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Camouflaged creeper

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged brown creeper, Canon 50D, Certhia americana, creeper, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 20, 2019| 5 Comments »

This Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) blended in so perfectly with the tree bark yesterday morning at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge that I don’t think I would have spotted it if it had not been moving. Brown Creepers are small in size, 4.7-5.5 inches in length (12-14 cm) and 0.2-0.3 ounces in weight (10-15 grams, and are in motion almost continuously, which makes them pretty tough to photograph.

If you click on the photos below, you can see some of the cool details of this little bird, like its large feet that aid stability and its slender, curved bill used to probe for bugs in and under the bark.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Newest returnee—Eastern Phoebe

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Eastern Phoebe, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, phoebe, Sayornis phoebe, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 19, 2019| 4 Comments »

As we move forward into spring, more and more birds are returning to my local area after spending the winter in warmer spots. This past week I was happy to welcome the return of some Eastern Phoebes (Sayornis phoebe) to Occoquan Bay National WIldlife Refuge.

Two things always stand out to me when I see these little flycatchers—their heads seem unusually large and their tails are constantly flicking. Heads or tails? In either case I know it is an Eastern Phoebe. 🙂

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Osprey nest at dawn

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, dawn, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Osprey, osprey nest, Pandion haliaetus, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 17, 2019| 10 Comments »

Saturday morning at dawn I noted than an Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) had already claimed the most prominent nesting site at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. There are several man-made nesting platforms scattered through the wildlife refuge and there are usually some additional osprey nests in trees and one on the top of a hunting blind on stilts in the water. This particular nesting platform is visible from the parking lot, so it was easy to check to see if it was occupied.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Quarrelsome Tree Swallows

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, swallows, Tachycineta bicolor, Tamron 150-600mm, Tree Swallow, Woodbridge VA on March 17, 2019| 7 Comments »

Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) were back at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge this past Thursday and they seemed a bit cranky. They carried on their heated disputes in the air and on the ground as they checked out nesting boxes.

I don’t know if you have ever observed Tree Swallows, but they are small and fast. Worst of all from the perspective of a photographer, they fly erratically and turn quickly and often. For those reason, I am especially happy with the first image. I should note that it is a cropped image—the original image had a lot more sky showing.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Glaring eagle

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Bald Eagle, Canon 50D, glaring eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 16, 2019| 6 Comments »

This Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) was initially facing away from me on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Somehow, though, the eagle sensed me approaching and turned its head slightly to glare at me. The eagle seemed to take a little time to check me out before deciding to take off.

I am presenting the images below in reverse chronological order, starting with the “glare” and working backwards in time to the moment when I first spotted the eagle. I had just rounded the bend of a trail and lookeding upwards was shocked to see that I was almost directly this eagle. It is definitely rare for me to get this close to an eagle and to get such detailed shots of its feathers.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Return of the Ospreys 2019

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 15, 2019| 5 Comments »

How do you mark the beginning of spring? For some, it is the time when crocuses and daffodils begin to bloom. Here in the Washington D.C. area, one of the signs of spring is the blossoming of the cherry trees.

For me, I consider spring to have sprung when Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) reappear. These impressive raptors, sometimes referred to as fish hawks, depart in the autumn and throughout the winter I eagerly await their return. Why? I gladly spend countless hour in fascination and enchantment as I watch osprey soaring through the skies, hovering in the air, and occasionally plunging feet-first into the water to catch a fish. It is also fun to watch them gathering materials to build or repair nests.

Yesterday I spotted my first ospreys this season while exploring Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge on an unusually warm and sunny March day. Here are a couple of my favorite shots from those encounters, which mark the return of the ospreys for 2019.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Male bluebird in March

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Eastern Bluebird, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Sialia sialis, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 14, 2019| 4 Comments »

Most of the Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis) that I have seen in 2019 have been females, which have more subdued colors than their male counterparts. I was happy recently when I finally captured an image of one of the flashy male bluebirds at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

In my experience, bluebirds have a universal appeal—virtually everyone finds them to be beautiful.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Immature eagle stare

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Bald Eagle, Canon 50D, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, immature bald eagle, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 13, 2019| 1 Comment »

This immature Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) certainly was aware of my presence on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, judging by the intensity of the stare it directed toward me. I am guessing that the eagle is about three years old—it takes almost five years for its head feathers to turn completely white and for its beak to turn yellow. At this stage of development, bald eagles look a little scruffy and have not yet acquired the majestic look that I associate with this species.

If you are interested in seeing images of the developmental stages of the bald eagle, check out this posting from onthewingphotography.com that shows an eagle’s age progression from one to five years old.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Ford every stream

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Climb Every Mountain, deer, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Odocoileus virginianus, Tamron 150-600mm, The Sound of Music, white-tailed deer, Woodbridge VA on March 12, 2019| 6 Comments »

Yesterday I was thrilled to observe a group of White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) fording a stream at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The activity level of all kinds of creatures seems to be picking up as we move closer to or deeper into spring, depending on how you calculate the start of spring. The bottom of the body of water they were crossing seemed to be uneven and the deer had to move carefully. At one point it looked like they even had to swim a few steps, especially the smaller deer.

As I watched the deer, I was reminded of the lyrics of one of the songs from The Sound of Music that included the words “ford every stream.” Folks of my generation may well remember the inspirational message of the song “Climb Every Mountain,” which I have included below, as found at metrolyrics.com.

Here’s hoping that you will find your dreams, irrespective of whether or not it involves fording streams or climbing mountains.

“Climb every mountain,
Search high and low,
Follow every byway,
Every path you know.

Climb every mountain,
Ford every stream,
Follow every rainbow,
‘Till you find your dream.

A dream that will need
All the love you can give,
Every day of your life
For as long as you live.”

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Heron on a sunny day

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Ardea herodias, Canon 50D, Great Blue Heron, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 11, 2019| 1 Comment »

Sunny days have been relatively rare this winter, so it is almost a special occasion when we do have one. Although it is nice to capture images of rare subjects on those special days, it is equally pleasurable to photograph the common species, like this Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) that I spotted recently at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The additional light from the sun helps to make the heron’s wonderful colors “pop” much more than they do on gray cloudy days.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Encounters with a Northern Harrier

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged birds in flight, Canon 50D, Circus hudsonius, Harrier, Northern Harrier, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 10, 2019| 4 Comments »

This past week I was thrilled to spot a Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius) on two separate occasions at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Northern Harriers are slim, long-tailed hawks. One of the things that distinguish these raptors from others is that, “unlike other hawks, they rely heavily on their sense of hearing to capture prey,” which is why they often fly low and slowly over the ground, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology .

During my first encounter, the harrier was flying low over a field. The first photo below gives you an idea of how close to the ground the bird was flying. It reminded me of my military training and the concept of “nap-of-the-earth” flight, a very low-altitude flight course used by military aircraft to avoid enemy detection and attack in a high-threat environment.

A few day later I spotted a Northern Harrier in the same general location. This time the harrier was soaring high above my head. I could not tell for sure if it was hunting, but it sure seemed to be keeping watch over things on the ground and appeared to be looking right at me.

I am not sure how much longer this harrier will be hanging around, so I will be returning to the same location within the next few days with a hope of another encounter with a harrier.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Tundra Swans in formation

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged birds in flight, Canon 50D, Cygnus columbianus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, swans, Tamron 150-600mm, Tundra Swan, Woodbridge VA on March 9, 2019| 4 Comments »

I was thrilled on Thursday when a small flock of Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus) flew overhead while I was at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. It is rare for me to see swans of any kind in this area. When I spotted the formation approaching, I initially thought they were Canada Geese, but as they got closer I could tell that they looked different and sounded different.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Portrait of a vulture

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, turkey vulture, vulture, Woodbridge VA on March 9, 2019| 7 Comments »

It’s tough to get a Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) to smile. This was the best we could manage during our portrait session on Thursday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Fierce little kinglet

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Golden-crowned Kinglet, kinglet, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Regulus satrapa, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 8, 2019| 4 Comments »

Golden-crowned Kinglets (Regulus satrapa) are tiny, but they can be mighty fierce. This one that I spotted yesterday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge seemed to be sending me a definite “Don’t mess with me” message with its intense glare in my direction.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Shipwrecked eagle

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Bald Eagle, Canon 50D, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, shipwrecked eagle, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 7, 2019| 5 Comments »

When I first spotted this bird perched on a distant piece of floating driftwood, I assumed that it was a cormorant. The more I looked at it, though, the more I thought that the body proportions were wrong for a cormorant.

I was a bit shocked when I zoomed in and discovered that it was a Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). Why was the eagle perched like this? Was it looking for a moment of solitude?

Somehow the solitary eagle reminded me of a shipwrecked sailor, adrift in the vast expanses of the ocean.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Nesting Bald Eagle 2019

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Bald Eagle, Canon 50D, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Nesting bald eagle, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 7, 2019| 2 Comments »

There are barriers on several roads to protect the nesting eagles at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge from human interference, but with a long lens I was able to confirm on Tuesday that one of the Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) was sitting on the nest. With a little luck, we will have eaglets again this year—last year there were two of them at this nesting site.

The two images below are actually different versions of the same photo. Initially I was going to post just the second image, but then decided to crop it a bit to give viewers a slightly better view of the eagle. I have also noticed that images in a landscape format display better in the WordPress Reader than those in a portrait or square format.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Looking up at a wren

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Carolina Wren, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Thryothorus ludovicianus, Woodbridge VA, wren on March 6, 2019| 1 Comment »

Carolina Wrens (Thryothorus ludovicianus) are small birds that often remain hidden, but their loud songs let you know when they are near. I caught a glimpse of this one from an unusual angle last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Hidden hawk

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Buteo lineatus, Canon 50D, hawk, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Red-Shouldered Hawk, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 5, 2019| 15 Comments »

As I was walking along one of the trails last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I glanced to the side and spotted this Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) perched at eye level on a tree that was really close. There was a lot of vegetation between us, but I managed to get this shot that did not have to be cropped at all.

Initially I did not think that I would be able to capture a usable image, because there was no way that I could get an unobstructed shot. I crouched down a bit and managed to find a kind of visual tunnel that provided a clear view of the head. The out-of-focus branches are a little distracting, but they provide the viewer with a sense that they are peering into the world of the hidden hawk.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Male Red-breasted Merganser duck

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Mergus serrator, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Red-breasted Merganser, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on March 4, 2019| 4 Comments »

This male Red-breasted Merganser duck (Mergus serrator) that I spotted last week in the waters off of Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge seemed to be having a bad hair day (or was going for a punk look). At this stage of my life, I’d be happy just to have a hair day.

According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, “Red-breasted Mergansers are among the fastest flying ducks, clocking speeds of up to 81 miles per hour.” Wow!

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Environmental bird portraits

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Accipiter striatus, Agelaius phoeniceus, Aix sponsa, Canon 50D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, red-winged blackbird, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Tamron 150-600mm, wood duck, Woodbridge VA on March 3, 2019| 7 Comments »

“Environmental bird portraits” is a fancy way of saying that I was not able to get close enough to my subjects to isolate them and fill the frame. Although that is true, I like the way that these three images give you a sense of the environment in which the birds were found. Often I try to get so close enough to my subjects with a telephoto or macro lens that I lose sight of the “big picture.” These images, all of which were taken last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, give you some sense of the variety of birds and environments that I encounter when I am out with my camera.

The first image shows a pair of colorful Wood Ducks (Aix sponsa) that took off as soon as they detected my presence (and I was a long way off from them). The male is the one that is in front, with the female just behind him.

The second image shows a Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus), the smallest hawk in the United States. This bird was the toughest one for me to identify and I had to seek assistance from some experts in a Facebook bird forum. There was some discussion about whether this was a Sharp-shinned Hawk or a Cooper’s Hawk, another small hawk, but prevalent view was the it was the former.

The final image shows a male Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) as he sang out loudly from atop a tree. Male blackbirds are definitely not shy and the volume of their enthusiastic songs and calls is amazing, i.e. really loud.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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I’m a bluebird

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Band on the Run, bluebird, Canon 50D, Eastern Bluebird, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Paul McCartney, Sialia sialis, wings, Woodbridge VA on March 2, 2019| 11 Comments »

Last year several of my most popular postings featured Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis). In response to one of those postings, one of my youngest followers, Benjamin, asked his grandmother why they were not called Orange Bluebirds, because the birds’ bodies seemed to have as much orange as blue. I appreciate all of the comments that viewers make, but that one comment has particularly stuck with me and it comes to mind whenever I see a bluebird.

On the last day of February, I spotted several bluebirds at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, my first sighting of the species in 2019. I was pleased to capture this image that shows some of the subtle coloration of one of those bluebird, with wonderfully varying shades of blue and orange.

As I was poking about on the internet looking for information on bluebirds, I came across a sweet little song by Paul McCartney and Wings called Bluebird. The song was on the album Band on the Run—I remember the album, but don’t recall having heard the song. If you want to hear the song, check out this link to the song on YouTube. As a sneak preview to the song, here are the lyrics to the first couple of stanzas, as found on the website of The Paul McCartney Project.

“Late at night when the wind is still
I’ll come flying through your door
And you’ll know what love is for,
I’m a bluebird
I’m a bluebird
I’m a bluebird

Touch your lips with a magic kiss,
And you’ll be a bluebird too,
And you’ll know what love can do,
I’m a bluebird
I’m a bluebird
I’m a bluebird…”

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Vulture wingspan

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Cathartes aura, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, turkey vulture, vulture, Woodbridge VA on March 2, 2019| 5 Comments »

I wouldn’t exactly say that this Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) was handsome, but you have to admit that it has an impressive wingspan display. I spotted this vulture earlier this week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

Its spread wing position reminded me of a cormorant, which pens its wings like that to dry them out. I have no idea why the vulture felt the need to do so, but it held its wings open for an extended period of time.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Brown Thrasher Song

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged brown thrasher, Canon 50D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, thrasher, Toxostoma rufum, Woodbridge VA on March 1, 2019| 1 Comment »

“Brown Thrasher” sounds like it could be the name of a heavy metal band. I was therefore startled by the melodious sounds of the Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum) that I encountered this past Tuesday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I was entranced by its beautiful song as well as by its stunning yellow eyes. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, “Brown Thrashers, like catbirds and mockingbirds, are mimics with extremely varied repertoires consisting of more than 1,100 song types.” If you click on the link for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, you will find some samples of the thrasher’s sounds.

In case you are curious, the bird’s name comes from its foraging behavior. Brown Thrashers typically feed on the ground, often in heavy undergrowth, and sweep their bills through the leaf litter and soil with quick, sideways motions.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Butterfly in February

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Eastern Comma, Eastern Comma butterfly, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Polygonia comma, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on February 28, 2019| 5 Comments »

Today I saw my first butterfly of the year, an Eastern Comma butterfly (Polygonia comma) that was flying about at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Members of this species overwinter as adults and may emerge form their hibernation for brief periods during winter warm spells.

It is not yet spring, but more and more signs point to the fact that it is just around the corner.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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My best Bald Eagle shots so far?

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Bald Eagle, Canon 50D, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on February 28, 2019| 22 Comments »

As many of you know, I love to photograph Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). There is something about the majesty and strength of these birds that never fails to impress and inspire me.

On Tuesday, a beautiful sunny day. there were several eagles flying about in the skies over Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I am not sure if they were motivated by love or by competition, but it was definitely fun to watch them in action. I had lost sight of a pair that I had been tracking when suddenly I heard the sound of an eagle’s cry that seemed to be really close. I glanced upwards and saw an eagle on an exposed branch in a nearby tree.

My heart was pumping and I probably was holding my breath, but I managed to capture a few shots that may well be the my best shots ever of a Bald Eagle. I was very fortunate to have been presented a situation and I was thrilled to be able to take advantage of it so well. (If you click on the images, you can see more amazing details, like the pink color of the inside of the eagle’s mouth.)

It is moments like this that help to keep me motivated as a wildlife photographer. These may be my best shots of an eagle so far, but who knows, there may be more and better images in the future.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Woolly Bear in February

Posted in Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Banded Woolly Bear caterpillar, Canon 50D, Isabella Tiger Moth, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Pyrrharctia isabella, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA, Woolly Bear on February 27, 2019| 4 Comments »

On Monday I was really surprised at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge to photograph my first insect of 2019, a Woolly Bear caterpillar (Pyrrharctia isabella). This species overwinters in its caterpillar form and survives being frozen by producing a cryoprotectant in its tissues that protects its cells from damage. It can even be found in Arctic regions.

This caterpillar was unfrozen and moving about, but it is probably too early for it to become a moth. Most of us are used to seeing this caterpillar, which is also known as the Banded Woolly Bear, in the autumn. There is quite a bit of American folklore associated with predicting the severity of the upcoming winter on the basis of the colors and sizes of the stripes on the caterpillar.

Eventually this caterpillar will become an Isabella Tiger Moth, though I suspect few people know its name or could identify it—I think folks are more attracted to the fuzzy caterpillar stage of the insect and its cool name of “Woolly Bear.”

If you want to learn more about how the overwintering Woolly Bear caterpillar and how it survives the winter weather, check out this fascinating article at infinitespider.com entitled The Woolly Bear Caterpillar in Winter.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Snake in February

Posted in Nature, Photography, Reptiles, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Eastern Ratsnake, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Pantherophis alleghaniensis, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on February 26, 2019| 6 Comments »

Yesterday was sunny, but not particularly warm—about 48 degrees F (9 degrees C)—so I was shocked when I encountered a snake. My eyes were pointed upwards as I scanned the trees for birds, but a slight movement just in front of my feet caught my attention and when I looked downward, I saw the sinuous curves of a snake (as shown in the second image below).

The snake, which I think may be an Eastern Ratsnake (Pantherophis alleghaniensis), moved to the side of the path and into the brush. It stopped moving long enough, however, for me to capture the close-up image image below. I know that some folks will find the image to be creepy or even frightening, but I like the way that it shows some of the wonderful details of the snake’s markings and its body.

Although it may look like I was really close to the snake, I was actually a good distance away and was shooting with a long telephoto lens.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Eagle on a limb

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Bald Eagle, Canon 50D, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on February 25, 2019| 10 Comments »

Do you wait for optimal light conditions when you are taking photographs? This past weekend I watched a number of videos of landscape photographers in action. “Action” might be a slight exaggeration, because it seemed like they spent a lot of time waiting for the perfect lighting conditions before they took their shots. The landscape photographers had pre-scouted their locations and watched the weather forecasts and knew the kind of images they hoped to capture.

Yesterday I did a posting that talked about the importance of shooting with whatever gear you have. My approach to weather and lighting is similar. I go out whenever I can and try to make the best of whatever conditions I find myself in. As I have mentioned before, I also tend to be an opportunistic shooter, so I never know what I will see and therefore can’t pre-plan my shots.

That was the situation early one morning last week as I wandered the trails at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The skies were heavily overcast and the Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) that I spotted in a tree was far away.

So what did I do? I tried to capture some of the different poses of the eagle from as many different angles as I could. I worked the scene, knowing full well that none of my photos would be great.

Some say that if you want to be a professional photographer, you only display your best work. That may be true, but that is one of the reasons why I don’t particularly aspire to be a professional. As the subheading of my blog suggests, I’m on a creative journey with photography—I am content to share with others the images that I am able to capture.

As a child, I remember begin told repeatedly to do the best that I can and I continue to follow that advice to this day.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Shoot with what you have

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Urban, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 24-105mm, Canon 50D, Mimus polyglottos, mockingbird, Northern Mockingbird, Washington D.C., Washington DC on February 24, 2019| 6 Comments »

How long a lens do you need to photograph birds? Conventional wisdom dictates that you need a lens with a focal length of at least 300mm and ideally much longer than that. I generally use my Tamron 150-600mm lens when I anticipate shooting birds, especially small ones. If I want to get even closer, the zoom lens of my Canon SX50 has a field of view equivalent to 1200mm.

On Friday, I traveled into Washington D.C. to visit some friends using the Metro subway. I planned to walk a lot and I didn’t want to weigh myself down with all kinds of gear, so I put a 24-105mm lens on my DSLR. For those of you who are not technically oriented, this lens goes from mildly wide angle to mildly telephoto.

The camera and lens combination is less than ideal for photographing birds. I couldn’t help myself, however, when I spotted some birds in an urban park and decided to attempt to get some shots. My first attempt was with a Carolina Wren and it was a disaster—it was small and fast and so skittish that I could not get a decent shot.

Then I spied a Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) perched on a bush in the distance. I took some initial shots and then slowly began to move forward. Eventually I was able to get to within about three feet (one meter) of the mockingbird and captured this image.

This incident served as a reminder not to limit myself to following conventional wisdom. It is definitely possible to take a good bird photo without a long telephoto lens. Why not take landscape photos with a long telephoto lens instead of a wide angle lens?

No matter what lens I have on my camera (or what camera I am using), I try to keep my eyes open for possible subjects. I will then try to capture those subjects as well as I can within whatever equipment I happen to have with me. It turns out that gear is often not the most critical element in making good images—simply being there is half the battle.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Heron stepping carefully

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Ardea herodias, Canon 50D, Great Blue Heron, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600, Woodbridge VA on February 21, 2019| 4 Comments »

I love the delicate and deliberate way that Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias) place their large feet when walking in shallow water, like this heron that I spotted on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Pre-flight Checklist

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Bald Eagle, Canon 50D, eagle takeoff, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on February 20, 2019| 2 Comments »

It looks like Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) follow a pre-flight checklist before takeoff. They stretch their wings, crouch down and lean forward, and then they fully extend their wings and push off with their legs.

I spotted this eagle on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I had been observing it for quite a while when suddenly it looked like it was going to take off. I am not sure exactly what the signs were, but I correctly anticipated its actions and was able to capture this sequence of shots.

Most of the time birds take off so quickly that we don’t know exactly how they did it—one second they are in a tree and the next second they are in the air. It was nice to be able to get a sense of the process that a bird goes through as it takes off. As I have seen with ducks, however, the process varies by species and is probably affected by factors such as the weight of the bird and the length of their wings.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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