Huntley Meadows Park | Mike Powell | Page 41

Feeds:: Posts; Comments

Posts Tagged ‘Huntley Meadows Park’

Wood Ducks take to the air

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Aix sponsa, birds in flight, Canon Rebel XT, ducks, Huntley Meadows Park, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens, Wood Ducks on May 4, 2013| 5 Comments »

Wood Ducks (Aix sponsa), especially the males, are probably the coolest-looking ducks, but in the past few months the only ones that I have seen have been flying away from me, generally from branches on which they were perched.

I was not really expecting that I would see any Wood Ducks on the ground when I approached a tiny pond earlier this week. However, I did notice a little movement at the water’s edge and had just focused on that area, when suddenly a pair of wood ducks took off. I snapped off a few shots, not really expecting that they would be in focus and was pleasantly surprised at the result

The ducks in this image ended up pretty much in focus, especially the male’s head, his most prominent and colorful feature. The wings have some motion blur, but it’s not too distracting.

I’d like to say that my focusing skills are getting better, but I know that this shot was primarily the result of luck. It doesn’t really matter that much how I got the shot—what matters more to me is that I like the result.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

Read Full Post »

Unexpected visitors—Glossy Ibises

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon Rebel XT, Glossy Ibis, Huntley Meadows Park, Plegadis falcinellus, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on May 4, 2013| 2 Comments »

Yesterday at my local marsh, several birders were really excited about the unexpected presence of a pair of Glossy Ibises (Plegadis falcinellus). I missed seeing them fly in, but spent almost an hour watching them forage in the distance, listening to the debate among the birders about whether these were Glossy Ibises or White-faced Ibises—they concluded the birds were Glossy Ibises.

I think that these strange-looking wading birds tend to be found nearer the coast and it is relatively rare, though not unprecedented, to have them at our marsh. I was not able to get any close-up shots, but I did manage to take some photos that show their downward-curved bills and colorful breeding plumage. The last shot really gives you a sense of the color—one of the ibises opened its wings to hop over a little patch of water.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

Read Full Post »

Nesting swallow

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, tagged Huntley Meadows Park, nesting, nesting box, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens, swallow, Tachycineta bicolor, Tree Swallow on May 3, 2013| 5 Comments »

Today I got this shot of a Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) gathering materials for a nest. I suspect that the swallow is using the nest that is attached to the metal pole on which it is perched, although I never actually saw the swallow enter the box.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

Read Full Post »

Another swallow confrontation

Posted in Birds, commentary, Humor, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Barn Swallow, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, controntation, Hirundo rustica, hostility, Huntley Meadows Park, swallow on May 3, 2013| 10 Comments »

Are Barn Swallows normally hostile toward each other?

As I was looking over once more the shots that I took on Monday, I came across this little series of images of two Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica) interacting. I had passed over these photos when I did my first sorting, because they were seriously underexposed. Unlike the photo that I posted earlier this week of a confrontation between two swallows, I was not using a flash for these photos, which meant, however, that I was able to take a burst of photos. (When I used my pop-up flash, I had to wait for the flash to re-cycle in order to shoot again.)

I tweaked these photos in Photoshop Elements (and cleaned up the background a little) and was amazed to discover that this confrontation seems to have escalated a bit beyond the previous one. The flying swallow seems much more aggressive and threatening, going beyond the squawking I had seen before, and looking more like he was ready to attack the sitting swallow, who seems to be paying attention to the incoming bird.

These photos would have been better with a higher shutter speed and better light, but I am amazed that I was able to capture this moment. I love interactions between members of the same species (and between different species) and I enjoy trying to catch those moments.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

Read Full Post »

Heron sheltered from the rain

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, tagged Ardea herodias, blue heron, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Great Blue Heron, heron, Huntley Meadows Park on May 2, 2013| 9 Comments »

As I was getting ready to leave the marsh on Monday, I noticed this Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) on the other side of the beaver pond.

He did not appear to be fishing, but was perched on a fallen tree, seemingly seeking shelter from the falling rain. He was hunched over a little, like he was trying to retain body heat.

It’s not often that I see a blue heron completely out of the water (assuming I don’t count all of the times when they were flying away from me), so I was happy to get this shot.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

Read Full Post »

Portrait of a Tree Swallow

Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Huntley Meadows Park, swallow, Tachycineta bicolor, Tree Swallow on May 2, 2013| 7 Comments »

This portrait of a Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) looks almost like it was shot in a studio, but I am pretty sure that if it had been, I would have chosen a more attractive item on which to have her perch.

The green rusted metal post holds up a nesting box and this swallow may be building a nest in it or in one of the other nearby boxes, because she had a long piece of grass in her mouth when I started shooting. I think it might be a female, but it’s hard to tell, because males and females look a lot alike, though, according to my Peterson bird guide, the female is “slightly duller” than the male.

This was another shot that I took this past Monday, when the sky was heavily overcast. I made an effort to frame this shot with the swallow up against the sky and I think that I used my pop-up flash to add a little light. I probably will continue to experiment with the technique, especially when it’s really cloudy, for I like the result that I got here. It does looks a little sterile and unnatural, but so often the background gets really cluttered and distracting.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

Read Full Post »

Green Heron in cattail shoots

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Butorides virescens, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, cattail shoots, green heron, heron, Huntley Meadows Park on May 1, 2013| 13 Comments »

On Monday as it was raining, I encountered a Green Heron (Butorides virescens), one of my favorite birds. Initially he was perched atop an abandoned beaver lodge, but he took to the air as I approached. He flew to the edge of a cattail patch, where new shoots have started to appear during the last couple of weeks. The cattail shoots help contribute to the green backdrop for this Green Heron.

I was happy that I was able to get an unobstructed path to this little heron—normally Green Herons are at the edge of the water or are in trees, where it’s almost impossible to get a clear shot.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

Read Full Post »

Wet baby geese

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, tagged baby geese, Branta canadensis, Canada Geese, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, geese, gosling, Huntley Meadows Park, rain on May 1, 2013| 13 Comments »

On Monday, I watched a family of Canada Geese (Branta canadensis), the parents and five little goslings, as they made their way from a little pond to forage in a field of cattails nearby. It was raining at the time, as you can see in the first photo, where two of the babies are swimming along (there was one parent to the front and one to the rear in the little convoy).

Once they made it to drier land, the little geese vigorously munched on small bits of vegetation. In the second photo, there is a little piece of a plant hanging out of the mouth of the baby goose. When they were in the water, the goslings looked like round balls of fluff, but they look more gangly and awkward on land.

I noticed a couple of geese sitting on what appeared to be nests. If so, I suspect I will be taking more photos of cute little baby geese.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

Read Full Post »

Low-flying dragonfly

Posted in Humor, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Winter, tagged Canon Rebel XT, Common Whitetail dragonfly, dragonfly, Huntley Meadows Park, Plathemis lydia, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on April 30, 2013| 7 Comments »

Is it just me, or does this image look like it came from a low budget science fiction movie, with a strange-looking alien creature hovering over a Martian landscape?

I was chasing dragonflies again this past weekend, trying to capture images of them in flight, and ended up with this image of a female Common Whitetail dragonfly (Plathemis lydia). It’s pretty tough to try to track these flying insects with a hand-held telephoto zoom lens extended to almost 400mm. My autofocus seemed too slow and I adapted a technique of trying to focus manually, while trying to keep the lens steady. I can’t tell for sure if this image was auto-focused or was manually focused.

Female Common Whitetail dragonflies do not have a white tail and in many ways that makes them a little easier to expose correctly. The wings are blurred, but you can still see the brown markings that identify this as a female, and not an immature male.

Last summer I was content to get a shot of a dragonfly when it was stationary, but this summer I am going to work hard to capture some more images of dragonflies in flight.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

Read Full Post »

Circling hawk

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Buteo jamaicensis, Canon Rebel XT, hawk, Huntley Meadows Park, Red-tailed Hawk, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on April 30, 2013| 7 Comments »

I haven’t seen many hawks in the last month or two, so I was delighted when I spotted this Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) circling in the distance this past weekend.

Most of the hawks that I had previously seen at my local marsh have been Red-shouldered Hawks, but I am pretty sure this one is a Red-tailed. The hawk never came close enough for me to get a really good shot, but I am content that I was able to get some shots in which the hawk is recognizable as more than an indistinct blob in the distance. Several of the shots I am posting look almost like they have a rock formation in the background—it was only, however, a dead tree.

These images are aspirational ones for me. They represent the kind of photographs that I am working to be able to produce in the future with greater sharpness and more pixels (I had to do a lot of cropping). They are a step on the path of my journey into photography.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

Read Full Post »

Pre-confrontation

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged Barn Swallow, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Hirundo rustica, Huntley Meadows Park, swallow on April 29, 2013| 6 Comments »

Here’s a photo of the Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) that I took today just prior to the confrontation that I featured in my previous blog entry. The sky was almost completely white, because the day was heavily overcast, and it totally disappeared when I was adjusting the RAW image.

This was one of the first times that I used flash to add a little light and bring out the colores and it seems to have worked out pretty well. Some of the more dedicated bird photographers that I see use a Fresnel lens attachment for their external flash units to give more reach to the flash—I am not sure that I am ready to go that far yet.

I managed to get a pretty good amount of detail in this shot, even capturing some of the raindrops on the swallow’s wing.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

Read Full Post »

Confrontation

Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Barn Swallow, Canon 55-250mm zoom lens, Canon Rebel XT, Hirundo rustica, Huntley Meadows Park, swallow on April 29, 2013| 14 Comments »

I was focusing my camera on a Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) perched on a branch, when out of nowhere another Barn Swallow appeared and started screeching as it hovered in midair. Fortunately I had enough presence of mind to press the shutter release.

It was raining most of the day and I was shooting one-handed under an umbrella much of the time. For this shot, I decided to use the built-in flash on my camera to add a little additional light. The reflections in the screeching bird’s eyes add to its almost maniacal look.

The bird on the branch was totally impassive. It turned its head toward the hovering bird, but did not appear to react in any other way.

The overall feel of the image is almost like a cartoon. I really like the way it came out (and recognize that it was mostly luck and fortunate timing).

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

Read Full Post »

Green Heron in a tree

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged Butorides virescens, Canon Rebel XT, green heron, heron, Huntley Meadows Park, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on April 29, 2013| 5 Comments »

I was thrilled this past Saturday when I caught sight of this Green Heron (Butorides virescens), because green herons have only recently returned to the area after spending their winter in warmer locations.

The lighting situation, however, was really problematic. There was beautiful dappled sunlight in the background, but the heron was mostly in heavy shade and his back was illuminated with harsh sunlight. I played around with a number of different settings and this was one of the better images. I still had to make some adjustments in post-processing to pull some of the details out of the shadows, which made the final image a bit grainy.

I really like the Green Heron’s pose, as he looks off into the distance. I don’t think that he was actively fishing, but was merely relaxing in the shade of the tree.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

Read Full Post »

Heron reflection

Posted in Art, Birds, Landscape, Nature, Photography, Portraits, tagged Ardea herodias, Canon Rebel XT, Great Blue Heron, heron, Huntley Meadows Park, reflections, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on April 28, 2013| 10 Comments »

The Great Blue Heron was too far away for me to capture many details, but the light early yesterday morning was especially beautiful, so I decided to pull back and try to capture the landscape, something that I don’t do very often.

I love the rich bands of color that I managed to capture in this shot and the gorgeous reflections in the water at my local marshland park. The red color, I believe, is from buds that were stripped from the trees by winds and rain this past week.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

Read Full Post »

Here’s looking at you

Posted in Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Portraits, Reptiles, wildlife, tagged Canon Rebel XT, Common Garter snake, garter snake, Huntley Meadows Park, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens, snake, snake eyes, Thamnophis sirtalis on April 28, 2013| 12 Comments »

Snake eyes are often cold and menacing, but somehow this snake that I encountered yesterday seems to have warm brown eyes that look almost like he is smiling.

This snake, which I think is a Common Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis), was curled up in some underbrush near the edge of the marsh. It was a real challenge getting a clear view of his head, the more so because I was using my 135-400mm lens that has a minimum focusing distance of almost seven feet (two meters).

For this shot, I used my tripod so that I could get an exposure of 1/30 second at f/9, with the lens zoomed out to about 350mm. I like the fact that I was able to capture some of the beautiful texture of the scales on his skin. You can easily see how I had to look for little sight windows through the brush, which is mostly blurred and hopefully is not too distracting. Finally, I am happy that I managed to capture some of the sinuous curves that help to guide the viewer’s eye to the snake’s head.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

Read Full Post »

Whitetail in April

Posted in Bugs, Humor, Insects, Macro Photography, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged Canon Rebel XT, Common Whitetail dragonfly, dragonfly, Huntley Meadows Park, immature male, Plathemis lydia, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on April 28, 2013| 3 Comments »

Although most people probably associate the descriptor “whitetail” with deer, it’s also part of the name of this dragonfly that I photographed yesterday, an immature male Common Whitetail dragonfly (Plathemis lydia).

I remember seeing the adult male Whitetail a lot last summer, and its body is a chalky white in color, as its name suggests. Males start out looking a lot like the female, which has a brown body with some white or yellow markings, according to Bugguide. However, it’s relatively easy to tell the immature males from the females, because their wing patterns are different. Males have wider bands of brown and clear wingtips (no, they are not wearing dress shoes—I am talking about the literal tips of the wings).

I am sure that I’ll get lots more photos of Common Whitetail dragonflies this summer, including some in much better light, but it was nice to see them appearing already in April.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

Read Full Post »

New little goose

Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged Branta canadensis, Canada Geese, Canon Rebel XT, gosling, Huntley Meadows Park, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on April 27, 2013| 5 Comments »

It’s hard to imagine anything cuter than this tiny little Canada Goose that climbed into the water at my local marsh for a swim along with his siblings and his parents. They were close enough to me that I was able to frame the shot pretty much like you see it.

I really like the expression of the gosling as he seemed to turn his head to look at me and also like the contrast between the bright colors of the gosling and the more muted tones of the full-grown geese.

I just missed the drop of 15 Hooded Merganser ducklings from the nesting box this morning by about twenty minutes. Hopefully I will have the chance to celebrate more new lives like this little goose in the coming weeks.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

Read Full Post »

Posing blackbird

Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Agelaius phoeniceus, blackbird, Canon Rebel XT, Huntley Meadows Park, posing, red-winged blackbird, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on April 27, 2013| 4 Comments »

Male Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) are loud and visible almost all of the time, but this one blackbird seemed even more determined than usual to pose for me. It was almost as though he was an experienced model, changing poses and holding them for a few seconds to allow me to get the shot before striking a new pose.

I wonder if he could have his own fashion show. Of course, we might have to alter the terminology a bit—I am not sure he would be keen to strut his stuff on something called a “catwalk.”

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

Read Full Post »

A few more yellowlegs

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon Rebel XT, Greater Yellowlegs, Huntley Meadows Park, shorebird, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens, Tringa melanoleuca, yellowlegs on April 23, 2013| 6 Comments »

The soggy, overcast weather this past Friday kept people away from my local marshland park and allowed me to get these shots of a Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca).

I don’t normally see these birds and if I do, they are almost always beyond the range of my lens. This day, however, there were a couple of yellowlegs and another smaller shorebird, which I was told was a Solitary Sandpiper, that moved back and forth in the water, remaining within range for quite some time.

The lighting was a little tricky for me, with the sky almost white most of the time, though sometimes the sun would peek out from behind all of the clouds. Most of the shots were a little underexposed, but I was able to correct them with a few little tweaks in post-production. I especially like the lighting in the first photo, in which the water has some color to it.

I am happy, though, that I was able to get some pretty clear shots of this beautiful bird, thanks in part to some careful focusing and the use of a tripod. (If you want to see another shot of the yellowlegs, checkout my earlier posting.)

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

Read Full Post »

Egret in the air

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Winter, tagged Ardea alba, birds in flight, Canon Rebel XT, egret, Great White Egret, Huntley Meadows Park, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on April 22, 2013| 4 Comments »

I continue my efforts to capture photos of herons and egrets in flight whenever I can and here are a couple of shots from this past weekend of a flying egret.

In theory, it should be easy to photograph these birds—they are large and fly slowly—but the changing backgrounds and direction of flight has often made it tough to get the proper exposure and focus.

The egrets were gone all winter, but they are back now. I am hoping that I will continue to see them often enough to be able to get some better photos of them (or at least to try).

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

Read Full Post »

Swallowtail butterfly in April

Posted in Bugs, Insects, Nature, Photography, tagged butterfly, Canon Rebel XT, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly, Huntley Meadows Park, Papilio glaucus, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens, swallowtail on April 19, 2013| 18 Comments »

I was really surprised today when I saw the the familiar shape and color of a female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucus). Somehow I had expected to see them much later in the spring.

Normally I like to try to get photos of these beautiful butterflies perched on colorful flowers, but there are no colorful flowers yet in the marsh. Unfortunately, the butterfly that I was able to photograph decided to perch on the decomposing carcass of a snapping turtle (as you can see in the first photo). Most of my other shots were at least partially obscured by the grass.

Gradually the cast of characters is coming together that will probably play leading roles in my blog postings in the upcoming months, the birds and beasts, and the reptiles and amphibians, not to mention the plants and flowers. I can hardly wait.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

Read Full Post »

Mating snapping turtles

Posted in Nature, Photography, Reptiles, wildlife, tagged Canon Rebel XT, Chelydra serpentina serpentina, Eastern Snapping Turtle, Huntley Meadows Park, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens, snapping turtle, turtle on April 19, 2013| 6 Comments »

Last weekend I kept seeing snapping turtles in the water with their shells at an angle to the surface. Initially I couldn’t figure out what was going on, until a helpful fellow photographer explained that the turtles were mating.

Mating? That sort of made sense, but I was a little confused, because in each case I could see only a single turtle. Doesn’t it take two to tango? I kept watching and eventually I was able to see that there were two turtles, but one of them was being held underwater most of the time. It seemed pretty violent. On the positive side, it seems that the female did not bite off the male’s head in the process, as praying mantises are said to do while mating.

As I look the photos below, I have trouble identifying body parts and determining which ones belong to which turtle. I don’t understand the anatomy of the Eastern Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina serpentina) and will leave that to the experts.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

Read Full Post »

Glowing duck

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged Canon Rebel XT, duck, Hooded Merganser duck, Huntley Meadows Park, Lophodytes cucullatus on April 18, 2013| 3 Comments »

The last month or so I have been keeping an eye on a couple of female Hooded Merganser ducks that are using a nesting box at my local marshland park. One of my fellow photographers has already posted a photo of one of them, surrounded by a dozen or so cute little ducklings, so I may have missed one of the moments that I was hoping to catch.

A little earlier this month, though, I had a special moment with one of them, when I arrived at the park early in the morning, just after the sun had risen. The small female duck was more out in the open than usual, though she was still pretty far away. Initially she seemed to be taking a bath, as she stuck her head under water and would shake a little. Eventually she climbed out of the water onto a log and began to groom herself.

The light at that moment from the back and the side made the spiky reddish-blond hair on her head glow and also created a nice reflection in the water. She seemed unhurried and unafraid as she basked in the beautiful early morning light.

For at least a moment, the two of us were freed from the cares of our everyday lives.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

Read Full Post »

Skink in the spring

Posted in Nature, Photography, Reptiles, wildlife, tagged Canon Rebel XT, Common Five-Lined Skink, Huntley Meadows Park, Plestiodon fasciatus, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on April 17, 2013| 10 Comments »

The warmer weather seems to have brought out all of the critters in my marshland park, including what I think is a Common Five-Lined Skink (Plestiodon fasciatus). I don’t often see lizards around here, so I was particularly happy when this one slowly crawled down a tree, permitting me to get this shot.

I wonder why he was sticking out his tongue at me.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

Read Full Post »

Standing heron

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged Ardea herodias, Canon Rebel XT, Great Blue Heron, heron, Huntley Meadows Park, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on April 15, 2013| 4 Comments »

Although it is exciting to be able to capture a photo of a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) flying or catching a fish, I find them to be beautiful even when they are standing still.

I came upon this heron early one morning a week ago or so and was struck by the serenity of the moment. The heron seemed pensive and the beautiful morning light helped to provide some wonderful reflections in the still water of the beaver pond.

The second shot was taken a little later that same morning, after the heron had groomed himself. In this photo, I am amazed at how tall the heron looks with his neck fully extended.

It was rare for me to be able to get unobstructed shots of a heron from relatively close range, and I was pretty happy to be able to get shots like this.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

Read Full Post »

Frog on a log

Posted in Amphibians, Humor, Nature, Photography, tagged Canon Rebel XT, frog, Huntley Meadows Park, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on April 14, 2013| 7 Comments »

A blog about a frog on a log in a bog—is this how Doctor Seuss got started?

The subject is ordinary and the composition is simple, but I really like the result. The frog seems to be lost in a moment of contemplation as he stares out across the pond and I made sure not to wake him from his reverie as I quietly snapped his photo and moved on.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

Read Full Post »

Northern Black Racer

Posted in Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, Reptiles, tagged black racer, Canon Rebel XT, Coluber constrictor constrictor, Huntley Meadows Park, Northern Black Racer snake, racer, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on April 14, 2013| 6 Comments »

When I came across this fairly large snake, which I think is a Northern Black Racer snake (Coluber constrictor constrictor), I was happy that I had a fairly long telephoto lens.

He looked to be about 48 inches long (1.2 meters) and was partially coiled on top of a bush at the edge of the beaver pond at my local marsh. Although he was basking in the sun, he was definitely alert, which was one of the reasons why I was very cautious. The photo provides a close-up view of his head, but it was shot with my zoom lens at about 340mm, so I was not close and personal with him.

Wikipedia notes that this snake usually swallows its prey alive, despite the “constrictor” in its Latin name. Although these snakes will try to avoid predators, “once cornered they put up a vigorous fight, biting hard and often.” I’ll definitely keep that in mind.

One other interesting bit of trivia that I discovered about the Northern Black Racer snake (and I recognize that I could be wrong in my identification) is that the snake was designated as the official state reptile of Ohio in 1995.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

Read Full Post »

Birds or insects?

Posted in Birds, Bugs, commentary, Insects, Nature, Photography, tagged Agelaius phoeniceus, Canon Rebel XT, Huntley Meadows Park, red-winged blackbird, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on April 13, 2013| 4 Comments »

Standing at an apparent crossroad, I was struggling to decide if I should continue to focus my attention on birds, as I did much of the winter, or switch back to the insects that populated so many of my photographs last summer.

This photo of a Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) from yesterday suggests that maybe I don’t necessarily have to choose one or the other, that maybe I can live in both worlds at least some of the time.

I wonder how often in my life I set up these kind of false choices, when I would be better served by thinking more expansively and creatively.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

Read Full Post »

First dragonfly of the spring

Posted in Bugs, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Anax junius, Canon Rebel XT, Common Green Darner dragonfly, dragonfly, Huntley Meadows Park, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on April 12, 2013| 15 Comments »

Today I saw my first dragonflies of the spring, which I am pretty sure were Common Green Darners (Anax junius). They buzzed by me several times, but never stopped to perch.

I had reconciled myself to the likelihood that I would not get a single shot. Suddenly a dragonfly that I was chasing stopped and hovered over the water. I have never had any success before in capturing an in-flight image of a dragonfly, but somehow I was able to grab focus and got several pretty good shots. The beautiful, two-toned colors of this dragonfly are amazing.

I look forward to a new season of chasing dragonflies, but suspect that I will have to work hard to top this first dragonfly of the spring.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

Read Full Post »

Ruffling a few feathers

Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Ardea herodias, Canon Rebel XT, Great Blue Heron, heron, Huntley Meadows Park, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens on April 12, 2013| 2 Comments »

I arrived at the marsh early in the morning, just as this Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) was getting up. He seemed to be going through his pre-breakfast routine, grooming and preening and getting ready for the day ahead. It was fascinating to watch him contort his long neck as he sought to arrange his feathers just so. The water was calm enough that he could have used it as a mirror, if he had wanted to do so.

I am not sure if he was trying to make himself look bigger and fluffier, was airing himself out, or just wanted some additional air for insulation, but at one point he shook himself vigorously. I was fortunate enough to get the first photo as he was in the process of ruffling the feathers.

Eventually, my feathered friend decided that he was presentable and stood motionless, as though posing for me. I’ll post some of those images later.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

Read Full Post »

Daunting challenge

Posted in Birds, commentary, Nature, Photography, Winter, tagged Canon Rebel XT, Dryocopus pileatus, Huntley Meadows Park, Melanerpes carolinus, Pileated Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Sigma 135-400mm telephoto zoom lens, woodpecker on April 11, 2013| 8 Comments »

Most often I see small woodpeckers high up in the trees, pecking at the smaller branches there, but this male Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) seemed determined to take on the challenge of the trunk of this substantial-sized tree. I really like his pose, as he appears to be contemplating how best to tackle this problem.

Does he dream of great things, like excavating holes in trees like those in the second and third photos? Maybe he was an orphan and was raised by a family of Pileated Woodpeckers and doesn’t recognize any limitations in his size.

I am still trying to get photos of the larger woodpeckers that made the impressive series of holes. I hear a jackhammer-like sound when they are working, but they manage to elude me each time.

For now, I am content with my photo of the smaller woodpecker, attempting to punch above his weight class.

Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »