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Grains of pollen on a dragonfly

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, creek, Helocordulia uhleri, Northern Virginia, ommatidia, Tamron 180mm, Uhler's Sundragon, Uhler's Sundragon dragonfly 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.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Springtime swimming snake

Posted in Nature, Photography, Reptiles, snake, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon SX50, creek, Nerodia sipedon, Northern Virginia, Northern Water Snake, Northern Watersnake 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.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Another spring butterfly

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Accotink Bay Wildlife Refuge, Canon 50D, Fort Belvoir VA, Protographium marcellus, Tamron 180mm, Zebra Swallowtail, Zebra Swallowtail butterfly 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.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Springtime yellow

Posted in Birds, Butterflies, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Accotink Bay Wildlife Refuge, Canon 50D, Canon SX50, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly, Papilio glaucus, pine warbler, Setophaga pinus, Tamron 180mm 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).

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Uhler’s Sundragon dragonfly

Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, first spring dragonfly, Helocordulia uhleri, Northern Virginia, Tamron 180mm, Uhler's Sundragon, Uhler's Sundragon dragonfly 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.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Warts and all

Posted in Amphibians, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged American Toad, Anaxyrus americanus, Canon SX50, Prince William Forest Park, toad, Triangle VA 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.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Groundhog in a tree

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Accotink Bay Wildlife Refuge, Canon SX50, Fort Belvoir VA, groundhog, marmota monax 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.”

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Peculiar Pileated Woodpecker

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon SX50, Dryocopus pileatus, Occoquan Regional Park, Pileated Woodpecker, Woodbridge VA 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.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Visible sound

Posted in Amphibians, frog, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged American Toad, Anaxyrus americanus, Canon 50D, Canon 70-300mm, Canon SX50, croaking frog, frog, Prince William Forest Park, Triangle VA, vocal sac 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).

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Hermit Thrush in April

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon SX50, Catharus guttatus, Hermit Thrush, Prince William Forest Park, thrush, Triangle VA 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.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Beware of sleeping ospreys

Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Osprey, Pandion haliaetus, sleeping osprey, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA 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. 🙂

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher in April

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Canon 50D, gnatcatcher, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Polioptila caerulea, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA 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?

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Eagle and catch

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Bald Eagle, birds in flight, Canon 50D, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA 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.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Juvenile bald eagle in flight

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Bald Eagle, birds in flight, Canon 50D, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, juvenile Bald Eagle, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA 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.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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First spring warbler

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Palm Warbler, Setophaga palmarum, Tamron 150-600mm, warbler, Woodbridge VA 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?

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Roly-poly kinglet

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, kinglet, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Regulus calendula, ruby-crowned kinglet, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA 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.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Nesting bluebirds

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged bluebirds, Canon 50D, Eastern Bluebird, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Sialia sialis, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA 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.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Mockingbird seeking seeds

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Mimus polyglottos, mockingbird, Northern Mockingbird, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA 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.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Swimming beaver

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged beaver, beaver swimming, Canon 50D, Castor canadensis, North American Beaver, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA 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.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Sweet Carolina Wren Song

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Carolina Wren, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Thryothorus ludovicianus, Woodbridge VA, wren 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.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Juvenile Cooper’s Hawk

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Accipiter cooperii, Canon 50D, Cooper's Hawk, juvenile Cooper's Hawk, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA 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.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Look, Ma, no hands

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Osprey, Pandion haliaetus, Tamron 150-600mm telephoto, Woodbridge VA 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.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Spring Azure butterfly in March

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon SX50, Celastrina ladon, childlike, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Spring Azure, Spring Azure butterfly, Woodbridge VA 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.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Unpredictable eagle

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Bald Eagle, Canon 50D, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA 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.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Peekaboo with a Pileated Woodpecker

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, peekaboo, Pileated Woodpecker, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 24, 2019| 9 Comments »

When I accidentally flushed this enormous Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, it flew to another tree and tried to hide from me.

Note to woodpecker—you need to find a much bigger tree if you want to avoid being seen.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Sharing a fish?

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Osprey, Pandion haliaetus, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 24, 2019| 5 Comments »

I captured this image this past Tuesday morning at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge as an Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) was starting to take off from its perch high in a tree with a partially eaten fish firmly in its grasp. I had watched the osprey consume the top portion of the fish and hope that it was carrying the remainder to its mate.

I am somewhat romantic, so I want to believe that this is a story about love and sharing and caring—and maybe it is. It is also possible that the osprey is selfish and fearful and is seeking a more secluded, secure perch when it can enjoy the rest of its catch without having to worry about it being stolen by eagles or potential predators like me.

Whatever the reality of the actual situation, I love the way that this image shows off the osprey’s impressive wingspan and how the v-shape of the wings is repeated in some of the branches and in the tail of the fish.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Snapping Turtle Crossing

Posted in Nature, Photography, Reptiles, spring, turtle, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, chelydra sepentina, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, snapping turtle, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 23, 2019| 5 Comments »

Why did the Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina) cross the road? It sounds like the opening line of a joke, but I asked myself that question yesterday when I spotted a snapping turtle lumbering its way across one of the trails at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The turtle’s back was covered with mud, suggesting it had only recently emerged from its winter sleep. In the past I have sometimes seen snapping turtles out of the water when they were getting ready to lay eggs, though it seems a little early for that to be taking place.

I have always thought that snapping turtle look like dinosaurs. What do you think?

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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First egret of the year

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Ardea alba, Canon 50D, egret, Great Egret, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 22, 2019| 5 Comments »

Wednesday I saw my first two Great Egrets (Ardea alba) of the year at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I had the sense that they were just passing through. They were resting in the distance and I was able to capture this image of one of them. An hour later when I passed the same area, they were gone.

Unlike Great Blue Herons, many of which overwinter with us, Great Egrets spent the colder months in warmer locations and return in the spring.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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King Rail

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, King Rail, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, rail, Rallus elegans, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 22, 2019| 7 Comments »

For several weeks I have been hearing a distinctive clicking sound coming from some patches of heavy vegetation within the marshes at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Some experienced birders told me that it was the sound of several King Rails (Rallus elegans). I have repeatedly waited at these locations, hoping in vain that one of these elusive birds would come into view.

Wednesday morning I finally got a glimpse of one of these chicken-like marsh birds. The King Rail did not come out into the open, but I was able to track it by its sounds. I was ready when it made its way to a place where the vegetation was not quite so dense and managed to capture these images.

My birding book describes King Rails as “uncommon, secretive,” so I am happy to get any shots at all. Nonetheless, like all wildlife photographers, I’m never quite satisfied and I’ll be trying to get some additional, better shots in the upcoming days if these birds continue to hang around in our area.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Horned Grebe and little fish

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Grebe, Horned Grebe, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Podiceps auritus, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 21, 2019| 4 Comments »

Earlier this week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge I captured this image of what I an pretty sure is a Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus). The subject was significantly backlit and is a bit dark, but even the most casual view will note that the bird has no horns. Well, only breeding adults have golden head tufts that someone decided look like horns.

Horned Grebes are diving ducks and most of the time that I see one it is in deep water in the distance. I was fortunate to be at the right place at the right time when this grebe surfaced closer than normally with a small fish in its mouth. I posted this photo to a Facebook forum, but so far the identity of the fish remains a mystery. The best response I received when I asked if anyone knew what kind of fish it was— “a slow one.”

In any case, I really like how the warm orange of the skinny little fish contrasts with the overall bluish tones of the image. Needless to say, the fish was gone a few seconds later.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Doves in love?

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, doves, mourning doves, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA, Zenaida macroura on March 20, 2019| 2 Comments »

When I first spotted these Mourning Doves (Zenaida macroura) perched closely together on a branch yesterday morning, I immediately assumed that they were a couple. Are these really doves in love?

I have trouble figuring out the relationships among birds, because I have to judge solely on the basis of outward appearances. Come to think of it, I have the same problem with humans.

Friends or lovers? Who knows?

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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