Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Hooded Merganser, Hooded Merganser duck, Huntley Meadows Park, Lophodytes cucullatus, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto, Velentine's Day on February 14, 2015| 8 Comments »
As I look at this image from last week of a couple of Hooded Mergansers (Lophodytes cucullatus) swimming together, they somehow remind me of a young adolescent couple out for a date on Valentine’s Day. There is an awkwardness in their body language, but the gawky male seems to have a smile on his face, content that he has found someone with whom to share these special moments.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Ardea herodias, Canon 50D, Great Blue Heron, heron, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on February 13, 2015| 10 Comments »
Even in Northern Virginia, where temperature are relatively mild, winter must be difficult for Great Blue Herons, because many of their favorite ponds freeze over from time to time and fishing is not possible. After a recent period of temperatures above freezing, the ice melted and I was happy to see a heron return to a familiar location at my local marshland park.
I encountered this Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) early on a Saturday and had an extended period of time with this photogenic bird. The heron seemed to be willing to pose for me and gave me a number of different looks.
At times, as you can see in the final shot, the heron would look straight at me with apparent curiosity. After I had taken my shots, I moved along the boardwalk, leaving the heron to continue in his efforts to catch something to eat for breakfast.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Bald Eagle, Canon 50D, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on February 11, 2015| 8 Comments »
After record-breaking warm weather this past Sunday, the ice on the ponds at my local marshland park melted and I suspected that there might be a Bald Eagle there on Monday. On a gloomy, overcast day, I spotted one in the trees and captured some shots as the eagle took off and flew away.
Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) frequently hang out in a remote area of Huntley Meadows Park, and I think that that there may be a nest in that general area. When the ponds started to freeze over, not surprisingly the eagles seem to have disappeared from view.
I initially caught sight of the eagle in flight and watched it land on a distant tree. I had an unobstructed view of the eagle, because I was looking over a small body of water. My telephoto lens is too heavy to hold for long periods of time when it is pointing upwards, but I was fortunate that I was looking through the viewfinder when the eagle took off from the tree.
I have been working on tracking birds in flight and managed to keep the eagle pretty much in focus as it flew over the trees. When the lens is extended to 600mm, it’s quite a challenge to keep a moving subject in the viewfinder. Normally I also like to keep my ISO as low as possible to avoid grainy images, because my Canon 50D is a little dated and doesn’t handle higher ISO levels as well as newer cameras. Taking into account the limited light on the overcast day, I was shooting at ISO 1000, which let me stop the action at 1/1000 of a second.
I actually enjoy shooting on days when the weather is marginal, because it keeps many others away. When the weather is sunny and warmer, the park tends to be crawling with people, which tends to decrease my chances of getting shots like these.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Barred Owl, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, owl, Strix varia, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on February 10, 2015| 8 Comments »
I can’t believe it, but I observed a Barred Owl (Strix varia) again, only a day after my first sighting and in the same general vicinity in my local marshland park. The circumstance were similar—it was during daylight hours (about 9 o’clock in the morning this time) and I first caught sight of the bird when it was flying.
The most recent encounter was a little more unusual, because the owl flew across my path from ground level and perched briefly on the branches of a fallen tree only about eight to ten feet (less than 3 meters) above the ground. The best shots that I managed to take on this occasion were mainly profile shots that give a good view of the almost human-shaped eyes as well as the small yellow bill. Many of my other shots showed the back of the owl’s head—it never looked directly at me.
I suspect that this is the same owl that I observed the previous day. One of my friends warned me that this is nesting/mating season for these owls and that they can get aggressive at this time of year. According to media sources, a Barred Owl attacked four joggers at a park in Salem, Oregon in separate incidents earlier this month and snatched the cap off the head of one of them. The park has posted warning signs that actually recommend hard hats. Check out this video from TV station KOIN for details about the owl attacks.
After watching that video, I am walking a bit more cautiously now when I am in the area where I spotted the owl, but have not yet taken to wearing a hard hat.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Flowers, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Cardinalis cardinalis, Huntley Meadows Park, male Northern Cardinal, Northern cardinal, Rosa palustris, rose hips, swamp rose, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on February 9, 2015| 9 Comments »
I have been told that rose hips are an excellent source of Vitamin C. They don’t seem to be the favorite food of the birds in my local marsh, however, and there are lots of the rose hips still around in mid-February. Northern Cardinals, though, will sometimes smash them against the railing of the boardwalk in order to get to the seeds inside, leaving behind a trail of discarded outer skins.
This past weekend, I watched a male Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) patiently extract the seeds from a small pile of rose hips. There were plenty more available, but he seemed content to snack on only a few of them—maybe their taste is too strong or acidic to consume a large quantity of them.
I believe that these rose hips are from Swamp Roses (Rosa palustris), which covered parts of the marsh during the summer and were amazingly fragrant.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Barred Owl, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, owl, Strix varia, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on February 7, 2015| 18 Comments »
One of my goals this winter was to get some shots of an owl in the wild. Every time that I have visited my local marsh early in the day or near dusk, I have looked and listened for an owl, but have come up empty-handed, except for one owl that I saw flying away from me.
Yesterday morning I finally spotted one when it flew from one tree to another as I approached. I initially assumed that it was a hawk, given that it was 11:00 in the morning. I thought it was unusual that the bird had not simply flown into the air, as hawks seem to do when I get too close.
Once I managed to spot the bird amid all of the branches, I was shocked to see that it was an owl. I was able to take a few photos of the Barred Owl (Strix varia) in its initial perch before it flew away deeper into the woods and even got a slightly blurry shot of it on a more distant perch.
Whenever I get a shot of a new species, I am so excited about it that I want to share my photos immediately. Now that I have met one of my goals for the winter, I’ll be looking to see if I capture some better images of this owl and maybe even find Great Horned Owls, which are reportedly present in my local marshland park.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in animals, Art, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Canon 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens, deer, Fort Washington Park, Maryland, motion blur, Odocoileus virginianus, panning, white-tailed deer on February 6, 2015| 8 Comments »
Shortly after I spotted some deer on a little ridge immediately in front of me, they started to run toward the treeline. Without thinking about my camera settings, I pressed the shutter button, hoping to capture the action. If I had been paying more attention, I would have realized that a shutter speed of 1/100th of a second would not freeze the motion, especially when shooting at the far end of my 70-300mm lens.
When I reviewed my images on my computer, it was pretty obvious what had happened without even looking at the EXIF data. Many of the shots were blurry, but I really liked this image. Instinctively I had panned as I had tracked the deer, blurring the background, and I managed to capture the deer with its hind legs in the air. In many ways, this slightly out of focus shot captures a sense of motion even better than if I had been able to freeze the action by using a higher shutter speed.
I try to be conscious about the settings on my camera at any given moment, but I am happy in this case that my inattention caused the wrong settings to be just right.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Melospiza melodia, song sparrow, sparrow, stopping power, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on February 4, 2015| 12 Comments »
When you are walking or driving around, looking for subjects to photograph, which ones will actually cause you to stop, grab your camera, and take some shots? Does it take an impressive and relatively rare subject like the bald eagle that I featured in yesterday’s posting? Would you stop to photograph a sparrow?
Over the past few years, I’ve read a lot of blog postings and seen some amazing photos, but I must confess that only a few of them have made such an impression that I remember their content. In a memorable posting in July 2013, Lyle Krahn, an amazing photographer and thought-provoking blogger, put forward a concept called “stopping power. Here’s an extract from that posting:
“I think every beautiful scene has stopping power. That’s my term for the ability of a scene to make a person stop hiking or driving in order to pull out a camera and make images. Did you ever wonder what makes you stop? Do you ever hear the music?”
I hear the music almost all of the time and the threshold for my “stopping power” is really low—almost any sound or color or movement is enough to cause me to stop when I have my camera with me.
Do I really need more shots of sparrows? Last week, I spent some time watching and photographing this sparrow, which I think is probably a Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia), as it pecked about in the shallow water at my local marsh. The light was coming in from the side and I had to wait and wait for the bird to lift its head to a position where it would not be in the shadows.
In the end, I got a couple of shots that I really like, images that show some of the beautiful details of this little sparrow, a bird that has “stopping power” for me.
Be sure to check out Lyle’s website, Krahnpix, for some incredible wildlife shots that are guaranteed to stop you in your tracks. His quirky humor and provocative prose will both entertain you and prompt you to think a little more critically about your photography and maybe even your life.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Bald Eagle, Canon 50D, eagle, Fort Washington Park, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Maryland, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on February 3, 2015| 5 Comments »
I tend to take the majority of my wildlife photographs within a few miles of my home in Northern Virginia, but yesterday I boldly decided to cross the Potomac River and venture into Maryland in search of Bald Eagles. One of my fellow photographers has repeatedly posted beautiful photos of eagles at Fort Washington Park and I wanted to see if I too could find them.
Fort Washington is a historic park, now run by the National Park Service, that was built to defend the river approach to Washington D.C. almost two hundred years ago. The park is a bigger than I expected and I wandered up and down walking paths, wondering where I might find the eagles. I spent a lot of time near the water, but eventually decided to climb to the higher ground, where the artillery positions were located.
As I was about to enter the fort, I glanced over at a tree in the distance and saw the shape of a large bird—it was a Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). As luck would have it, it started to rain as I started to take some photos, but I managed to get a few relatively clear shots. I had to climb down one hill and up another to get closer to the tree and the eagle flew off before I could get any closer shots.
I don’t know if that tree is a favorite perching spot for the eagles, which I saw soaring at a distance a bit later in the day, but I’m confident that I will return to this location, hopefully when the weather is a bit more hospitable, to search again for a bald eagle.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, sparrow, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto, white-throated sparrow, Zonotrichia albicollis on February 2, 2015| 15 Comments »
During the dead of the winter, it’s sometimes difficult for me to find birds to photograph. The birds seem to be using common sense when it’s cold, gray, and windy outside and take shelter to stay warm. At times like this, I pay more attention than usual to the details of the birds that I do manage to photograph, like this White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) that I observed last week.
At first glance there is nothing particularly special about this sparrow. As you look more closely, though, do you notice the silvery gray of its bill or the yellow lores? What are lores? I don’t know many technical terms about bird anatomy, but several years ago I learned that the lore is the region between the eye and bill of a bird. I love the beautiful shade of brown of this bird’s eyes and its little white “beard,” with a few spiky dark hairs sticking out from its chin.
Yes, it’s “only” a sparrow, a bird that you may see so often that you don’t even notice it, but I challenge you to take a closer look and you may lose yourself in the beauty of the sparrow details.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Belted Kingfisher, Canon 50D, female Belted Kingfisher, kingfisher, Lake Cook, Megaceryle alcyon, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on February 1, 2015| 6 Comments »
Yesterday, the last day of January, I set out for a small pond, hoping to see a female Belted Kingfisher who hangs out there. I didn’t have high hopes that I would see her and thought the pond probably would be frozen. I was happy to discover that the pond was only partially frozen over and thrilled when I hear the unmistakable call of a Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon).
Before I could get in range, the kingfisher flew into a tree that was a good distance away, adjacent to the wall of an elevated section of railroad tracks. The tan color in the first photo is that wall. After I had observed her for a few moments (and she seemed to be observing me), she flew a little higher in the trees and I took the second shot. The colorful design was painted on a railroad tanker car.
I am still hoping that I will be able to get some closer shots of this kingfisher, but I was quite pleased to be able to capture these images of one of my favorite birds.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, American robin, Burke Lake, Canon 50D, robin, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto, Turdus migratorius on January 31, 2015| 9 Comments »
When I was growing up in New England, the appearance of robins was viewed as a harbinger of spring. Although I rarely see them during the winter, American Robins (Turdus migratorius) are with us throughout the entire year here in Northern Virginia. Yesterday was sunny, but cold and windy, and on a walk around a local lake I spotted a small flock of robins, looking a little bedraggled in the winter weather.
It’s a little early, but I’m ready for spring to arrive, though we have a lot more winter to come.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Dark-eyed Junco, junco, Junco hyemalis, Runnyeade, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on January 30, 2015| 10 Comments »
Looking at the birds in the trees in my neighborhood this past week, I spotted a dark-colored bird that I could not identify (and had never seen before). I managed to get some clear shots and have been looking at identification guides on the internet and have tentatively identified it as a Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis), though I must confess that I don’t feel really confident about my identification.
What do you think? I’d welcome any assistance that more experienced birders could provide in identifying this little bird.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, American Goldfinch, Canon 50D, goldfinch, Spinus tristis, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on January 29, 2015| 5 Comments »
I mistakenly thought that goldfinches left our area in the winter, so I was surprised earlier this week when I saw a group of them in the trees in my neighborhood. Since then I have checked the range map for the American Golfinch (Spinus tristis) and learned that this bird is with us all year.
Maybe I am so used to seeing the brilliant yellow color of the males in the spring that the duller winter plumage blended in so well with their surroundings that they were invisible to me. Once I spotted them, I struggled to get photos of them. The sun kept moving in and out of the clouds and the goldfinches spent most of their time in the dense bushes.
I tried using my pop-up flash to remove some of the shadows and totally blew out the background when I really overexposed some of the images. Still, I like the effect in the first and second images and it does help you to see some of the details of the goldfinch. The final image was without flash and was more properly exposed, though I don’t like the fact that it was shot at a steeper angle than I would have preferred.
I’m going to have to start looking more closely at the trees in mysuburban neighborhood. Who knows what other birds may be present there that I don’t know about?
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, excavation, Huntley Meadows Park, Melanerpes carolinus, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto, woodpecker on January 28, 2015| 8 Comments »
In the distance I could hear the sound of a woodpecker busily at work. It took a little while for me to finally spot the woodpecker, but eventually I caught sight of him and watched him as he pecked away.
I was happy to be able to identify the bird as a Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus), a fairly common species in my marshland park. I was surprised, however, to note that the woodpecker was excavating a cavity that was already large enough to contain its entire head.
I know that Red-bellied Woodpeckers make their nests in cavities and wonder if this might be an early stage of building a nest. Could the bird merely be building a storage area for food? I have lots of questions and multiple possible explanations for what I saw but don’t really have any answers. I think that I remember where I saw the woodpecker and may try to find the tree again and check to see if I can tell whether the woodpecker has worked more to enlarge the cavity in the tree.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, dove, mourning dove, Runnymeade, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto, Zenaida macroura on January 26, 2015| 9 Comments »
As I walked through my neighborhood yesterday, I was struck by the large number of Mourning Doves. In most cases, I heard the distinctive whistling sound that their wings make when the doves take off and didn’t actually get a good look at the birds.
One Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura), however, was cooperative enough to sit still for a moment and I was able to get this shot. I love the peaceful look and subdued beauty of these birds, whose soft call reminded someone of a lament, which accounts for their name
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Anas acuta, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Northern Pintail, Northern Pintail Duck, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on January 25, 2015| 11 Comments »
On Friday, as I was walking toward a group of ducks, I saw a flash of white, a white that was brighter than that of a mallard duck. In the midst of the mallards, there was a couple of Northern Pintail ducks (Anas acuta) and I managed to get this shot of the male.
Before he swam away, the duck extended his neck and looked all around. I was amazed to see how long his neck was—it appeared to be almost as long as a goose’s neck.
Once again, I was reminded of the value in closely examining a group of birds. Others might have passed by the group of common ducks without bothering to notice this beautiful Northern Pintail amidst the mallards.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Dryocopus pileatus, Huntley Meadows Park, Pileated Woodpecker, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto, woodpecker on January 24, 2015| 9 Comments »
Yesterday, I was walking through the woods when I noticed pieces of bark falling through the air. I assumed that this activity was caused by hyperactive squirrels and was shocked when I looked up to see a Pileated Woodpecker high in the trees.
Pileated Woodpeckers (Dryocopus pileatus) are really loud when they are foraging for food and their forceful drumming often sounds like a jackhammer. This woodpecker, however, seemed to be in stealth mode and he was removing sections of bark by putting his bill underneath the bark and twisting his head a little.
There were quite a few branches between me and the woodpecker, so it was interesting challenge trying to find a visual tunnel that would permit me to photograph him without too many obstructions. As anyone who photographs birds knows well, focusing was also an issue and I ended up with some photos of a blurry woodpecker, but beautifully in-focus branches. I was pretty happy, though, that I managed to get a a couple of relatively clear shots.
The woodpecker was undoubtedly searching for something to eat. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, a Pileated Woodpecker’s primary food is carpenter ants, supplemented by other ants, woodboring beetle larvae, termites, and other insects such as flies, spruce budworm, caterpillars, cockroaches, and grasshoppers.
I have no idea what delicacy this woodpecker was seeking, but in the second photo it looks like he might have found some tasty little snack. Bon appétit!
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Eastern Gray Squirrel, gray squirrel, Huntley Meadows Park, Sciurus carolinensis, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on January 23, 2015| 8 Comments »
Squirrels scurry about so fast or hide in the shadows of the trees so often that it is frequently tough for me to get clear shots of them. This Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) took a break from his work to bask in the sun and enjoy a snack (I think it was an acorn) and I was able to snap a few shots of him.
I particularly like the way the light fell on the squirrel and how it illuminated the fluffy tail. In addition, I can’t help but like the squirrel’s cute pose and facial expression. He seemed to be enjoying his little snack.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, deer, Huntley Meadows Park, Odocoileus virginianus, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto, white-tailed deer on January 22, 2015| 8 Comments »
It’s been quite a while since I have seen a mammal in the wild bigger than a squirrel, so I was pretty happy when I spotted a group of four deer foraging in a wooded area of my marshland park late in the day. The four White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were rooting about in the undergrowth and surprisingly did not run away immediately when they sensed my presence. Several of them looked in my direction at times, but then resumed their activity.
I was easily within range to get some shots, but the trees and the grassy growth made it tough to get unobstructed photos. This image of what is undoubtedly a young deer is my favorite of the ones that I was able to shoot that day.
For me, this little deer qualifies as “big game.”
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto, white-throated sparrow, Zonotrichia albicollis on January 20, 2015| 4 Comments »
Many people in my area were off from work in honor of Martin Luther King Day and my marshland park was full of families enjoying the cool, sunny winter day. Not surprisingly, there was not a lot of wildlife to be found, but after a week overseas and a weekend away at a wedding, it was nice to return to familiar surroundings.
I was able to capture some interesting images of a White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) perched on a branch. The little bird had puffed up its feathers and was amazingly round. and almost looks like he is dozing, with his eyes half closed.
Can sparrows close their eyes?
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Downy Woodpecker, Huntley Meadows Park, Picoides pubescens, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on January 12, 2015| 6 Comments »
I was a little surprised to see this Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) down on the ground amid the sparrows, pecking away at the dried vegetation and the crazy thought came to mind that it might have been raised by those sparrows. I assumed that Downy Woodpeckers ate only insects, but learned on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website that “About a quarter of their diet consists of plant material, particularly berries, acorns, and grains.”
Eventually the woodpecker emerged from the undergrowth and climbed up a slender stalk, permitting me to get an unobstructed view of its beauty.
Down in the weeds
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Ardea herodias, Canon 50D, Great Blue Heron, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on January 11, 2015| 12 Comments »
This Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) seemed a little confused when the ponds froze over at my local marshland park and appeared to be trying to stalk fish that he may or may not have been able to see through the ice.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, birds in flight, Buteo jamaicensis, Canon 50D, hawk, Huntley Meadows Park, Red-tailed Hawk, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on January 10, 2015| 23 Comments »
It was finally above the freezing mark yesterday, which made my trek around Huntley Meadows Park a bit easier to tolerate. Among the highlights was this Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) flying overhead with a very determined (or maybe hungry) look on its face. Although Red-tailed Hawks are common in many places, most of the hawks that I see at my local marsh are Red-shouldered Hawks, so it was a nice treat to capture a Red-tailed in flight.
The blue sky provided a clean background for these shots, though I must confess that I am still having some difficulties finding and keeping moving subjects in the frame and in focus when at full zoom. I’m hoping that I have lots of opportunities to practice this winter.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Anas clypeata, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Northern Shoveler, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on January 7, 2015| 7 Comments »
No, this is not a commentary on overindulgence during the holidays. Instead it is a response to one viewer’s comments on a recent posting that showed a pair of foraging Northern Shovelers with their heads almost buried in the weeds. The viewer preferred one photo over the other simply because it showed this bird’s unusual bill.
On Monday, a day that was sunny, cold, and windy, I observed another pair of Northern Shovelers (Anas clypeata) and took some shots that show their bills in all of their oversized glory.
I can still remember my surprise at the length of the bills when I saw these birds for the first time. Initially I thought it was an optical illusion, but it became clear pretty quickly that the bill was unusually long. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the Northern Shoveler’s bill has has about 110 fine projections (called lamellae) along the edges that help in straining food from water.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Ardea herodias, birds in flight, Canon 50D, Great Blue Heron, heron, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron on January 6, 2015| 2 Comments »
Can you identify the bird in the first photo? There is an almost abstract quality to the image that I really like that focuses on the bird’s wide wingspan more than on the identity of the bird. The unusual viewing angle, looking forward from his extended feet, enhances that effect.
As you can see in the second photos (and as you probably easily guessed), this was a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias). Yesterday, a blustery but sunny day, I came across this heron at my local marshland park as he tried in vain to catch some lunch. Without much warning, he took off just after I snapped the second photo, perhaps to find a better fishing spot, and I was able to capture the more unusual view that I have shown as the first image.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Branta canadensis, Canada Goose, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on January 5, 2015| 4 Comments »
Standing one-legged on the frozen pond, this Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) briefly stirred to adjust its position as I passed by. A few seconds later, the goose slipped one leg and its head back under its wings and gradually drifted back to sleep on a cold winter morning.
In case you are curious about the physiological explanation of the one-legged pose and why the goose’s feet don’t freeze to the ice, check out this blog posting from last November by Sue of Back Yard Biology.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, cormorant, Double-crested Cormorant, Kingstowne, Phalacrocorax auritus, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on January 4, 2015| 8 Comments »
I will sometimes see other birds open their wings and stretch them out for a moment, but the Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) is the only bird that I have observed that leaves its wings open for an extended period of time.
Initially I was confused when I heard the cormorant had to dry out its wings because they got waterlogged. How does a waterbird survive if its wings are not waterproof?
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, my favorite website for information about birds, provides the following explanation of this phenomenon:
“They have less preen oil than other birds, so their feathers can get soaked rather than shedding water like a duck’s. Though this seems like a problem for a bird that spends its life in water, wet feathers probably make it easier for cormorants to hunt underwater with agility and speed.”
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, dawn, Hooded Merganser, Huntley Meadows Park, Lophodytes cucullatus, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on January 3, 2015| 9 Comments »
Oh say can you see by the dawn’s early light? Peering through a break in the bushes, I could just barely make out the unmistakeable shape of a male Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) as he slowly paddled away from the shore of a small pond at my local marshland park.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, birds in flight, Canon 50D, dawn, duck, early bird, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on January 3, 2015| 8 Comments »
There is something really special about the moment when the darkness of the night finally gives way to the early light of the dawn and the sky is tinged with delicate shades of pink and orange. The silence is broken by the sounds of awakening birds as their day begins.
It’s not an optimal time for wildlife photography—there is simply not enough light to reveal all of the colors and the details of the subjects. Recently, though, I managed to capture a sense of the dawn in this image of a duck ascending into the air, heading for an unknown destination.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Anas clypeata, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Northern Shoveler, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto on January 2, 2015| 9 Comments »
Last week, when the weather was a bit warmer and the ponds had not yet frozen over at my local marshland park, I managed to get some shots of a pair of Northern Shovelers (Anas clypeata) in action.
I quickly realized that trying to photograph two birds, rather than a single one as I usually do, significantly magnified the difficulty in getting a good shot. The two North Shovelers rarely would stay together and would wander in and out of the frame. Even worse, one of them would move closer or farther away, challenging my ability to keep them both in focus.
Northern Shovelers forage by swimming along with their bills in the water, straining out food, and never seem to completely submerge their heads. I was happy that I was able to capture some shots in which the eyes are visible, even though the bills are in the water.
I really like the first image, because the positions of the male and the female are synchronized, yet I also really like the second image, because the positions are completely out of synch. I may be confused, or perhaps a lot of different things appeal to me, depending on how I consider them.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 