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Posts Tagged ‘Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge’

Juvenile Cooper’s Hawk

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on November 11, 2023| 8 Comments »

As I looked up a trail on Thursday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I noted the shape of a bird perched on a shaded gate. When I zoomed in, I realized it was a hawk, which flew to a distant tree as I was capturing the first shot. I shared the images with a Facebook birding group, and the general consensus is that the bird is a juvenile Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii).

Most of the hawks that I regularly see are Red-shouldered Hawks and occasionally I spot Red-tailed Hawks. At first I thought that this one might be a Red-shouldered Hawk, but when I looked at my photos on my computer, I was really struck by the length of the hawk’s tail and by the elongated shape of the hawk’s body that are not characteristic of a Red-shouldered Hawk.

One of the folks on Facebook who responded to my posting noted, “Juvenile Cooper’s hawk. Beautiful youngster. You caught the neat teardrop shaped breast streaking, and the short wings against the long and widely banded tail.”

As many of you know, I am an opportunistic wildlife photographer—I enjoy walking around a lot and try to capture photos of my wonderful encounters with nature, like this one.

 

Cooper's Hawk

Cooper's Hawk

Cooper's Hawk

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Woodpecker treat

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on November 10, 2023| 9 Comments »

Woodpeckers are amazingly industrious. They repeatedly hammer their heads against trees, with seemingly a low success rate. Yesterday, though, this male Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) was successful in capturing an insect at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge and paused for a moment to show it to me.

Downy Woodpeckers are the smallest woodpeckers in my area and are the species that I see most often. In addition to pecking away at trees, I have also seen them search for insects in cattails and in other vegetation. It is easy to distinguish a male Downy Woodpecker from a female, because males have a bright red patch on the back of their heads, a feature that you can just see in this photo.

Downy Woodpeckers are usually very energetic. I spotted this woodpecker as he was spiraling his way up the tree. I prepared myself when he disappeared behind the trunk and was able to anticipate where he would reappear. I really like the angle of view of this shot that allows us to see the bird’s sharp claws and intense eyes. Downy Woodpeckers always seem to be intensely focused on what they are doing and it was wonderful to see this one’s efforts rewarded with a nice little treat.

Downy Woodpecker

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Kinglet acrobatics

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on November 8, 2023| 2 Comments »

It is fun to watch the acrobatics of tiny Ruby-crowned Kinglets (Corthylio calendula) as they forage for food, like this one that I photographed last Thursday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I love the twisting, spiral shape of the little branchlet on which the kinglet is perched so much that I might well have photographed it even if the kinglet were not there. The yellow colors in the background are a huge plus in creating an autumnal feeling in this image.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Poison ivy berries

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on November 7, 2023| 1 Comment »

I wouldn’t recommend adding poison ivy berries to your diet, but this Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata) seemed to be really enjoying them last Thursday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Amazingly, poison ivy is a great source of nutrition to a variety of wildlife species. According to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, a wide variety of “birds are especially fond of poison ivy berries. The plant’s waxy, white berries are loaded with vitamins and other nutrients. If that isn’t enough, they are available to south-bound migrants in mid-summer as well in winter when food is at a premium.”

It is incredible to me that such tiny birds can survive during the winter and finding nutrition like these little white poison ivy berries is one of the keys to their survival. Yellow-rumped Warblers eat mainly insects in the summer, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, but during the winter they switch to a diet of mostly seeds and berries. Can you imagine being a carnivore for six months of the year and a vegan for the other six months?

Yellow-rumped Warbler

 

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Yellow-rumped Warblers in November

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on November 5, 2023| 7 Comments »

Most warblers pass briefly through my area when they are migrating in the spring and in the fall, but Yellow-rumped Warblers (Setophaga coronata) stay with us for a good part of the colder season. This past Thursday I spotted quite a large number of Yellow-rumped Warblers as I wandered the trails at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

In the first photo, you can see a portion of the yellow patch that is responsible for the name of this species. Most of the time I see only the smaller yellow patches on their sides, because they tend to perch high above me and I am often shooting at an upwards angle.

I am amazed by the light weight of Yellow-rumped Warblers and their ability to perch on incredibly slender branches, as you can see in the second image. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, these little birds weigh only 0.4-0.5 ounces (12-13 g).

In the final photo, the warbler is poised to move on to its next perch. Yellow-rumped Warblers are not quite as hyperactive as some other species that I see at this time of the year, like Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets, but they move around a lot as they forage for food.

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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November dragonflies

Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on November 4, 2023| 1 Comment »

And then there was one…

Now that the calendar has turned over to November, we have reached the point in the dragonfly season when there is essentially only one remaining species, the Autumn Meadowhawk (Sympetrum vicinum). There is a chance that I will encounter a hardy survivor from some of the summer species or a migratory dragonfly species passing through our area, but in all likelihood, the only dragonflies that I am likely to see this month are the tiny red Autumn Meadowhawks.

This past Thursday I visited Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge and spotted a total of about ten Autumn Meadowhawks at various points throughout the refuge. Unlike some species that require specific habitats, Autumn Meadowhawks seem to be pretty adaptable and I have found them in a variety of different environments.

The dragonfly in the first photo is a female Autumn Meadowhawk—you can tell it is female by looking at her terminal appendages, i.e. the tip of her “tail.” She was perching more or less in the open, so I managed to capture an obstructed shot of her.

Most of the time, though, Autumn Meadhawks perch low to the ground on fallen leaves and dried-up vegetation, as you can see in the final two shots. Both photos show male Autumn Meadowhawks. I love the lighting in the penultimate shot, although the cluttered background makes the dragonfly a little hard to see. In the final photo, I really like the way that the dragonfly appeared to be looking up at me with a sense of curiosity.

Autumn Meadowhawk

Autumn Meadowhawk

Autumn Meadowhawk

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Woodland Box Turtle

Posted in Autumn, Nature, Photography, Reptiles, turtle, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 3, 2023| 10 Comments »

I encountered this Woodland Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) last Friday on a paved road at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The brown color of the eyes suggests that this is a female—males generally have red eyes. However, according to the Virginia Herpetological Society, “The color of the iris is sometimes considered indicative of a turtle’s sex, but it is not always reliable.”

The turtle was quite small, about the size of the palm of my hand. I normally try not to disturb wildlife, but I worried that this turtle might be hit by a car, so I picked it up and moved it off of the surface of the road. I was concerned that its claws might scratch me, but the turtle drew in all of its legs and its head as soon as I lifted it.

Hopefully this turtle will live to a ripe old age, but it definitely needs to stay out of traffic, according to the Virginia Herpetological Society, “Box turtles are notorious for living as long, or longer, than humans. An adult male with the date 1874 carved in its plastron was found in Rockingham County in August 1985 (Daily News Record, Harrisonburg), indicating an age of >111 years. It is difficult to confirm such sightings, however.” Yikes!

Woodland Box Turtle

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Dramatic lighting

Posted in Autumn, Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on November 2, 2023| 4 Comments »

The sunlight coming from the back and side of this Clouded Sulphur butterfly (Colias philodice) produced a really dramatic effect in this image that I captured last Friday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. It looks almost like I had the butterfly posing for me in a photography studio, where I would have had full control over the power and direction of the light.

In situations like this, the settings on the camera are really important, because there is so much light that it threatens to blow out the highlights of the light-colored subjects. As a result, I deliberately underexposed the photo, which is why the background appears to be so dark, but I did retain a lot of the details in the butterfly and the asters.

For those of you who enjoy the geeky, technical aspects of photography, I was shooting with a Canon 7D DSLR and a Tamron 150mm-600mm telephoto zoom lens at 600m—I was using a monopod for additional stability. My camera was set to f/8.0, 1/1600 sec, and ISO 400 with negative 1.33 stops of exposure compensation.

Clouded Sulphur

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Scratching an itch?

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on November 1, 2023| 2 Comments »

Sometimes when you have an itch, you just have to stop what you are doing and scratch it. I have certainly had that experience and that seemed to be the case with this Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) that I spotted last week at the edge of the water at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

If you zoom in on the photo, you can see that the heron has quite long claws on its toes that it was using along the length of its neck. I love the way that the feathers were all awry as the heron focused on scratching its itch.

Great Blue Heron

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

 

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Spooky bird

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Halloween, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on October 31, 2023| 5 Comments »

They are not as creepy as spiders or a black cats, but there is something eerie and unsettling about the pale yellow eyes of Rusty Blackbirds (Euphagus carolinus), like this one that I spotted last Friday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The bird was in a really distant tree, so the image is not super sharp, but I really like the way I was able to create a mood in the shot and the subdued colors throughout the shot really help that eye to pop.

Happy Halloween!

Rusty Blackbird

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Foraging Starlings

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , on October 31, 2023| 13 Comments »

A large flock of European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) was foraging in the trees at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge last Friday. Initially I thought that this might be a flock of crows or red-winged blackbirds, but when I zoomed in on the birds and saw their mottled iridescent feathers, I immediately identified them as starlings.

I captured these images as the birds feasted on some unidentified berries, plucking and ingesting them one at a time. I was hoping to get more shots of these birds, but without any visible warning, they all took off at the same time and flew away.

European Starling

European Starling

European Starling

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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Meadowhawk on the rocks

Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on October 20, 2023| 7 Comments »

I walked about for a couple of hours on Wednesday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge and visited some of my favorite dragonfly sites, but managed to spot only three dragonflies. Of those three, the only one that I managed to photograph was this pretty little Autumn Meadowhawk (Sympetrum vicinum).

Autumn Meadowhawks are quite small, about 1.3 inches (33 mm) in length, so they are not easy to spot, despite their bright red color. They tend to stay close to the ground, making short flights most of the time, so you have to be looking down to see them. At this time of the year, I focus a good amount attention on birds, so I end up alternating between looking up for birds and down for insects.

I really like the color and texture of the rocks on which the dragonfly chose to perch. Their cool muted tones contrast nicely with the red and brown colors of the dragonfly.

Autumn Meadowhawk

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Familiar Bluet in October

Posted in Autumn, damselfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on October 19, 2023| 3 Comments »

Like dragonflies, their larger “cousins,” damselflies have been rapidly decreasing in numbers this month. During recent visits to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I have seen only a few remaining damselflies. Therefore I was especially happy to spot this handsome male Familiar Bluet damselfly (Enallagma civile) last Tuesday.

The little damselfly seemed to be giving me a sideward glance as I carefully focused on him and I see a hint of what might be a smile. I really like the way that the background turned out in this image too—the colors and bokeh balls add additional visual interest without detracting from the primary subject.

Familiar Bluet

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Tattered autumn

Posted in Autumn, Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on October 18, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Many of the insects and plants that I now see show signs of the ravages of summer, like this damaged Common Buckeye butterfly (Junonia coenia) that I spotted atop an equally damaged plant during a recent visit to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Nonetheless the beauty of the butterfly shines through and it appears to be fully functional.

Autumn is a time for harvest celebrations as we rejoice in the bounty of the growth that has taken place, but there is also a tinge of melancholy as we experience a sense of loss and the feeling that our lives our changing. Change, of course, is a constant in our lives, but most of us—and I definitely fit into this group—become creatures of habit and have trouble dealing with changes at times. Yet we eventually adapt and may even learn to appreciate the results of the change, even if the process of change is a bit uncomfortable.

Common Buckeye

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Perched Wandering Glider

Posted in Autumn, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on October 17, 2023| 3 Comments »

I endlessly tried to track several Wandering Glider dragonflies (Pantala flavescens) as they flew back and forth over a field at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge last Thursday and was thrilled when one of them finally landed some nearby vegetation, allowing me to capture this image.

Wandering Gliders, also known as Globe Skimmers or Globe Wanderers, are considered to be the most widespread dragonfly species on the earth, with a good population on every continent except Antartica, although they rare in Europe. According to Wikipedia, Wandering Gliders “make an annual multigenerational journey of some 11,200 miles (18,000 km); to complete the migration, individual Wandering Gliders fly more than 3,730 miles (6,000 km)—one of the farthest known migrations of all insect species.”

This modest image was technically quite challenging to capture. The vegetation in this field was dense and the autofocus on my camera kept getting confused by the stalks of vegetation, so I had to resort to manual focusing. I was reluctant to move about very much for fear of rippling the vegetation and disturbing the dragonfly and therefore had to crouch in an awkward position close to the ground. It is certainly not an award-worthy photo, but I am thrilled whenever I manage to get a decent shot of a dragonfly species that rarely perches.

Wandering Glider

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Hidden heron

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on October 16, 2023| 3 Comments »

This Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) was so well hidden that I could not tell if it was perched on a small raised portion of the ground or in a tree when I caught a glimpse of it during a recent visit to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. My view of the heron initially was mostly obscured by the thick vegetation, but I managed to get a somewhat clear shot of it by climbing on top of a conveniently placed park bench.

Great Blue Heron

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

 

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Hidden eagle

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on October 15, 2023| 3 Comments »

This Bald Eagle was almost hidden in the foliage of a sweet gum tree when I spotted it on Thursday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Normally I depend on the brightness of a bald eagle’s head to give away the presence of an eagle, but in this case the eagle’s head was in partial shade, making it stand out quite a bit less than it usually does.

The second shot shows a view of the eagle from a different angle. Even though this shot does not show as much detail as the first shot, which was actually taken after the second one, I like the way that it shows how the eagle was nestled on its perch amidst all of the branches.

In the upcoming months, many of the leaves will fall from the trees and it will become marginally easier for me to spot an eagle from a longer distance away. Of course, that will also make it easier for the eagles to spot me and my vision and reflexes are rarely a match for those of the eagles. Often my first indication of an eagle’s presence is when it takes to the air and flies away from me.

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

 

 

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Arrowhead Spider

Posted in Arachnids, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, spiders, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on October 14, 2023| Leave a Comment »

On Thursday I spotted this cool-looking Arrowhead Spider (Verrucosa arenata) , also known as a Triangle Orbweaver, at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. This spider is one of the few known orbweavers that sits facing upwards in its web—all other species face downward.

Its distinctive triangle-shaped abdomen makes this species pretty easy to identify. If you look closely at the image, I think that you can see a couple of the spider’s large round eyes shining brightly in between several of the legs in the upper left portion of the spider’s body.

Arrowhead Spider

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Perfect autumn damselfly

Posted in Autumn, damselfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on October 14, 2023| 1 Comment »

Although the name of this Orange Bluet damselfly (Enallagma signatum) sounds like an oxymoron, its colors are a perfect match for this autumn season. As the name suggest, most damselflies in the bluet family are blue, but they do come in other colors.

I photographed this handsome male Orange Bluet on 10 October at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge and was thrilled to be able to capture a little autumn color in the background of the image.

Orange Bluet

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Common Green Darner in October

Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on October 13, 2023| 3 Comments »

There were several Common Green Darner dragonflies (Anax junius) flying overhead on 10 October at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. One of them landed and perched momentarily low in the vegetation and I was able to capture this image.

I have been seeing fewer and fewer dragonflies on the ground as we move deeper and deeper into October, but in the air I have been seeing quite a few Common Green Darners, Black Saddlebags, and Wandering Gliders, the dragonfly species that migrate through our area. Many of the members of the surviving summer species appear to be faded and tattered, but the migrants appear to be bright and pristine.

The tangled grasses and vegetation where the dragonfly was perched were dried out and mostly void of color, which helps the green of the dragonfly’s thorax to really stand out in the photo. I also like the way that I was able to capture the transparency and details of the dragonfly’s wings.

Common Green Darner

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Autumn Eagle Takeoff

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on October 12, 2023| 7 Comments »

I spotted this Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) in a distant tree on Tuesday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge at about the same time that it spotted me. I reacted quickly and managed to capture this first image as it prepared to take off. As you can see, there is already a bit of color in our autumn foliage, but the colors are relatively muted here in Northern Virginia, compared to what I would see when I was growing up in New England.

The second photo shows the eagle a few seconds after its takeoff as it rose above the trees. At that moment its feet were still dangling, but it raised its “landing gear” shortly after I captured the image.

It has been a while since I last posted eagle photos and it was wonderful to have a couple of sightings of these majestic birds on a beautiful fall day.

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Feasting on goldenrold

Posted in Autumn, Butterflies, Flowers, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , , on October 11, 2023| 2 Comments »

I love bright colors and instinctively smile when I see the large patches of goldenrod that are still in bloom at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The insects seem to love these flowers too and last Tuesday I spotted a large Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus) and smaller Clouded Sulphur butterfly (Colias philodice) feeding on goldenrod.

Monarch

Clouded Sulphur

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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Orchard Orbweaver web

Posted in Arachnids, Art, Autumn, Halloween, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on October 10, 2023| Leave a Comment »

I am always amazed by the skill and artistry of spiders that construct elaborate webs, like this little Orchard Orbweaver spider (Leucauge venusta) that I photographed last Tuesday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. It is a bit of a challenge to capture an image of a web like this, especially in full daylight, but I managed to do so by focusing very carefully and deliberately underexposing the image so that the background appeared a bit darker than it was in real life.

Orchard Orbweaver

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Twelve-spotted Skimmer in October

Posted in Autumn, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on October 9, 2023| 5 Comments »

When the calendar turns over to October, I never know which dragonflies I will encounter. Many of them have disappeared, but some hardy survivors are still around. The weather was warm last week, with several days in the 80’s (27 degrees C), but this week, high temperatures are predicted to be in the low to mid 60’s (17 degrees C) with nighttime temperatures dipping to the upper 40’s (9 degrees C)—this cool weather is less than optimal for most dragonflies.

I was thrilled last Tuesday to spot this Twelve-spotted Skimmer dragonfly (Libellula pulchella) at the edge of a small pond at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I was especially pleased to be able to capture the beautiful patterns on this dragonfly’s wings as it perched in the reeds.

Twelve-spotted Skimmer

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Assassination attempt?

Posted in Autumn, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on October 8, 2023| 3 Comments »

What is going on in this photo? It is really cool to photograph the interaction between two species, but it is often difficult to interpret the nature of their exchange. Is it mere curiosity or are there more deadly and sinister intentions on the part of one of the actors? If so, which one is the predator and which one is the potential prey?

I captured this image this past Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I could not identify either of these insects, so I posted the photo and requested identification assistance on bugguide.net, a wonderful resource for insect identification.  It did not take long before I received a response that the insects were an Orange Assassin Bug (Pselliopus barberi) on the left and a Milkweed Leaf Beetle (Labidomera clivicollis) on the right.

I may be giving too much weight to the “assassin” part of the name of one of these insects, but, judging from their individual postures, it seems to me that the orange bug is preparing to attack the black-and-red beetle. Who know? It is such a cool and creepy photo that perhaps I should have waited until Halloween to post it.

Orange Assassin Bug Milkweed Leaf Beetle

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Autumn Meadowhawks at last

Posted in Autumn, Dragonflies, dragonfly, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on October 7, 2023| 3 Comments »

What signals the arrival of autumn for you? Perhaps it is the changes in the foliage, the cooling of the temperatures, or the shortening of the daylight hours. In recent years Autumn Meadowhawk dragonflies (Sympetrum vicinum) have become the harbingers of autumn, visible signs that the end of the dragonfly season is inexorably drawing near.

I spotted my first Autumn Meadowhawks this year on 2 October at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. This species usually appears in late September and most years is the last dragonfly species to disappear—I have seen Autumn Meadowhawks as late as December some years and there have been some reports of them in early January.

A number of other dragonflies are still active, but by early November most of them will be gone. I will still be looking to photograph those hardy survivors in the upcoming months, but, as recent postings suggest, I will eventually be shifting a lot of my focus from insects to birds.

Autumn Meadowhawk

Autumn Meadowhawk

Autumn Meadowhawk

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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White-crowned Sparrow

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on October 6, 2023| 1 Comment »

I spotted this pretty little sparrow on Wednesday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. When I looked through my bird identification guide, I thought that it looked a little bit like a Chipping Sparrow. When I posted the photo below in a birding group on Facebook, however, some experienced birders identified this bird for me as a young White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys), a new species for me.

Sparrows can often be hard for me to identify, but the distinctive bill on this one helped me to narrow down the pool of potential species. A mature male White-crowned Sparrow has a black and white head and is easy to identify, but immature males and females of different species are often similar in appearance.

White-crowned Sparrow

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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A few fall warblers

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on October 5, 2023| 7 Comments »

Each fall I face the same dilemma—I see the photos of other photographers indicating that migrating warblers are present in our area, but I have trouble spotting these elusive little birds. Part of the problem is that leaves are still mostly on the trees and I can often hear birds that remain invisible in the foliage. The other main problem is that many birds are now sporting their duller fall plumage, so they do not stand out as much as during the spring migration, when their  breeding plumage is much brighter.

Given my normal experience, I was thrilled to spot several Palm Warblers (Setophaga palmarum) and Yellow-rumped Warblers (Setophaga coronata) during visits to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge earlier this week. The birds in the first two photos, I believe, are Palm Warblers, a relatively common warbler species that likes to poke around a lot on the ground.

The final two photos show Yellow-rumped Warblers, which are the most common warbler species in my area. In both of the photos you can see the yellow patch of feathers on the “rump” of the bird.

In a month or so I may switch over to my longest lens, a Tamron 150-600mm zoom lens, which will allow me to zoom in a little more on these tiny birds, but for now I am sticking with my Tamron 18-400mm lens, a more versatile lens that lets me get photos of butterflies and dragonflies as well as of birds. (The problem with the longer lens is that it has a minimum focusing distance of almost 9 feet (2.7 meters) and it is sometimes hard to focus on small subjects from that far away.)

 

Palm Warbler

Palm Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Hidden snake

Posted in Autumn, Nature, Photography, Reptiles, snake, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on October 3, 2023| 1 Comment »

As I prepared to take a step closer to a pond last Friday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I suddenly saw that there was a large snake in the vegetation right where my foot was about to land. My mind quickly processed the information and came to the conclusion that it was probably “only” a Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon), a non-poisonous snake that is quite common where I live.

Not wanting to disturb the snake, I backed off a little and captured this shot of the snake that was pretty well hidden in the vegetation. My mission completed, I continued on down the trail and the snake was able to resume its basking in the warmth of the autumn sunlight.

Northern Water Snake

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Florida Predatory Stink Bugs

Posted in Autumn, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on October 2, 2023| 8 Comments »

As I was exploring Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge this past Friday, I spotted some colorful red and black bugs. I had no idea what they were, but I happened to be walking with a fellow dragonfly enthusiast and he told me that they were Florida Predatory Stink Bugs (Euthyrynchus floridanus).

Unlike most other stink bugs that feed on plants, Florida Predatory Stink Bugs feed on insects that attack plants and are therefore considered to be beneficial. According to the North Carolina Extension website, “Immature Euthyrhynchus have a strong tendency to aggregate, and they even attack larger prey in concert. Apparently, aggregation behavior allows them to successfully attack prey too large to be subdued by a single nymph. Sometimes adults aggregate with nymphs, although when times get hard, these bugs sometimes feed on smaller relatives! When the bugs jab their proboscis into a less fortunate insect, they inject a toxin that slowly immobilizes the prey. The predigested insides are then sucked out.”

When they are developing, these stink bugs go through five stages, known as instars. The two largest bugs in the photo below are adults, while the two in the middle are in some what earlier stages of development. I don’t know for sure what this group of bugs was doing, but wonder if there is some kind of prey beneath them that they are immobilizing together.

Florida Predatory Stink Bug

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Foraging turkeys

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on October 1, 2023| 3 Comments »

As I was leaving Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge on Friday, I spotted this small band of Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) foraging on the side of a small hill. I captured this image while I was seated in the driver’s seat of my car. I was stopped with my blinkers on and fortunately there was no other traffic. I like the way that the turkeys had spaced themselves out in a military-style patrolling formation.

Wild Turkeys

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

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