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Eastern Cricket Frog

Posted in Amphibians, frog, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Acris crepitans, Canon 50D, Canon 70-300mm, Eastern Cricket Frog, Northern Cricket frog, Prince William Forest Park, Triangle VA on March 8, 2020| 10 Comments »

Frogs have begun to sing their springtime songs. Although they are loud, most of the frogs are small and well-hidden. I was happy to spot this tiny one, which I believe is an Eastern Cricket Frog (Acris crepitans), last Wednesday at Prince William Forest Park in Triangle, Virginia.

According to the Virginia Herpetological website, the Eastern Cricket Frog, which some other sources call the Northern Cricket Frog, is 5/8 to 1-3/8 inches in length (16-35 mm). I am pretty certain that I would not have been able to spot the little frog if it had not jumped into the air and landed at a spot that I could see. Even then, I had trouble finding it in the viewfinder of my extended telephoto lens.

The referenced website notes that the male mating call resembles the sound of two stones being hit together and a single call usually lasts through 20-30 beats. Is it music? You will have to answer that question for yourself, but I suspect that the call is music to the ears of lady frogs.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Antlers in the woods

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged antlers, Canon 50D, Canon 70-300mm, deer, Odocoileus virginianus, Prince William Forest Park, Triangle VA, white-tailed deer on March 7, 2020| 9 Comments »

Male White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) shed their antlers during the winter and start to grow a new set in early spring. When I first spotted the pointed white tips of deer antlers while exploring Prince William Forest Park this past Wednesday, I assumed that they were shed antlers. As I got closer, I was shocked to see that they were still attached to the skull of the now dead deer.

We have an overpopulation of White-tailed Deer in our area, in part because there are not many natural predators. I couldn’t help wondering how this large buck met his demise. Was it a coyote or fox? Was it disease, starvation, or old age? Whatever the cause of death, scavengers had done their part and the only other body parts that I spotted in the immediate area were several small spinal sections.

Later that day, I spotted a second set of antlers with the skull still attached. These antlers, shown in the second photo below, showed more damage and it is hard to tell how large they may have initially been. As was the case with the first deer, there were few parts of the deer carcass in the surrounding area—the only parts I saw in the surrounding area were the lower jaw bones.

I spend a good deal of time out in nature, but see only a small part of what really takes place in the areas that I visit. Spring often makes us think of new life as baby birds and animals are born and trees and flowers emerge with new growth. These antlers, however, are a sober reminder that death is also a part of the cycle of life for the wildlife that I enjoy observing and photographing.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Springtime snake

Posted in Nature, Photography, Reptiles, snake, spring, wildlife, tagged black racer, Canon 50D, Canon 70-300mm, Coluber constrictor constrictor, Eastern Ratsnake, Northern Black Racer, Northern Black Racer snake, Pantherophis alleghaniensis, Prince William Forest Park, rat snake, Triangle VA on March 6, 2020| 16 Comments »

Our recent warm weather has caused all kinds of creatures to reappear, like this Eastern Ratsnake (Pantherophis alleghaniensis) that I spotted on Wednesday while hiking in Prince William Forest Park. I kept my distance and relied on a telephoto lens to zoom closer even though I knew that this snake was not poisonous. I am not sure how long the snake was, but as you can see in the second photo it looked to be quite long. According to the Virginia Herpetological Society website, the Eastern Ratsnake is the only snake in Virginia that can grow to be more than six feet (183 cm) in length.

UPDATE: A snake expert weighed in on my Facebook posting about this snake and noted that, “This is a Black Racer (Coluber constrictor constrictor). It’s harder to tell with the mud, but the dorsal scales are unkeeled, the skull shape too round, scale shape more rhombus-like, and eyes too big.” This just reinforces the notion that the more that I learn, the more I realize how little I know—that is why it is great to have experts around to help us identify what we see and photograph. The average size of a Northern Black Racer is “only” 36-60 inches (90-152 cm).

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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First spring butterfly

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Canon 70-, Eastern Comma, Eastern Comma butterfly, first spring butterfly, Polygonia comma, Polygonia interrogationis, Prince William Forest Park, Triangle VA on March 5, 2020| 20 Comments »

Yesterday was a beautiful spring-like day and I went on a long hike at Prince William Forest Park, the largest protected natural area in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region at over 16,000 acres. It felt like the perfect weather for finding dragonflies, but it is still a bit too early for them.

I was, however, quite excited to get my first shots this year of a butterfly, an Eastern Comma (Polygonia comma). I saw my first butterfly, which was probably of the same species, a couple of weeks ago, but was unable to react quickly enough to take its photo, so it did not “count.” During yesterday’s hike, I spotted six or seven of these little butterflies, but only the first one was cooperative enough to stay still for a portrait.

Eastern Comma butterflies are members a small group of butterflies in our area that emerge in the autumn and overwinter as adults. Other species in that group including the similar-looking Question Mark butterfly (Polygonia interrogationis) and the Mourning Cloak butterfly (Nymphalis antiopa). When its wings are open, like the one in the photo, it is easy to tell that a butterfly is an Eastern Comma if it has three dark spots in a row on each of its front wings, rather than the four spots found on a Question Mark. (For more information about the two similar species, I recommend a wonderful article at trekohio.com entitled “Butterflies That Punctuate: The Eastern Comma and the Question Mark.”)

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Female and Male Scaups

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Aythya affinis, Aythya marila, Canon 50D, Greater Scaup, Lesser Scaup, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, scaup, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 4, 2020| 1 Comment »

The wind was blowing strongly on Monday morning, kicking up lots of waves in the waters off of Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. In the deeper water I could see a small group of scaups bobbing up and down among the waves. Were they Greater Scaups (Aythya marila) or Lesser Scaups (Aythya affinis)?

I confess that I can’t tell the difference between the two species. I was content to get shots of both genders, especially the female with the distinctive white markings at the base of her bill.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Immature Bald Eagle

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, Uncategorized, wildlife, tagged Bald Eagle, Canon 50D, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, immature bald eagle, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 3, 2020| 3 Comments »

Yesterday morning I was delighted to spot this immature Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. It takes approximately five years for a Bald Eagle to gets its classic white head and I estimate this one to be about three years old, judging from its coloration.

Initially I spotted the eagle when it flew into the midst of a group of trees. I moved around only a little, fearful of spooking the bird, and captured the second shot below when the eagle leaned forward a little and exposed its head. Moving as stealthily as I could, I maneuvered to a position from which I had a somewhat clearer shot and captured the third shot below. I noted that the eagle was crouching, which is often a prelude to taking off, but the eagle remained in place.

Eventually I reached a little opening and was able to capture the first image, which I think is the best of the group. The tree in which the eagle is perched is, I believe, a sycamore. Unlike the sweet gum trees with spiky seed balls that have appeared in many of my perched eagle shots, the seed balls of this tree appear to be much smoother.

If you are interested in the developmental stages of a Bald Eagle and how its appearance changes over time, I recommend that you check out a posting from onthewingphotography.com entitled “Bald Eagles – Age Progression from one to five years old” that features wonderful photographs of each stage.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Eagle couple in a nest

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Bald Eagle, Bald Eagle couple, bald eagle nest, Canon 50D, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 2, 2020| 13 Comments »

There are at least two Bald Eagle nests (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, the location where I take many of my wildlife photos. One of them is located adjacent to a popular trail and most years the authorities close nearby trails during eagle nesting season. There has been a lot of construction at the refuge over the past few months and, although I saw an eagle couple at that nesting site on several occasions, it looks like they may not have occupied that nest this year (and the trails have not been closed).

The second nest, pictured below, is in a more remote location—it is visible through the trees from one of the trails, but is surrounded by dense vegetation, so the eagles are more insulated from human activity. On a recent visit to the refuge, I was pleased to spot both members of an eagle couple in the nest. I am pretty sure that the eagle on the left is the male, because male eagles tend to be considerably smaller than their female counterparts.

With a bit of luck I hope to be able to spot some eaglets here in the upcoming months, although I noted last year that it is a real challenge to do so, because the wall of this large nest appear to be quite high and effectively hide the eagles from view.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Canvasback duck

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Aythya valisineria, Canon 50D, Canvasback, Canvasback duck, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 1, 2020| 6 Comments »

Although the old proverb asserts that “birds of a feather flock together,” I have learned the value of examining groups of floating birds, because they often include multiple species. I was examining one such group last week in the waters off of Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge when I spotted an obvious outlier, a duck that was larger and more brightly colored than the rest. I am pretty sure that this is a male Canvasback duck (Aythya valisineria), a species that I do not see very often and still have not seen at close range.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Windblown feathers

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged bluebird, Canon 50D, Eastern Bluebird, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Sialia sialis, Tamron 150-600mm, windblown, Woodbridge VA on February 29, 2020| 12 Comments »

A strong wind was blowing last Thursday as I was exploring Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Most of the birds that I usually observe were absent from view, probably using common sense to take shelter from the blustery wind. As I was returning almost empty-handed to my car, I spotted several Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis) perched low on the roof of a covered picnic area.

Generally I try to avoid including manmade structures in my wildlife photos, but sometimes you just have to take what you can get. I really like the way that I was able to capture some of the feather details of this male Eastern Bluebird. If you look closely, you can see the bird’s windblown feathers, a look that is cultivated by some stylish humans, who often rely on “product” to achieve the effect rather than on the actual wind.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Northern Flicker in late February

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Colaptes auratus, flicker, male Northern Flicker, Northern Flicker, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on February 28, 2020| 15 Comments »

I do not know much about fashion, but I am pretty sure that I could not pull off wearing an outfit that combined stripes and dots. Somehow, though, the combination works well for this male Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) that I spotted yesterday morning at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. This Northern Flicker goes even further by adding a bright red crescent across the back of his head.

Unlike most other woodpeckers that are content to wear black and white and maybe a little bit of red, this Northern Flicker comes across as a bold, colorful, and stylish. I wonder why we don’t have similarly-colored penguins.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Tiny ruby crown

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, kinglet, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Regulus calendula, ruby-crowned kinglet, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on February 27, 2020| 11 Comments »

I feel lucky when I am able to capture an unobstructed shot of a Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula). I feel doubly fortunate when I manage to get a shot of the tiny red “crown” that is responsible for the bird’s name. Last week I spotted this Ruby-crowned Kinglet at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, “the male’s brilliant ruby crown patch usually stays hidden—your best chance to see it is to find an excited male singing in spring or summer.” I have seen some photos of Ruby-crowned Kinglets with their red feathers standing on end like a Mohawk hairstyle, but I have not yet seen that phenomenon in person. Spring is almost here, though, and I will keep my eyes open to see if I can spot an excited male singing kinglet. (I recommend that you repeat the words “singing kinglet” several times and you will almost certainly end up with a smile on your face.)

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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American Robin in February

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged American robin, Canon 50D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, robin, Tamron 150-600mm, Turdus migratorius, Woodbridge VA on February 26, 2020| 19 Comments »

Where I live in Northern Virginia, American Robins (Turdus migratorius) stay with us throughout most of the year, but I am always happy to see them because they evoke memories of my childhood, when robins were viewed as a harbinger of spring. This robin was part of a small flock that I spotted last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

Robins also bring a smile to my face, because they invariably bring to mind the song “When the Red, Red Robin (Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin’ Along)” that includes these catchy lyrics (as found on lyrics.com):

“When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bob-Bob Bobbin’ Along
When the red, red robin comes bob, bob, bobbin’ along, along
There’ll be no more sobbin’ when he starts throbbin’ his old sweet song

Wake up, wake up you sleepy head
Get up, get out of your bed
Cheer up, cheer up the sun is red
Live, love, laugh and be happy

What if I were blue,
Now I’m walking through
Fields of flowers
Rain may glisten but still I listen for hours and hours

I’m just a kid again doing what I did again, singing a song
When the red, red robin comes bob, bob, bobbin’ along.”

If you are unfamiliar with this song, check out this link to Youtube to hear a wonderful version by Bing Crosby.

Readers from the United States may have noted that I initially called this bird an American Robin, rather than simply a Robin. Thanks to my occasional trips to Europe, I have been introduced to the European Robin (Erithacus rubecula), an equally beautiful but completely different bird. Here’s a link to a posting about a European Robin that I spotted in Paris last November.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Focused Downy Woodpecker

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Downy Woodpecker, male Downy Woodpecker, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Picoides pubescens, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on February 25, 2020| 15 Comments »

Getting an unobstructed shot of small birds is frequently impossible, so I often have to twist, turn, and bend in order to get a clear shot of at least the bird’s head. That certainly was the case with this focused male Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

If you look closely at the web of branches that surround and frame this woodpecker, you may notice that they are at varying degrees of sharpness, with some of them closer to the bird and some closer to me. My task was to find a visual tunnel through the branches that would somehow make them as undistracting as possible, even when they run right across the body of the main subject. Of course, the challenge is even greater with a subject like a Down Woodpecker that is hyperactive and in almost constant motion.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Ruffled feathers

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Bald Eagle, Canon 50D, eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, ruffled feathers, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on February 24, 2020| 11 Comments »

The wind was blowing strongly last Friday morning at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, giving this Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) a bad case of “bed head.” I think that the wind may also have distracted the eagle a little, which allowed me to move closer to the eagle that I might otherwise have been able to do.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Red-bellied Woodpecker in late February

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Melanerpes carolinus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA, woodpecker on February 23, 2020| 9 Comments »

During a frosty early morning February foray into Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I spotted this handsome male Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) with fluffed-up feathers. Undeterred by the wind and the cold, he was feverishly moving up and around this tree trunk, pecking along the way in search of a tasty tidbit for breakfast.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Eye on the prize

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, poison ivy berries, Regulus calendula, ruby-crowned kinglet, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on February 22, 2020| 12 Comments »

This Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula) had its eye on the prize, with the prize being a cluster of wizened poison ivy berries, yesterday morning at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. These tiny songbirds rely on seeds and fruits to make it through the winter. I won’t be long, though, before they revert to a diet of primarily insects—I like to think of them as seasonal vegetarians.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Wading heron

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Ardea herodias, Canon 50D, Great Blue Heron, heron, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on February 21, 2020| 11 Comments »

It was sunny this morning, as forecast, but it was also windy and cold when I set out at 7 o’clock, about 25 degrees (minus 4 degrees C), according to the thermometer in my car. Most of the birds at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge seemed to have decided to sleep late, but eventually I started to see some of them, including this Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) that was wading out into the shallow waters of a low tide.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Hidden wren

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Carolina Wren, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Thryothorus ludovicianus, Woodbridge VA on February 20, 2020| 10 Comments »

On some winter days it is tough to find birds to photograph—all of the birds that I do manage to see are either far away or hidden. On one of those kind of days last week, I was thrilled to spot this cute little Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) that was only half-hidden in a distant tree. My efforts were aided by the fact that Carolina Wrens are loud singers, especially considering their diminutive size, which allowed me to hear this bird well before I actually saw it.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Bees and blossoms

Posted in Bees, Flowers, Gardening, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged Canon 50D, green spring gardens, honey bee, honeybee, Japanese Apricot tree, plum blossoms, Prunus mume, Tamron 180mm macro lens on February 19, 2020| 10 Comments »

One of the highlights of my visit on Monday to Green Spring Gardens was photographing a blossoming Japanese Apricot tree (Prunus mume). It was a little strange to see a tree with blossoms during the winter, but apparently it is normal for this species to blossom in mid-winter and late winter. The flowers are commonly known as plum blossoms and are a frequent theme in traditional painting in China and in other East Asian countries—the blossoms were also a favorite with the honey bees.

According to Wikipedia, the plum blossom is “one of the most beloved flowers in China and has been frequently depicted in Chinese art and poetry for centuries. The plum blossom is seen as a symbol of winter and a harbinger of spring. The blossoms are so beloved because they are viewed as blooming most vibrantly amidst the winter snow, exuding an ethereal elegance, while their fragrance is noticed to still subtly pervade the air at even the coldest times of the year. Therefore, the plum blossom came to symbolize perseverance and hope, as well as beauty, purity, and the transitoriness of life.”

I do not use my macro lens very much during the winter months and usually leave it at home. However, the mild weather that we have been having made me suspect that some flowers would be in bloom, so I put the macro lens on my camera—the busy bees turned out to be a big bonus.

I especially admired the efforts of the bee in the first photo. This bee did not want to wait for the bud to open, but instead burrowed its way to the pollen-filled center of the blossom-to-be.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Crocuses in mid-February

Posted in Bees, Flowers, Gardening, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, crocuses, crocuses in bloom, green spring gardens, honey bee, honeybee, Tamron 180mm on February 18, 2020| 16 Comments »

This winter has been usually mild and spring color is already starting to appear in our area. During a visit yesterday to Green Spring Gardens, a local county-run historical garden, I spotted crocuses in bloom at several locations. Finding crocuses was not too much of a surprise, since they are usually among the first flowers to appear each spring. However, it was an unexpected bonus to be able to photograph a honey bee collecting pollen inside of one of the crocuses.

In many ways yesterday’s photography was a return to my roots. When I started getting more serious about photography seven years ago, I did a lot of shooting with my friend and mentor, Cindy Dyer. One of her many areas of specialization is macro photography of flowers and some of her flower images have even appeared on US postage stamps. From her I learned a lot about the technical aspects of photography, like composition and depth of field, but more importantly she encouraged and inspired me back then and continues to do so to this day. Thanks, Cindy.

I started off photographing flowers with a few insects, but gradually realized that I was more interested in shooting insects with a few flowers. I can appreciate the beauty of the crocuses in the second and third images below, but the first shot is more representative of my desired shooting style.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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A breath of fresh air

Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Agelaius phoeniceus, Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, male Red-winged Blackbird, red-winged blackbird, Tamron 150-600mm, visible song on February 17, 2020| 29 Comments »

I went searching through my archives yesterday for a photo from March 2016 that I wanted to have printed. I won’t dwell on my storage practices, but suffice it to say that I am not very well organized. The image in question, one of my all-time favorite shots, shows a Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) whose breath was visible in the cold morning air. I have posted the image a few times and have had some really positive response, but somehow I had never gotten around to having it printed.

I had forgotten that I had captured multiple shots that day and as I was going through them yesterday I came across the first shot below that I have never posted. I love the way that the image shows how the blackbird puts his whole body into producing his “visible song”—I remember my choir leaders instructing us on the importance of breathing from the diaphragm for better sound projection.

The second and third shots give you a better view of the bird’s breath as it was being expelled. I was playing around with image formats and decided to do a square crop that I think works pretty well with these images. One of the photo companies has a sale today on canvas prints and I may one or more of these shots printed to see how they look. A friend has also suggested that I consider having a metal print made of one of them.

The temperature, humidity, and lighting all have be perfect to be able to see this phenomenon shown here. I have not been lucky enough to see it again since that day almost four years ago, though others have taken similar shots at the same location in recent years.

If you are curious to read my blog posting about the initial encounter, check out my 8 March 2016 blog posting entitled “Visible Song.”

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Simply a Song Sparrow

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Melospiza melodia, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, song sparrow, sparrow, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on February 16, 2020| 10 Comments »

Last Wednesday I spotted this little sparrow at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I thought it was a Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia), but decided to check with some birding experts on Facebook who were able to confirm my initial suspicions. It did take me a little while longer to get a response than usual, however, because my proposed identification was correct. I tend to get quicker responses when I am wrong—folks will often jump in really quickly to correct me.

Although Song Sparrows are one of the most common sparrow species where I live, I love trying to get shots of them whenever I can. In this case, I was happy with the simple composition and minimalist color palette that I was able to capture in this image—all of the different shades of brown give the image a harmonious feel that I find pleasing.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Ducks in the distance

Posted in Birds, Landscape, Nature, Photography, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, distant ducks, ducks, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on February 15, 2020| 7 Comments »

Most of the time I try to take detailed shots of the birds that I photograph, but somethings that simply is not possible. This past week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, the ducks all stayed in the deep water, far from the shore on which I was standing. As I gazed to my right and to my left searching for closer ducks, I became increasingly fascinated by the bare branches of the trees overhanging the water.

Even though I was shooting with a long telephoto lens, I decided to try to capture the landscape that was drawing me in. If you look closely at the two images below, you will see that I have included some distant ducks, but clearly they were not the focus of the photos. A wider lens might have capture the environment better, but would have risked drawing the viewers’ eyes away from the tree shapes. I don’t take landscape-style photos very often, but sometimes that is what the situation seems to call for and/or permits.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Eagle affection

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Bald Eagle, Bald Eagle couple, Canon 50D, eagle affection, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on February 14, 2020| 21 Comments »

How do Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) show affection? I am not sure exactly what these two eagles were doing when I spotted them on Tuesday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Were they singing to each other? Maybe they doing some version of eagle French kissing? Whatever the case, the eagles definitely seemed to be enjoying spending the time close together, beak-to-beak, showing love in their own ways.

Happy Valentine’s Day as you show love in your own way. Although this holiday traditionally is focused on couples, I think that singles like me should also celebrate love today—I love flowers and am planning to get some later today. It is more than ok to love yourself, so go ahead and treat yourself today—you are worth it.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Trying to hide

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Cardinalis cardinalis, male Northern Cardinal, Northern cardinal, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on February 13, 2020| 17 Comments »

Do male Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) know that they are bright red in color? When I spooked one of them yesterday morning at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, he flew to a nearby field and perched in the midst of a mass of vegetation.

Did he think that he was hidden from me? Obviously he was not—his red coloration makes it almost impossible for him to blend in. I couldn’t help but think of a quotation that is attributed to Dr. Seuss, “Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” That’s probably a good question for all of us—as you can probably guess, I am somewhat of a non-conformist.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Mantis egg case

Posted in Insects, Nature, Photography, tagged Canon 50D, Canon 70-300mm, Chinese mantis, Lorton VA, mantis egg case, Occoquan Regional Park, ootheca, Tenodera sinensis sinensis on February 12, 2020| 12 Comments »

As I was exploring Occoquan Regional Park last week with fellow dragonfly enthusiast Walter Sanford, he pointed out a foamy-looking mass attached to the branches of a bush and asked me if I knew what it was. My first thought was that it was some sort of cocoon, but I had never seen one that looked like this. Walter informed me that it was an ootheca and when I continued to look at him with a blank stare, he explained that an ootheca is an egg case for a praying mantis, in this case most likely a Chinese mantis (Tenodera sinensis sinensis).

I did a little research on-line and learned more about oothecae in an article on the Thoughtco.com website.

“Soon after mating, a female praying mantis deposits a mass of eggs on a twig or other suitable structure. She may lay just a few dozen eggs or as many as 400 at one time. Using special accessory glands on her abdomen, the mother mantis then covers her eggs with a frothy substance, which hardens quickly to a consistency similar to polystyrene. This egg case is called an ootheca.”

Several articles warned readers against collecting one of these egg masses. Apparently indoor heat may cause the tiny mantises inside to think it is spring and you may suddenly find yourself with 400 new additions to your household.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Deer management season

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Canon 70-300mm, deer hunting, deer management, Lorton VA, Occoquan Regional Park, Odocoileus virginianus, white-tailed deer on February 11, 2020| 4 Comments »

Deer hunting is conducted from early September to late February in many of the county-run parks where I take photographs. Our area is over-populated with White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and hunting is one element of a comprehensive deer management program. I am personally not a hunter, but I understand the need to try to keep the population in check to limit the likelihood of collisions with cars or of deer dying from starvation during the winter months.

No areas of these parks are closed during this hunting season, which might sound dangerous, but there are strict requirements that the hunters must follow. Most notably they have to be trained and certified archers and must shoot from tree stands. Most people never see the tree stands because they are in remote areas of the parks, but those are precisely the areas that I like to visit.

During recent trips to Occoquan Regional Park, I spotted the tree stand shown in the first photo below. No archers were sitting in the stand, though in the past I have spotted occupied tree stands a couple of times. The second image shows one of several trail cameras that I have seen at this park this year. The cameras that I have spotted in the past were more primitive—they recorded to a memory card that had to be retrieved and reviewed. The markings on the camera shown indicated that it could transmit on a cell phone signal. The manufacturer’s website notes that images can be sent in real-time or transmitted in a batch at periodic intervals during the day.

How does all of this affect me? I am not deterred from visiting these locations, but I am extra alert and cautious when I know there are tree stands nearby. I also make sure that I smile whenever I spot a trail camera—I never know when someone is watching me.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Colorful bufflehead

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Ben Brenman Park, Bucephala albeola, bufflehead, bufflehead duck, Canon 50D, male bufflehead, Tamron 150-600mm on February 10, 2020| 21 Comments »

I was thrilled Saturday when the sunlight illuminated the beautiful colors of this male Bufflehead duck (Bucephala albeola) as he was drying his wing feathers at the pond at Ben Brenman Park in Alexandria, Virginia. In the past I had gotten glimpses of the brilliant purple and green colors on the head of a bufflehead, but this is the first time that I have been able to capture them so well.

In most of my previous shots of a male bufflehead, those colors all blend together into a nondescript dark color. I was definitely helped by the way that the way the bufflehead had lifted himself partially out of the water in order to flap his wings, giving me a clearer view of its head..

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Skunk cabbage

Posted in Flowers, Nature, Photography, Winter, tagged Arrowhead Spiketail, Canon 50D, Canon 70-300mm, Cordulegaster obliqua, Gray Petaltail, Lorton VA, Occoquan Regional Park, Prince William Forest Park, skunk cabbage, Symplocarpus foetidus, Tachopteryx thoreyi, Triangle VA on February 9, 2020| 10 Comments »

The past few weeks I have been searching for patches of skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus). What exactly is skunk cabbage? The Gardening Know How website describes the plant in these words, “Skunk cabbage is a perennial wildflower that grows in swampy, wet areas of forest lands. This unusual plant sprouts very early in the spring, and has an odd chemistry that creates its own heat, often melting the snow around itself as it first sprouts in the spring.” In case you are curious, the plant gets its name from the fact that its leaves gives off a smell of skunk or rotting meat when they are crushed or bruised—I can’t personally vouch for that fact, but am willing to accept it at face-value.

So why am I looking for this curious plant that has already begun to sprout in my area? Several types of dragonflies, including the Arrowhead Spiketail dragonfly (Cordulegaster obliqua) that I featured last week, and the Gray Petaltail dragonfly (Tachopteryx thoreyi) can be found in the kind of forest seeps where skunk cabbage grows. The purpose of my recent trips to several parks has been to conduct advance reconnaissance of locations to explore when dragonfly season finally arrives.

For more information about skunk cabbage and how dragonflies are associated with this plant, check out this recent posting by Walter Sanford, my friend and fellow dragonfly enthusiast, with whom I have conducted some of these scouting expeditions.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Another winter beauty

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, white-throated sparrow, Woodbridge VA, Zonotrichia albicollis on February 8, 2020| 9 Comments »

White-throated Sparrows (Zonotrichia albicollis) are with us throughout the winter and I will usually attempt to photograph them during my winter forays into the wild. I tend to think of White-throated Sparrows as the “dandies” of the sparrow world—they have the same general coloration as other sparrows, but have a distinctive appearance with their white chin beards and bright yellow eyestripes. It is a real bonus when the lighting is good and the perch is photogenic, as was the case last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Two kinglets

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Golden-crowned Kinglet, kinglet, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Regulus calendula, Regulus satrapa, ruby-crowned kinglet, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on February 7, 2020| 14 Comments »

Kinglets are tiny birds, about 4 inches (10 cm) in length, and always seem to be in constant motion in heavily vegetated areas. As a result, they tend to be really hard to photograph. Last week at Occoquan Bay National Refuge I was thrilled to be able to capture images of both kinglet species in our area—the Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa) and the Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula).

It is not hard to guess that the bird in the first shot is a Golden-crowned Kinglet. I was never able to get close to the kinglet, but it did give me a clear view of its beauty when it perched momentarily on a small branch. The Ruby-crowned Kinglet in the second image has a more typical pose, surrounded by vines and branches. I shot over a dozen images of this little bird and this is the only one in which its head is up and visible.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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