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Posts Tagged ‘Tamron 150-600mm’

Flicker in December

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Colaptes auratus, flicker, Huntley Meadows Park, Northern Flicker, Tamron 150-600mm on December 7, 2017| 7 Comments »

Unlike most other woodpeckers, Northern Flickers (Colaptes auratus) like to spend a lot of time on the ground, which makes it tough to get a clear shot of one. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website, “Although it can climb up the trunks of trees and hammer on wood like other woodpeckers, the Northern Flicker prefers to find food on the ground. Ants are its main food, and the flicker digs in the dirt to find them. It uses its long barbed tongue to lap up the ants.”

When I spotted this male Northern Flicker—females don’t have the black mustache stripe—last weekend at Huntley Meadows Park, it was perched horizontally on a fallen tree, which gave me a clear view of its beautiful colors and patterns. Other woodpeckers, which are mostly black and white, seem drab by comparison. For the first time ever, I was also able to see the downward curve of its bill that I had seen described in birding identification guides.

This bird remained still for only a moment and then seemed to fade away into the background.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Festive sparrow

Posted in Birds, Christmas, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Christmas, Huntley Meadows Park, Santa, Santa Claus, Tamron 150-600mm, white-throated sparrow, Zonotrichia albicollis on December 6, 2017| 6 Comments »

The Santa-like “beard” of the White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) that I observed this past weekend at Huntley Meadows Park seems seasonally appropriate as we move closer and closer to Christmas. The backdrop of colorful foliage adds to the festive feel of the photo, which is further enhanced by the frosty leaves in the foreground.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Cardinals in the field

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Cardinalis cardinalis, female Northern Cardinal, Huntley Meadows Park, male Northern Cardinal, Northern cardinal, Tamron 150-600mm on December 5, 2017| Leave a Comment »

I love Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis). The bright red of the male cardinal helps to lift my spirits throughout the winter when the world seems almost monochromatic. In terms of beauty, though, the more subdued coloration of the female cardinal is arguably even more impressive.

This past weekend I encountered several cardinals as I was exploring the frosty fields of Huntley Meadows Park in the early morning hours. I was focused on some sparrows in a patch of vegetation when suddenly a female cardinal flew in. I quickly adjusted my focus—I was focusing manually at that moment—and tried to steady my breathing as I took the first shot below just before she flew away.

A little while later, I caught sight of some movement out of the corner of my eyes in a stand of cattails. The red of a male cardinal is pretty hard to camouflage, so it was easy to spot him, but I was a little surprised by his pose. Somehow it looked more like the pose of a blackbird than that of a cardinal. Even though I was pretty far away, the cardinal seemed to be intently staring at me and didn’t seem too happy about my presence.

Cardinals are common where I live, but I never grow tired of photographing such ordinary subjects, seeking to discover and share the extraordinary that can often be found in the ordinary.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Barred Owl in daylight

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Barred Owl, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, owl, Strix varia, Tamron 150-600mm on December 4, 2017| 18 Comments »

It’s not often that I see an owl during the day, but, thanks to a tip from a fellow visitor at Huntley Meadows Park, I managed to photograph this Barred Owl (Strix varia) on Saturday around noon.

Now, you might think that seeing an owl during daylight hours would make it simple to photograph, but, in fact, it was quite a challenge. The owl was perched high in a tree in a rather heavily wooded area. That meant that it was tough to get an unobstructed view of the owl. By moving a bit closer, I got a slightly better view, but was shooting almost straight up at an awkward angle. Then there was the problem of light, or more particularly the absence of light, especially on the face. I was patient and the owl appeared to be snoozing, so eventually I was able to get some decent shots.

I had never thought to look for an owl in that area of the park, but will now have to add it to my list of places to check out whenever I am visiting my favorite marshland park.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Frosty Swamp Sparrow

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Melospiza georgiana, sparrow, swamp sparrow, Tamron 150-600mm on December 3, 2017| 5 Comments »

It was really frosty yesterday morning in the back area of Huntley Meadows Park where I spotted this Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana). I was standing in a mostly dried-up marshy area and noted that a series of little birds would stop at a little patch of vegetation in the middle as they pecked about in the cattails and denser vegetation at the tree lines on either side of me.

I parked myself with my monopod far enough away from the vegetation that I hoped that I would not disturb the birds and eventually the birds began to return to the area on which I was focused. There were a lot of small branches that kept misleading my auto-focus, so I switched to manual focus and waited. I could see birds pretty frequently, but most remained partially hidden down low near the ground.

Eventually my patience was rewarded and I got these two shots of a little sparrow. I wasn’t sure what kind of sparrow it was, but got some assistance on-line and learned that it was a Swamp Sparrow.

The background looks a little unusual in terms of the coloration, but it is a pretty good reflection of what I was seeing. That is also the reason why I was willing to plant myself in one spot—generally I like to keep moving as I look for photo opportunities.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Winter Wren

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 150-600mm, Troglodytes hiemalis, Winter Wren, wren on December 2, 2017| 12 Comments »

This bird was tiny and elusive, but I finally managed to get a shot of what I confirmed is a Winter Wren (Troglodytes hiemalis) today at Huntley Meadows Park. The Winter Wren is smaller—about 3-4 inches (8-11 mm) in length—and has darker markings on its belly than the Carolina Wrens that I am more accustomed to seeing.

The description of this bird found on the website of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology matches perfectly the behavior I observed today. “It habitually holds its tiny tail straight up and bounces up and down. This rather weak flier hops and scampers among fallen logs mouselike, inspecting upturned roots and vegetation for insects.”

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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First catch of December

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Ardea herodias, Canon 50D, fishing, Great Blue Heron, Huntley Meadows Park, Tamron 150-600mm on December 1, 2017| 18 Comments »

As I was watching a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) at pretty close range from the boardwalk today at Huntley Meadows Park, I wrongly assumed that his nonchalant attitude meant that he was not fishing. He struck quickly and speared a pretty good-sized fish and immediately turned his back to me and headed for the shore. Partially hidden by the vegetation, the heron consumed his catch.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Pied-billed Grebe in November

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Grebe, Kingstowne, Pied-billed Grebe, Podilymbus podiceps, Tamron 150-600mm on November 30, 2017| 1 Comment »

Although they behave like diving ducks, Pied-billed Grebes (Podilymbus podiceps) are members of an entirely different family and have small, distinctive bills that make them easy to identify. They tend to hang out in deeper water, are in constant motion, and are pretty small, which makes it a challenge to get a good shot of one. I spotted this grebe this past weekend at the same little suburban pond where I observed the Hooded Mergansers and Wood Duck that have been featured recently in recent blog posts.

As I do research on my subjects, I often run across quirky little facts about them. I smiled when I read the following information about Pied-billed Grebes on the website of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology:

“The Latin genus name for “grebe” means “feet at the buttocks”—an apt descriptor for these birds, whose feet are indeed located near their rear ends. This body plan, a common feature of many diving birds, helps grebes propel themselves through water. Lobed (not webbed) toes further assist with swimming. Pied-billed Grebes pay for their aquatic prowess on land, where they walk awkwardly.”

I haven’t yet seen grebes out of the water, but I am really curious now to get a look at their feet.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Smiling duck

Posted in Birds, Humor, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, American Black Duck, Anas rubripes, Canon 50D, Kingstowne, Tamron 150-600mm on November 29, 2017| 6 Comments »

Can ducks smile? I realize that a duck’s bill is pretty inflexible, but I couldn’t help but think that this American Black Duck (Anas rubripes) was giving me a coy little smile as it dipped its bill into the water this past Monday at a small suburban pond in Kingstowne, Virginia..

When I first spotted two ducks swimming around together, I thought they were simply two female mallards. When I looked more closely at them, it seemed that their bills were brighter and more yellow than that of a a female mallard. When I got home, I pulled out my birding guide and looked through the section on ducks. I concluded that the two ducks, one of which is shown in the photo, are American Black Ducks.

When I am really uncertain about a bird species, I will post it to a Facebook page on which more experienced birders provide help with identification. In this case, I decided to be bold and make this posting without confirmation of my identification. If I am incorrect, it won’t be the first time, and certainly not the last time—bird identification is not easy, with lots of variation caused by gender, season, age, and location.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Male Hoodie in November

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Hooded Merganser, Hooded Merganser duck, Kingstowne, Lophodytes cucullatus, male Hooded Merganser, Tamron 150-600mm on November 28, 2017| 3 Comments »

In the interests of gender equality, I decided to feature a handsome male Hooded Merganser duck (Lophodytes cucullatus) after spotlighting his beautiful female counterpart yesterday. I captured this image yesterday afternoon at a small suburban pond in Kingstowne, a community about a mile or so from where I live.

Hooded Merganser ducks are notoriously skittish and will usually fly away as soon as they sense my presence. The small group of “Hoodies” at this pond, however, react by swimming slowly away toward the center of the pond, where they are out of range of my long telephoto zoom lens. As a result, I have to react quickly whenever I am luck enough to catch one relatively close to the shore.

Having captured this image, I was faced with choices of how to crop it. Conventional wisdom dictates that a bird swimming to the right should be placed in the left side of the image. In this case, though, I really liked the V-shaped wake that the duck was leaving behind it, so I put the “Hoodie” just to the right of center. I encourage you to double-click on the image to see some of the details of this shot, like the drop of water on the tip of the duck’s bill.

As I contemplate the image, I can’t help but think how much the water deserves equal billing as the primary subject. I love the wake in the rear, the ripples in the front, the ripples coming toward the viewer, and the beautiful reflections.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Hoodie in November

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, female Hooded Merganser, Hooded Merganser, Hooded Merganser duck, hoodie, Kingstowne, Lophodytes cucullatus, Northern Virginia, Tamron 150-600mm on November 27, 2017| 7 Comments »

Hooded Mergansers (Lophodytes cucullatus) are among my favorite ducks, and I especially love the freaky hairstyle of the females, like this one that I spotted this past Friday at the a small pond in Kingstowne, a suburban community in Northern Virginia near where I live.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Wood Ducks at Dawn

Posted in Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Aix sponsa, Canon 50D, dawn, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, wood duck, Woodbridge VA on November 26, 2017| 4 Comments »

Three Wood Ducks (Aix sponsa) silently swam into view in the early morning light, their passage creating a trail of ripples in the still waters of the little creek. A sense of tranquility filled the air as another day slowly began.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Blue Jays versus Merlin

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Blue Jay, Canon 50D, Cyanocitta cristata, Falco columbarius, Huntley Meadows Park, Merlin, Tamron 150-600mm on November 25, 2017| 13 Comments »

I really enjoy capturing action sequences of the interaction between creatures in the wild. It’s not easy sometimes to explain the behavior that I observe, but often it seems that many wild creatures have a sense of territoriality and will fiercely defend their space against all encroachers.

That seems to have been the case on Thanksgiving Day when I observed two Blue Jays (Cyanocitta cristata) harassing a Merlin (Falco columbarius) at Huntley Meadows Park in Northern Virginia. I have seen blackbirds and crows in the past harassing eagles and hawks and have been shocked to see how much smaller the aggressors were than the birds they were chasing. In this case, however, the blue jays and the merlin appeared to be about the same size.

The blue jays appeared to be using a variety of techniques. The two shots below show one of the blue jays buzzing the merlin, flying surprising close to the little falcon.

The next three shots show a concerted effort to crow the merlin. Initially the blue jays positioned themselves on opposite sides of the merlin. Then one of the blue jays moved closer, to a position almost directly below the merlin. In the final shot, the merlin exploded into the air and one of the blue jays simultaneously took off to chase after the merlin.

I took these shots from quite a distance away and still had to crop them a lot, but I think the images still manage to show some pretty fascinating behavior that I was privileged to observe and document.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Thanksgiving Day Muskrat

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, Thanksgiving, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, muskrat, Ondatra zibethicus, Tamron 150-600mm on November 24, 2017| 3 Comments »

What was on your menu for Thanksgiving? No, I did not dine on muskrat for Thanksgiving dinner, but early in the morning yesterday this little muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) at Huntley Meadows Park decided to celebrate the holiday with some fresh greens. That was almost certainly a healthier meal than most of us consumed later in the day.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Merlin at Huntley Meadows Park

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, Thanksgiving, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Canon 50D, Falco columbarius, Huntley Meadows Park, Merlin, Tamron 150-600mm on November 24, 2017| 4 Comments »

When I saw this bird in the distance being harassed by two blue jays on Thanksgiving Day at Huntley Meadows Park, I wasn’t sure what it was, but folks at What’s This Bird Facebook group identified it for me as a Merlin (Falco columbarius), a type of small falcon. I shot quite a few photos attempting to pbotograph the two blue jays flying by the merlin and perching close to it, but I am not sure how well I was able to capture the action. If I get a few that are reasonably clear, I may do another posting with the merlin, a bird that I believe that I had previously seen only once before.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Sleeping in on Thanksgiving Day

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Anas acuta, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Northern Pintail, Northern Pintail Duck, Tamron 150-600mm, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Day on November 23, 2017| 2 Comments »

Early on Thanksgiving morning, some Northern Pintail ducks (Anas acuta) at Huntley Meadows Park in Northern Virginia decided to celebrate the holiday by sleeping in a bit. Their decision may have been prompted in part by the weather—it was just below freezing and a thin layer of ice covered some of the water at the park. Unlike the ducks, I did not sleep in and ventured out into the frosty morning to see what I could discover.

Happy Thanksgiving to all those who are celebrating this special day. Even if you are not, it’s always a good idea to pause for a minute to remember all of the blessings in our lives that so often we take for granted.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Indomitable Downy Woodpecker

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Downy Woodpecker, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Picoides pubescens, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on November 22, 2017| 3 Comments »

I have always admired the fierce determination and intense focus of little Downy Woodpeckers (Picoides pubescens) as they hammer away at the trees in search of something to eat, like this beauty that I spotted this past Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Bald Eagle Couple

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Bald Eagle, Bald Eagle couple, Canon 50D, eagle, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on November 21, 2017| 14 Comments »

Seeing one Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is pretty exciting, but seeing two together is even more awesome. I spotted these two eagles on Monday morning at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

At a certain location within the refuge there is a tall pole, which resembles a telephone pole, with a wooden platform. I am not sure of its purpose, but several times in the past I have seen a bald eagle perching on it. I have tried several times to get shots of the eagle, but have generally been unsuccessful, because of the height of the pole and the fact that I cannot get close to it.

When I spotted an eagle there yesterday morning, I decided to give it another shot, hoping that my monopod would help me to get a sharp enough shot to survive a severe crop. As my eye was pressed to the viewfinder taking some shots, imagine my surprise when another bald eagle entered the frame and landed next to the first one. They perched together for a little while and then the larger of the two, which I later learned is the female, began to embrace the other, eventually using her beak to give what looked like a kind of massage. What was going on?

Thanks to some experienced birders in a Facebook group, I learned that the breeding season for eagles in our area begins in early December and that this is likely a bonded pair. I also discovered that the pecking that I observed, as seen in the second photo below, is almost certainly a kind of courting behavior.

I think that there may be several pairs of bald eagles at this wildlife refuge, so I will keep my eyes open for more of this kind of behavior and for more photographic opportunities.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Really blue bluebird

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, bluebird, Canon 50D, Eastern Bluebird, Huntley Meadows Park, Sialia sialis, Tamron 150-600mm on November 20, 2017| 10 Comments »

I spotted this very blue Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis) last Friday morning at Huntley Meadows Park. The brightness of its color suggests to me that it is probably a male—the females tend to have duller plumage.

When I posted this photo on Facebook, I got lots of “Likes,” which is not all that surprising to me. Over time I have come to realize that many of my best-like photos have been the ones with the simplest of compositions and often have featured relatively common subjects. In this case, I managed to capture the bluebird pretty well, but the branch on which it is perched has some nice texture and perhaps most important of all, the background is pretty cool, with the faint shapes of the tree trunks and autumn foliage rendered in a pleasing blur of shapes and colors.

Beauty is often very subjective, but in rare cases like this one an image seems to have an almost universal appeal.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Sneaking up on a Bald Eagle

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Bald Eagle, Canon 50D, eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on November 19, 2017| 1 Comment »

It’s almost impossible to sneak up on a Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), but that didn’t stop me from attempting to do so this past Friday afternoon at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I was walking along a trail that runs to parallel to the water when I spotted the unmistakable white head of a Bald Eagle. The eagle was partially hidden in a mass of branches and was facing away from me, so I moved forward with as much stealth as I could manage.

When I reached a point where I was shooting up at a rather steep angle, I stopped and waited, hoping the eagle would turn its head to the side and offer me a glimpse of its eyes. Eventually that happened and I shifted from side to side in a desperate attempt to capture an unobstructed view of its eye. Clearly this is not the best shot of a Bald Eagle that I have ever captured, but I do like the pose and the details in its feathers. Besides, it’s a Bald Eagle, a subject that never fails to excite me.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Early morning goldfinch

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, American Goldfinch, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Spinus tristis, Tamron 150-600mm on November 19, 2017| 7 Comments »

I spotted some cute little American Goldfinches (Spinus tristis) early on Friday morning as they foraged in the vegetation adjacent to the observation tower at Huntley Meadows Park. The lighting was somewhat limited, but it was soft and beautiful and gives the photos an overall sense of peace and serenity, the start of a new day.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Red-shouldered Hawk in mid-November

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Buteo lineatus, hawk, Huntley Meadows Park, Red-Shouldered Hawk, Tamron 150-600mm on November 18, 2017| 8 Comments »

A group of five or so photographers stood on the boardwalk on Friday morning at Huntley Meadows Park watching a Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) in a tree above us. We waited and waited for the hawk to take off and when it finally did so, I almost managed to keep the hawk within the frame. I can’t really complain too much, though, because as far as I know, none of the others managed to get a shot off when the hawk took to the air.

We were in a really good position and the lighting was beautiful, but it is hard to remain alert and ready as you wait for a bird to spring into action. I was using a monopod again and I think it may be the reason why I was able to capture the hawk taking off. My camera was already at eye level and pointed in the direction of the hawk during the entire fifteen minutes or so that we watched the hawk. The other photographers had to raise their cameras and were not able to do so quickly enough.

It might be my imagination, but I also think that some of my shots with the monopod are sharper than they might otherwise be. I have balked a bit at carrying a big tripod, but think that the monopod will now be with me most of the time—it collapses to a pretty small size and, because it it carbon fiber, is both sturdy and light.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Shy deer

Posted in animals, Autumn, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, deer, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Odocoileus virginianus, Tamron 150-600mm, white-tailed deer, Woodbridge VA on November 17, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Half-hidden by the vegetation, this shy little White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) gently gazed at me for several moments and then slowly turned and disappeared from sight last Friday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Sometimes wildlife sightings set my heart racing in excitement, but this one left me feeling peaceful and mellow and a bit contemplative.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Goldfinch in November

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged American Goldfinch, Canon 50D, goldfinch, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Spinus tristis, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on November 16, 2017| 3 Comments »

Sometimes the most ordinary birds are the most beautiful, like this American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) that I spotted earlier this month at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The colors of this goldfinch are certainly more subdued than during breeding season, but I like the way that the yellow serves as an accent color rather than covering the bird’s entire body.

For contrast, I am including a photo from early autumn of another goldfinch at another location. Some may prefer the bright colors of the breeding plumage, while other may find it to be too gaudy and prefer the more subdued non-breeding plumage. Is one more beautiful than the other? For me, they are both beautiful, albeit in different ways. There is an inherent contradiction in beauty—sometimes it seems almost universal, but most often it is deeply subjective, i.e. “in the eyes of the beholder.”

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Northern Shovelers are back

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Alexandria VA, Anas clypeata, Canon 50D, Huntley Meadows Park, Northern Shoveler, Tamron 150-600mm on November 15, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Even at a distance I could tell that the ducks that I spotted on Monday at Huntley Meadows Park were Northern Shovelers (Anas clypeata)—the shape of their bills is pretty distinctive. It’s duck season now and I can hardly wait for more species to arrive at the park.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Pileated Woodpecker in November

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Dryocopus pileatus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Pileated Woodpecker, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on November 14, 2017| 6 Comments »

Pileated Woodpeckers (Dryocopus pileatus) are so large and loud that it is hard to miss them when they are around. I often hear them from a distance, pecking away at a tree with a volume that seems to match that of a jackhammer, or I catch a glimpse of their bright red heads, but generally they are high in the trees, partially hidden from view behind a tangle of branches.

I spotted a Pileated Woodpecker in flight last Friday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge and was able to follow it to the tree where it landed. Moving as slowly and stealthily as I could, I tried to find a visual tunnel that would provide an unobstructed view of the the woodpecker. I was mostly successful in doing so and was able a couple of images of the woodpecker at work. I never realized how to determine the gender of these birds, but one of my friends pointed out to me that the red whisker stripes on this bird’s face indicates that this is a male.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Eagles in mid-November

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Bald Eagle, Canon 50D, eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on November 13, 2017| 4 Comments »

Without fail I will try to get a shot of a Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) every time that I see one, assuming that I am able to react quickly enough. This past Friday as I wandered about at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I was excited to see Bald Eagles multiple times and to get some shots.

Here are a few favorites from that day. In one case, the eagle was perched on an exposed branch and I was able to get photograph from below it was it taking off. In the second case, the eagle seemed almost buried inside the branches of a tree. It’s difficult to be camouflaged, however, when you have a bright white head. I was able to photograph this one too as it was taking off. Initially I was hesitant about posting the third shot, but I really like the detail in the tail and talons that I captured as the eagle was pushing off, so I decided to include the image.

As I have said multiple times, any day that I see a Bald Eagle is a good day and the response in the past from viewers has reassured me that I am not oversaturating my blog with shots of eagles.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Chasing warblers in November

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Setophaga coronata, Tamron 150-600mm, warbler, Woodbridge VA, Yellow-rumped Warbler on November 12, 2017| 6 Comments »

Until I had a conversation with a birder last week, I never realized that Yellow-rumped Warblers (Setophaga coronata) spend their winters in my area. Somehow I thought that they were merely passing through, migrating to some more distant southern location,

This past Friday, I spent quite a bit of time trying to get shots of some Yellow-rumped Warblers. Like the Golden-crowned Kinglet that I featured yesterday, these little birds seemed to spend most of their time hidden from me in the branches, periodically exposing a body part as if to tease me.

Here are a couple of my favorite shots of the day. I never did manage to get very close, but I like the way that the fall foliage helps to establish an environmental backdrop to the images.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Golden-crowned Kinglet

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Canon 50D, Golden-crowned Kinglet, kinglet, monopod, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Regulus satrapa, Tamron 150-600mm on November 11, 2017| 9 Comments »

It is exciting to photograph big birds, but it many ways it is even more of a challenge to get decent shots of the tiny frenetic ones, like this Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa) that I photographed yesterday morning at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

Golden-crowned Kinglets are really small, about 2 to 4 inches in length (8 to 11 cm), which is smaller than a chickadee and larger than a hummingbird. They seem to like to forage deep within the branches of the vegetation, so it was really tough to get an unobstructed shot of one.

I decided yesterday to try shooting with a monopod, which helped me to stay focused on this particular bird as it moved about and be ready when it perched for a split second in the open. My Tamron 150-600mm lens is a little heavy and I think that it helped my steadiness to have the additional support of the monopod, though it did feel a little constraining. I think that I will start using the monopod regularly now and see if my images tend to get sharper.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Forced out of a nest

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged Bald Eagle, Canon 50D, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Osprey, osprey nest, Tamron 150-600mm, Woodbridge VA on November 10, 2017| 3 Comments »

A Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) was being harassed relentlessly this past Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge by a flock of crows and was eventually forced out of what I assumed was its nest. Fortunately I was able to capture a couple of shots before the eagle left the nest.

When I posted a photo in Facebook, a more experience birder pointed out that the nest is probably an osprey nest, not an eagle nest. He added that eagles at the refuge often will perch on osprey nests when the ospreys leave the area for the winter.

The final photo, taken through the trees, shows the crows occupying the nest after forcing the eagle to leave the exposed position.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Bathing robin

Posted in Autumn, Birds, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged American robin, bathing robin, Canon 50D, Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, robin, Tamron 150-600mm, Turdus migratorius, Woodbridge VA on November 9, 2017| 8 Comments »

There were lots of American Robins (Turdus migratorius) on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, including one that decided to take a bath in a puddle in the middle of the path. A couple of years ago I probably would not have bothered to identify the bird as an “American Robin,” but now I know that there is a European Robin, which is a completely different bird.

The first shot of these three is the sharpest and I like the way that you can see the succession of puddles and the robin’s reflection. I am equally drawn, however, to the action shots with the water splashing into the air. The light was pretty limited at the time and only afterwards did I realize that my shutter speed had dropped to 1/125 of a second. That is why you can see some motion blur in the second shot, an effect that I think helps to give a dynamic feel to the image. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to include the third shot, but decided that I liked the out of focus robin in the background, whose peaceful pose is in sharp contrast with that of the frenetic flailing of the bathing robin.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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