Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge with New Camera

The weather has lined up to mostly prevent me from going to the refuge to shoot. Cold doesn't bother me; rain and gray clouds to. It seems every weekend this year has been wet and gloomy.

I have good camera gear, but one annoyance persisted: the buffer capacity on my camera is too small. Too many times I've had a bird approaching, where I take a few shots to at least get something, and then the shot keeps getting better, and better, and as I'm firing away, the buffer fills up and my shot rate drops from several frames per second to only about one or two while the camera writes images to the card. I miss the best part of the sequence because the buffer is full. Then I find myself trying to budget my shots to keep capacity available, but maybe the bird turns and I could have gotten more shots while I was deliberately holding off. The same thing happens when I photograph my son's rowing races. I have to budget shots while they approach with their backs to me, then I want to fire away for the side shots with their bodies and faces in profile when they pull close, and I want to keep firing as they pull away, with their faces in view. But again, the buffer fills and I miss shots as they leave.

OK, enough whining. I bought a new camera body and I've been waiting for a chance to shoot. I got there at dawn just as the gate opened and before the sun rose.

But now the roads are closed at the refuge because of eagle nesting. OK, nothing new there, but to make matters worse, bad weather washed debris up on shore and washed the road out, leaving my favorite part along the shore unpassable and marked off limits. I can't even approach the eagle nest by the water.

So half of the roads are unavailable. But, it wasn't a total loss.

There's a spot on Easy Road where there is swamp on either side. I noticed ripples in the water, and stopped to see what caused them. It was a river otter. I've visited that refuge dozens of times over many years and never seen one before. Sadly, in the gloom, obscured by bushes, and only feet away, it was too close to photograph. I got a pretty good look at it as it was on land, but then it saw me and jumped into the water and swam away.

I saw several eagles and ospreys, though nothing worth photographing. I did come away with some shots of deer and a white-throated sparrow.

White-Throated Sparrow

White-Tailed Deer

White-Tailed Deer

I still have some work to do to get used to the new camera. It's way better than my old one but requires way better technique to get sharp photos.

Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge

Well I'm back home after my long trip and I managed to get out to the usual spot for some exercise and photos. These turkeys were busy running away from me. I think this flock is from a clutch or two, as they all seem to be about the same size, stay together, and are accompanied by a pair of adult females (whom I didn't get in this photo). They never seem to fly.

Turkeys

Great Egrets are sometimes around, but they are very timid. I sneaked up to this one by keeping bushes between me and the bird, and as I tried to get closer, it flew away. What big feet.

Great Egret

This deer stood and stared at me for quite a while as I tried to approach, keeping bushes between us. I only saw the fawn after they ran into the woods, not knowing that I'd actually gotten a few shots that show the fawn back in the shadows.

Deer with Fawn in the Shadows

The ospreys are still here, but I expect them to leave soon. It's not obvious from the photo, but I shot this one from almost directly underneath, looking straight up, with the bird looking straight down at me. The big yellow eyes and sneering beak are a frequent sight here.

Osprey Close-Up

Showing It's Wings

OBNWR Menagerie

February was exceptionally warm in Northern Virginia; March has been cold with a snowstorm. I've made several mostly unproductive trips to the wildlife refuge, but I did manage to get a few keepers. The eagles have been elusive, with many sightings, mostly too far away or obstructed by trees. Here's a typical obstructed shot.

Bald Eagle Taking Flight

The woodpeckers are plentiful, but difficult to photograph because they too are usually obstructed for the brief periods when they're still.

Red Bellied Woodpecker

Downy Woodpecker

 There are several spots where tidal swamp land drains into the bay. These areas dry out at low tide. I reached one of the drains and surprised myself and this deer.

Deer Staring At Me

The ospreys are returning, and they were actively fishing while I was there.

Osprey Strikes the Water

Osprey Gets a Big Fish

Osprey Stares At Me

It wasn't a complete eagle washout. This one probably thought I was harassing it because it kept landing in trees near the water, then would fly away as I approached, only to land near the water again and I would approach it again... Here's a shot where I was able to get very close before it spotted me and flew away.

Eagle Death Glare

Observing Me During a Flyover

Taking Flight

Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge

I went out again on a chilly morning. The eagles really seem to like the same osprey nest, and it was the only place where I was able to find them.

Bald Eagles on Osprey Nest

They flew away, one, then a few minutes later, the other. And they flew away from me, so I wasn't able to get any usable flight shots.

Given that this was a relatively uneventful trip, I'll add two shots from previous visits that I haven't published. I drove the wildlife loop after walking in the refuge one evening, and I was able to capture these deer from the car.

Deer

And on another trip, I rounded a bend in the road and saw this fox, totally unaware of the rabbit (who eventually ran into the deep grass).

Fox and Rabbit

It was so dark, I was actually lucky to be able to get this shot at all, and I couldn't get both animals in focus because I was shooting as wide-open as I could, with ISO cranked up as high as I dared. And it still wound up at 1/250, so I'm surprised the fox is as sharp as he/she is.