Yup, that’s what I said.
I took this shot nine years ago and never opened the image until last night (I’m probably going to catch hell from readers for that…). It had three surprises waiting for me when I finally saw it full screen.
I can often thank the uropygial gland of birds for providing me with some interesting poses.
Chipping Sparrow, Sage Thrasher and Northern Mockingbird. And it’s an attractive perch too so at first glance one might assume these photos had been set up. They weren’t.
Some folks don’t get very excited about Tundra Swans. I do, they’re damned impressive and elegant creatures.
For me at least Peregrine Falcons are usually unapproachable but occasionally when they’ve had prey I’ve been able to get close enough for quality photos. That’s why I appreciate the sacrifice of this American Coot.
I feel extremely fortunate to have taken several photos of a female Short-eared Owl in flight that clearly show her brood patch.
Sometimes I observe this phenomenon when birds land on water and other times I don’t. I believe it depends on the landing style of the bird but I’m trying to figure out how and why it happens.
In a recent blog post I bellyached about driving 240 miles over five hours and not finding a single cooperative bird. I sure didn’t have that problem yesterday at Farmington.
There are still some beautiful fall colors in the valley, especially when they’re bathed in warm morning or evening light, and late yesterday afternoon I actually succeeded in capturing some of them in the background of this four image series of a juvenile Double-crested Cormorant in flight.
