prey that was dangling from one of the eagle’s feet as it flew away, but assumed that it was a fish. Once again, I made a wrong assumption. When I looked at the images on my compute screen, I could see that the prey was some kind of duck, though I did not get a good enough shot of the duck to identify its species.

I don’t know how often eagles prey on water birds, but this is not the first time that I have seen it happen. Check out my March 2023 blog posting called “Eagle grabs coot” in which I featured some photos of an eagle encounter with an American Coot.

When I looked out on the waters of Occoquan Bay, I noticed that several rafts of ducks were present. They were pretty far away, but I did managed to identify numerous Ruddy Ducks and Buffleheads in addition to a few Pied-billed Grebes. The size of these groupings of birds varies throughout the colder months, but I can usually count on seeing them during late fall and winter months. If the eagles feel lazy or want a change in diet, I suspect that it is much easier for them to grab a duck that a fish.

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Monochromatic morning

Posted in abstract, Autumn, Birds, Landscape, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , , on November 22, 2023| 2 Comments »

Most of the time my photos have a well-defined subject. Some of the time, though, I am so interested in trying to capture the mood of the moment that the “subject” occupies only a small part of the frame.

Last Friday, I spotted a large bird perched on a skeletal tree at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I thought at first that it might be a Bald Eagle, but when I zoomed in a bit I could see that it was a Turkey Vulture. I really like the starkness of the bare trees and the way that they give an abstract feel to the landscape. As I was preparing to take a shot, a small flock of Canada Geese flew into the frame and I captured several of them in the photo below.

The resulting image is mostly monochromatic, though you can see occasional glimpses of a warmish brown on some of the broken edges of the trees. If you look really closely at the vulture’s head, you can see a touch of red.

I do not know if this image “works” in conveying the mood of that monochromatic moment, but I thought it might be interesting to share with you my thought process as I experimented in capturing an image that is quite different from my normal wildlife shots.

monochromatic

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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White-throated Sparrow

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on November 19, 2023| 3 Comments »

White-throated Sparrows (Zonotrichia albicollis) are one of my favorite winter birds. During autumn they migrate into my area in great numbers and spend the winter with us.

Sometimes I complain that I have trouble identifying sparrows, but this is a species that I can reliably identify, thanks to the bright yellow lores (i.e. the area between the eyes and bills) and the white throat patch that always makes me think of Santa Claus.

Like many other sparrows, White-throated Sparrows like to forage deep in the bushes and the underbrush, so it is tough to get an unobstructed shot of one. As you can see in both of these photos, my view of the sparrow was partially blocked, but I was able to find a visual tunnel that let me get a good shot the head and most of the body of this beautiful little bird.

White-throated Sparrow

White-throated Sparrow

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Autumn Robin

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on November 17, 2023| 4 Comments »

When I was growing up in New England, American Robins (Turdus migratorius) were always viewed as a harbinger of spring. I don’t know if American Robins migrated out of our area and returned in the spring, but I do recall that seeing one of them foraging on a lawn meant that spring was on the way.

Here in Northern Virginia where I have lived for thirty years now, I have grown accustomed to seeing American Robins throughout almost the entire year. It gets cold enough here that the ground freezes most years, so I suspect that the robins have to adapt their diets to other food sources—I have a mental picture of robins pulling worms out of the ground and that would not be possible during the winter.

I spotted this American Robin last Thursday almost hidden in the vegetation at Huntley Meadows Park. I suspect that it is either a female or an immature male, given the rather pale coloration and the white patches of feathers on the belly.

American Robin

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Song Sparrow in November

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on November 16, 2023| 7 Comments »

Some days it seems like most of the birds are hiding from me, but I can usually count on seeing at least a few sparrows. Last Thursday I spotted this little sparrow, which I am pretty sure is a Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia), perched in the reeds at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

I still have a bit of trouble with identifying some sparrow species, but I am getting better at looking closely at the facial markings and other identifying features that help me to distinguish one species from another. Some experienced birders can identify birds by their calls, but with a few notable exceptions I am not at that level.

Song Sparrow

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Starling portraits

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on November 12, 2023| Leave a Comment »

How do you photograph a flock of birds? This past Thursday I visited Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge and observed (and heard) that a sizable flock of European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) was moving about in a large expanse of trees. I attempted to photograph clusters of starlings, but as you can see in the final photograph, many of the birds were hidden or shaded by the foliage or were looking away from me.

I decided that a better approach was to concentrate my efforts on getting shots of individual starlings. The first image is one of my favorites from my session with the starlings. The texture of the photogenic snag adds to the visual interest of the image and the starling cooperated by giving me a nice view of its profile. The colorful foliage gives you a sense of the season and of the environment and the two blurry starlings in the background help to balance the image.

The composition of the second image is much simpler—it’s just the bird and its perch. What makes this image interesting for me is the intensity of the starling as it calls out with its mouth wide open, which adds a touch of dynamism to what would otherwise be a static portrait.

European Starling

European Starling

European Starling

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Juvenile Cooper’s Hawk

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on November 11, 2023| 8 Comments »

As I looked up a trail on Thursday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I noted the shape of a bird perched on a shaded gate. When I zoomed in, I realized it was a hawk, which flew to a distant tree as I was capturing the first shot. I shared the images with a Facebook birding group, and the general consensus is that the bird is a juvenile Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii).

Most of the hawks that I regularly see are Red-shouldered Hawks and occasionally I spot Red-tailed Hawks. At first I thought that this one might be a Red-shouldered Hawk, but when I looked at my photos on my computer, I was really struck by the length of the hawk’s tail and by the elongated shape of the hawk’s body that are not characteristic of a Red-shouldered Hawk.

One of the folks on Facebook who responded to my posting noted, “Juvenile Cooper’s hawk. Beautiful youngster. You caught the neat teardrop shaped breast streaking, and the short wings against the long and widely banded tail.”

As many of you know, I am an opportunistic wildlife photographer—I enjoy walking around a lot and try to capture photos of my wonderful encounters with nature, like this one.

 

Cooper's Hawk

Cooper's Hawk

Cooper's Hawk

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Woodpecker treat

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on November 10, 2023| 9 Comments »

Woodpeckers are amazingly industrious. They repeatedly hammer their heads against trees, with seemingly a low success rate. Yesterday, though, this male Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) was successful in capturing an insect at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge and paused for a moment to show it to me.

Downy Woodpeckers are the smallest woodpeckers in my area and are the species that I see most often. In addition to pecking away at trees, I have also seen them search for insects in cattails and in other vegetation. It is easy to distinguish a male Downy Woodpecker from a female, because males have a bright red patch on the back of their heads, a feature that you can just see in this photo.

Downy Woodpeckers are usually very energetic. I spotted this woodpecker as he was spiraling his way up the tree. I prepared myself when he disappeared behind the trunk and was able to anticipate where he would reappear. I really like the angle of view of this shot that allows us to see the bird’s sharp claws and intense eyes. Downy Woodpeckers always seem to be intensely focused on what they are doing and it was wonderful to see this one’s efforts rewarded with a nice little treat.

Downy Woodpecker

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Kinglet acrobatics

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on November 8, 2023| 2 Comments »

It is fun to watch the acrobatics of tiny Ruby-crowned Kinglets (Corthylio calendula) as they forage for food, like this one that I photographed last Thursday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I love the twisting, spiral shape of the little branchlet on which the kinglet is perched so much that I might well have photographed it even if the kinglet were not there. The yellow colors in the background are a huge plus in creating an autumnal feeling in this image.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Poison ivy berries

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on November 7, 2023| 1 Comment »

I wouldn’t recommend adding poison ivy berries to your diet, but this Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata) seemed to be really enjoying them last Thursday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Amazingly, poison ivy is a great source of nutrition to a variety of wildlife species. According to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, a wide variety of “birds are especially fond of poison ivy berries. The plant’s waxy, white berries are loaded with vitamins and other nutrients. If that isn’t enough, they are available to south-bound migrants in mid-summer as well in winter when food is at a premium.”

It is incredible to me that such tiny birds can survive during the winter and finding nutrition like these little white poison ivy berries is one of the keys to their survival. Yellow-rumped Warblers eat mainly insects in the summer, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, but during the winter they switch to a diet of mostly seeds and berries. Can you imagine being a carnivore for six months of the year and a vegan for the other six months?

Yellow-rumped Warbler

 

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Outside my front door

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on November 6, 2023| 7 Comments »

As I was preparing to lock the front door of my townhouse in Northern Virginia one day last week, I glanced over at a bush about 10 feet (3 meters) away where a bird was perched. I pivoted my body, turned on the camera, and focused on the little bird, which I noted was a Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus)—I going out out on a photo adventure, so my camera was slung over my shoulder.

Fearing that I might scare off the wren, I snapped off a few shots without paying too much attention to my camera settings. It felt a little strange to photograph a bird at such close range. In most cases I photograph birds with my 150-600mm lens zoomed out to 600mm, but in this instance I took the shot at 309mm and probably should have zoomed back a bit more.

When I was reviewing the images on my computer,  I checked the camera settings I had used and found out my camera was set at ISO 800, f/6.3, and 1/100. I am a little shocked that I was able to get a relatively sharp shot at such a low shutter setting, but the lens does have some built-in image stabilization and I am used to holding the lens pretty steady.

Some photographers travel great distances to capture wildlife images. This shot is definitely award worthy, but it does show that you may not have to travel far from home to see and photograph nature and wildlife. Beauty is everywhere.

Carolina Wren

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Yellow-rumped Warblers in November

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on November 5, 2023| 7 Comments »

Most warblers pass briefly through my area when they are migrating in the spring and in the fall, but Yellow-rumped Warblers (Setophaga coronata) stay with us for a good part of the colder season. This past Thursday I spotted quite a large number of Yellow-rumped Warblers as I wandered the trails at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

In the first photo, you can see a portion of the yellow patch that is responsible for the name of this species. Most of the time I see only the smaller yellow patches on their sides, because they tend to perch high above me and I am often shooting at an upwards angle.

I am amazed by the light weight of Yellow-rumped Warblers and their ability to perch on incredibly slender branches, as you can see in the second image. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, these little birds weigh only 0.4-0.5 ounces (12-13 g).

In the final photo, the warbler is poised to move on to its next perch. Yellow-rumped Warblers are not quite as hyperactive as some other species that I see at this time of the year, like Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets, but they move around a lot as they forage for food.

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Scratching an itch?

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on November 1, 2023| 2 Comments »

Sometimes when you have an itch, you just have to stop what you are doing and scratch it. I have certainly had that experience and that seemed to be the case with this Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) that I spotted last week at the edge of the water at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

If you zoom in on the photo, you can see that the heron has quite long claws on its toes that it was using along the length of its neck. I love the way that the feathers were all awry as the heron focused on scratching its itch.

Great Blue Heron

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

 

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Spooky bird

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Halloween, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on October 31, 2023| 5 Comments »

They are not as creepy as spiders or a black cats, but there is something eerie and unsettling about the pale yellow eyes of Rusty Blackbirds (Euphagus carolinus), like this one that I spotted last Friday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The bird was in a really distant tree, so the image is not super sharp, but I really like the way I was able to create a mood in the shot and the subdued colors throughout the shot really help that eye to pop.

Happy Halloween!

Rusty Blackbird

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Foraging Starlings

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on October 31, 2023| 13 Comments »

A large flock of European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) was foraging in the trees at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge last Friday. Initially I thought that this might be a flock of crows or red-winged blackbirds, but when I zoomed in on the birds and saw their mottled iridescent feathers, I immediately identified them as starlings.

I captured these images as the birds feasted on some unidentified berries, plucking and ingesting them one at a time. I was hoping to get more shots of these birds, but without any visible warning, they all took off at the same time and flew away.

European Starling

European Starling

European Starling

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Autumn cormorant

Posted in Art, Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on October 28, 2023| 8 Comments »

Do you imagine a photo in your mind and then try to create it? Most of the time I am an opportunistic wildlife photographer—I react to the situations in which I find myself and try to make the best possible photo to capture the subject, the action, or the mood. Sometimes, though, I look at a spot and think, “Wouldn’t it be great if my subject moved into that light or onto that photogenic perch?”

On Wednesday I watched a lone Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) as it repeatedly dove into the water in a small suburban pond not far from my townhouse. Generally I encounter cormorants at larger bodies of water, but I know that this manmade pond is deep and is suited to birds that dive for food—some species of migratory diving ducks, for example, overwinter there.

The cormorant would spend quite a while underwater and I never knew where it would pop up next. I kept hoping it would surface in an area where the reflections of the fall foliage were especially colorful and eventually it did. The cormorant was quite far away, but I captured the kind of imagine that I had imagined, with colorful rippled patterns on the surface of the water as the cormorant swam into the frame. I encourage you to click on the imagine to see the details of the first image.

The second image was one of my earlier attempts. The cormorant surfaced closer to me than in the first shot, but the surface of the water was not as colorful as I wanted. However, the shot provides a really good look at the striking aquamarine eyes of this beautiful bird. Wow! Those eyes never fail to startle and delight me.

It is a fun challenge to try to incorporate the fall foliage into my photos and I have had an unusual amount of good luck in doing so this past week with a variety of subjects. I am starting to see more and more leaves on the ground, so I know that this period is transitory. Carpe diem!

Double-crested Cormorant

Double-crested Cormorant

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

 

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