June 10, 2018 by Mike Powell
When this bird spread its wings and left them open last week at a small pond in Brussels, I instantly knew it was a cormorant. Cormorants have to frequently dry out their wings, because their feathers are not completely waterproof like some other water birds. It sounds like that would be a problem, but it actually is an advantage for them. Their waterlogged feathers help them to dive deeper, kind of like a weight belt that a deep-sea diver might wear.
It turns out that this is a Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo), a larger and somewhat darker cousin of the Double-crested Cormorants that live in our area.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, Travel, wildlife | Tagged Brussels Belgium, Canon SX50, cormorant, Great Cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo | 3 Comments »
June 9, 2018 by Mike Powell
Although I saw Eurasian Coots (Fulica atra) a few times when I was in Brussels, Belgium this week, I was especially thrilled to spot this juvenile coot interacting with one of its parents. The color pattern on the juvenile is quite different from the adult’s, but the shape of their bills definitely shows that they are both coots.
Eurasian Coots are similar in appearance to the American Coots (Fulica americana) that I am used to seeing, though it appears to me that the white frontal shield on the “forehead” of the coot seems more prominent on the Eurasian species.
As I was thinking about the word “coot,” I realized that most people use the word only in the expression “old coot.” It made me wonder why coots are associated with a somewhat disparaging term for older men. According to an article in the Hartford Courant newspaper, “If you’ve ever seen a coot — an ungainly marsh bird that bobs its head like a hen as it swims or walks — you can see why “coot” came to denote, by the 1700’s, “a harmless, simple person,” as in “an old coot.””
I love when I have the chance to photograph the interaction between two species or two members of the same species. In this case, the eye contact and body positions tell a story that scarcely requires words.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, Travel, wildlife | Tagged Brussels Belgium, Canon SX50, Eurasian Coot, Fulica atra, juvenile coot, Rouge-Cloître, Rouge-Cloître park | 10 Comments »
June 8, 2018 by Mike Powell
It’s amazing how many different species of dragonflies I have been able to spot and photograph during my brief stay here in Brussels, Belgium. One new species for me is the Four-spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata)—there were quite a few members of this species active at a pond in the Rouge-Cloître park. Unlike some of the species that I have seen here, this species is also found in North America, where it is known as the “Four-spotted Skimmer.”
This species is so popular that, according to one website, it won a contest in 1995 to become the state insect of the state of Alaska. That may sound a bit strange to some readers, but personally I am happy that it beat out competitors that included the mosquito. (I have heard stories that mosquitoes in Alaska are large and aggressive and possibly are even larger than dragonflies, though that may be a slight exaggeration.)
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Travel, wildlife | Tagged Brussels Belgium, Canon SX-50, Four-spotted Chaser, Four-spotted Skimmer, Libellula quadrimaculata, Rouge-Cloître, Rouge-Cloître park | 7 Comments »
June 7, 2018 by Mike Powell
One of the most exciting things that I have observed during this brief trip to Brussels has been a family of Mute Swans (Cygnus olor) swimming in a small pond at the Rouge-Cloître park. I have seen swans a few times before in the wild, but I had never seen baby swans. As you might expect, they are really cute. Both of the parents seemed to be very attentive to the little ones and stayed close to them at all times. The baby swans, technically known as cygnets, seemed to be very curious and energetic and interacted a lot with each other as they explored the world.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Baby photography, Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, Travel, wildlife | Tagged Brussels Belgium, Canon SX50, Cygnus olor, Mute Swan, Rouge-Cloître, Rouge-Cloître park, swan, swan babies | 3 Comments »
June 6, 2018 by Mike Powell
At several locations during this visit to Brussels, I have spotted large blue-and-green dragonflies flying patrols back and forth over the water. They reminded me a lot of the Common Green Darner dragonflies (Anax junius) that I see fairly often in my home area of Northern Virginia. I suspected correctly that Common Green Darners are a North American species and that the dragonflies that I was observing were European “cousins.”
It was not hard to establish that these are Emperor dragonflies (Anax imperator), a species that is also referred to as “Blue Emperor.” Because of their size and the fact that their territory seemed to be pretty small, it was easy to track the Blue Emperor dragonflies visually when they were flying. I had to wait a long time, however, for them to perch and then move quickly to get a shot when they did so. Their rest breaks frequently lasted only a few seconds and then they would begin to fly again.
I really like the blue and green color combination and the way that these colors coexist in both the bodies and in the eyes of these beautiful dragonflies.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Travel, wildlife | Tagged Anax imperator, Blue Emperor dragonfly, botanical garden of Brussels, Brussels Belgium, Canon SX50, Emperor dragonfly | 9 Comments »
June 5, 2018 by Mike Powell
As I was exploring the Rouge-Cloître (Red Cloister) Park in Brussels, Belgium last weekend, I could hear some excited peeping coming from a heavily-vegetated area at the edge of a pond. Peering through the reeds, I could just make out the dark shapes and brightly-colored beaks of a pair of adult Common Moorhens (Gallinula chloropus).
As I kept watching I began to see several smaller shapes and realized there were baby chicks with the parents—there were at least three chicks and possibly more. The chicks and the parents remained mostly out of sight, but occasionally I got a partial glimpse of one of them through the vegetation as they moved about and managed to snap off a few shots.
I am also including a shot of an adult moorhen that I spotted earlier in the day at another park, in case you are not familiar with this bird species. In the photo you can’t help but notice that Common Moorhens have large feet that lack the webbing that we are used to seeing in ducks.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Baby photography, Birds, Nature, Photography, Travel, wildlife | Tagged Brussels Belgium, Canon SX50, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Common Moorhen, Gallinula chloropus, moorhen babies, moorhen chicks, Rouge-Cloître, Rouge-Cloître park | 4 Comments »
June 4, 2018 by Mike Powell
During this past weekend here in Brussels, I managed to find some really cool dragonflies, like this Green-eyed Hawker (Anaciaeschna isoceles or Aeshna isoceles) that I spotted at a pond in the Rouge-Cloître (Red Cloister) Park. This rather large dragonfly, also known as a Norfolk Hawker, is really striking as it flies, with a combination of colors that I have never seen before on a dragonfly.
With a bit of persistence and a lot of luck, I managed to capture an in-flight shot of a Green-eyed Hawker, but mostly I waited and waited for one to land. It was a little frustrating when one of them would land in a location that was too far away or in a location that did not afford me a clear shot, but eventually I was able to capture some images of a perching Green-eyed Hawker.
I was happy to capture the last photo that shows the yellow triangle on the upper part of the abdomen that is responsible for the “isoceles” portion of the Latin name of the species.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, Travel, wildlife | Tagged Aeshna isoceles, Anaciaeschna isoceles, Brussels Belgium, Canon SX50, dragonfly in flight, Green-eyed Hawker, Green-eyed Hawker dragonfly, Norfolk Hawker, Rouge-Cloître | 8 Comments »
June 4, 2018 by Mike Powell
Grey Herons (Ardea cinerea), like this one that I observed at the Botanical Garden here in Brussels, look and act a lot like the familiar Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) of North America, but are a little smaller and slightly different colored. Shortly after it caught this big fish, the heron let it go or it somehow managed to escape—maybe they have a catch-and-release policy at this location.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Travel, wildlife | Tagged Ardea cinerea, Ardea herodias, botanical garden of Brussels, Brussels Belgium, Canon SX50, Great Blue Heron, Grey Heron | 4 Comments »
June 3, 2018 by Mike Powell
Egyptian Geese (Alopochen aegyptiaca) have a look that is so unusual and distinctive that I can now recognize them almost instantaneously. I am fortunate to have the chance to travel to Brussels, Belgium a couple of times a year for work and one of my favorite places to visit here is the botanical gardens of Brussels. There is a small pond at the botanical gardens that always has an assortment of birds, and I was delighted to spot this beautiful Egyptian Goose swimming in the pond yesterday, my day of arrival in this historic city. I have seen an Egyptian Goose at this location a couple of times in the past, but the lack of surprise did not diminish at all my excitement at seeing this exotic species.
As their name suggests, Egyptian Geese are native to the Nile River area and sub-Saharan Africa, but there are now established breeding populations in parts of Europe and even in the United States. According to information in Wikipedia, Egyptian geese were considered sacred by the ancient Egyptians, and appeared in much of their artwork. They have been raised for food and extensively bred in parts of Africa since they were domesticated by the ancient Egyptians, although I suspect that they are viewed in Europe as primarily an ornamental bird.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Travel, wildlife | Tagged Alopochen aegyptiaca, botanical garden of Brussels, Brussels Belgium, Canon SX50, Egyptian Goose | 4 Comments »
June 2, 2018 by Mike Powell
Most dragonflies have clear wings and different colors and patterns on their bodies. Some dragonflies, however, have patterns on their wings too that I think really accentuates their beauty and makes them particularly striking.
The first shot below shows a female Calico Pennant dragonfly (Celithemis elisa) that I spotted in mid-May at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The second shot shows a male Painted Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula semifasciata) that I spotted in late May at a small pond in Prince William County in Northern Virginia.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged Calico Pennant, Calico Pennant dragonfly, Canon 50D, Celithemis elisa, Libellula semifasciata, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Painted Skimmer, Painted Skimmer dragonfly, Prince William County, Tamron 150-600mm, Triangle VA, Woodbridge VA | 6 Comments »
June 1, 2018 by Mike Powell
I love close-up photography, but sometimes it is good when necessity (or choice) compels me to shoot from a distance. This image has the simplest of compositions—a damselfly and a stalk on which to perch—but I like the way that the elements combined to create a sense of tranquility when I captured this moment this past Monday at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge.
As I recall, the light was coming from in front of me, which caused the damselfly to appear as a partial silhouette. Without the normal color information, it’s hard for me to identify the species of damselfly with any degree of certainty. One of the experts on a Facebook forum, however, suggest that it might be a Variable Dancer damselfly (Argia fumipennis), the sames species that appears at the top of my blog’s home page. As for the dried-out stalk that serves as a perch for the damselfly, I have no idea what kind of plant it is.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in damselfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged Argia fumipennis, Canon 50D, Fort Belvoir VA, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, tranquil, tranquility, Variable Dancer, Variable Dancer damselfly | 5 Comments »
May 31, 2018 by Mike Powell
I don’t know for sure if there were babies in this nest on Monday, but this adult Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea) kept bending forward into the nest, including the moment in the first image when it had what looked to be an insect in its mouth. Was it feeding some young ones? I have seen numerous photos this spring of baby birds with wide open mouths and I have been longing to capture some images like that.
Several weeks ago I watched as two gnatcatchers worked on this nest at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge here in Northern Virginia. I marveled at their patience and at their amazing craftsmanship. They would bring small bits of material into the nest (spider webs and lichen from what I have read) and place them carefully. Then they would rotate their bodies while sitting in the nest to compact the material.
It was a bit of a challenge to capture these shots. I was shooting upwards and there was a leafy canopy that filtered out a lot of the light. I also tried really hard not to disturb the birds, so I kept my distance, avoided using flash, and limited the time that I was shooting.
Are there babies in the nest? If they are not there now, they should be coming soon. I will be sure to check out the nest when I return to this little wetland refuge some time in the near future and maybe then I will be able to capture shots of the little ones being fed.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Canon 50D, Fort Belvoir VA, gnatcatcher, gnatcatcher nest, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, Polioptila caerulea, Tamron 150-600mm | 6 Comments »
May 30, 2018 by Mike Powell
Blue Dasher dragonflies (Pachydiplax longipennis) are one of the most common and widespread dragonfly species in my area. You can get so used to their presence that you stop paying attention to them, which I think is a mistake, for in doing so you will miss their amazing beauty. The colors and patterns of this little dragonfly are stunning.
Here are a couple of shots of Blue Dashers that I captured this past weekend at Jackson Miles Abbot Wetland Refuge. This early in the season, when the dragonflies are newly emerged, the colors seem really saturated and fresh—later in the season the colors tend to become duller and more faded. I was shooting at the edge of a small pond and the water in the background turned into a neutral gray that gives the images an artistic feel, almost like they were shot in a studio environment. The uncluttered background helps to draw your attention to the dragonflies themselves and especially to those wonderful two-toned eyes. (The male’s eyes will eventually turn into a more uniform turquoise blue shade.)
In case you are curious, the Blue Dasher in the first shot looks to be a female and the one in the second image appears to be an immature male.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Art, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Blue Dasher, Blue Dasher dragonfly, Canon 50D, Fort Belvoir VA, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, Pachydiplax longipennis, Tamron 150-600mm | 4 Comments »
May 29, 2018 by Mike Powell
Although many damselflies are tiny in size and difficult to spot from a distance, spreadwing damselflies are a notable exception. Spreadwing damselflies tend to be quite a bit larger than other damselflies and they rest with their wings partly open in the “spreadwing” posture that gives the family its common name. (Most other damselflies rest with their wings held closed, usually above their abdomen, which makes them harder to see and to photograph.)
When I flushed this damselfly yesterday at Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, I was immediately struck by the length of its body—it seemed to be really long and skinny. The spreadwing family is not all that big, but I still had trouble identifying the species of the damselfly. As is usually the case in this kind ofsituation, I turned to my local expert, fellow dragonfly enthusiast and blogger Walter Sanford, who identified it as a female Slender Spreadwing damselfly (Lestes rectangularis). I sometimes complain about the inappropriateness of the names of species, but in this case “slender spreadwing” is a perfect match for the subject that I observed.
In case you are curious about the photo, I shot it with my Tamron 150-600mm telephoto zoom lens on my Canon 50D DSLR. Over the winter I have become accustomed to using a monopod for stability and for this shot, I lowered the monopod and shot while kneeling. One of the limitations of the lens is that the minimum focusing distance is almost 9 feet (274 cm). At that distance, the camera’s autofocus system had trouble locking on the slender body of the damselfly—it kept focusing on the vegetation—so I resorted to manual focusing.
Most people are more familiar with dragonflies than with damselflies, but I encourage you to slow down and search for beautiful damselflies, the smaller members (in most cases) of the order of Odonata to which dragonflies also belong.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in damselfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged Canon 50D, Fort Belvoir VA, Jackson Miles Abbott Wetland Refuge, Lestes rectangularis, Slender Spreadwing, Slender Spreadwing damselfly, Tamron 150-600mm | 11 Comments »
May 28, 2018 by Mike Powell
I was prompted this morning to read again the challenges to all Americans found in Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, challenges that seem so appropriate and relevant as we pause in the United States on this Memorial Day to remember the sacrifices of so many brave men and women.
“But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
(I captured this image of a hyper-vigilant injured Bald Eagle (
Haliaeetus leucocephalus) in November 2014 shortly before it was rescued. You can learn more about the rescue and see additional images in a posting from that period entitled “
Rescue of an injured Bald Eagle.”)
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Inspiration, Nature, Patriotism, Photography | Tagged Abraham Lincoln, Alexandria VA, Bald Eagle, Canon 50D, Canon 70-300mm, Gettysburg Address, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Huntley Meadows Park | 8 Comments »
May 28, 2018 by Mike Powell
This must be egg-laying season for Eastern Snapping Turtles (Chelydra serpentina serpentina) for I have seen them on multiple occasions this past week far away from the water that is their normal habitat. I spotted this venerable one in a grassy field at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
I am happy that I was able to capture some of the turtle’s wonderful skin texture and serious expression in this head-and-shoulders portrait. I do realize, of course, that turtles do not really have shoulders—I used a bit of artistic license in characterizing the portrait with those words (and in calling myself an “artist”).
Many people say that snapping turtles look prehistoric to them, but I tend to think of Yoda every time that I see one. In my mind, I imagine a snapping turtle speaking with Yoda’s wisdom and unusual grammar structure with expressions like, “Named must your fear be before banish it you can.” (Lots of wonderful Yoda quotes like this one can be found at yodaquotes.net.)
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Nature, Photography, Portraits, spring, wildlife | Tagged Canon 50D, Chelydra serpentina serpentina, Eastern Snapping Turtle, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, snapping turtle, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA, Yoda | 7 Comments »
May 27, 2018 by Mike Powell
Many dragonflies like to perch on or near the ground, but some prefer to relax at the top of the trees, like this Black Saddlebags dragonfly (Tramea lacerata) that I spotted last Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. From this angle you can easily see the dark patches on the rear wings that someone decided looked like “saddlebags.”
Those patches somehow remind me of the famous inkblots of the Rorschach test. I suspect that. if asked, people have widely varying ideas about what they look like, though I know that I personally would not want to have any psychological interpretations attributed to my perceptions or to my imagination.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife | Tagged Black Saddlebags, Black Saddlebags dragonfly, Canon 50D, inkblot, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Rorschach, Rorschach test, Tamron 150-600mm, Tramea lacerata, Woodbridge VA | 7 Comments »
May 27, 2018 by Mike Powell
This Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) couldn’t seem to decide if it wanted to yawn or scream this past Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Either reaction could have been a response to my presence.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged Bald Eagle, Canon 50D, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, screaming eagle, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA | 8 Comments »
May 26, 2018 by Mike Powell
The two Bald Eagle eaglets whose development I have been following are getting really big—it looks like they are about ready to attempt to fly. In the upper left corner of the first image, you can see that one of the parents was perched just above the nest. It seems like there is no longer room for either of the parents in the nest, but at least one of them always seems to be nearby, watching over the eaglets
There is a barrier at the Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge near the eagle nest that keeps people from getting close and protects the Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) from human interference., From that barrier, however, I am able to see into the nest with my 150-600mm telephoto zoom lens, though the leaves on the trees are now making it quite a bit tougher to get an unobstructed shot than a month ago. For comparison purposes, I am including a shot of the eaglets that I took three weeks earlier than the more recent image that I captured this past Monday.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged Bald Eagle, bald eagle babies, Canon 50D, eaglets, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA | 8 Comments »
May 25, 2018 by Mike Powell
When I am capturing wildlife images, I am usually driven by multiple motivations that sometimes come in conflict with each other. On the one hand, I am trying to capture reality, to record the presence of a given subject in a way that makes it recognizable and identifiable. On the other hand, I am trying to create art, by choosing compositional elements and camera settings that make an image that is visually pleasing to me.
At this time of the year, dragonflies become one of my favorite subjects and I eagerly await the emergence of new species as we move deeper into spring and eventually into summer. This past Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I noted that Spangled Skimmer dragonflies (Libellula cyanea) are now with us. This species is pretty easy to identify because it is the only local species that has black and white stigmas—stigmas are the narrow rectangular patches of color that can be found on the front edges of the wings.
In the first image, a male Spangled Skimmer was pretty cooperative and let me capture one of my favorite type of dragonfly images—a head-on shot. In this kind of shot, the dragonfly’s body is almost always out of focus, but I am ok with that, because it forces the viewer to focus on the dragonfly’s amazing eyes.
The dragonfly in the second shot, which is an immature male Spangled Skimmer, had flown into a tree after I inadvertently spooked it. I loved the way that it was clinging to a branch. Shooting at an upward angle, I tried to simplify the background to draw attention to the branches as well as to the dragonfly. (As is often the case with dragonflies, immature male Spangled Skimmers initially have the coloration of adult females—eventually the dragonfly in the second photo will look like the one in the first image.)
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged Canon 50D, Canon SX50, Libellula cyanea, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Spangled Skimmer, Spangled Skimmer dragonfly, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA | 6 Comments »
May 24, 2018 by Mike Powell
Cormorants are usually really skittish. Even when they are fishing far away from the shore, they will usually take off as soon as they sense my presence. When I spotted the unmistakable silhouette of a cormorant perched on the remnants of a duck blind in the waters off of Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge this past Monday, I fully expected that it would fly away before I got within range to take a decent shot.
As I was approaching, I could see that it was a juvenile Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)—juveniles are paler around the neck and breast than adults and have more exposed orange skin around the bill. Perhaps this young cormorant had not yet developed a fear of humans, but whatever the reasons was, the beautiful blue-eyed bird remained in place as I took some shots from different angles and was still there when I silently moved away.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged Canon 50D, cormorant, Double-crested Cormorant, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Phalacrocorax auritus, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA | 6 Comments »
May 23, 2018 by Mike Powell
When I was growing up, my parents had a carved wood cuckoo clock from Germany. The bird that popped out of the clock, however, looked nothing like the Yellow-billed Cuckoos (Coccyzus americanus) that I spotted this past weekend at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. More significantly, the cuckoos that I saw did not make the familiar cuckoo sound that was part of my childhood.
When I did a little research, I learned that the cuckoo family is quite large and spread out all over the world and that the Yellow-billed Cuckoo belongs to a different subfamily from the Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) from Europe. That cuckoo is the one that makes the cuckoo sound used in all of those clocks.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged Canon 50D, Coccyzus americanus, cuckoo, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA, Yellow-billed Cuckoo | 3 Comments »
May 22, 2018 by Mike Powell
When I first saw this bird yesterday in the waters off of Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I thought it might be some kind of grebe. The more I watched it though, the more skeptical I became of my initial identification. It seemed bigger than the grebes that I had previously seen and its bill seemed considerably longer. Additionally, it acted differently. Rather than diving, it poked its head under the water and then would swim for a bit with its head submerged.
So I did what I usually do in this kinds of situation and posted some photos in the What’s This Bird? forum on Facebook. Within a few minutes I received a chorus of responses, all indicating that this was a Common Loon (Gavia immer). I have absolutely no experience with loons, but tend to associate them with northern lakes. Mentally, I think of them as dark colored with distinctive patterns, which is true when they are in breeding plumage. It turns out that they are much more subdued in coloration when they are in non-breeding or immature plumage.
In other parts of North America, loons are a more common and popular sight than in Northern Virginia where I live. According to Wikipedia, the Common Loon is the provincial bird of Ontario, and it appears on Canadian currency, including the one-dollar “loonie” coin and the previous series of $20 bills. In 1961, it was designated the state bird of Minnesota, and appears on the Minnesota State Quarter.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged Canon 50D, Common Loon, Gavia immer, loon, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA | 6 Comments »
May 21, 2018 by Mike Powell
I have spotted Common Yellowthroats (Geothlypis trichas) repeatedly this spring, but, despite my best efforts, have not been able to get a close-up shot of one. They seem to like to perch in the middle of a particular field at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge and seem to taunt me from a distance with their sweet songs.
I love the distinctive black Lone Ranger-style mask of the male Common Yellowthroat that contrasts wonderfully with sunny hues of its eponymous throat. Even though I recently couldn’t get close to this yellowthroat, I managed to capture this image that has a painterly feel to it.
I’ll still be trying for a close-up of this species, but for now I am quite content with this environmental portrait of this beautiful bird.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged Canon 50D, Common Yellowthroat, Geothlypis trichas, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA, yellowthroat | 8 Comments »
May 20, 2018 by Mike Powell
When I spotted this Eastern Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina serpentina) from a distance yesterday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I thought it might be a fox, because of its reddish-brown color. It was only when I got closer that I realized that it was a snapping turtle covered with mud—I suspect that she had recently been digging a nest to bury eggs. I got low trying to do an eye-level shot and am pleased with the expression that I was able to capture.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Nature, Photography, Reptiles, spring, wildlife | Tagged Canon 50D, Chelydra serpentina serpentina, Eastern Snapping Turtle, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, snapping turtle, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA | 11 Comments »
May 19, 2018 by Mike Powell
There are often a few moments in the early morning when the world seems completely at peace. The waters are calm and reflections are almost perfectly mirror-like. Sometimes there is enough light to take photographs, but even when there is not, I enjoy getting up early simply to savor those moments.
This past Monday morning, when I arrived at a small pond at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I noticed the beautiful reflections and my attention was drawn to a stick protruding out of the water. As I zoomed in on the stick, I noticed a damselfly perched on it. Damselflies belong to the same order of Odonata as dragonflies, but usually are smaller in size, often 1 to 1.5 inches in length (25–38 mm).
I decided to take some shots of the stick and the perching damselfly and as I was doing so, the damselfly flew away. I managed to capture the image below as the dragonfly was returning to its perch.
An expert on a Facebook forum identified the damselfly for me as an Orange Bluet (Enallagma signatum). Most members of the bluet family of damselflies are colored with various combinations of blue (as the name suggests) and black, but some family members are also orange or red. I shake my head and smile every time that I use the curious word combination “orange bluet.”
This image is somewhat atypical for me in the sense that it is not a close-up portrait. Most of the time I try to use my telephoto zoom or macro lens to capture as many details of my subject as I can. In cases like this, though, I am content to capture an image that evokes the mood of the moment. There is a kind of minimalist simplicity in this photo that really appeals to me.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in damselfly, dragonfly, Landscape, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged Canon 50D, damselfly, damselfly in flight, Enallagma signatum, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Orange Bluet, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA | 14 Comments »
May 18, 2018 by Mike Powell
When I first spotted a small flock of dark-colored birds this past Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I thought that they were blackbirds of maybe grackles. When the light illuminated them better, however, I could see that they were two-toned—their heads were brown and their bodies were black. I wasn’t sure what they were, but their distinctive color pattern made it easy to find them in my bird identification guide as Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater).
I found the name “cowbird” to be a bit strange and wondered if perhaps they mooed like cows. After all, catbirds are reported to make sounds like those of a cat. As far as I can determine, though, they were called “cowbirds” simply because this species was often seen near cattle.
As I was poking about on the internet trying to learn more about this species, I was shocked to learn that cowbirds do not make their own nests. Where then do they lay their eggs? The Cornell Lab of Ornithology website explained this phenomenon as follows:
“The Brown-headed Cowbird is North America’s most common “brood parasite.” A female cowbird makes no nest of her own, but instead lays her eggs in the nests of other bird species, who then raise the young cowbirds. Brown-headed Cowbird lay eggs in the nests of more than 220 species of birds.”
I have not yet seen it, but apparently it is not unusual to see parents of one species busily trying to feed a baby cowbird that hatched in its nest.
The first two shots below show adult male cowbirds and the third image looks to be a juvenile cowbird or possibly a female
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged Brown-headed Cowbird, Canon 50D, cowbird, Molothrus ater, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA | 5 Comments »
May 17, 2018 by Mike Powell
After a series of dreary days this week, I feel the need for some brighter, more cheerful colors. Here are a couple of shots of a Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia) that I spotted on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. A lot of warblers have yellow on their bodies and have long, complicated names, but this one is known simply as a “Yellow Warbler”—a straightforward name for a beautiful little bird.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged Canon 50D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Setophaga petechia, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA, yellow warbler | 4 Comments »
May 16, 2018 by Mike Powell
I had no idea what kind of turtle this was when I first encountered it sitting in the middle of a trail at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge this past Monday. Most of the time that I see turtles they are in the water or are sunning themselves at the water’s edge. This turtle was small and dark and lacked distinctive markings that would have aided me in identifying it.
I noticed that the turtle had a really large head and what looked to be sharp claws, so I initially thought it might be a baby snapping turtle. Uncertain of the identification, I posted a photo to a Facebook group for Nature Lovers of Virginia. The consensus of the group is that this is Eastern Mud Turtle (Kinosternon subrubrum), a new species for me.
I did a little checking on this species in Wikipedia and learned that mating occurs in the early spring followed by egg laying in May to early June. As was this case with a snapping turtle that I recently saw on dry land, I wonder if this turtle was looking for a place to lay its eggs.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Nature, Photography, Reptiles, spring, wildlife | Tagged Canon 50D, Eastern Mud Turtle, Kinosternon subrubrum, mud turtle, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA | 2 Comments »
May 15, 2018 by Mike Powell
It is almost impossible to take a good portrait of a group of youngsters, irrespective of species—they are invariably energetic and inquisitive, almost incapable of simultaneously looking at the camera.
Yesterday I encountered a family of Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) as I walked down a path at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. They too were strolling down the path, stopping to peck at the vegetation along the way. When they became aware of my presence, they slowly made their way to the water’s edge and slipped into the water.
The cute little goslings had already learned their lessons well and stayed in a tight little group right behind one of their parents. Once they had paddled a little way from shore, the babies, however, seemed to lose their focus and started to wander a bit. The adult in the rear of the little group, though, helped to bring them back into line as they silently swam away.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged Branta canadensis, Canada Geese, Canada Goose, Canon 50D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA | 11 Comments »
May 14, 2018 by Mike Powell
I couldn’t help but notice Friday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge how closely the green on the body of this Eastern Pondhawk dragonfly (Erythemis simplicicollis) matched the color of the vegetation on which it chose to perch. It won’t be long before pondhawks are all around us, but it was still nice to spot my first one of the season.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife | Tagged Canon 50D, Eastern Pondhawk, Eastern Pondhawk dragonfly, Erythemis simplicicollis, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA | 8 Comments »
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