Posts in Category: Magee Marsh
Black-throated Blue Warbler
It does not get any better than this. We were watching this Black-throated Blue Warbler feeding in the foliage a few yards from the boardwalk at Magee Marsh on the Eire shore of Ohio, during the Biggest Week in American Birding, when it popped up onto the trunk of a big tree just a few feet from the rail of the boardwalk. I had to zoom back from 600mm equivalent to fit the whole bird in the frame. 🙂 It was fast and hopping all around the trunk, looking for bugs in the crevices of the bark, so it was not easy to catch. Lucky for me (and the other dozen or so other delighted photographers and birders) it worked the trunk for a good five minutes, during which time I shot off a hundred or more frames. Bound to have a few keepers. 🙂 Sony RX10iv at 490mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr.
Ruby-crowed Kinglet
Though the weather has been dark and dismal, Ruby-crowned Kinglets totally “own” the boardwalk at Magee Marsh on the Eire shore during the first few days of the Biggest Week in American Birding. You could almost walk across the marsh on their tiny backs. They are feeding everywhere…mostly at or below eye-level. And the males are displaying their name-sake ruby crown. Kinglets are hard to photograph. They are constantly in motion, landing only long enough in one spot to be tempting…but moving on incessantly enough to be frustrating. You end up with a lot of empty frames, but occasionally you catch one. 🙂 Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr.
Palm Warbler
I am not sure what to think about this year’s migration yet, here at Magee Marsh and The Biggest Week in American Birding. I have only had an hour or so on the boardwalk, but the mixture of warblers is odd, to say the least. I saw very few Yellow-rumped Warblers, and several Cape Mays. Yellow-rumps are early birds, and Cape Mays are late comers. And yet it is early in the week yet. Of course, everything might be different today 🙂 This is Magee! This Palm Warbler was holding court about midway along the boardwalk, practically underneath a roosting Screech Owl. Sony RX10iv at 600mm. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr.
American Redstart
I am not finished with my photos from the Dry Tortugas but I am already on the shores of Lake Erie for the Biggest Week in American Birding and that means warblers!!! This is very much a working trip for me, but I got out to the boardwalk for an hour or so on a rainy yesterday, and it did not disappoint. This American Redstart (male) was feeding just a few feet off the boardwalk at eye-level. Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr.
Blackburnian Warbler x 4
Blackburnian Warbler, Magee Marsh, Ohio.
Back to Ohio and Magee Marsh today for this 4 shot collage of Blackburnian Warbler…certainly one of my favorite warblers. Like a live spark. 🙂
Nikon P900 at 1600mm equivalent field of view. 1/500th @ ISO 280 @ f6.3. Processed in Lightroom and assembled in Coolage.
Another Oriole in Apple
Baltimore Oriole, Magee Marsh, Ohio.
Back to Ohio today for this Baltimore Oriole in Apple blossoms. An action shot.
Sony RX10iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. 1/250th @ ISO 100 @ f4. Processes and cropped for scale in Lightroom.
Blackburnian Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler. Magee Marsh, Ohio
Blackburnian Warblers are small, fast, restless, and beautiful. There is nothing more striking than a Blackburnian among fresh spring foliage. At Magee Marsh in Ohio during the Biggest Week in American Birding, you often see them close, but they are hard to catch, as they are in constant motion and feed among the leaves. I have very few photos of them in which the bird is not at least partially obscured by leaves. 🙂
Sony RX10 iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. 1/500th @ ISO 100 @ f4. Processed and cropped slightly for scale in Lightroom.
Northern Parula
Northern Parula, Magee Marsh, Ohio
The Sony RX10 Mk III might not have the reach or the magical focus of my Nikon P900 (600mm vs 2000mm), but it takes beautiful pictures. Beautiful. There is a quality about the Sony pics that is impossible to attribute to any one cause…but they are more than usually attractive to the eye. A depth. A dimension. A balance of tone and color…a working with the light…that is just a bit extra-ordinary.
This shot of a Northern Parula feeding on flowers is a perfect example. I cropped it slightly for scale, but the sharp bird and the vivid colors in the soft foreground and background arrests and rests my eye. I could look at this image a long time!
Sony RX10 Mk III at 600mm equivalent field of view. 1/250th @ ISO 400 @ f4. Processed in Lightroom.
Curiosity thy name is Black-throated Green
Black-throated Green Warbler, Magee Marsh, Ohio
When the warblers are close at Magee Marsh…they are really close. This Black-throated Green warbler appeared to take a great interest in the photographers facing it across 6 feet or so. I was shooting with my new Sony RX10 iii, otherwise I would not have been able to focus on it. The look says it all!
Sony RX10 iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. 1/250th @ ISO 250 @ f4. Processed in Lightroom.
Cape May Warbler in Evening light. Happy Sunday!
Cape May Warbler, Magee Marsh, Ohio
“If your eye is generous, your whole being is full of light.” Jesus
Last Wednesday was one of those wonderful days at Magee Marsh, when the late afternoon/early evening light illuminated trees just dripping with warblers…and many feeding at eye-level. It was the first really epic day at Magee Marsh since the Biggest Week in American Birding started on the Friday before. This Cape May warbler is showing its colors, and its attitude, in the golden evening glow.
I ran a Cape May Warbler in last Sunday’s The Generous Eye post…but I had to work for that one. On Wednesday it was just easy! A friend calls the warblers on a good day at Magee Marsh “confiding”, and they are…all around you…busy with there own lives, but approachable…sometimes even curious as to what we humans are up to in their forest. On a day like that it is simply joy to photograph them…joy even to stand and watch them. You get such a sense of life…of vigor…of color and movement in harmony. It is a deeply moving experience. I always come back from Magee in the spring filled with a sense of wonder that propels me into the Maine spring, just beginning compared to Ohio.
And, out there on the boardwalk you sense too, the generosity of the birders and photographers around you. Everyone is caught up in the experience…and everyone is willing and eager to share it (with few enough exceptions to ignore). It is just a good feeling. A blessing to be there and be part of this grand happening.
May you discover a similar blessing today, wherever you are, and whatever you are doing. Happy Sunday!