One of my limiting factors to getting small songbird inflight action shots was my reaction time. Over the years I got reasonably good at anticipating when a songbird was going to take off from its perch (taking a poop being a key one). I would set up the shot and start a long burst. If […]
Read More
Pure energy packed into a tiny package. Ruby-crowned Kinglets are short-haul migrant winter visitors to our neighborhood. They only migrate to and from the U.S.’s south and northern Mexico to the upper regions of Canada. This is even more remarkable when you think about just how tiny they are: 3.5-4.3 in (9-11 cm), 0.2-0.3 oz […]
Read More
The low country of Georgia and South Carolina is the geographic area of coastline and barrier islands where the coastal plain meets the Atlantic Ocean. It is indeed low. In many places ground is at sea level or just below. Making it a land of bottomland swamps, broad river deltas, tidal creeks, and estuarine marshes. […]
Read More
To paraphrase Zac Brown, the It is “whatever It is that blows a viewer away”. Owls are just photogenic. For Barred Owls it really helps that they are more diurnal than their cousins so it’s possible to get shots in decent light. It also helps me that there is a pair that nests two houses […]
Read More
THEIR BEAKS CAN HOLD MORE THAN THEIR BELLIES CAN In fact, ~2.6 gallons of water along with the caught fish. After plunging up to 60 feet head first to take on this much water, Pelicans tilt their beaks, drain the water, and then throw their heads back and down goes the fish. When I was […]
Read More
This is going to be a twofer post – one post, two related topics: Some shots of some of the neotropical migrants I took during the pandemic Falls of 2020 and 2021 and why my Olympus kit’s mobility is integral to my Fall migration birding preferences. Integral to the getting the shot and keeping it […]
Read More
I went back to the grass fields in central Georgia on August 25th to see if the Swallow-tailed Kites were still flocking together and fattening up before leaving for southern Brazil. They were still there. They put on first class display of aerobatics. My first post about this special event focused on the birds and […]
Read More
I admit that I have a thing for raptors. They are magnificent creatures. They all have a look, life history, and abilities that are jaw-droppingly astonishing. A perfect blend of artistry and purpose-built ‘engineering’. Kites, and especially Swallow-tailed Kites, are a top-of-the-marquee example. In my opinion. Let’s start with looks. How about I just let […]
Read More
I think vagrant birds – birds a long way from their normal seasonal range – are very interesting. In the case of this Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, its normal, summer home range is Texas & Oklahoma with a little spill over in other parts of south central US. But, here this bird is in the Piedmont area […]
Read More
In many of my posts I make a big deal out of being an active birder\photographer. Some would say too big a deal. There are times though that I try to wait for the shot. This is the case in this series of one of our neighborhood Barred Owl pair. She and her mate (I […]
Read More