With sunrise in their wings…
The dawn flyout at Bosque del Apache is one of the great wildlife spectacles of North America and this morning was one of those days that make it memorable. I was out with a field workshop of aspiring Point and Shoot Nature Photographers at the Flight Deck Pond just at sunrise this morning when the Snow Geese rose to go to their day feeding fields. Wonderful light. Amazing action. Shot with the Sony RX10iv in my specialized Birds in Flight mode adaptation of Program mode. Processed in Polarr.
Common Paraque, 2018 version :)
This Common Paraque has roosted beside one of the trails at Estero Llano Grande State Park and World Birding Center for so many years in a row that has to be the most photographed bird in Texas. There are always two along this short stretch of trail, but most years we only find one of them…this one, or at least the one sitting in this spot. This year the second was about 4 feet behind this one, kind of on the same line, and also in plain sight. You have to understand that “in plain sight” means something different for Paraques than it would for most birds. Even though I knew the second bird was there, since others were seeing it, it still took me 5 minutes to find it…sitting right out in plain paraque sight. The difference in the 2018 version of my yearly Paraque photo is that this bird is wet…or very damp at the least…since it was raining on and off the morning we visited Estero Llano Grande. Of course, I have only ever photographed this bird in sunlight once in all the years I have been going to Texas in November…even on a bright day it is tucked in under deep shade. Sony RX10iv at 600mm. Anti-motion Blur mode. (A special mode that takes multiple images and stacks them for better performance in low light.) Processed in Polarr.
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Here is something you don’t see everyday…a Yellow-billed Cuckoo sitting right out in plain sight. This very wet and very bedraggled cuckoo was feeding near the boardwalk at the Birding Center on South Padre Island, Texas, part of a wave of migrants coming through with the storm front. The bird continued to feed in plain sight as long as we watched it. It even perched on the boardwalk for a moment. Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode. Processed in Polarr.
White Ibis
We spent the morning at Estero Llano Grande State Park and World Birding Center in Weslaco Texas yesterday. It was overcast but the birds were still beautiful on the pond by the Visitor Center, there was lots of activity around the trails. This White Ibis is caught in a classic pose over its reflection. Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode. +1EV to deal with the bird silhouetted against the bright water. Processed in Polarr.
White Pelicans in the air…
As we got out of the car at Fronteria Audubon in Weslaco Texas the other day, we looked up and into a huge swirl of White Pelicans moving over. They slowly circled over us, the center of the circle moving north slowly until the were behind the trees. Very impressive! I don’t know where they were coming from or where they were going, but the beauty of will remain. Sony RX10iv at about 250mm equivalent. Program mode. Processed in Polarr.
Chachalaca, chachalaca…
I did not know Plain Chachalacas did this thing with their tails…and neither did other birders that I talked to today, but they clearly do. These birds were strutting their stuff at the National Butterfly Center in Mission, Texas, where I was teaching a field workshop for Point and Shoot Nature Photography. Sony RX10iv at about 400mm equivalent. Program mode. Processed in Polarr.
3 Kingfisher Day
Not great photos, but still, any day when you see 3 species of Kingfishers is a GOOD day. All three were too far away, but again, see previous statement. Ringed Kingfisher, Belted Kingfisher, and Green Kingfisher. Edinburg Scenic Wetlands World Birding Center in Edinburg Texas. Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent and heavily cropped. Program mode. Processed in Polarr.
Clouded Sulphur on Turk’s Cap
It was a very slow day for birds in the Rio Grande Valley. We went to Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge. Lots of butterflies and dragonflies…more than I have seen there in years, but practically no bird activity. Very strange. After Santa Ana we went to Fronteria Audubon in Weslaco, Texas where the buzz of the day was a intermittently visible Golden-winged Warbler. We missed the warbler by minutes on several occasions, but again the butterflies did not disappoint. This Clouded Sulphur on Turk’s Cap was one of the last photos I took there before heading back to the hotel to cool off before evening activities. Sometimes nature provides light you would be hard pressed to duplicate in the studio. I should add a disclaimer here. I am not a butterfly expert and if someone were to tell me this is an Orange Sulphur and not a Clouded, I would not be totally surprised and in no way offended. 🙂 Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode. Processed in Polarr.
Impala!
On my safari in South Africa in September of 2016, the dominant species of antelope, by far, was the Impala. In fact, in South Africa they call the Impala the MacDonalds of the savanna: they are everywhere, they have a big M on their butt, and they are fast food. 🙂 Because of my experience in South Africa I expected much the same in Kenya. Not so. The Thompson’s Gazelle was the dominant species…found in beards the same size as the Impala herds of South Africa, and we did not see any large groups of Impala. We saw individuals, and small herds of up to 30 animals…often in association with Thompson’s and/or Grant’s Gazelles, but nothing like the numbers or the concentrations I saw in South Africa. This handsome Impala buck is from Tsavo West. Sony RX10iv at 450mm equivalent. Program mode. Processed in Polarr.
Fall fungus in the forest…
Fall has produced an abundant crop of interesting scale fungi on the fallen limbs at Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge. There is a beauty in the patterns and the shapes, at least to my eye. Sony RX10iv at 489mm equivalent. In-camera HDR. Processed in Polarr.