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Archive for the ‘Photography’ Category

Osprey nests

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on April 20, 2019| 4 Comments »

When it comes to choosing a nesting site, Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge seem to be opportunistic. Some lucky couples are able to snag pre-existing nesting sites that require only minor improvements, while others are forced to build entirely new nests.

This past Thursday I photographed a nest that is annually built on top of one of the duck hunting blinds in the waters off of the wildlife refuge. Earlier in the season, the ospreys would fly away as I walked by on a trail, but now that the trees are leafing out, the ospreys have a bit more privacy.

The nest in the second image is a new nest, built in the last couple of weeks and probably still under construction. It is adjacent to the location where the nest in the third shot used to be. For reasons that are not clear to me, that nesting platform has disappeared and only a part of the post remains. I believe that the new nest may have been built by  the couple that occupied that nesting platform earlier in the season.

Osprey

Osprey

Osprey

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Defying gravity

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on April 19, 2019| 13 Comments »

When presented with a downward-facing flower, this Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucus) was forced to choose an unusual angle of attack. Seeming defying gravity, this acrobatic butterfly hung upside down as it probed upwards earlier this week at Prince William Forest Park in Triangle, Virginia.

If this were an Olympic competition, I would give him a 10 for both his technical skills and overall artistic impression.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Louisiana Waterthrush

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , on April 18, 2019| 2 Comments »

Yesterday while I was exploring a stream in Northern Virginia looking for dragonflies, I came across an interesting little bird perched in a tree at the edge of the stream. I could not identify it on the spot and when I returned home and looked at my identification guide, I was still uncertain. Some experienced birders in a Facebook forum identified it as a Louisiana Waterthrush (Parkesia motacilla).

I think I bypassed that entry in my guide, assuming incorrectly that I was in the wrong geographic area. Strangely enough, the Louisiana Waterthrush is not even in the thrush section of the guide, where you find birds like American Robins—it is a warbler.

Louisiana Waterthrush

Louisiana Waterthrush

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Female Twin-spotted Spiketail

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on April 17, 2019| 5 Comments »

I sometimes complain about the names given to species and how little they correspond to what I actually see in the field. That certainly was not the case yesterday when I spotted a Twin-spotted Spiketail dragonfly (Cordulegaster maculata) along a creek in Northern Virginia. If you look closely at the image, ideally by double-clicking it, you will see the double row of spots on the dragonfly’s abdomen (the “tail”) and the long pointed ovipositor extending well beyond the end of the abdomen, the “spiketail.”

As I post photos of dragonflies, I realize that it is hard for readers to get a feel of the relative size of these beautiful creatures. The Uhler’s Sundragons that I have featured recently are about 1.7 inches in length (44 mm). A Twin-spotted Spiketail, by contrast, is much larger, about 2.8 inches in length (69 mm).

Both of these species are uncommon to rare in our area, primarily because of their specific habitat requirements—they require clean forest streams, which are not common in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area and they have an early and short flight season of only a few weeks.

Twin-spotted Spiketail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Grains of pollen on a dragonfly

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on April 16, 2019| 8 Comments »

You know you are pretty close to a dragonfly when you can see individual grains of pollen on its head and body. I photographed this Uhler’s Sundragon dragonfly (Helocordulia uhleri) on 12 April alongside a creek in Northern Virginia. Ideally it would be best to stabilize macro shots taken at this close a range by placing the camera on a tripod, but in a field situation with a live subject, that is rarely possible.

If you click on the individual images, you will see some wonderful details, like the ommatidia, the individual optical units that make up the amazing compound eyes of these dragonflies.

Uhler's Sundragon

uhler's sundragon

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Springtime swimming snake

Posted in Nature, Photography, Reptiles, snake, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on April 15, 2019| 8 Comments »

One of the hazards of exploring creeks and streams at this time of the year is that snakes may be sunning themselves at water’s edge. Last week I was startled when I suddenly realized that there was a snake right in front of me, precisely in the direction in which I had been moving.

I managed to get a shot of the sunning snake, which I believe to be a Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon), just before it set off swimming down the creek. Although the first shot may make it look like I was really close to the snake, I was actually a good distance away—generally I prefer to use long telephoto lenses with snakes.

Northern Water Snake

Northern Water Snake

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Another spring butterfly

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on April 14, 2019| 9 Comments »

As we move deeper into spring, more and more butterflies are starting to appear, like this beautiful Zebra Swallowtail (Protographium marcellus) that I spotted yesterday at Accotink Bay Wildlife Refuge. Zebra Swallowtails are most often associated with pawpaw trees, which is helpful to know, though I must confess I don’t know how to identify a pawpaw tree. What I do know is that these butterflies are constantly on the move and fly in such an erratic way that I have trouble getting a decent photograph of one.

Yesterday I managed to get a shot of a Zebra Swallowtail when it paused momentarily at a small tree, perhaps a possible pawpaw. What I like about the shot is that it shows well the colors of the butterfly as well as its long “tails.” I could not decide how much to crop the image, which was taken from a pretty good distance away, so I am including tow versions of the image. Personally I am drawn most to the second one, but recognize that many folks may prefer the first versions, which draws you more quickly to the butterfly’s beautiful details.

Zebra Swallowtail

Zebra Swallowtail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

 

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Springtime yellow

Posted in Birds, Butterflies, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on April 13, 2019| 14 Comments »

Do you associate certain colors with certain seasons? For me, yellow is definitely a springtime color. After months of winter weather dominated by shades of gray and a palette of faded colors, spring explodes with bright colors, with yellow daffodils popping up all over the place. Usually I have to wait a bit longer for yellow to pop up in the birds and insects that I enjoy photographing.

As I was exploring with my camera this week, I ran across bright yellow subjects in two very different locations. One, a Pine Warbler (Setophaga pinus) was quite appropriately perched high in a pine tree. The second was an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucus) that appeared to be probing the sand on the bank of a forest creek. I suspect that the butterfly needed the minerals and salts, although I confess to initially thinking that butterflies needed only nectar from flowers for sustenance (and there were definitely no flower in the area of that creek).

Pine Warbler

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Uhler’s Sundragon dragonfly

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on April 12, 2019| 6 Comments »

On Wednesday I finally photographed my first dragonflies of the season, some Uhler’s Sundragons (Helocordulia uhleri) that I spotted while exploring a creek in Northern Virginia. This was my first time seeing this species and I was particularly excited, because it is considered to be rare in my area. According to the Dragonflies of Northern Virginia website, this species is a “scarce and seldom seen member of the emerald family” and is a “habitat specialist with a brief and early flight period.”

Initially I took some medium distance shots with my 180mm macro lens and them moved in closer to get the first shot. In order for me to get such a close-up shot, the dragonfly has to be cooperative and this female Uhler’s Sundragon was quite accommodating.

As you probably notice in the first photo, only a limited amount of details are in focus when shooting a subject this close.  One of the biggest challenges is to ensure that the most important features are the sharpest. Following the usual rule for photographing live subjects, I attempted to focus on the eyes.

For me, dragonfly season is now open and I anticipate that I will be featuring different species of these beautiful aerial acrobats quite regularly in the upcoming months.

Uhler's Sundragon

Uhler's Sundragon

Uhler's Sundragon

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Warts and all

Posted in Amphibians, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on April 11, 2019| 4 Comments »

When you truly love someone, you love them warts and all (and as the second image shows, American Toads (Anaxyrus americanus) have lots of warts). I spotted these amorous amphibians earlier this week at Prince William Forest Park in Triangle, Virginia.

American Toads

American Toad

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Groundhog in a tree

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , on April 11, 2019| 12 Comments »

As I was exploring Accotink Bay Wildlife Refuge earlier this week, I spotted an unusual shape in a small tree. I moved a little closer and zoomed in with my camera and discovered that it was a fairly large animal. It was bigger than a squirrel, so my initial thought was that it was a raccoon or an opossum, but as I studied my viewfinder, I quickly rejected those possibilities.

What was the animal? When I uploaded the images to my computer, the facial features reminded me of a beaver, but the visible portions of the animal’s tail look to be hairy, so I eliminated both the beaver and the muskrat. Grasping at straws, I started looking at photos of porcupines, but they didn’t match at all what I was seeing in the photo. Finally I came across some photos of a Groundhog (Marmota monax) and I realized that I had finally found a match.

I guess that the name “groundhog” threw me off, because I expected a groundhog to be on the “ground,” not in a tree and I can’t imagine a “hog” climbing a tree. According to Wikipedia, groundhogs, also known as woodchucks, “occasionally climb trees when escaping predators or when they want to survey their surroundings.”

groundhog

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Peculiar Pileated Woodpecker

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , on April 10, 2019| 10 Comments »

I was a little surprised and quite happy this past weekend to spot a Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) poking about on the ground at Occoquan Regional Park. Most of the time I have to settle for high-angle shots when I am lucky enough to spot one of these giant woodpeckers. I have been told that these woodpeckers regularly probe fallen trees, but this was a first for me.

After I inadvertently spooked the woodpecker, it flew to a nearby tree. The light was coming from the side and the front when I took the second shot and it made the woodpecker red crest look like it was on fire. Somehow it seemed appropriate, given that most redheads I have known have tended to be quite fiery.

Pileated Woodpecker

Pileated Woodpecker

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Visible sound

Posted in Amphibians, frog, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , , on April 9, 2019| 19 Comments »

Can you actually see a sound? Yesterday while I was exploring Prince William Forest Park, I heard a whole lot of croaking. Eventually I spotted one really loud male toad with an inflated vocal sac, which was pretty cool. What were even cooler were the concentric ripples in the water generated by the toad’s croaking.

The second image shows the toad resting in between performances, whose main purpose is to attract mates. His song did not appear to have had any immediate benefits, although I was certainly impressed.

UPDATE: I initially identified this as a frog, but fellow blogger and wildlife enthusiast Walter Sanford pointed out to me that this is probably an American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus).

frog

frog

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Hermit Thrush in April

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on April 8, 2019| 7 Comments »

Last week I took a break from exploring Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge and hiked about in Prince William Forest Park in Triangle, Virginia. According to Wikipedia, this park is the largest protected natural area in the Washington D.C. metropolitan region at over 16,000 acres.  I went lighter than usual with my camera gear, carrying only my Canon SX50 superzoom camera, because I knew that I would be doing a lot of walking on hilly forest trails, which fortunately were well-marked with signs and colored blazes on the trees.

I did not see much wildlife, but was quite happy to capture these shots of a Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus) that was poking about in the underbrush. The shape of the Hermit Thrush reminds me of that of the American Robin, another bird in the greater thrush family, though, of course, the breast of the Hermit Thrush lacks the distinctive reddish-orange color of the robin.

Hermit Thrush

Hermit Thrush

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Fragile Forktails are first damselflies

Posted in damselfly, Dragonflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged , , , , , , on April 7, 2019| 10 Comments »

I’m still looking for my first dragonfly of the season, but was thrilled yesterday afternoon when I spotted my first damselfly, a Fragile Forktail (Ischnura posita), at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge. In anticipation of seeing one of these small insects, I mounted my Tamron 180mm macro lens on my camera, a lens that has gone largely unused during the long winter months in favor of my telephoto zoom lens.

Yesterday was a nice reminded of how much I enjoy using a macro lens. (To give you a sense of scale, a Fragile Forktail damselfly is about 0.8-1.1 inches in length (21-29mm).)

 

Fragile Forktail

Fragile Forktail

Fragile Forktail

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Another April sunrise

Posted in Art, Landscape, Nature, Photography, spring, sunrise, tagged , , , on April 6, 2019| 29 Comments »

I’ve noticed that recently I have been really sensitive to lighting and moods and not just to specific subjects. It’s problematic for me, because it is so difficult to figure out how to capture a feeling.

That is part of what was going through my head when I took this photo early in the morning this past Wednesday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The sun had already risen, but it was still low in the sky. I loved the way that shafts of light were visible coming through the trees. It was a cold morning and mist was hanging over the still water of a small pond. Could I possiblycapture the details that took my breath away?

So what do you think, or more importantly, what do you feel?

sunrise

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Beware of sleeping ospreys

Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on April 5, 2019| 4 Comments »

Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) in my area have been building nests in all kinds of places, including on some channel markers in the Potomac River off of Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I personally don’t really think that there is enough space there for a nest, but the ospreys seem to think otherwise.

I am amused by the “No wake” sign that they have chosen. During busy periods, I would think that “No sleep” would be more appropriate.

Have a wonderful weekend. 🙂

osprey

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher in April

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on April 5, 2019| 7 Comments »

There is no doubt that I love photographing majestic raptors, like the bald eagles that I regularly feature. Yet there is something equally special about capturing images of tiny songbirds, like this perky little Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea) that I spotted earlier this week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

How small are these birds? According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers are 3.9-4.3 inches in length (10-11 cm) and weigh 0.2-0.3 ounces (5-9 grams), just slightly larger than a hummingbird. The same source notes that, despite the bird’s name, gnats do not form a significant part of a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher’s diet.

Who comes up with these names?

 

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Eagle and catch

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on April 4, 2019| 17 Comments »

A Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) paused for a moment to check on its catch as it flew away on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Occasionally I will see an eagle flying with a fish in its talons, but it is quite rare for me to see an eagle actually catch the fish.

In this case, I was fortunate enough to spot an eagle circling low over the water and I captured a few images just after the eagle snagged the fish. In the second shot, which chronologically speaking was the first shot, you can just make out the fish. In the third shot, the eagle appears to be adjusting itself to the additional weight and is starting to increase its speed and altitude.

These are the kind of action shots that I love to capture. I never know when such situations will arise, so I always try to remain ready to react.

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Juvenile bald eagle in flight

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on April 3, 2019| 4 Comments »

On Monday it was cool and windy and I didn’t expect to see many birds at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I was pleasantly surprised to spot several Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) flying about. The wind seemed to slow them down a little and gave me a slightly better chance of capturing images of them in flight.

My favorite subject was this juvenile eagle. Sometimes juveniles can look somewhat bedraggled with their multi-colored feathers, but I thought that this one looked quite handsome, especially when the light hit it from a good angle and illuminated its body. One unexpected benefit was that it was easier to get a proper exposure with the juvenile because it does not have the extreme contrasts of the dark body and white head of the adults. In many of my shots of adult eagles, the body ends up underexposed and/or the head ends up overexposed.

juvenile bald eagle

juvenile bald eagle

juvenile bald eagle

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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First spring warbler

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on April 2, 2019| 10 Comments »

Yesterday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge I spotted my first warbler of the spring, a Palm Warbler (Setophaga palmarum). For several weeks, I have been diligently searching the ground and the trees for warblers, whose appearance marks the beginning of spring for some birders. It was not surprising that the first one I saw was a Palm Warbler, because they are traditionally one of the earliest species to arrive, but I was a little surprised to find several of them at water’s edge, poking about in the rocks and the debris. In the past, I have most often spotted them on the grassy trails.

I was not able to get close to these little warblers, so my normal temptation was to crop my images, as I did in the first one, in order to highlight the bird. As I was working on the second image, I decided I liked the idea of including more of the environment, even though it is a bit cluttered. What do you think?

Palm Warbler

Palm Warbler

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Roly-poly kinglet

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on April 1, 2019| 3 Comments »

Some birds are so round in appearance that they look more like cartoons than real birds. That was certainly the case with this tiny Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula) that I spotted last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Nesting bluebirds

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on March 31, 2019| 2 Comments »

Yesterday I spotted this pair of Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis) perched on a nesting box at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The female appeared to have nesting materials in her bill and seemed ready to build a nest. The only problem is that this nesting box, I believe, is currently being used by some Tree Swallows.

I don’t know for sure if this is the place where the bluebirds plan to make their nest and I never did see either of the bluebirds enter the nesting box. However, a short time later I spotted the male bluebird with nesting material in his bill, so it is quite likely that they are determined to construct a nest somewhere nearby.

Eastern Bluebirds

Eastern Bluebird

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Mockingbird seeking seeds

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on March 30, 2019| 4 Comments »

Normally when I see a Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos), it is perched in a tree. This past Wednesday at Occoquan Bay National WIidlife Refuge, I spotted one foraging in a field. The mockingbird was perched on the stalks of the vegetation and periodically would bend down and grab a few seeds.

I love the way that the cooler tones of the bird contrast with the warmer shades of the vegetation and the background. That contrast makes this fairly common bird really stand out and shine.

Northern Mockingbird

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Swimming beaver

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on March 30, 2019| 3 Comments »

During one of my recent early morning forays to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I was thrilled to spot several beavers. I had seen plenty of gnawed off trees in the area around this pond, so I knew that there had to be some beavers nearby. You generally have to be really lucky to see one, because they are mostly nocturnal creatures.

There were three beavers when I initially spotted them swimming towards me. Two of them seemed to sense my presence as they got a little closer and dove underwater. One kept approaching and I was able to capture the first image, a head shot  of a handsome North American Beaver (Castor canadensis). The second image shows the beaver as it was swimming and gives you a better sense of the environment in which it was found.

beaver

beaver

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Sweet Carolina Wren Song

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on March 29, 2019| 5 Comments »

I love the sweet sounds of a Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus), like this little beauty that I spotted on Wednesday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.  Most of the times when I see a Carolina Wren, it is hopping about in the underbrush, but sometimes when they are going to sing, they choose a higher, more visible perch.

Carolina Wren

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Early morning feeling

Posted in Inspiration, Landscape, Nature, Photography, spring, tagged , , , , on March 28, 2019| 5 Comments »

I love the feeling of the early morning, when the sun is just beginning to rise. Some mornings begin with fog hanging over the fields, giving the scene an eerie feeling. On other mornings, the sun adds color to the sky and produces beautiful reflected light in the clouds. I never know what the sunrise will bring when I set out in the dark, but I love to start the way watching darkness give way to light.

I captured these images on separate mornings during this past week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.


early morning

sunrise

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Juvenile Cooper’s Hawk

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on March 28, 2019| 4 Comments »

This past Monday I spotted this juvenile Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) high in a tree at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Initially there were a lot of branches between us, but I was able to move slowly and stealthily closer to the little hawk and get a relatively clear shot of it.

Cooper's Hawk

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Look, Ma, no hands

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on March 27, 2019| 9 Comments »

This past week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge I observed two large birds consuming large fish using very different techniques. The first, a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias), carefully positioned the fish and then swallowed it in a single big gulp.

An Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), pictured below, used a much slower and methodical approach, tearing small chunks off of the fish. It takes a lot of bites to finish off a fish in this way. In between bites, the osprey would often look around to make sure no other bird was approaching and attempting to steal its catch.

When it needed to tug extra hard on the fish, the osprey would sometimes extend its wings in what I assume was an effort to stay balanced and keep from falling out of the tree. I believe that is what was going on at the moment when I captured this image.

Osprey

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Spring Azure butterfly in March

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on March 26, 2019| 8 Comments »

Insects are becoming more active now as the weather warms up a bit, like this tiny Spring Azure butterfly (Celastrina ladon) that I spotted yesterday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

There is something about chasing after a butterfly that makes me feel like a child again. I am sure that I would have looked ridiculous to an outside observer, who would have wondered what it the world I was doing.

Try it yourself. Chase a butterfly today or, if you can’t find one, let go of your inhibitions and do something equally childlike, like coloring with crayons. I think that most of us take ourselves too seriously too often.

Spring Azure

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Unpredictable eagle

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on March 25, 2019| 2 Comments »

This Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) dropped more quickly than I anticipated when it took off last Friday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, but somehow I managed to keep most of it within the frame.

Whenever I see an eagle perched in a tree, my mind starts to go into overdrive and my fingers get twitchy. Should I take an immediate shot or should I try to get closer? If I manage to get closer, should I zoom in all the way to capture the perched eagle or leave room in the frame if the eagle decided to take off? I try to anticipate what is going to happen, knowing that I will most likely will have to react to a scenario that I hadn’t predicted.

This eagle, for example, did something unusual—it initially flew towards me. In my experience, eagles almost always fly away from me when they take off. A bird flying right at you is a real challenge to photograph. My focus on the eagle’s eye was off a little bit, but I was very happy to capture an image in which I am looking straight at the eagle’s face from in between the wings.

Growing up, I was a member of the Boy Scouts and the Scout motto of “Be Prepared” serves me well when I am trying to photograph wild creatures like this bald eagle.

bald eagle

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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