Two New Species

We're having an unusually warm late September. I've had bad luck at the wildlife refuge lately, but decided to go and at least get some exercise.

As I feared, not much was going on. It was looking like I'd come home with nothing, when I spotted two eagles on an osprey platform. They were too far away, but I hung around for a few minutes, hoping for some flight shots. Then I spotted a mockingbird, a species I haven't ever photographed.

Northern Mockingbird

 And then I spotted this butterfly, so I figured I'd experiment with the new lens on something unusual.

Butterfly

 Then I looked up and both eagles were flying more or less toward me.

Bald Eagle

 After they flew away, I wandered along for a while, finding nothing to photograph. It was getting dark, so I headed to the car. My routine is to exit via the Wildlife Loop; occasionally I see something worth shooting. I stopped at a culvert to observe a Great Blue Heron, but he was uncooperative. Just as I was ready to drive away, I noticed movement on the opposite side of the road, and realized that while I was looking at the heron, I was completely oblivious to this owl. I was able to get a few shots, and as I was fooling with the ISO to try to get something better-exposed, it flew away. So here's my best shot, and it's a whopping FOUR stops underexposed. But raw files are wonderful, and I was able to rescue this exposure with a lot of exposure adjustment and noise reduction. This is a new species for me. I've only once before seen one, while I was out for a walk, sans camera, in my neighborhood.

Barred Owl