Posts in Category: action
Red-wings murmuration
When I saw this flock of birds murmurating (which is what that swirling motion of a flock of birds is called…it is a murmuration of birds) I assumed they were Starlings, or at least mostly Starlings with a few Brewer’s and Red-winged Blackbirds mixed in. Starlings are the famous murmuraters. However, when I got the image up on my iPad’s larger screen and zoomed in, I realized that they were all Red-winged Blackbirds, males and females. That makes the image just that much more interesting to me. Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode. Processed in Polarr.
Sandhill Crane
Many of my photos from Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico were taken within an hour of dawn or sunset. That is when the birds are most active, leaving their night roosts or returning to them. This Sandhill Crane was taking off a half hour after dawn to go out to the corn fields at the north end of the refuge to spend the day feeding. The low golden light picks out every detail. Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. My birds-in-flight and action modifications of Program mode. Processed in Polarr.
Snow Geese staging at dawn
At dawn at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico, the Snow Geese gather in huge flocks before rising in mass with sun to move out to the fields where they feed for the day. If you are in the right place, in this case, the Flight Deck Pond, you can see them come into the pond to join the flock, and then watch them lift off as the sun rises. I took my Point and Shoot Nature Photography class out in temperatures well below freezing to be there for the whole show. Here the Snow Geese are coming in just ahead of sunrise. Sony RX10iv in Anti-motion Blur mode. 3 shots at 1/250th and the equivalent of ISO 1000 at around 50mm equivalent. Processed in Polarr.
Sandhill Cranes in action
During November, when thousands of Sandhill Cranes gather to winter at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in the high Rio Grande Valley of south central New Mexico, there is always a lot of action among the flocks. Sandhills mate for life and some mating behavior goes on all year, as does ritual combat between males. It is often hard, for the causal observer, to tell the difference between the two. 🙂 These two birds were doing an abbreviated dance of one kind or the other, but this is the first time I have caught this particular variation…with their beaks locked. Interestingly, my colleague Bill got a similar shot this year on his very first visit to the Bosque. Sony RX10iv in my special birds in flight and action modification of Program mode. Processed in Polarr.
Geese panic…
Snow Geese “panic” several times a day at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico. Panic is the word I use to describe the times when a contagion of agitation sweeps the flock and they all come up into the air at the same time…calling and swirling. Generally half of them think they ought to move west and half east, or half think they should circle clockwise and half counterclockwise, and the mixing and mingling segments of the flock is mesmerizing. To be there when the Snow Geese panic is reason enough for a visit to the Bosque…and, in fact, brings folks back year after year. It was gettin on toward sunset when my Point and Shoot Nature Photography workshop got to see this panic up close. Nothing like it! Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. My Birds in Flight modifications of Programed Auto mode. 1/1000th @ f6.3 @ ISO 100. Processed in Polarr.
Well hello there Crane!
One of the reasons to visit the Festival of the Cranes at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in Socorro, New Mexico is how close you can get to the Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese. This Sandhill was coming directly overhead, so close that I could not fit more than this in the frame at 600mm equivalent. That is close indeed. Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. My custom Birds in Flight adaptation of Program mode. Processed in Polarr.
Dancing Cranes…
It has been one of the most spectacular weeks in memory at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge and the Festival of the Cranes in Socorro, New Mexico. The birds are in and close, the light has been simply wonderful (even by NM standards, which is saying a lot), and there is a lot of action in the flocks. This “dance” is part of the year long mating ritual, and it is a behavior you will see if you spend any time watching cranes. Sony RX10iv in my customized Birds in Flight adaptation of Program Mode. Processed in Polarr.
Away!
Sandhill Cranes taking off in the early light at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in Socorro New Mexico. This has been the best year in the past 10 years for birds and weather at Bosque. Sony RX10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode. Processed in Polarr.
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.
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.