Posted on April 23, 2018 in Birds, Documentary, Nature, Wildlife
Here’s another image from last week’s visit to Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge. I love seeing all of the shorebirds that are so different from what we see in the mountains of Pennsylvania! This one looks like a sandpiper, but not sure which one – there are many!
Posted on April 16, 2018 in Birds, Documentary, Nature, Spring, Wildlife
I was so excited to visit Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge for the first time over the weekend. Bombay Hook is in Delaware, is a nationally recognized birding spot along the Atlantic flyway, and is a refuge and breeding ground for birds and other wildlife. It is the most wonderful place! Mostly tidal salt marsh mixed with upland habitat, the refuge attracts birders from across the country! I added a few species to my life list and the weather could not have been more perfect for an afternoon of birding and photography! I will definitely be going back and hopefully will see more wading birds like this Great Blue Heron!
Posted on April 3, 2018 in Birds, Documentary, Nature, Wildlife
Last week I wrote about photographing a Great Horned Owl in flight for the first time ever and being disappointed in not having the entire bird in the image. I had an opportunity to visit the family of owls again over the weekend and was determined to have another go at it. It was a long wait. Mommy owl spent the afternoon perched high in a tree where she had a clear view of the nest and surrounding area. I know nothing about owl behavior, but it seemed like she wanted her babies to get used to being alone for a bit. Or possibly it’s just getting a bit too crowded in the nest for mom and her two offspring. Weeks earlier she sat in the nest with them all day long. I had to wait until after 7:00 PM to see mommy owl fly from her perch in the tree. As she did last week, she flew down and right past the nest and into another tree for a little while before returning to her babies. The image on the left shows her arrival at the nest. Finally I was able to photograph her beautiful wings. It was nearly dark and I was using a slower shutter speed than I would have liked due to the poor light so there is a little bit of blur. Once she arrived at the nest, she went inside and pulled out what appeared to be a rabbit. (see image on the right) I assume it was in the nest all day for the owlets to eat. Shortly after coming out of the nest with the rabbit, she dropped the animal and flew away again. Maybe she was going to hunt for some fresh dinner for her babies! These are not the best images quality wise, but it was interesting to watch and challenging to photograph!
Posted on March 28, 2018 in Birds, Documentary, Nature, Wildlife
Baby owls are called Owlets and these two are just adorable! They were peeking out of their nest and waiting for mommy Great Horned Owl to bring them dinner. The larger one is already starting to develop ear tufts and feathers!
Posted on March 27, 2018 in Birds, Documentary, Nature, Wildlife, Winter
In my mind I was preparing all afternoon for this image. It didn’t end up quite as planned. Mommy Great Horned Owl spent much of the day in the nest with her two babies, napping and peering out to the group of photographers that eagerly watched their every move. In the late afternoon, Mommy owl came out of the nest and perched on a branch to the right of the opening. Her flight away from the nest to look for dinner was inevitable. It was just a matter of when it would happen. In my mind I prepared to take my first ever owl in flight image. I pulled back on the zoom, moved to a faster shutter speed to avoid blur, changed the focus point, and tried to anticipate which direction she would fly. In no way was I ready for how suddenly she sprung into the air. I was looking through the lens the whole time, but she went completely out of frame and I could only take my eyes away from the camera and watch her fly into a nearby evergreen tree. I managed two quick photos – this one, and one follow up which is completely blurred and shows only the owl’s feet. The lesson I learned is that in wildlife photography, you must learn the behaviors of the animal/bird that you are photographing. This is critical to being able to anticipate their movement. I hope to make my way back to the nest and try again. In the meantime, here’s mommy owl going to find dinner for her babies who are in the nest beneath her. Look at those toenails!! Next time I can hopefully include her wings in the photo!