Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Cardinalis cardinalis, female Northern Cardinal, Northern cardinal, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on January 19, 2018| 3 Comments »
I never cease to be amazed by the balance and flexibility of birds, like this female Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) that managed to reach down and grab some poison ivy berries this past Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I am probably going to return to that refuge today, because I am not sure if it will be open in the upcoming days if there is a shutdown of the federal government.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Cardinalis cardinalis, male Northern Cardinal, Northern cardinal, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on January 18, 2018| 5 Comments »
As this male Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) stared at me Monday from within a bush, I couldn’t help but wonder if he thought he was camouflaged. It is hard to hide that bright red color.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Bald Eagle, Bald Eagle couple, Canon 50D, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on January 17, 2018| 3 Comments »
No matter how much you love someone, minor squabbles are virtually inevitable and sometimes they can get quite heated. I am not sure what was being discussed, but the members of this Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) couple seemed to have differing views that they defended loudly and emphatically on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
In many ways this photo embodies what I most love to capture when I go out with my camera. Although it is wonderful to capture a static subject, it is even more wonderful to capture some action or even better some interaction. I think viewers are drawn into the drama and emotion of the moment and creatively try to imagine what was going on in the photo. Are these angry birds? Is this how eagles express love? We, of course, can’t know the true explanation for the behavior that I document, but that sense of mystery and incertitude can sometimes further stimulate our imagination.
I didn’t see this couple kiss and make up, but a short time later they took off together, apparently having resolved whatever problem had prompted their little squabble.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Bald Eagle, Canon 50D, eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, scratching an itch, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on January 16, 2018| 4 Comments »
You have to be really careful scratching an itch if you have big talons like this Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) that I spotted yesterday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
At least one of the eagle couples has recently been observed building a nest, so already a number of paths in the wildlife refuge are now blocked. As I wandered around the refuge, I did spot several eagle couples and some possible nests—it is hard for me to tell if a possible nest is an eagle nest or an osprey nest. Unlike the nest in the closed area, these nests are far enough away from the paths that the human presence is less likely to disturb the eagles. It is at times like this that I am thankful that my telephoto zoom lens extends out to 600mm.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, poison ivy, poison ivy berries, Setophaga coronata, Tamron 150-600mm, warbler, Woodbridge VA, Yellow-rumped Warbler on January 14, 2018| 18 Comments »
A Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata) really seemed to be enjoying the poison ivy berries that it managed to find on a frigid morning earlier this month at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
This little bird was so focused on finding food that it was not disturbed by my presence, which allowed me to capture a series of images.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in abstract, Art, Landscape, Nature, new year, Photography, tagged Canon 50D, Canon SX50, frozen, ice, icescape, New Year 2017, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on January 12, 2018| 3 Comments »
I don’t often shoot landscape images, but I was so taken with the stark beauty of the ice-covered world that I encountered on New Year’s Day at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge that I decided that I should attempt to capture a sense of the moment. I used the wide-angle capabilities of my Canon SX50 superzoom camera in the first two images below and shot the third one with the Tamron 150-600mm lens, the lens that I use on my Canon 50D for a significant number of my the photos featured on this blog.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Cardinalis cardinalis, male Northern Cardinal, Northern cardinal, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on January 10, 2018| 2 Comments »
The berries looked dried up and unappetizing to me, but to the male Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) that I spotted last Friday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, they provided much needed nourishment on a frigid winter day.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Art, Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, white-throated sparrow, Woodbridge VA, Zonotrichia albicollis on January 8, 2018| 4 Comments »
Some birds may seek shelter when the weather is inhospitable, but sparrows seem to be active and busy all of the time, like this White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) that I spotted in the snow this past Friday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
It is a bit of a challenge to get a proper exposure when so much of the frame is filled with white snow. As I understand it, the camera would like to render everything to a neutral gray, so it is necessary to overexpose the image or adjust it in post-processing. In my initial RAW image, the sparrow was very much in the shadows and the snow had a grayish-blue tinge to it. I cranked up the exposure to the point that most of the snow turned almost pure white and I was left with soft bluish shadows that I really like. I am also pretty pleased with the sparrow’s pose as it paused for a moment to survey the landscape.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged Buteo lineatus, Canon 50D, hawk, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Red-Shouldered Hawk, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on January 7, 2018| 1 Comment »
One of the basic rules of portrait photography is that you should try to be at eye level with your subject. That’s a bit tough to do with raptors, but this past Friday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge I encountered a juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) that was perched very low on a tree and I managed to capture a number of shots of it. The wind was blowing strongly at the time and my guess is that the hawk was trying to shelter itself from the wind by perching low and from the cold by fluffing up its feathers (as you can see in the the second image).
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Cardinalis cardinalis, male Northern Cardinal, Northern cardinal, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on January 6, 2018| 10 Comments »
It is always a joy to see the bright red color of a male Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), especially during the winter, when the world seems almost monochromatic. I spotted this one yesterday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge as he pecked about in the drifted snow. We have had only a small amount of snow, but the weather has remained steadfastly below freezing, so it has stayed with us for an extended period of time.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, new year, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Carolina Wren, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Thryothorus ludovicianus, Woodbridge VA, wren on January 5, 2018| Leave a Comment »
Sometimes when a bird fluffs up its feathers, its appearance changes enough that identification becomes more difficult than usual. That was certainly the case with this little Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) that I spotted on New Year’s Day at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The head and the tail looked normal for a Carolina Wren, but I had never before seen spots on the back of one.
Once again, experts in a Facebook forum came to my rescue and reassured me that this was normal behavior for a Carolina Wren. When they fluff up their feathers to roost at night, the spots are visible too, although in this case I suspect that the wren was merely trying to retain body heat in the bitter cold weather that we have been experiencing the last couple of weeks.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, new year, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Catharus guttatus, Hermit Thrush, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., thrush, Woodbridge VA on January 4, 2018| 5 Comments »
I spotted this fluffy Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)on New Year’s Day at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. In this frigid weather, all of the birds seem unusually round as they try to retain their body heat.
I don’t recall ever seeing a Hermit Thrush before, but when I did a search in my blog, I was surprised to discover that I had photographed one in December 2016 eating berries—here is a link to that posting. At that time I could not identify the species and asked for assistance. I guess I did not internalize the identification very well, for I ended up asking for help in a Facebook forum again.
It is funny how we associate certain words with memories from out childhoods. When I hear the word “Thrush,” I immediately think of the “enemy” organization in the television series “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” According to a page on the IMDb website, “In the series, the organization was merely called Thrush. Ace paperbacks, which published a series of paperback novels based on the show, had one installment in which Thrush stood for The Technological Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity.”
This winter I am spending more time outdoors and it is exciting to discover how many birds and other little creatures are active, even in the most inclement, inhospitable weather. The challenge for me is to stay motivated and dressed warmly enough to be able to spot and photograph these little beauties, like this Hermit Thrush, that may have traveled south to winter with us.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, kinglet, New Year 2018, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Regulus calendula, ruby slippers, ruby-crowned kinglet, Tamron 150-600mm, Wizard of Oz, Woodbridge VA on January 3, 2018| 9 Comments »
On Monday, I was having a nice little portrait session with a male Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula) at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, but I wanted more than just a glimpse of his “ruby crown.” Amazingly, he bowed in my direction to make my wish come true.
For those of you who may not be familiar with kinglets, they are tiny birds that are even smaller than chickadees. During this past fall, I became aware that they spend their winters in my area and I have been hunting them ever since. Both the Ruby-crowned Kinglet and the Golden-crowned Kinglet are energetic and elusive and rarely sit still long enough for me to get a shot. When it comes to the “ruby crown,” only the male has it and it is only occasionally visible. That is why I was ecstatic to be able to get such a clear shot of the ruby crown of this kinglet.
Wishes do come true—maybe a ruby crown is better than ruby slippers.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Landscape, new year, Photography, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, full moon, moonrise, New Year 2018, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, sunrise, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on January 2, 2018| 4 Comments »
How did you spend your New Year’s Day? When I arrived yesterday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, the sun had just risen. I was a bit shocked to see four other cars in the parking lot, given that it was only 7:30 in the morning. I trudged about the refuge all day (and have a bunch of photos to sort through) and as I departed at 6:00 pm, the full moon was rising.
It was a long, tiring day, but I can’t think of anything I would rather have been doing to start off the new year. Just for fun, I’m also including the view from inside my car as I got ready to step out into the crisp morning air. I am not sure it was actually 5 degrees outside ( minus 15 degrees C), but that was what my car showed as the outside temperature. Eventually it “warmed up” to about 24 degrees (minus 5 C) during the day, though the occasional gusts of wind made it feel colder.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, new year, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged angry bird, bluebird, Canon 50D, Eastern Bluebird, New Year 2018, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Sialia sialis, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on January 1, 2018| 2 Comments »
So how are you feeling about the new year that has just begun? Are you feeling more like the Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis) on the left, agitated and out front, or more like the one on the right, mellow and content to remain in the background? (Photographed this past Friday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.)
I would never have thought of a bluebird when I thought of an “angry bird,” but it sure looked irritated or even angry about something. Perhaps it was a territoriality issue or a fellow bluebird had just cut him off in traffic without even signalling. Whatever the case, I love the intensity of the pose that I managed to capture.
I hope that this first day of the new year finds you at peace and optimistic. Best wishes to all of you for a blessed new year.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Bald Eagle, Canon 50D, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, howling at the moon, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 31, 2017| 1 Comment »
The moon rose in mid-afternoon on Fridat at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge and it looked like this Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) was howling at the moon. In reality, I think it might have been calling out to its mate.
As you can probably notice, I was shooting almost straight up when I took this shot. I had spotted the eagle from a distance through the branches of a tree and was able to creep relatively close to it before I had to move to an exposed position. I don’t think that the eagle had seen me yet when I took this shot, so I probably was not the cause of the eagle crying out.
The image is a bit more cluttered with branches than I would have preferred, but I really like the pose that I was able to capture, particularly the details of the beak and the eye.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged bluebird, Canon 50D, Eastern Bluebird, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Sialia sialis, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 31, 2017| 16 Comments »
This male Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis) seemed to be pretty happy to have found a batch of little red berries on which to munch on Friday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I am not sure what those berries are, but they undoubtedly were a welcome source of energy for the little bird on a frigid morning.
I am in somewhat of a contemplative mood this morning on the final day of 2017. Five or so years ago, before I started to get more serious about photography, I might have looked at this image and wondered how it would be possible to capture a shot like this. How could I get close to such a small bird? How could I compose a pleasing image? What would I need to do to separate the subject from the cluttered background?
At the start, I needed to think consciously about all of these factors and it was somewhat overwhelming. Now, thankfully, I have had so much practice that most of these factors are second nature to me and I know how to produce an image like this. There is, of course, still lots of room for improvement, for sharpening my eye and my skills, but objectively speaking I have can see a gradual progression in my photography.
What does 2018 hold for me? I have no formalized plans, no set goals. I often describe myself as an “opportunistic shooter”—I like to walk around and photograph whatever I happen to spot. Location, though, does really matter and I anticipate visiting a few new places this coming year. I am starting to realize that I enjoy my wildlife photography most when I am more or less on my own. Popular locations often have too many other people for my personal sense of comfort. When faced with the choice of going to a place with more wildlife (and more people) or one with less varied wildlife, I increasingly find myself opting for the more isolated area.
Best wishes to all of you for a blessed 2018. Happy New Year.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Bald Eagle, Bald Eagle couple, Canon 50D, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 29, 2017| 9 Comments »
A Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) perched on the top of a post this morning at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge looked for a moment like it was going to pounce on another eagle that had just landed on a platform attached to the post. Apparently the larger eagle, almost certainly, decided she had something to say to her mate and was merely hopping down to his level and she landed really close to him.
The female eagle seemed unhappy with him and made several loud cries in his direction. He just stood there and took it and in the third shot has the look of a henpecked husband. Apparently she also told him that he needed to perch on the upper post. Perhaps this is the eagle equivalent of sleeping on the couch.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Christmas, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Bald Eagle, Canon 50D, Christmas 2017, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 28, 2017| 5 Comments »
The wind was blowing hard on Christmas Day at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge and one of the Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) took to the sky, spread its impressive wings, and effortlessly soared above me for a short while.
I really enjoyed the Christmas show.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Christmas, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Ardea herodias, Canon 50D, Christmas 2017, Great Blue Heron, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 27, 2017| 1 Comment »
I am not sure why this Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) was sticking out his tongue at me on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge—maybe this is how herons wish each other Merry Christmas.
I have gotten glimpses of a heron’s tongue before, but there is the first detailed look that I have had. I am amazed at the way that herons are able to swallow their prey whole and imagine that the tongue has to be tucked away somewhere within its mouth when doing so.
When I look at this image, it looks like the heron is singing, perhaps bringing tidings of comfort and joy and wishes for peace on the earth.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Christmas, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Christmas 2017, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Setophaga coronata, Tamron 150-600mm, warbler, Woodbridge VA, Yellow-rumped Warbler on December 26, 2017| 1 Comment »
It was cold and windy on Christmas morning, but I nonetheless spent some time trekking about at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge and captured this shot of a beautiful little Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata). One of my Facebook viewers has posited that the berries the warbler is eating are poison ivy, though I cannot confirm that identification.
In my church, Christmas day marks the beginning of the twelve days of Christmas (many of you may be familiar with the song), so I am continuing to think about Christmas. I am saddened each year when I see Christmas trees confined to the curb the day after Christmas—I am not ready to move on.
Merry Christmas to all and best wishes for a blessed new year.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Christmas, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Ardea alba, Canon 50D, egret, Great Egret, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 24, 2017| 1 Comment »
By this time of the year, the Great Egrets (Ardea alba) in our area have generally flown south for the winter, but one of them was still hanging around on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Its pose reminds me of that of the angels that we had in a manger set when I was growing up, looking like it was keeping watch in the early morning hours.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Mimus polyglottos, mockingbird, Northern Mockingbird, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 23, 2017| 3 Comments »
At this time of the year, many of the birds look chubby, like this Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) that I spotted on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I suspect that the mockingbird’s appearance is caused by feathers that have been fluffed up for better insulation.
I wish that I could use that excuse.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Canon 50D, Cardinalis cardinalis, male Northern Cardinal, Northern cardinal, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 21, 2017| 10 Comments »
The days have now gotten shorter—with today marking the Winter Solstice—and bright colors have largely disappeared from the natural landscape. It is therefore a special joy to see the bright red color of a male Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) at this time of the year. Unlike many birds that molt into a dull plumage during the winter, male cardinals continue to shine brightly and offer welcome relief from the dullness of the landscape.
I spotted this handsome cardinal this past Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge as he turned to the early morning sun and basked briefly in its warmth and light.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged Bald Eagle, Bald Eagle couple, Canon 50D, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 20, 2017| 6 Comments »
If one Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is good, two are even better. The challenge with any couple,though, is to get both of them to smile for you and look at the camera. This was the eagle couple’s best pose on Monday morning at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Bald Eagle, Canon 50D, eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 18, 2017| 4 Comments »
When they are perched in the open or at the end of bare branches, Bald Eagles are not hard to spot. When they are hidden deeper in the trees, though, it can be a real challenge to see them, like this Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) that I came upon on 8 December at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Bucephala albeola, bufflehead, Canon 50D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 17, 2017| Leave a Comment »
These three Buffleheads (Bucephala albeola) were a long distance away when I spotted them swimming in formation on the water at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge on 8 December, but they are distinctive looking, so it was pretty easy to identify them. In case you are curious, male buffleheads have white bodies and a big white patch on the head and the females have darker bodies and a Nike-like swoosh on their heads.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Mergus serrator, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Red-breasted Merganser, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 14, 2017| 2 Comments »
I spotted this duck last Friday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Northern Virginia. At first I was certain that it was a female Hooded Merganser, but the bill seemed extra long and the coloration different from others I had seen.
I asked some birding experts in a Facebook group for assistance with identification and they informed me that it is a female Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator), a species that spends its summers in Canada and its winters in coastal areas.
The sky was covered with clouds and lighting was limited when I took these shots, which made it tough to capture the details of this duck, which was located a pretty good distance from me. The second image gives a good view of the Red-breasted Merganser, but I personally am drawn even more to the “artsy” first image.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged bluebird, Canon 50D, Eastern Bluebird, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Sialia sialis, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 11, 2017| 7 Comments »
I don’t tend to think of Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis) as winter birds, so I was very happy to see a small flock of them this past Friday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The sky was covered with clouds and there was almost no sunshine, turning my background to almost pure white in many of my shots. This tended to make some of my images, especially the one of the bluebird perched on the uppermost branches of a bush, look almost like they were shot in a studio.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Bald Eagle, birds in flight, Canon 50D, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on December 9, 2017| 11 Comments »
When a Bald Eagle took off from a perch with its partially-eaten fish yesterday morning at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I didn’t zoom out fast enough to photograph its entire wingspan, but did manage to capture a rather fierce expression.
I spotted the eagle in the tree from a long way off and tried to approach it as quickly and cautiously as I could. The eagle was facing away from me and seemed to have its head pointing downward. Once I got a bit closer, I could see that the eagle was focused on eating a freshly-caught fish, which is why, I assume, it was not alert to my approach.
Every now and then, the eagle would look up from its late breakfast and do a survey of its surroundings, as you can see in the second photo. I think that it was during ones of these surveys that it spotted me. I was still a pretty good distance from the tree in which the eagle was perched, but I was standing at the edge of a wide path, so I was not exactly camouflaged,
Without any warning, the eagle took to the air, making sure to bring along the partially-consumed fish. I didn’t have much time to react, but was thrilled with the image that I was able to capture as the eagle zoomed toward me. I really like the eagle’s expression and the way that I was able to capture the white tail feathers.
I watched as the eagle flew to a distant perch, where it could finish its meal without further interruption,
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Anas clypeata, Canon 50D, Hooded Merganser, Hooded Merganser duck, Huntley Meadows Park, Lophodytes cucullatus, Northern Shoveler, Tamron 150-600mm on December 8, 2017| Leave a Comment »
Ducks do not seem to like to be alone. I will occasionally run across an odd solitary duck, but more often than not, the ducks that I encounter are in pairs or in larger groups. Sometimes the pairs are mixed-gender, like this Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) couple that was relaxing together recently at Huntley Meadows Park. At other times, the pair may be of the same gender, like these two male Northern Shovelers (Anas clypeata) at the same park that were preening and grooming themselves early one morning—one Facebook viewer speculated that they were getting ready for dates.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 