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

Cooperative Heron

During my many visits to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I've frequently seen Great Blue Herons. These large birds are usually quite shy, unwilling to sit still when I approach along the path. And I find them boring, so I rarely photograph them. But today, this one was sitting in a tree and surprisingly just stayed there as I got closer. In this very unusual encounter, I was able to get very close, allowing a series of remarkable photos. Here we go...

Standing on One Foot

 It's common to see birds standing on only one leg. I presume it allows them to draw one leg into their feathers to stay warmer. It was pretty cold on the morning when I made these photos.

One Big Eye

What's That On Your Beak?

Is This Bird Bald?

Staring At Me

Conowingo Dam 2016

Well, it's that time of year again... We've had a string of beautiful Autumn days and the eagle migration is on. I made two trips last week, arriving both times before sunrise, only to find at least 50 photographers already there. By the time I left, cars were parked in every spot and on the side of the road going up the hill at the exit. Split among the two days, I got some keepers.

First, let's look at the crowd and the gear.

The Crowd Awaits

How Much Money?

Here's a flyover from the first trip, a nearly-mature eagle with a fish. I like the mottled colors, dark tips of the tail feathers, fish, and light shining through.

Light Shining Through Tail Feathers

Here's one where the eagle has just plunged its talons into the water.

Aaaand Strike!

Here's a shot in dawn sunlight with a bloody fish.

Bloody Fish

I got lots of shots of flying eagles with fish. But this year I seem to like the shots where the eagle is just at the moment of striking.

Fish In Danger

Got It

Maneuvering for the Strike

Got It

About to Strike

Taking a Look at the Victim

On the Way to a Tree for Lunch

This year I did some experimentation, using manual exposure, changing settings during the day, being much more selective in the shots that I take. It was a lot of fun, especially with the numerous chances to watch mid-air bird fights. Sadly they were all too far away to shoot, but it was entertaining.

Maine Loons

I recently made my annual trip to Maine for vacation. I've had a whole year to look at my last batch of loon photos, and I went with the goal of capturing more action. I mean, how many shots of loons serenely swimming can I stand?

Obligatory Serene Profile Shot

If there was action, especially water flying, I wanted to shoot it. I got lucky a few times with loons popping up near my kayak. The close proximity and bright morning sunlight let me get some shots suitable for close crops. This one included water streaming from the beak, a deep red eye, lines of beaded water on the head, and texture in that furry head.

Dripping After a Dive

In the summer, adults have their breeding plumage, but underneath those feathers, they are brown. You can only see the brown (down?) when they lift their wings.

Showing the Colors

They float along socializing or fishing. Fishing means sticking the head in the water, and if they spot prey, they dive. The head-in-water thrust is often vigorous.

Looking for Prey

After surfacing, they sometimes spread their wings and shake the water out. This reveals the white underfeathers and white bellies.

Wing Spreading

I saw this display a few times. The loon was among several other loons, suddenly got very loud, stood up, and started splashing.

Puffing that Chest Out

Here's another close crop from a loon that popped up from a dive near the kayak.

Checking Me Out After Surfacing from a Dive

There was one juvenile. Its parents were frequently absent from this youngster, off fishing I guess. I encountered it several times, with and without parents present.

Mom and Junior

I have no idea how that juvenile could eat this fish that is larger than the bird's neck. But eat the fish it did.

Breakfast!

And here's my favorite of the trip.

Shake it Out!

I'll finish with some poor photos, but I'm including them because I like the action in them and I was unable to get anything better...

These birds were made to swim. Flight is not their strength. Here's a shot of a loon that I saw passing overhead, it circled, and landed. The huge webbed feet are hanging out there.

Loon in Flight

Loon takeoffs are excruciatingly long as they swim and flap to gain speed and then they eventually lift off, but have to keep paddling and flapping until they clear the water.

"I THINK I CAN FLY"

Landing is even more comical. They glide over the water, feet dangling behind, neck outstretched, until they touch down and ski/skip over the water until they slow down.

Touching Down

Overall, I had a lot of fun. I went out every morning before 7AM, sometimes catching them in their morning gathering. On my last morning there, I found a group of five, which then merged with a group of four. They never grouped together in a way that allowed me to get a shot of all nine, so I have nothing to show for it. They annoyingly neglected to do any real interactions, no splashing or other displays. Adding the juvenile, I saw ten loons that morning, and that's my single-day record.

OBNWR

After weeks of bad weekend weather, we have extraordinarily beautiful and cool weather for June. I went to the wildlife refuge this morning.

The ospreys were busy fishing and nesting, but most of the action was out of range. I did get this shot though.

An Osprey Unhappy with my Presence

There were fleeting chances to get shots of bald eagles, like this one.

Bald Eagle

 Near the shoreline nest, I got this one shot before the eagle flew away.

Bald Eagle

In the tree with the nest, there are two juveniles who look to be branching, not quite fledged. With the dense vegetation in the way, it was very difficult to get a clear look at them, and this was the best I could do.

Two Juvenile Bald Eagles

 I walked further, rounded a bend, and saw a hen turkey with a whole brood on the road. I thought, maybe I'd have a chance to shoot the young ones; I've never seen any young turkeys. I got some quick shots, but it was too dark and I was too rushed, and the shots are poor. I thought, well at least they can't fly away yet. Then they all flew away. The only usable shots I got were of the mother, who flew into a tree and precariously perched for a minute while I found a spot to get a shot.

Wild Turkey

 I usually let herons go their way without photographing them. This one was so close that I shot it anyway. Its eyes look bizarre because they are both looking at me.

Heron with Odd Eyes

 On my way back out, I passed the shoreline nest again. Again, after lots of looking for a spot to get a clear shot, I found them with a bit more sunlight on them.

Two Juvenile Bald Eagles

 I headed for the exit, looking up for birds. I almost stepped on this large turtle. At last, here was an animal with an unobstructed view that was still enough for me to shoot. It was actually so close that it was hard to shoot it with my telephoto lens. Moving farther away in a direction that was well-oriented to the turtle and the light put me off the road in the bushes. Its shell was about the size of a basketball.

Plane Spotting

My son had practice in DC and I had a few hours to kill, so I went to Gravelly Point for some plane spotting. I found a spot at a table in the shade and fired away with the camera. Here are some of the shots.

Bombardier Dash 8

Canadair CRJ

Boeing 737

McDonnell Douglas MD-90

There was an FAA jet making a series of low passes over the airport and Pentagon.

FAA Learjet 60