Red-tailed hawk doing a fly-by, intent on its destination. Another of the birds of prey. Rarely will I find hawks stick around for very long in order for me to get a good shot. They tend to thwart me more times than not. But on occasion I can get a decent shot.
Late fall and early winter are the times when I have my best chance of getting a decent hawk photo as they seem to be around more during that time of year. This one was taken in November.
Cedar waxwings flocked to this holly tree one early fall. I had several days of photographic opportunity to observe these birds as they picked this holly tree clean of red berries at their leisure.
I sat in the car, and watched the birds, using the car as a sort of blind since the tree was next to the driveway. Loved watching these little guys as they interacted and enjoyed a plethora of berries, keeping me very entertained for quite some time. And a generous helping of photos to sort through once they were gone.
Happy Holidays, everyone!
Swans arrive in winter and stay around till February. Just the other day a saw a wedge of swans flying by as I was out hiking. So, I’ll be looking for them as usual this year. Such graceful, lovely birds to watch and photograph, sometimes on the lakes, sometimes in the fields. If I can get out early in the morning I find them easier to spot on the water in smaller groups, sometimes called bevies. Further north, and I can get a glimpse of tundra swans, closer to home we see trumpeter swans. They winter with us for a short time, and then they move on.
Downy woodpecker taken from an extreme distance. There are times when I take a photograph, but I’m not exactly certain what species of bird I’ve gotten until I get back to my computer to process images. This happened to be one of those images.
One of the fun aspects of photography is the surprise encounters. When I go out with my camera, I expect surprises because one cannot anticipate what nature and wildlife will appear on any given trip. Even if I’ve been there time and again, something new and different is always likely to occur. it might be a bird, it might be a flower, it might be an insect, it might even be a structure, anything can happen. As it happens this was my first trip to the wildlife refuge near Fir Road, in Skagit County. I hope to get back up there sometime in the near future. But for now, staying close to home. I’m glad I did get the chance to get there last year.
It’s about remaining open to the possible as well as the impossible, the expected, and the unexpected, be it familiar territory or unfamiliar territory. It’s never boring.
Yellow-rumped warbler of the wood warbler family. The only warbler able to digest wax-covered berries, such as bay berries.
Swallow. Not the action, but the bird. Known for aerial feed, as in grabbing food on the go, “swallowing” – the act – without landing. Can be quite a feat sometimes to photograph as the soar and dip and catching them on the go can be a challenge.
Not totally certain about this shore bird as I can’t see the legs, but I’m leaning toward a sandpiper subspecies of the Lesser Yellowlegs, being more of a mid-size species, with a straight bill.
Sparrows. So many sub-species. Natal philopatry – that strong, driving force to return each year to the area where they were hatched, representing a differentiation between the Savannah Sparrow and other sub-species of sparrows. Kind of like salmon who return each year to spawn, I imagine.
Free downloadable image of a hummingbird from a photo I took. Right-click, save as png file. Usable for scrapbooking, journaling, digital art in Photoshop-like programs, etc. Have fun! I’m just starting to play around with my images in this manner. Another creative endeavor outlet. Always like some new challenges.
I believe this little guy is an Allen’s Hummingbird. So, tiny and so fast. You have to be quick to capture this one with the camera. One more reason to be alert out on the trail. Fun that with this move, we have two hummingbirds that frequent the yard and utilizing the hummingbird feeder. Lots of opportunity for photo practice.
TA Gallup Photography 