Posts in Category: wildlife
Prothonotary
Prothonotary Warbler: Magee Marsh Boardwalk, Oak Harbor, Ohio, USA, May 2025 — I had barely stepped out on to the boardwalk on my first day at the Biggest Week in American Birding (after my first Point’nShoot for Warblers workshop) when this Prothonotary Warbler came hopping through the low bushes and landed on the edge of boardwalk right at the feet of a dozen birders (and photographers), in the shade of the bottom rail. Prothonotaries are one of those birds that are just supremely confident of their place in the world. They are willing to share it with us, but it is very much their world. I find it refreshing to be put in my place once in a while. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent and about as close as the lens will focus. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Grosbeak
Black-faced Grosbeak: La Selva Biological Station, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, March 2025 — Somehow in more than 20 trips to Central America (10 of them to Costa Rica) I have managed to miss this bird until my Sarapiqui scouting trip in December of 24. And here it is again in March, at a different location. 🙂 It is the size of our North American Rose-breasted Grosbeak, but endemic to Central America from Mexico to Panama. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Nesting
Female Red-winged Blackbird: Maumee Bay Nature Center, Maumee Bay State Park, Ohio, USA, May 2025 — After picking up my Biggest Week in American Birding swag at the registration desk at Maumee Bay Lodge, I took a walk on the boardwalk behind the Nature Center to see what I could see. It was late afternoon by then, and not much was moving, but I did find lots of Red-winged Blackbirds, including this female with nesting materials. The males establish the territories but the females build the nest. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Yellow-throated Euphonia
Yellow-throated Euphonia: Selva Verde Lodge, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, March 2025 — There are several Euphonias in Costa Rica that look much like this bird, but based on location, the yellow throat, and the extent of the yellow cap, this has to be the Yellow-throated. Euphonias are finches, or “true finches” to be more precise, and they are named for their light sweet songs. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Doubling up
Little Tinamou: La Selva Biological Station, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, March 2025 — I am going to double up on Pics 4 Today for a while, since I am not quite half way trough my photos from March in Costa Rica, and now have a slew of photos from the Biggest Week in American Birding on the Erie Shore in Ohio. This is the best shot I managed of the Little Tinamou we encountered along the trails at La Selva, one of the outposts of the Organization for Tropical Studies in the Sarapiqui of Costa Rica. La Selva is known as one of the most biologically diverse properties in the world, and is the temporary home of hundreds of researchers and students every year. Not to mention Tinamous 🙂 Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. ISO was maxed out in the low light of the rainforest floor and the camera only managed 1/320. Still, the bird is there! Processed in Photomator.
Not a warbler
Scarlet Tanager: Magee Marsh Boardwalk, Oak Harbor, Ohio, May 2025 — Though warblers are the stars of the seasonal show at Magee, the tanagers are pretty hard to miss. This is either an immature male coming into its first adult plumage, or an adult male not quite out of eclipse plumage…with a bit of yellow still showing. A stunning bird either way. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Bay-breasted
Bay-breasted Warbler: Magee Marsh Boardwalk, Oak Harbor, Ohio, USA, May 2025 — I struggled to get my Bay-breasted shot for this year. The first days I was at Magee, they just were not around, and then, when they arrived, the foliage made it very hard to get a good photograph, and I never did see one as close as I would like. Maybe next year 🙂 That is the wonder of Magee. It keeps you coming back, despite the crowds. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Black and white
Black and White Warbler: Magee Marsh Boardwalk, Oak Harbor, Ohio, USA, May 2025 — There were some rare warblers in the marsh yesterday, along with the highest number of individuals of species I have already seen this year, and several species I had not seen yet. I did not manage to get a photo of any of rarities, but I did manage some decent photos of several of the species missing from my collection for this year. This Black and White Warbler entertained us at one the spots where birders were gathered to wait the resighting of a Hooded Warbler (which I am pretty sure never did reappear). Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Chestnut close
Chestnut-sided Warbler: Magee Marsh Boardwalk, Oak Harbor, Ohio, USA, May 2025 — Another warbler that is generally cooperative…always available for at least one full frame portrait at Magee, is the Chestnut-sided. A very appealing warbler with its pattern of rust and black and white with yellow highlights. I have not yet gotten a full unobstructed view this year, mainly because the foliage is so far advanced that such views are almost impossible to get, but the warblers are doing their part. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Another most wanted
Magnolia Warbler: Magee Marsh Boardwalk, Oak Harbor, Ohio, USA, May 2025 — I suppose I do have a most wanted list in my head when I come to the Biggest Week in American Birding on the Erie Shore of Ohio. I am happy to see anything I see, and I would love to see a Kirtlands or a Canada (birds I have rarely seen) or a Worm-eating (which I have never seen) but I don’t really expect to see any of those, so I am not disappointed to come home without a photo. However I would be more than a little disappointed to come home without a new photo of a Magnolia Warbler, or a Blackburnian, or a Chestnut-sided. These regular warblers are on my most wanted list because I do expect to see them and they are often possible to photograph well. I went 3 days without my Magnolia and I was beginning to wonder, but yesterday I walked up on one feeding close and low, without a lot of other photographers in the way, so I could spend some time following along as the bird actively feed and moved down the boardwalk and around the corner where it branches. It was not still for more than a few seconds at a time, but I took about 100 shots and did manage to get a few keepers. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm. Program with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.