Northern Cardinal: Magee Marsh, Oak Harbor, Ohio, May 2025 — Walking the Estuary Trail out behind the boardwalk at Magee, I can on these two cardinals making ready to mate and nest. Not a great photo…to far…but still a great moment. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm (and heavily copped). Program with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Magnolia Warbler: Magee Marsh Boardwalk, Oak Harbor, Ohio, May 2025 — This Magnolia hung out, avidly feeding, along the same stretch of boardwalk for two days running. Of course it possible that there were multiple Mangonias over the course of the two days, and we humans are just not equipped to differentiate. 🙂 I always like to catch them in song. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
American Redstart: Magee Marsh Boardwalk, Oak Harbor, Ohio, May 2025 — lots of Redstarts at Magee this yard durning the Biggest Week in American Birding…but then there always are. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Prothonotary Warber: Magee Marsh Boardwalk, Oak Harbor, Ohio, May 2025 — Sometimes the Prothonotary Warbers come so close it is hard to believe. They often sit and sing on the boardwalk rail while crowds of human watch and jostle for viewing or photographic angles. This one was in the vegetation just behind the boardwalk, closer than I thought the lens on my camera focused. This is full frame at 600mm equivalent. The dappled light paints the bird slightly orange in the shadows. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Magnolia Warbler: Magee Marsh Boardwalk, Oak Harbor, Ohio, May 2025 —The Magnolia Warbler is one of my favorites to photograph at Magee each Biggest Week in American Birding. So bright. So bold. And when you find one feeding at eye-level they generally stick to one area long enough so that with patience you can get a few good shots between the leaves. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Cape May Warbler: Magee Marsh Boardwalk, Oak Harbor, Ohio, May 2025 — One of the things to love about being at the Biggest Week in American Birding on the Erie shore in Ohio is that many of the warblers are singing on their stopover…as though they are just too full of song to hold it unit they reach their nesting grounds. 🙂 This Cape May, photographed through foreground foliage, is a good example. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Green Heron: Magee Marsh Boardwalk, Oak Harbor, Ohio, May 2025 — A pair of Green Herons were building a nest in a tree overhanging the pond beside the boardwalk, and over the days of the Biggest Week in American Birding, provided many opportunities for birders and photographers to have close heron encounters. This bird was resting (and perhaps guarding the nest site) within 15 feet of the boardwalk, paying no attention to the crowds of humans it was drawing. It is shots like these the bring out the full subtle beauty of the heron. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Nashville Warbler: Magee Marsh Boardwalk, Oak Harbor, Ohio, May 2025 — Not a super rare bird, but one that passes through Magee in smaller numbers than some…the Nashville Warbler is one of those that tends to stay deep in the foliage. Always a challenge. I always wonder what exactly they are seeing when them make eye-contact, especially since I have a great big lens in front of my face? Maybe only their own reflection. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400 at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Prothonotary! Something to cheer your Sunday. Prothonotary Warbler, Magee Marsh Boardwalk, Oak Harbor, Ohio, May 2025. Sony a6700. Tamron 50-400. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator. Assembled in VDIT. Original improvisation on the Tranquility Harp by Gabriel Harps.
Prothonotary Warbler: Magee Marsh Boardwalk, Oak Harbor, Ohio, USA, May 2024 — I borrowed a Sony FE 100-400 GM lens from Sony for a few hours. They were the lead sponsor of the Biggest Week in American Birding this year, after several years of giving the festival a miss. I am hoping their sponsorship and presence signals that they are taking the birding and wildlife market more seriously these days. The 100-400 is a great lens, but my short experience with it only reinforced my growing conviction that, given reasonably well performing equipment, it is more about what the birds and wildlife are doing than what you have in your hands. This would have been a great shot with almost any camera and lens because the bird was just so close and so cooperative. 🙂 Sony a6700. Sony FE 100-400 GM. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.