outdoor photography

Indigo Bunting Yesterday I dropped by Canal St., where I've been seeing Indigo Buntings hanging out.  I've seen then singing earlier this month.  I went back yesterday for just a few minutes, and they were still there. They've been there a while, so I strongly suspect they're breeding there. Indigo Bunting

Indigo Bunting Yesterday the biggest highlight at Mead Gardens was seeing a Clay-colored Sparrow.  Other than that, it was pretty slow birding.  But we did see some other fun things.  Indigo Buntings are far less spectacular in the fall, but they are still quite attractive birds. Indigo Bunting This Carolina Wren is showing off some white spots on its rump.  I believe this is some sort of display, though sometimes these spots appear when they are preening.  This bird flew up to this perch after some other buntings went by, so perhaps in this instance it a display.  I don't see these white spots on Carolina Wrens very often, and this is the first time I have been able to get a photo that shows them nicely.    Carolina Wren And this hummingbird was dancing around the lower leaves of a Cypress Tree by the lake.  When she was flying, she was severely back lit, and the photos just weren't very attractive.  But she perched f...

Indigo Bunting This is one of the species that made be fascinated with birds.  I mean, look at the color!  It's birds like this that make photographers look good.  These were all taken at Occoquan Bay NWR this past July. Indigo Bunting Indigo Bunting Indigo Bunting

Zebra Swallowtail Yesterday I went with a friend to Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge--an Island just north of the Bay Bridge in Chesapeake Bay.  We went to find bird species, and we found many, but we were more surprised and delighted by all the butterflies, moths and other insects we saw on the refuge. Zebra Swallowtail Hummingbird Moth Silver Spotted Skipper Wasp That's not to say that we didn't see some fine birds as well.  In particular, I enjoyed photographing the Least Terns that were on the island. Least Tern Least Tern Other highlights were seeing many Blue Grosbeaks, Indigo Buntings and Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers. Blue Grosbeak Indigo Bunting Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher

Indigo Bunting I'm up in Nortthern Virginia visiting my parents and I decided to take an hour this morning to visit Occoquan Bay NWR.  An Indigo Bunting came out to play by my car, so I had some fun photographing this wonderful bird.  Indigo Bunting Indigo Bunting Indigo Bunting Indigo Bunting Indigo Bunting Indigo Bunting Indigo Bunting

Chuck-will's Widow This morning I went to Mead Gardens again with the great people with the Orange Audubon Society. We had a wonderful morning.  Easily the best highlight of the morning was seeing a Nightjar, in particular, a Chuck-will's Widow.  We saw one our way to the board walk.  On the board walk, we were happy to find an Indigo Bunting and a beautiful Prairie Warbler.  When we circled back to where we saw the Chuck-will's Willow, we saw it again, and when it flew away, another came and perched on another branch. Chuck-will's Widow I don't know if this is the same as the first I saw Indigo Bunting Prairie Warbler We saw some nice Red-bellied Woodpeckers and Great Egrets, and on a few occasions, I saw Northern Cardinal fledglings.  While I saw only one at at time in the same general area, I'm pretty sure there were more than one there.  It was also great to see a Cooper's Hawk. Cooper's Hawk Cooper's Hawk Cardinal ...