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Bluebird portraits

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged bluebird, bluebird portrait, Canon 7D, Eastern Bluebird, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Sialia sialis, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA 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.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Familiar friends

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Bombycilla cedrorum, Canon 7D, Cardinalis cardinalis, Cedar Waxwing, Northern cardinal, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Setophaga coronata, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA, Yellow-rumped Warbler 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.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Grabbing berries

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged bluebird, Canon 7D, Eastern Bluebird, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Sialia sialis, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA 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.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Goldfinch in late November

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged American Goldfinch, Canon 7D, goldfinch, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Spinus tristis, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA 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!

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Glimpse of bluebirds

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged bluebird, Canon 7D, Eastern Bluebird, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Sialia sialis, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA 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!

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Windblown

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged Bald Eagle, Canon 7D, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, windblown, Woodbridge VA 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.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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What’s for dinner?

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Thanksgiving, wildlife, tagged Bald Eagle, Canon 7D, eagle nest, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA 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.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Monochromatic morning

Posted in abstract, Autumn, Birds, Landscape, Nature, Photography, tagged birds in flight, Canon 7D, monochromatic, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA 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.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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White-throated Sparrow

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, sparrow, Tamron 150-600mm, white-throated sparrow, Woodbridge VA, Zonotrichia albicollis 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.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Autumn Robin

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, American robin, Canon 7D, Huntley Meadows Park, robin, Tamron 150-600mm, Turdus migratorius 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.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Song Sparrow in November

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Melospiza melodia, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, song sparrow, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA 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.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Starling portraits

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, European Starling, flock of starlings, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, starling, Sturnus vulgaris, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA 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.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Juvenile Cooper’s Hawk

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Accipiter cooperii, Canon 7D, Cooper's Hawk, hawk, juvenile Cooper's Hawk, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA 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.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Woodpecker treat

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Downy Woodpecker, male Downy Woodpecker, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Picoides pubescens, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA 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.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Kinglet acrobatics

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, Winter, tagged Canon 7D, Corthylio calendula, kinglet, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, ruby-crowned kinglet, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA 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 Canon 7D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, poison ivy berries, Setophaga coronata, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA, Yellow-rumped Warbler 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?

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Outside my front door

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 7D, Carolina Wren, Runnymeade, Tamron 150-600mm, Thryothorus ludovicianus, wren 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.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Yellow-rumped Warblers in November

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Setophaga coronata, Tamron 150-600mm, warbler, Woodbridge VA, Yellow-rumped Warbler 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.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Scratching an itch?

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Ardea herodias, Canon 7D, Great Blue Heron, heron, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, scratching an itch, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA 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.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Spooky bird

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Halloween, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Euphagus carolinus, Halloween, Halloween 2023, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Rusty Blackbird, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA 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!

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Foraging Starlings

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, European Starling, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Sturnus vulgaris, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA 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.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Autumn cormorant

Posted in Art, Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged autumn colors, Canon 7D, cormorant, Double-crested Cormorant, Kingstowne Lake, Kingstowne VA, Phalacrocorax auritus, Tamron 18-400mm 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!

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Autumn kinglet

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, autumn colors, Canon 7D, Corthylio calendula, Kingstowne, ruby-crowned kinglet, Tamron 150-600mm on October 27, 2023| 10 Comments »

This tiny Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Corthylio calendula) glared down at me as I photographed it on Wednesday in a tree overhanging a stormwater retention pond in Kingstowne, a suburban community only a mile or so from where I live. The autumn foliage surrounding the pond had several patches of impressively colorful leaves and I was delighted to be able capture some of the beautiful autumn color in the background of these two images.

In the first photo, you can see a portion of the kinglet’s “ruby crown,” a feature of the males that is often hidden from sight. The second image gives you a better overall view of the little kinglet, which only about four inches (10 cm) in length and weighs about .3 ounces (9 grams).

Ruby-crowned Kinglets are generally hyperactive, so it was unusual when this one paused for a moment in its foraging efforts and “posed” for me in the open.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Kingfisher in autumn

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, autumn foliage, Belted Kingfisher, Canon 7D, Huntley Meadows Park, kingfisher, male Belted Kingfisher, Megaceryle alcyon, Tamron 150-600mm on October 23, 2023| 6 Comments »

I will often strive to photograph my wildlife subjects from as many different angles as I can in order to take advantage of the lighting or to highlight the details of their bodies. When I spot a subject, though, I initially try to capture whatever shot I can before I work to get a better shot—any of my subjects are skittish and there is always the chance that my initial shot will be my only one.

I spotted this perched male Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) last Thursday at Huntley Meadows Park in Alexandria, Virginia and one of my initial shots was the third one below. The perch was sticking out of a pond that was surrounded by a marshy wetland, so there was really no chance for me to get closer to the kingfisher—there was no way to work the angles in my usual way.

So what did I do? In the background I noticed there were some patches of colorful fall foliage, so I decided to see if I could include some of those colors in my images to give them an autumn vibe. By bending, twisting, crouching, and kneeling I was able to vary my shooting angle, while remaining more or less in the same spot, and eventually managed to get some photos that included portions of that autumn foliage. The kingfisher remained in place, but cooperated by changing his head position from time to time.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Hidden heron

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Ardea herodias, Canon 7D, Great Blue Heron, Great Blue Heron in a tree, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 18-400mm, Woodbridge VA on October 16, 2023| 3 Comments »

This Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) was so well hidden that I could not tell if it was perched on a small raised portion of the ground or in a tree when I caught a glimpse of it during a recent visit to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. My view of the heron initially was mostly obscured by the thick vegetation, but I managed to get a somewhat clear shot of it by climbing on top of a conveniently placed park bench.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Hidden eagle

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Bald Eagle, Canon 7D, eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 18-400mm, Woodbridge VA on October 15, 2023| 3 Comments »

This Bald Eagle was almost hidden in the foliage of a sweet gum tree when I spotted it on Thursday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Normally I depend on the brightness of a bald eagle’s head to give away the presence of an eagle, but in this case the eagle’s head was in partial shade, making it stand out quite a bit less than it usually does.

The second shot shows a view of the eagle from a different angle. Even though this shot does not show as much detail as the first shot, which was actually taken after the second one, I like the way that it shows how the eagle was nestled on its perch amidst all of the branches.

In the upcoming months, many of the leaves will fall from the trees and it will become marginally easier for me to spot an eagle from a longer distance away. Of course, that will also make it easier for the eagles to spot me and my vision and reflexes are rarely a match for those of the eagles. Often my first indication of an eagle’s presence is when it takes to the air and flies away from me.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Autumn Eagle Takeoff

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Bald Eagle, bald eagle takeoff, Canon 7D, eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 18-400mm, Woodbridge VA on October 12, 2023| 7 Comments »

I spotted this Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) in a distant tree on Tuesday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge at about the same time that it spotted me. I reacted quickly and managed to capture this first image as it prepared to take off. As you can see, there is already a bit of color in our autumn foliage, but the colors are relatively muted here in Northern Virginia, compared to what I would see when I was growing up in New England.

The second photo shows the eagle a few seconds after its takeoff as it rose above the trees. At that moment its feet were still dangling, but it raised its “landing gear” shortly after I captured the image.

It has been a while since I last posted eagle photos and it was wonderful to have a couple of sightings of these majestic birds on a beautiful fall day.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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White-crowned Sparrow

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, Winter, tagged Canon 7D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, sparrow, Tamron 18-400mm, White-crowned Sparrow, Woodbridge VA, Zonotrichia leucophrys on October 6, 2023| 1 Comment »

I spotted this pretty little sparrow on Wednesday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. When I looked through my bird identification guide, I thought that it looked a little bit like a Chipping Sparrow. When I posted the photo below in a birding group on Facebook, however, some experienced birders identified this bird for me as a young White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys), a new species for me.

Sparrows can often be hard for me to identify, but the distinctive bill on this one helped me to narrow down the pool of potential species. A mature male White-crowned Sparrow has a black and white head and is easy to identify, but immature males and females of different species are often similar in appearance.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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A few fall warblers

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Palm Warbler, Setophaga coronata, Setophaga palmarum, Tamron 18-400mm, Woodbridge VA, Yellow-rumped Warbler on October 5, 2023| 7 Comments »

Each fall I face the same dilemma—I see the photos of other photographers indicating that migrating warblers are present in our area, but I have trouble spotting these elusive little birds. Part of the problem is that leaves are still mostly on the trees and I can often hear birds that remain invisible in the foliage. The other main problem is that many birds are now sporting their duller fall plumage, so they do not stand out as much as during the spring migration, when their breeding plumage is much brighter.

Given my normal experience, I was thrilled to spot several Palm Warblers (Setophaga palmarum) and Yellow-rumped Warblers (Setophaga coronata) during visits to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge earlier this week. The birds in the first two photos, I believe, are Palm Warblers, a relatively common warbler species that likes to poke around a lot on the ground.

The final two photos show Yellow-rumped Warblers, which are the most common warbler species in my area. In both of the photos you can see the yellow patch of feathers on the “rump” of the bird.

In a month or so I may switch over to my longest lens, a Tamron 150-600mm zoom lens, which will allow me to zoom in a little more on these tiny birds, but for now I am sticking with my Tamron 18-400mm lens, a more versatile lens that lets me get photos of butterflies and dragonflies as well as of birds. (The problem with the longer lens is that it has a minimum focusing distance of almost 9 feet (2.7 meters) and it is sometimes hard to focus on small subjects from that far away.)

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Foraging turkeys

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Meleagris gallopavo, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 18-400mm, turkey, Wild Turkey, Woodbridge VA on October 1, 2023| 3 Comments »

As I was leaving Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge on Friday, I spotted this small band of Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) foraging on the side of a small hill. I captured this image while I was seated in the driver’s seat of my car. I was stopped with my blinkers on and fortunately there was no other traffic. I like the way that the turkeys had spaced themselves out in a military-style patrolling formation.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Lesser Yellowlegs

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 7D, Lesser Yellowlegs, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 18-400mm, Tringa flavipes, Woodbridge VA, yellowlegs on September 24, 2023| 1 Comment »

I almost always have trouble identifying shore birds, especially the different kinds of sandpipers. On Thursday, I spotted a single sandpiper-like bird in the shallow water of a pond at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Initially I thought it might be a Solitary Sandpiper, but when I got a good look at its legs, I leaned towards calling it a Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)—Solitary Sandpipers have greenish legs.

It was fascinating to watch the little bird move through the water, carefully raising its feet. On land, it seemed to prance a bit. In the final photo, the bird was flexing its wings as part of its grooming routine and seemed to be keeping an eye on me.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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