Kelsey Wellons Photography » Kelsey Wellons Photography2023-12-11T20:05:13.519259-05:00urn:uuid:0c5549fe-555f-3de1-a7fc-2af1f9b7d0f6Kelsey WellonsBald Eagleurn:uuid:58e63943-2e1c-3ba5-afd5-9155c6225f3a2023-12-11T22:29:00Z<p>Bald Eagle at Huntley Meadows Park on October 30, 2023. After a nice outing several days prior with my new lens at a local garden on butterflies, I wanted to give it a several hours photographing test. My normal place to do that is Huntley and the weather was going to be agreeable that morning. This eagle was sitting across the far pond for an extended period. The sun was not above the horizon so the light was still meh along the treeline. It flew down closer, perching on a favorite dead tree of the osprey and other raptors. I would have preferred if the bird stayed for awhile on the perch until the sun was shining on it but nature has other plans sometimes. I missed the takeoff shots due to a slow shutter speed. It was around a few more times on my trip but much further back in the woods.</p>
<p>I am impressed with the sharpness of this lens compared to my Tamron 150-600 G2. Autofocus is faster. Having a native Z lens mount is great! I have about 60k photos left in my backlog, down from 120k or so from the end of October.</p>
<p>Lens - NIKKOR Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR @ 600mm on Nikon Z8</p>
Green Tree Frogurn:uuid:09d62327-488b-3c03-83f0-58edce56e17a2023-09-16T19:29:00Z<p>Green Tree Frog (GTF) on August 30, 2023. Most of my photographing this summer has been at Huntley Meadows due to the variety of wildlife that can be found there. Despite having to leave somewhere between 4:30 and 5:30 AM depending on the time of year for both sunrise shots and to beat traffic on 495, it is well worth my 45-minute drive. August and September are the best months to get GTF. On this particular morning, the sky was slightly overcast after a rainy evening prior. This GTF was surrounded by my favorite fall-colored leaves. I positioned myself low, shooting between the boardwalk fence for the pink and yellow foreground colors. Not only is this one of my favorite GTF shots I've taken this year, this is in my top shots I've taken in 2023.</p>
<p>I have taken nearly 120k photos in 3.5 months with my Z8. I've been slow to sort through them and have had my hand forced to start culling as my hard drives are nearly full.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon Z8</p>
Belted Kingfisherurn:uuid:fddf11d6-a140-343e-81a8-4e2bf32071ff2023-07-15T23:29:00Z<p>Belted Kingfisher with a crayfish meal on July 13, 2023. I've never seen a Kingfisher eat a shelled creature before. What a treat it was! It took about 7 minutes for it to get this swallowed but not without trouble. It bashed the crayfish on the log repeatedly, with pieces of it falling off each time. I shifted down the boardwalk to get a different view but the Kingfisher had eaten it in the meantime. Several photographers also shot a Kingfisher with a crayfish that day. This shot is not what I would consider the sharpest but I enjoy the shot nonetheless.</p>
<p>My new Z8 has seen impressive use in just 6 weeks. Almost 40k photos! Being able to shoot 20 FPS is both a blessing and a curse. I've been enjoying taking photos so much that I have been ignoring culling them, bringing my backlog up to ~63k photos.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon Z8</p>
Ospreyurn:uuid:6b8c68b2-878a-31b0-aac4-6ca8efdc89072023-06-13T19:29:00Z<p>Osprey at Huntley Meadows park on May 24, 2023. This photo has both a funny and disappointing backstory. Several photographers were on the far boardwalk watching this Osprey at the top of a dead tree, one of the favorite trees of perching birds of prey here. It was sitting up there for some time, not giving any indication it was going to fly off or down anytime soon. I grabbed my mini-tripod and set it up on the boardwalk to record video of it. No sooner did I attach my camera, the Osprey decided it was time for a meal. What felt like slow-motion of it zipping down into the water not 15 feet off the boardwalk, I had no time to react to it. It came up with a fish and started its descent out of the water. Meanwhile, I've gotten my camera up but I had no feedback through the viewfinder - it was still set to video mode using the rear screen! I fumbled around trying to get it turned off and I managed to get a few shots of it flying across the pond. Surprisingly I was not the only person who missed it. Some people were too close and others were also unprepared for how fast it happened. There were some jokes about missing the shot and that no one wanted the dive shot anyways.</p>
<p>The day after this trip, I received my new toy - the recently released mirrorless camera, the Nikon Z8. It is leaps and bounds ahead of a DSLR and eye autofocus tracking for animals is amazing. I'm looking forward to taking it out on more trips!</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500</p>
Green Heronurn:uuid:f5514487-77d6-3b1d-b724-6a5b8432523c2023-04-26T21:29:00Z<p>Green Heron on April 25, 2023. Green Herons have come back to Maryland the past few weeks and I have been anxiously awaiting them at Wilde Lake. The county had a large group of nearly 30 Anhingas, a rare visitor to not just Maryland but Howard County especially, on April 21. While there to get a few photographs of these birds, I kept my eyes open for Green Herons. A few were flying up and down the lake. None landed close and since the Anhingas weren't discovered until Friday evening, the sun had set low enough that the Wilde Lake Dam and the stream it flows into were already mostly covered in darkness. I get most of my Green Heron shots there below the dam.</p>
<p>I went back yesterday near midday not expecting to find much. I'm not a fan of midday shooting for birds as my shots can have harsh light so it's not something I do often. One of the Green Herons was at the bottom of the dam for an extended period. Someone decided to fish below the dam, making the Green Heron anxious and flighty. One never came back on the rest of my trip.</p>
<p>This particular Green Heron has a broken back "toe". I noted the upturned claw that seemed out of place. Green Herons have 3 toes going forward in the front and 1 toe facing the opposite direction in the back. In other photos, you can see the back toe seemed nonexistent because it was bent backwards and in front with the other toes.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500</p>
Wilson's Snipeurn:uuid:a0212ce7-77ea-30e8-b79a-281422daa91e2023-04-06T23:29:00Z<p>Wilson's Snipe at Huntley Meadows Park on April 5, 2023. This was only my second time seeing a Wilson's Snipe - the first time was last week, also at Huntley. They are wintertime visitors and will be migrating soon. I was excited to add them onto my bird list. They were active last week while I was there but foraging up against the dark brush. This individual was foraging closer to the boardwalk. Myself and a couple other photographers took advantage of both it being close before the the shots would become backlit. Several others were heard and occasionally showing but in bad light. The Snipes are not as cooperative as the other shorebirds that call Huntley home for the summer.</p>
<p>I bought a new mini tripod a few days prior and was anxious to try it out. The minimum height with the ball head is 4.5 inches. It's good for shooting video on the boardwalk but it's also a bit of a hassle to set up. I will take it on my trips but won't use it unless I want to leave the camera on it for a longer period.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500</p>
Red-spotted Purpleurn:uuid:6c3f75e8-ad59-3751-ba97-f202d386a31b2022-09-04T18:29:00Z<p>Red-spotted Purple on September 4, 2022. Howard County Bird Club had our annual Dick Smith Memorial Butterfly Walk at the Elkhorn Garden Plots this morning. Our group of about 17 meandered around the plots looking for interesting butterflies. Nothing rare was seen. It was a hot morning so that may have had an effect on the butterflies we saw.</p>
<p>We had a group of 7 left around noon and wandered into the large garden plot enclosure which is a gated open-space with no individual enclosures. One Red-spotted Purple was seen before our walk started but was in bad light. Someone yelled one was in good light nearby. I stood for a few minutes photographing it and waited for it to close its wings. Their wing color is not as dramatic in dull light so I appreciated that the sun was behind me while photographing. Red-spotted Purples are beautiful butterflies and one of my favorites.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500</p>
Ospreyurn:uuid:b9ccdd38-3a1d-32ec-9eb9-89f1559448a12022-08-20T14:29:00Z<p>Osprey at Huntley Meadows on August 18, 2022. It had been a few weeks since I visited Huntley. Temperatures had cooled off last weekend and continued into this week, making for some comfortable days where I could easily spend a few hours on the boardwalk. Sunrise was at 6:22 AM Thursday and my intended arrival was around 6 AM. It was 5:45 when I parked and knew that I was going to be standing around on the boardwalk for at least a half hour. It was dark enough that my cellphone flashlight was of little use — I regretted not bringing an actual flashlight!</p>
<p>The shorebirds were already active in the mudflats at the far end of the boardwalk. I was photographing them despite the lack of light at low shutter speeds. An osprey was also circling above me, looking for breakfast. The sun was still below the horizon and shooting birds of prey hunting in no light is a futile task at such low speeds. It caught a fish a short time after nearby to where I was. It's a shame that I didn't even see it because I was too caught up in watching a Great Blue Heron with its first meal of the day!</p>
<p>The osprey flew back before 7 AM and perched in this tree for about 15 minutes. These dead trees are close to the boardwalk so you must be slow and quiet in your attempt to get closer to birds perching there. The sun was finally over the horizon and illuminating the trees behind the osprey. I shifted closer but returned to my original position as the osprey no longer had the trees in the background. Shooting 6.5 pounds of camera + lens handheld at lower shutter speeds can be disastrous for me but it worked out this time. Felt like fall in this photo! I also took video of it perched until it flew off to a dead tree on the other side of the pond, where it sat for about an hour before disappearing.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500</p>
Susie: May 5, 2010 - June 27, 2022urn:uuid:23d87172-44bb-3963-a571-75d0c80ae22e2022-06-30T23:29:00Z<p>Susie passed away on June 27, 2022 after spending 12 wonderful years living with us. She was estimated to be ~4 years old when we adopted her from the local Petsmart via Last Chance Animal Rescue so she lived to be about 16 years old. On May 5, 2010, we decided to drop by the local Petsmart after celebrating my birthday dinner to look at the cats. We didn't know it when we walked in but we'd be going home to get a carrier to adopt Susie. The volunteer told us she had been here at the store for 2 months. It broke our hearts to hear that so we went home, got a cat carrier, and drove back to the store to bring Susie home. Chris named her Susie due to Calvin and Hobbes. His family already had a Hobbes and we had a Calvin, so Susie was the most appropriate name.</p>
<p>She was a unique cat. She had so many quirks and oddities and she made our days so enjoyable. She was a chatty cat. Always loved talking and yelling at us, especially in the kitchen. We called her "chef". She knew the sound of the lunchmeat bag. Ice was one of her favorite things and she frequently would get ice cubes several times a day. In the summertime and warmer weather, her favorite activity was either sunbathing in the afternoon light or going out on the balconies to nap in the chairs. She was a concerned cat, making sure both Chris and I made it to the bathroom at night when we had to get up. She was the world's best scratcher. Paper bags were a favorite chew toy. She would run and plop down underneath Chris while he was doing push-ups to make sure he came down far enough. She would jump up on the pedestal and tap Chris all day long, frequently enjoying interrupting his work. She had her favorite boxes. She loved to jump from the pedestal to Chris's chair - she could do some impressive distances for her age!</p>
<p>It wasn't all fantastic, unfortunately. Susie had her health issues - kidney disease, hyperthyroid, a slight heart murmur, and the host of issues that go with those like nausea and hard stool. They started coming to light just after the pandemic started in May 2020. She had lost several pounds over the past 2 years. On the day she passed, we were at the vet due to a hard stool she couldn't get out. That led to her downfall, through no fault of the vet. She was struggling to get it out even with an enema and we took her back to the vet to get her sedated for them to get it out. She had passed it right after we left and we were told they were as big as small peaches! We brought her home grateful she didn't need to be sedated and gave her a good bath. We believe this struggling of such a large mass of stool was the beginning of the end. She was very tired after and eventually went and laid in a box. At the time we thought she was just tired and needed rest. What happened was that her body was starting to shut down, most likely due to shock or the trauma earlier of the hard stool. After a few hours, I was planning to spend the night on the floor with her to make sure she would be okay. Her eyes never shut but she looked weak. We now know that she was in shock. I saw her have a minor seizure and I called Chris in. We both knew that Susie was not going to survive for much longer. I held her crying while Chris got ready to head the very short drive to the Pet ER. I drove while he sat in the backseat with her. She passed before we made it to the ER and the vet confirmed this as soon as we arrived. We spent a long while with her body grieving, knowing her pain was over. We both loved her very much.</p>
<p>Writing out about Susie's life with us is cathartic and deeply saddening to me at the same time. I had the privilege of spending nearly every hour of every day of my life with her outside of my photography trips and exercising. My sorrow runs deep and I have an emptiness, a hole of sorts, inside me. I feel like a piece of me died with her. She was a once-in-several-lifetimes cat. I make sure to tell that I love her and not that I <em>loved</em> her as I will always love her. I'm not a religious person but I would love to be able to see her and hold her again someday. The grief I feel has been immeasurable and I've shed tears for several days. I feel guilty, as though I didn't do enough to help her. I tried my best with the knowledge I had at the time and I hope she knows that and forgave me before she died. She was a special cat and she will be dearly missed. It brings me joy to live in a time where I have thousands of digital photos and videos of her that I can bring up in an instant and enjoy all the wonderful memories I have of her. Her ashes will be out on my desk in view so I can have her in my view every day.</p>
<p>Chris has been working from home the entire pandemic and still currently is. He got to spend all day, every day with Susie and our other two cats. I'm grateful he got the chance to spend so much time with her in her last 2 years of her life and we both know she loved it as well.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G @ 50mm on Nikon D500</p>
June 2022 Strawberry Supermoonurn:uuid:f64191ba-875f-3e30-800d-39cc5c11b5672022-06-16T21:29:00Z<p>Strawberry Supermoon from the Huntley Meadows Park boardwalk on June 15, 2022. Many places online were discussing the full moon this month being a supermoon due to it being in its closest point to earth. Bringing up Stellarium to track the moon from dusk until dawn, I saw it was not going to be higher in the sky until around 1 AM. My intention was to also be up at 4 AM for a Huntley Meadows trip the following morning so my plans to photograph it were minimal. Upon going outside around 10 PM on June 14, the moon looked fantastic and had a yellowish glow. We had some cloud cover in the area so my shots were reasonable - not great, not terrible.</p>
<p>The moon was still large and bright when I left home at 4:40 AM. My camera was already packed for the drive in my backpack and unpacking seemed like a hassle, despite how great it looked. The hope was to get to Huntley in time to photograph it before the sun was too high to capture it. The moon was visible nearly the entire ride down 95 and 495. While crossing the Woodrow Wilson Bridge into Virginia, my thoughts were how interesting shots would look from the National Mall. Hitting red on nearly every light down rt. 1 made me irritable that the moon would either be below the horizon or have too much light on it by the time I arrived. Fortunately, I had plenty of time before the sun came over the tree line. It was less dramatic and rather dull once the sun came up - it was just another ordinary daytime moon at that point.</p>
<p>I'm not a large fan of photographing the moon when it's full. The non-full moon phases give more detail in the craters due to shadows and I'm of the opinion that alone makes for better moon photographs.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500</p>
Red-shouldered Hawkurn:uuid:a85b19c5-b4bf-31a7-b8ce-f95f750ba9132022-04-22T22:29:00Z<p>Red-shouldered Hawk at Huntley Meadows Park on April 22, 2022. There has been quite a bit of activity lately at Huntley Meadows - Hooded Merganser ducklings have made their way into the open, an easily viewable Pileated Woodpecker nest, Prothonotary Warblers. I woke up at 5 to arrive at sunrise. Due to mistiming sunrise and also with traffic on 95/495, I missed the ducklings coming out of their nest boxes. I was able to get decent shots of them throughout the morning. Some photography friends noted a Red-shouldered Hawk that was frequenting the beginning of the boardwalk. As luck would have it an hour later, this hawk dove down for a frog and flew nearby into the woods. What luck! It got even better because the hawk flew onto a fallen tree only 15 feet off the trail. Myself and a larger group of about 12 photographers enjoyed a few minutes of the hawk nibbling on the frog.</p>
<p>I made the mistake of not checking my card slots in the camera this morning. I didn't notice when I was taking video of the Mergansers that it wasn't writing to my SD card (4k video on the D500 uncompressed shoots at ~15MB/s). It was still sitting in my PC this morning and didn't take it out before I left. I noticed around 10 AM with little space left on my XQD card. While I don't delete photos in the field, I wiped out a bunch of early shots that seemed out-of-focus to make room for shots of this hawk. A yearly lesson to make sure BOTH cards are in the camera before I leave!</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500</p>
Hooded Merganserurn:uuid:86ddf74d-d482-3b74-af18-591357b673712022-03-03T23:29:00Z<p>Male Hooded Merganser in flight on March 2, 2022. I had nearly ran out of corn for feeding ducks for the first time in two years last week so I combined a corn-buying trip with a photography trip. One of my favorite spring duck photography places had Wood Ducks start arriving last week. With a slightly chilly but sunny day ahead, I headed out early morning so I could still catch the remaining sunrise.</p>
<p>It was overcast when I arrived and saw the Wood Ducks in the stream. I grabbed my bags of corn and headed over to the eastern side of the stream so the sun would be behind me. I noticed two Hooded Mergansers preening in the stream, a male and female. Setting my corn down, I tried to sneak up on them. They sensed my presence and began moving into the middle of the stream. I paused a moment and tried to take some cover nearby. They did not appreciate that and in typical Merganser fashion, they flew off. I took my chances, aimed my camera, and hoped one shot would turn out in that burst. The image on the back of my camera screen is misleading at times - it will look in focus at the small size but it is out-of-focus or blurry when I look through the photos on the computer. I went on to picking up my corn and photographing the Wood Ducks.</p>
<p>Pleasantly surprised when I saw this one was the only one in the sequence in-focus yesterday afternoon, and the only one with the reflection at that! My other interesting bird was a Mallard/Wood Duck hybrid. That was intriguing due to the fact it had a male Mallard head with facial characteristics of a male Wood Duck and a female Wood Duck backside. An odd but beautiful bird.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500</p>
Male Wood Duckurn:uuid:1a7448d2-6785-3d96-a9a0-4acd515e44ad2022-02-21T21:29:00Z<p>Male Wood Duck hunting for food on February 21, 2022. Today was the first day in over 5 months I've traveled outside the neighborhood to photograph. My motivation to shoot has been low due to Delta + Omicron variants and winter temperature being quite cold this year. The temperature was a high of 60 degrees with sun so today was a great day to start getting back into bird photography. My start was late due to not leaving until almost 10 AM but my drive is ~22 minutes to this location. A friend mentioned the Wood Ducks and Ring-necked Ducks were cooperative lately. I brought 15 pounds of corn with me in hopes they would still be hungry that late in the morning. The geese and mallards were of course hungry, as they always are. There was a thin layer of ice still on the pond. I tossed corn on the ice and they eventually broke through to the edge of the pond, with the Wood Duck and one of several Ringed-neck Ducks following.</p>
<p>As I have many shots of Wood Ducks from other locations, I tried to focus more on the Ringed-necks. The pond is only able to be traversed on the eastern side so my time was limited with good light. The lone Ringed-neck who was coming for corn eventually found his way into the pond part with the wonderful blue water. You need to be positioned at the pond correctly for that water color. I shoot north because if you shoot west or south, you get a dull brown color in the water instead.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500</p>
Cooper's Hawkurn:uuid:6ecd311b-73e9-3453-8f78-83abcf7249082021-11-07T12:29:00Z<p>Cooper's Hawk on November 6, 2021. While I was out exercising yesterday evening, this Cooper's Hawk was sitting on a fence. This particular home has a dozen or so feeders in the yard so there was no surprise why this hawk was perched there. We stared at each other with approximately 10 feet between us until it flew up into the nearby tree. I left and, being only a few minutes from home, ran back to get my camera. I wasn't expecting it to still be in the tree 10 minutes later. Imagine my surprise that it was still in the tree. I took 2-3 seconds of photos and continued walking down the trail to get ahead of it.</p>
<p>While it seemed fine with me earlier sans camera, it flew off before I could even turn around while carrying my camera. It banked around a house and I lost it. Not wanting to tread in anyone's yard, I went into the neighborhood and eventually found it far off in the distance. A second clue was flock of small birds (starlings, etc.) flew off. The sun was setting and since it was so far off, I came home.</p>
<p>This shot is not background worthy but having a semi-cooperative hawk is an opportunity I will never pass up. This was the first time I've taken my camera out in several weeks due to being in a photography funk. I have been editing photos in the meantime.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500</p>
Ruby-throated Hummingbirdurn:uuid:2a33ff44-e68b-3f62-93f9-9110feecaa8b2021-07-26T23:29:00Z<p>Ruby-throated Hummingbird male at Patuxent Research Refuge - North Tract on July 21, 2021. It had been over 2 years since my last visit to the Refuge and had an itch to photograph the Hummingbird Moths there. My plan wasn't to spend much time photographing hummingbirds. The sun was shining and no one was photographing them so I took some time out to shoot. My expectations were low but I got a number of great shots. While there were more people showing up, I moved off to photograph the moths and sat at the solo hummingbird feeder away from the building. I had a male pop in and out, posing in the tree with the sun reflecting on his red neck.</p>
<p>I wasn't expecting much since hummingbirds are difficult to photograph, especially without an external flash. My trick is to focus them while they are on the feeders and burst with group autofocus (focuses the closest thing to the lens) when they move off. People seem to get better results with modern mirrorless systems that have animal eye autofocus tracking and more frames per second.</p>
<p>I had my shorter telephoto on this trip due to a finger injury i.e. less weight to hold up. It has been some time since I've used this lens and it feels slower at autofocusing than my 150-600. My shots today of the hummingbirds were primarily with the 150-600 and could notice a difference when I swapped back.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D500</p>
Roseate Spoonbillurn:uuid:d031030e-f36a-3bdd-a81d-5c31ac1133922021-07-13T22:29:00Z<p>Roseate Spoonbill at Huntley Meadows Park on July 13, 2021. Several weeks ago, this particular bird appeared in the marsh area of the park. A rarity in the north, a few do stay for extended periods of time. This bird was no exception and has had several hundred visitors since.</p>
<p>My alarm was set for 4:40 AM. I shut it off and pondered whether I should get up or go back to sleep. My mind was set the night before so I made my way out at 5:10. The sun was up by the time I reached the park near 6 AM so no wandering through the paths in the dark. The location in the park these unusuals tend to congregate is the furthest boardwalk from the entrance. The Spoonbill was not as close as I would like for getting decent photos when I got to its spot so I meandered around the rest of the boardwalks for an hour. When I got back over there, the crowd had grown a bit to perhaps 15 to 18 people. It decided to fly a close distance to the boardwalk and stayed there for over a half hour! I laid on the boardwalk for some time getting as close to water-level as I could, which is where this shot came from.</p>
<p>A perk of having a zoom lens as opposed to a prime lens: being able to zoom out and get focus on wildlife without having to move! Several photographers with prime lenses were unable to back their camera and tripod back far enough to get the entire bird in focus.</p>
<p>This was my first visit to Huntley since before the pandemic started (February 2020). I have seen Spoonbills in South Carolina so this bird was not particularly high on my "need to see" list.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500</p>
Green Heronurn:uuid:a0582a7a-dd64-3a60-90ce-6ac400c87f7d2021-06-16T22:29:00Z<p>Green Heron on May 21, 2021. With the pandemic, I had not travelled much or far for photography and stayed close to home working on smaller birds and macro between March 2020 and March 2021. Being fully vaccinated within the past month, I did not want a second year of heron season to go to waste. Green Herons had returned to several of my favorite spots for photographing and observing. I don't often see them up in the trees and when they are, they are usually backlit at this location. This particular heron allowed me to walk underneath the branches for a better angle and the sun behind me. A nearby child yelling scared it up there but my presence was fine, staying up there for a few minutes before flying off down the stream.</p>
<p>This is my favorite Green Heron shot by a hefty margin for 2021, potentially even my favorite shot of the year, and will be hard to top. The colors of the heron work well against the leaves in the background, making the heron "pop".</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 420mm on Nikon D500</p>
Spotted Sandpiperurn:uuid:545bdaa3-b68a-3362-a9b0-0e871952a8012021-05-06T20:29:00Z<p>Spotted Sandpiper in Columbia, MD on May 4, 2021. Heron season has just begun in Maryland and I have been enjoying photographing one of my favorite herons, the Green Heron. I was at a local lake photographing a Green from near water-level. A sandpiper went flying by and wandered around upstream. My focus was on the Green hunting for fish. A short time later, I heard the sandpiper call and it came flying back around, landing on a rock not far from my position. I did not have much room to maneuver, being that I was laying on a narrow piece of ground by the water. It bobbed around for a short period, jumping between the rocks. It posed nicely before flying off a second time and not being seen again.</p>
<p>I missed the shots of the Spotted Sandpiper eating an insect. My autofocus (AF) was set to "Group" photographing the Green Heron. Group AF on Nikon cameras focuses on the closest object to you, which is very useful with birds out in the open. I normally use single-point/25-point AF for small birds but was too focused on the surprise visit nearby to change settings.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500</p>
Bumblebeeurn:uuid:a5b048d6-70fd-39d3-9b4d-846ac57b80ff2021-04-19T21:29:00Z<p>Bumblebee on a Virginia Bluebell on April 19, 2021. Not being satisfied with my last set of Bluebell shots, I took advantage of the sun today to go photograph them again. Many birds were seen along the way, including a cooperative Nuthatch and a female Cardinal building her nest. The Bluebells were further along and many more were in bloom. There were several bee species feasting on the plants. These plants are along a path in the woods and it can be difficult to get a higher shutter speed in the shade. I tried my best to quickly photograph them in the sun. They don't stay on a single plant long so you have to be quick or anticipate their next flower.</p>
<p>Although I took my macro lens, it remained in my fanny pack. My bug shots are kept in my macro category despite being taken occasionally with my telephoto lens for easier finding, both here and on my computer. This photo is less sharp than I would have liked but the colors were nice.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500</p>
Paper Waspurn:uuid:4eb46cfd-6df4-3137-9aa2-9129ffaaed4f2021-04-12T00:29:00Z<p>Paper Wasp on April 11, 2021. Spring is here so many insects and bugs are now out and about. With it being in the mid-70's this afternoon, I walked the neighborhood treeline looking for birds. The bees were busy pollinating and the Paper Wasps were flying around. Despite being wasps, I find them enjoyable to photograph due to their coloring.</p>
<p>A scratching sound was coming from my location and I was unable to locate a creature that would be making that noise nor did I find anything in the trees above. A lone Paper Wasp was in front of me on a stem and the scratching sound mystery was solved! I didn't understand the scratching and noted that it had material in its mouth when it flew off. I witnessed several other wasps doing this for extended periods. My research later when I came home said they mix the dead material with their saliva and carry back to the nest for construction.</p>
<p>Paper Wasps are generally docile as long as you haven't threatened them. They have a highly painful sting and are at a pain level 3 out of 4 on the "Schmidt sting pain index".</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500</p>
Eastern Bluebirdurn:uuid:3dd5abd4-9a4c-3a9c-b605-137ce1615cac2021-04-05T23:29:00Z<p>Eastern Bluebird at Wilde Lake on April 5, 2021. I have not found much in the neighborhood due to warbler migration. With the weather sunny and in the 60's for a second day, a trip to the local lakes for more interesting birds was in order. I found less waterfowl this time around at Lake Kittamanqundi, only seeing a few geese and mallards. The sparrows were also slim along the fitness trail. It had been many months since I've been at Wilde Lake so I continued along the trail.</p>
<p>Being midday, the light was terrible and many birds were not out. I came across this Bluebird pair flying off the path and followed. The tree provided a green backdrop, which I thought would be a nice contrast to their blue coloring. The male flew off rapidly but the female stayed in the tree. I slowly and cautiously walked around in front of her. She flew after her mate eventually, flying onto private property.</p>
<p>My first Osprey of the year was also today.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500</p>
Wood Duckurn:uuid:86661307-06ce-31fc-ad05-a7a081d1b4112021-03-15T16:29:00Z<p>Female Wood Duck on March 15, 2021. This was my first longer distance birding trip since July 2020. I was out the door near sunrise. The temperature hovered near freezing with a wind chill in the 20's so I hoped my time would not be wasted. My first stop, and originally my only stop, was a pond in Baltimore County. There have been over a dozen Ring-necked Ducks hanging out here with a couple Wood Ducks. A friend mentioned that the Ring-neckeds were being "standoffish" yesterday morning but the Wood Ducks were welcoming. Both sets of ducks on my visit today were distant and uninterested in my corn. The geese and mallards welcomed it. I decided to head to another spot knowing I had a higher chance of success.</p>
<p>At my arrival at my second destination, I was the only one around. Great news for me! This meant that the geese and ducks were likely hungry. Lugging 10 pounds of corn on the shore, the birds noticed and started to come around. To my surprise, not only did the Wood Ducks come out, there were <em>many</em> more than I anticipated. 14 of them, 10 drakes and 4 hens! The sun was still coming up so the light was beautiful on this female. I snagged some shots before more geese joined the party.</p>
<p>A hawk or eagle must have circled around in the middle of feeding and every single creature in the water fled. The Wood Ducks became disinterested and gathered on the opposite shore for preening and naps. They were up against the rocks and despite not having a way to photograph them well from that side, their spot was at a bad sun angle.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500</p>
Northern Mockingbirdurn:uuid:a27ff55a-cb0a-3a52-8eba-db50db6ed7242021-03-10T18:29:00Z<p>Northern Mockingbird on March 10, 2021. A second sunny and warm day in a row prompted me to finally go out to photograph around the neighborhood. My expectations were low I would come across many birds. A flock of starlings, a cardinal couple, and our common year-round sparrows were the bulk of the birds found. Several goose couples were on the stormwater management pond. Up beyond the geese were a robin and this mockingbird. Crouched on the ground, I slowly was walking to the mockingbird up on the rocks. The robin panicked and flew off, taking the mockingbird with it. As I noted there wasn't much out, I stood in one spot to await for something to fly back over. The mockingbird eventually did and I took some shots of it scavenging. I was not fond of the background so did not invest too much time into photographing it.</p>
<p>I noted while out that this mockingbird had a piece of bug or grass stuck in its beak. Upon further review of my photos, there is a beak deformity (crossed mandibles). The <a href="https://alaska.usgs.gov/science/biology/landbirds/beak_deformity/observerreport.php">United States Geological Survey</a> collects data on banded birds and beak deformities. I have come across several birds with odd beaks in my few years birding and suggest that everyone report when they encounter an odd bird.</p>
<p>Non-birding notes: I observed my first butterfly of 2021, a Cabbage White. My first bee of the year also. Box Elder bugs were numerous, at least a couple hundred along the forest line.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500</p>
Red-shouldered Hawkurn:uuid:8a0a8734-69ab-350f-9867-702a40a7071c2021-02-03T20:29:00Z<p>Red-shouldered Hawk on February 3, 2021. I walked back to Lake Elkhorn with my camera today in hopes that the spillway pond was more frozen, pushing the ducks closer to the edge. Unlike Sunday, there was barely any ice. All the Hooded Mergansers were in the middle. I crouched down along the shore for an hour back and forth but none came close.</p>
<p>On my way back home, I decided not to stop for Sparrows and Juncos. The light was terrible and I remembered that having snow as a backdrop is somewhat bland in my opinion. Falling snow in the background is fine. A pure white background is meh. After having this realization, I just headed home disappointed. A short time later, as I was walking fast to get home, this hawk was perched over the river. It did not stay due to my footsteps crunching the bridge in the snow. It was on high alert looking for a meal and me shifting made it more agitated.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500</p>
Red Foxurn:uuid:07d76b49-61a2-3c62-8ba9-76bd059913cc2021-01-31T22:29:00Z<p>Red Fox on January 31, 2021. We received a couple inches of snow by midday. Despite the cloudy conditions from snowing, I headed out with my camera towards Lake Elkhorn on foot around noon. It was a bit bitter outside so I took the shortest way down onto the trail. My camera was stowed away in my hiking bag as I did not think I would run into much until I was close to Elkhorn. Under Rt. 32, plenty of sparrows were fluttering about and feeding. I stopped and got my camera ready.</p>
<p>After several minutes, every bird flew off across the path and out of sight. I then noticed a Cooper's Hawk now sitting on the shore, disappointed in a missed meal. The hawk flew off and as I was watching it, I noted a medium-sized creature wandering through the bush on the opposite shore. My first guess was groundhog but I thought perhaps a fox. Fox turned out to be correct! I tried to get a better shot without having its eyes blocked by grass but it was hard. With the cold, breathing with my camera at my face was causing my viewfinder to fog up. It did know I was there, even with the water separating us. It parted ways for me after a short period and ran off further into the woods.</p>
<p>A pleasant surprise for the first significant snowfall of 2021. It was very cold outside and trekking in hiking boots with my camera is slightly unpleasant but I am glad I went out. The fox made the trip worth it!</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500</p>
Cooper's Hawkurn:uuid:9b6f7a90-66cf-344d-abf3-0e1b0843334f2020-12-06T16:29:00Z<p>Cooper's Hawk in search of a meal on December 6, 2020. My cats have enjoyed the birds and squirrels coming to the balcony for food. This morning, one of them was focused intently out there. When I went to the window, a hawk flew off and landed in my neighbor's yard. I grabbed my camera and ran across the street. It was no longer there due to dog walkers but still close. I saw it for a brief moment and was able to relocate it a few houses down. Despite being cold (no coat, no hat, no gloves, and sandals), I did not want to leave this fantastic opportunity.</p>
<p>This particular hawk eventually flew down to the ground at the corner for a presumed House Sparrow meal. It made a move on a bird but failed and moved up into the nearest tree. I stood in the street for a few moments shooting it but I shifted too close and it flew off to a house up the street. Since I was not dressed for winter shooting, I considered that to be good enough. This was the final shot taken.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 460mm on Nikon D500</p>
Pileated Woodpeckerurn:uuid:d9e60690-dfb6-3a17-b545-3db4bf04427c2020-11-11T23:29:00Z<p>Male Pileated Woodpecker on November 8, 2020. Pileated males and females look the same with the exception of males having a red stripe on their cheek. When the photo was taken, I was unable to remember which sex had the stripe. They are hard to miss, being the largest woodpecker in the United States.</p>
<p>The prior day I also saw a Pileated from a distance moving about the woods. It was too far to get a nice shot and I quickly lost it. The next day, the bird activity kept me shooting for over 2 hours. Plenty of White-throated Sparrows, Song Sparrows, and even a Hairy Woodpecker. I wasn't expecting to see the Pileated again. I stumbled upon him while walking back up the treeline. He was hard to see initially due to drilling in the shade of the tree cavity so my expectation was low these shots would turn out. I stepped closer after several minutes and he flew into a nearby tree. There were numerous branches blocking him.</p>
<p>I edited this photo extensively, cleaning up out-of-focus branches to draw more attention to the bird. I <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REuiSAmpDCk">recorded</a> the result from start to finish after I was satisfied.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500</p>
Carolina Wrenurn:uuid:7aa54a76-21e2-345c-99c0-51c2f019778e2020-11-05T00:29:00Z<p>Carolina Wren in a maple tree on November 4, 2020. We bought common bird seed earlier this week for the neighborhood squirrels. A pie dish was used for a bowl and the seed was set on the balcony. It did not take long for the squirrels to notice but the birds were a bit slower. Chickadees and titmice were the first birds to discover the seed. Two wrens discovered it today, calling back and forth to each other while perched on my bird branches above the seed. They flew up into the maple, perching with a nice vibrant background. The colors on the leaves look more like spring than fall.</p>
<p>The birds are more cooperative when the sliding glass door is opened for sharper shooting. The squirrels are more leery and run off when the same is done to them. The squirrels managed to knock down all the branches and toss seed all across the balcony.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500</p>
Downy Woodpeckerurn:uuid:8f5dd677-382f-3aed-8f97-7dd60c4b05f72020-10-31T17:29:00Z<p>Male Downy Woodpecker on October 28, 2020. In this part of Maryland, fall foliage has hit its peak and many trees are bare. The neighborhood trees still have hints of yellows and oranges despite the trees outside my home being bare. The upside to those much barer trees is that the trees across the street provide colorful backgrounds when shooting from the balcony. Over the past few days, we had our balcony doors open so the bird calls are easy to hear. When I recognize one nearby, I sit outside and wait for interesting shots.</p>
<p>Two days prior, there was a small flock of Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets passing through. Frustration kicked in fast due to forgetting how swift these small birds move, a chore to merely get in focus. When this Downy started calling, I jumped outside with my camera knowing it would be easy to keep it in focus compared to my prior photography session. It was slowly climbing a branch that was partially blocked by branches. Patience paid off as it did eventually move up to a clear opening, with the bonus of having a nice background from the foliage.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500</p>
Red-bellied Woodpeckerurn:uuid:cc393217-926d-3bae-92d2-e325a79850402020-10-24T22:58:00Z<p>Red-bellied Woodpecker foraging in the woods on October 24, 2020. The sun was out this afternoon so I walked to the retainment pond down the street, following my normal route along the forest edge. This Red-bellied was the first bird I encountered. It was calling deep in the woods and flew within view after a minute. It then flew up on this broken branch, storing this nut in the broken part. Several other Red-bellieds have also been storing food in the trees around the complex.</p>
<p>The remainder of my walk was mostly quiet. Several wasps and grasshoppers were on the rocks at the pond. Despite having tick spray on, I try to limit my time near the tall grass underneath the power lines. A female Downy Woodpecker surprised me in the apartment complex nearby and allowed me to photograph her at close range.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500</p>
Pine Siskinurn:uuid:88eea556-bb13-3829-8a2d-98f3c5baa71c2020-10-23T23:58:00Z<p>Pine Siskin on October 20, 2020. This was the second day in a row visiting my neighbor's feeders. I wanted to take advantage of easy shots of these birds. Surprisingly, there were more on this visit than the prior. My estimate was 4 to 5 dozen. Most of them were not skittish and allowed me to get within several feet of them via crouching down or lying on the grass. Occasionally the entire flock minus a few would fly up into the trees for several minutes before returning down to the seed. I photographed them for slightly under two hours. My main intent in the latter half was photographing the siskins on the flowers and wooden objects in the garden. Though rare, I got some wonderful shots of these poses.</p>
<p>My neighbor notified me yesterday that their siskins have not been seen in a couple days, presumably continuing their journey.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 500mm on Nikon D500</p>
House Sparrowurn:uuid:420c8245-6ae2-3b8d-9ac8-5792c347a1b42020-10-21T12:58:00Z<p>Male House Sparrow on October 20, 2020. My neighbors mentioned in <a href="/macro/cucumberbeetle01/">my previous post</a> have attracted several dozen Pine Siskins with a mix of Sunflower and Nyjer seed. It is an <a href="https://www.birdsandblooms.com/birding/birding-basics/bird-irruption-surge/">irruption year</a> for these species and many of my fellow birdwatchers have also posted high numbers at their homes. With several of their feeders being occupied by the siskins, the common birds are not pleased. Both the titmice and sparrows avoid the feeders until the siskins flock up into nearby trees. The sparrows would perch in the butterfly bush, awaiting their turn for a meal. Most ended up in their regular spot in the bushes, occasionally flying nearby and ultimately sitting on my neighbor's birdbath.</p>
<p>Despite House Sparrows being an invasive species in the United States, I never pass up an opportunity to photograph a bird with a great background.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500</p>
Spotted Cucumber Beetleurn:uuid:011e3246-5e2a-3d2c-9b2e-99f81d7b13242020-10-17T22:29:00Z<p>Spotted Cucumber Beetle on October 14, 2020. With fall here, my itch to photograph something other than the occasional bird from the balcony was growing. I took my camera out around the neighborhood on a slightly chilly day for leaves and insects. My neighbors across the road have a small garden at the front of their house. I stopped over early afternoon while there was still light coverage on the entire garden. This particular beetle was climbing on a yellow flower. My concern with photographing bugs on flowers with similar colors is that they will blend in too well with each other. I was pleased with how this turned out.</p>
<p>While my neighbor and I were talking, a Monarch showed up on their butterfly bush. I walked home to get my 100-400mm lens but the butterfly was less cooperative upon my return several minutes later.</p>
<p>Lens - Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM Macro Lens on Nikon D500</p>
Red-breasted Nuthatchurn:uuid:94fc1f21-9f2b-31d6-aa5c-e42da8361d462020-09-26T23:58:00Z<p>Red-breasted Nuthatch on September 26, 2020. A very exciting find this morning, especially since this was my first time seeing one of these birds! Several weeks ago, a fellow bird club member sent an email about an irruption year on these specific nuthatches. This means that a species that usually migrates short distances at the most, but occasionally moves far south in very large numbers. This happens every so many years with a variety of bird species, the most well known to me being Snowy Owls.</p>
<p>Since I'd never seen one, I wrote off not expecting to see one again this year. There were several varieties of warblers passing through the neighborhood today so my morning was spent on the balcony. The titmice and nuthatches (of our regular White-breasted kind) were active. Ignoring them in favor of the warblers, something made me pause and re-check the nuthatch climbing up the tree. As soon as my camera was pulled up, I knew this was no normal nuthatch! Being that it was about 100 feet away, this was the best shot I managed. It didn't return the rest of my time outside.</p>
<p>While this is not a fantastic shot, I'm impressed with how well it came out. This was my 54th bird on my pandemic backyard birding list and my 200th life bird. A Blackburnian Warbler was also of note today, coming in at 199th.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500</p>
White-breasted Nuthatchurn:uuid:86fd48fa-a59b-3c4a-b4ef-6c0648ebc10c2020-09-13T23:58:00Z<p>White-breasted Nuthatch with lunch on September 13, 2020. Migration has picked up the last few days but I haven't been out photographing. My backlog is almost cleared (late 2019 until July 2020) so I'm more enthused to go shooting now. My intention was merely to spend some time on the balcony enjoying the weather today. A titmouse was right outside the balcony so I grabbed my camera. The titmouse joined several other titmice and flew off before I got back outside. A nuthatch then appeared with food climbing trees near the next building. It climbed down these branches and posed nicely for several shots.</p>
<p>The complex sent a landscaping crew to trim branches recently and they cut down several great branches right beside the balcony. It is disappointing since those particular branches provided close bird photographs. This group of dead branches was missed but they are much further from the balcony.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 550mm on Nikon D500</p>
Downy Woodpeckerurn:uuid:b0ff2cfe-6544-31b4-9f38-c3eb06a56b7b2020-08-23T17:29:00Z<p>Female Downy Woodpecker in Columbia on August 23, 2020. The apartment had numerous bird species flying around for food this morning. The Bluebirds were on their regular perches, House Sparrows were scavenging across the road, Titmice and Chickadees were moving about at their fast pace. The Downy Woodpeckers were checking out the former nesting hole, perhaps the original owners. The male was scavenging on the branches high up, not posing in good places (too many small branches in front of him). I followed him to the other balcony.</p>
<p>A female appeared shortly after. She climbed the tree right beside our balcony so I shot vertical to allow her in the entire frame. After viewing the photos on my computer, she has a young face unlike the adult females and believe this is a juvenile. My suspicion is this may be the woodpecker that fledged from our nest.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500</p>
Jumping Spiderurn:uuid:2963bbc8-eac3-35c1-aaa1-d65613464bf42020-08-22T17:29:00Z<p>Jumping Spider on the balcony on August 22, 2020. Many of our spider webs had blown apart between wind and rain the past few weeks.</p>
<p>I was focused on the juvenile Eastern Bluebirds still searching for meals around the complex earlier in the morning. I swapped to my macro upon discovering this spider and another larger black one on the banister. This particular individual blended in well. Both individuals jumped on the front element of the lens, with me managing to get this one off with a leaf. It was moving fast so I placed both leaf and spider on the corner of the railing. With the speed it was moving, it was hard to get (and keep) focus.</p>
<p>Jumping Spiders are adorable and my favorite to photograph, as long as they are willing subjects.</p>
<p>Lens - Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM Macro Lens on Nikon D500</p>
Tricolored Heronurn:uuid:493f6538-979b-31b5-ad19-ec0ad694b0152020-08-13T12:29:00Z<p>Juvenile Tricolored Heron in North Beach, MD on July 25, 2019. This is my favorite bird to photograph. Hearing there were several back in the area, I drove an hour for a sunrise arrival. Three of the herons perched along the boardwalk railing, preening and sleeping all morning. The deep maroon color of the feathers and their surprisingly small size makes them a gorgeous subject.</p>
<p>Despite being low tide that morning, the mud flats were submerged. The water was too deep for the Tricoloreds and Snowy Egrets to forage for food. Most of the bird activity was beyond the reach of my lens. Several hours later with minimal activity and shooting into the sun, I relented and re-visited a couple days later.</p>
<p>This is one of the <a href="https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/169771681">highest ranked eBird photos</a> for Tricolored Herons in the world.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500</p>
Red-eyed Vireourn:uuid:793164f6-4f31-334b-b32e-96b2372aa1e32020-08-12T11:29:00Z<p>Red-eyed Vireo in Columbia, MD on May 9, 2020. One of my favorite birds I've photographed in the neighborhood during the pandemic. Back in April and May, I spent time searching the forest line for migrating and nesting birds. As I've had ticks in the past, I stay in the grass (sprayed with DEET still) and hope that birds come in a visible area. I caught a quick glance of this vireo foraging above me and managed several shots. Not ideal to shoot vertically at birds so I waited for it to move somewhere more visible. I only got several shots when it did come on a good branch. Smaller birds like this tend to move fast at times and can be hard to keep up with a long telephoto. It flew off deeper into the woods and I lost it.</p>
<p>Since my favorite birds to photograph are herons and egrets, I did not spend much time photographing smaller birds. The activity near home this pandemic has sharpened my bird-finding skills and has made it easier to keep track of them while they move around. My hope is that fall migration soon will be just as exciting.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500</p>
Common True Katydidurn:uuid:44e88b61-b094-33c0-a90e-95558404c18c2020-08-08T16:29:00Z<p>Common True Katydid on August 8, 2020. My husband found this bug on the screen door. I grabbed my macro lens and had quite the morning! I keep broken branches on the balcony for a nice prop for cooperative bugs. I don't mind shooting on manmade items (plastic railing, chairs, etc.) but prefer them in a more natural habitat. I carried it through the house on one of my branches and shot on the living room balcony for 45 minutes.</p>
<p>This particular Katydid fell off my stick when I adjusted the stick near the balcony and fell to the grass. I wish I had let it crawl around the balcony until the sun was out, as it is while writing this. It was missing one of its hind legs so I suspected it had a broken wing. I learned after finding the specific type of Katydid that these ones do NOT fly.</p>
<p>My biggest amusement coming from this insect was that it looks like the Grinch and looked grouchy the entire time I was shooting it.</p>
<p>Lens - Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM Macro Lens on Nikon D500</p>
Roccurn:uuid:823ccbdb-7dc4-3cd1-86cc-74055d4c3ced2020-08-03T18:29:00Z<p>Rocc posing on August 3, 2020. While she was wandering around the bedroom, I managed to grab her and put her on the bed. I was not expecting her to stay but she settled down on my pillow. Birds, squirrels, and large insects occasionally visit the balconies, which tends to make our cats excited. Rocc spotted something fluttering outside and left shortly afterwards. It is unusual for her to nap on pillows, though she does enjoy nesting in blankets.</p>
<p>If you look carefully, you can see my husband holding his tablet in her eye reflection. I used my telephoto for this shot due to laziness of not wanting to swap to a shorter lens.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 160mm on Nikon D500</p>
Downy Woodpeckerurn:uuid:09b19a59-a1da-306b-a220-d643bb289ea92020-08-02T18:29:00Z<p>Female Downy Woodpecker in Columbia on April 23, 2020. This was one of our resident Downy Woodpeckers around the apartment this past spring. Her and her mate took up residence in a tree right beside our living balcony. In early April, I caught the male working on a nesting hole that was at eye-level. Downy Woodpeckers (as well as other woodpecker species, wrens, and chickadees) will build "fake" nest holes to lure predators from their real nest. I was not sure which type this pair was building but I monitored it for a few days. Since they were working on it consistently and mating several times a day within feet of this hole, I was confident this would be their real nest.</p>
<p>In early April when this photo was taken, eggs were not laid yet. The nest was still not fully excavated so the non-working bird would hang out nearby. With the Maple Tree they took up residence in its spring bloom, it provided vibrant, colorful backgrounds for my photographs.</p>
<p>I chatted with friends from my bird club and they gave me some date estimates on young based on my activity log. In early June, they had just one young Downy poking out of the nest. And what a racket it made! It was constantly calling out to the parents for food for several days until it fledged out of the nest.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500</p>
Juvenile Green Heronsurn:uuid:2b73e5c7-a7fe-31f0-b19a-19f2a134a9de2020-07-30T13:29:00Z<p>Juvenile Green Herons on August 13, 2018 in Howard County. I have been editing old photos for new background collections for my husband. After completing Collection #2, I went through my blog to post some of these older ones and noted this was not on here. <a href="/birds/greenheron04/">My prior photo post from this brood</a> provides some insight into my thoughts while photographing them. While there is currently a second brood of Green Herons in the same location right now, social distancing guidelines are not being followed. I will not visit for a couple more weeks until the juveniles have fledged and spread out around the lake.</p>
<p>This was taken with my old camera and lens. It still remains near the top of my favorite photos despite the couple hundred thousand photos I've taken since.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Snowy Egreturn:uuid:4c87012d-70d4-3c5f-ad38-fbcce60287172020-07-18T13:29:00Z<p>Snowy Egret on July 25, 2019. Every summer numerous heron and egret species gather at a small marsh in North Beach, Maryland. Of interest to me were juvenile Tricolored Herons, which are my favorite wading bird species. This particular day was slightly disappointing for what was an hour drive before sunrise. When birdwatching around coastal areas near the Chesapeake, one has to be mindful of the tide tables. I don't recall whether I checked the table the day before but the marsh water was quite high just after sunrise. The water was at least a foot high in the accessible portion of the marsh so wading birds were staying away from the boardwalk. The smaller heron and egret species will not forage for food in water that high.</p>
<p>I was able to get shots of the Tricoloreds on the boardwalk railings but the Snowy Egrets stayed far out in the marsh, despite there being over 40 of them! It was midday at this point and the sun was becoming harsh for photographs. A Snowy would come close for a minute and wade behind the large islands of reeds. It was surprising to get a good shot of one being slightly cooperative.</p>
<p>I was able to get shots of several Tricolored that day but no shots in the water. I went back two days later and had more success. The marsh water was very low and the wading birds were happily foraging near the boardwalk.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500</p>
Honey Beeurn:uuid:52e9f33b-7e7f-32f2-bd59-6c231134a0302020-07-16T21:29:00Z<p>Honey Bee at Patuxent Research Refuge on July 15, 2020. Last summer, I spent a bit of time at Patuxent Research Refuge - North Tract photographing hummingbirds and butterflies. On this visit, I found no butterflies and just a few hummingbirds. Due to the pandemic, there are far fewer hummingbird feeders at the contact station at the refuge. I had realized that I was a month early from my shots last year and August would be the month for that. My macro lens is always with me on these trips so I decided to focus on flowers and bugs around the contact station instead.</p>
<p>Many bees were gathered in the butterfly garden nearby. I find bees harder to photograph than birds. The depth of field is so razor thin with a macro lens that even the reasonable fast focusing of the D500 can struggle. Bees are constantly moving so I do shoot at 8 to 10 frames per second for flying bugs/insects.</p>
<p>While I have labeled this as a Honey Bee, my confidence on this ID is not 100%. I read that there are over 20,000 known species of bee in the world. Honey Bee was the best match I could find through commonly named bees in Maryland though Mason Bee was a contender.</p>
<p>Lens - Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM Macro Lens on Nikon D500</p>
Orchard Orbweaverurn:uuid:a68a3185-54cd-339e-9c68-322fd77ae9a22020-06-27T20:29:00Z<p>Orchard Orbweaver in Columbia, MD on June 27, 2020. Since starting macro photography this year, I have noted how many spiders are taking up residence on our balconies. Most of the ones I see are this particular spider. The size of them has varied greatly. This one in particular was rather large. I plan to do some research to determine if the different sizes indicate different sexes or it just comes down to randomness.</p>
<p>The web of this Orbweaver was of interest due to how large it was. The silk was spanning several layers with a height of about 1 foot. I had to intricately position myself below to get a good view. I was careful to not disturb the main web but it noted my presence once or twice by scurrying closer to me. I did get caught in the bottom layers once but tried to be careful on my next attempt. Their webs are occasionally attached to places I am unable to see and I accidentally destroy the webs shifting a chair or walking through it.</p>
<p>Currently we have several webs on each balcony of 3 different spiders but no sign of babies yet. I have only seen one spider wrapping a meal up so far.</p>
<p>Lens - Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM Macro Lens on Nikon D500</p>
Crab Spiderurn:uuid:7d3fa17b-495b-3677-b626-9b087fe314dd2020-06-23T21:29:00Z<p>Crab Spider along the Patuxent Branch Trail on June 23, 2020. We went out on a short macro walk this afternoon hoping for interesting bugs or flowers. On the way down to the trail, we saw some flowers still in bloom and many bees. There was nothing of note down along the river so we continued down towards the bridge.</p>
<p>I noticed these flowers, which I do not have the ID of, were still in bloom and stepped into the grass to take a few photos of them. I noticed this bug on top of the flower and my husband noted it looked a bit like a tick, which would be highly likely down there in the woods. My intuition didn't think this was a tick as it didn't have the right colors. The front legs were also much too large. I presumed spider while I was checking out the shots on the way back home. By using a spider identification guide, I am confident this is a Crab Spider. Just looking at the front legs of this spider provides some insight as to why it is named what it is (long legs that look like crab claws).</p>
<p>Lens - Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM Macro Lens on Nikon D500</p>
Cuckoo Waspurn:uuid:80007103-897d-3f31-a512-f342913219992020-06-22T22:29:00Z<p>Cuckoo Wasp on June 22, 2020. While there were strong storms heading into the area, I was outside on the balcony to bring the chairs in. I looked into a bucket that had water from the prior rain and noted a larger green bug swimming around, not knowing the ID. I used one of the small sticks I keep outside for scooping up bugs to fish it out of the water. I brought the formerly unidentified bug in the house briefly to show my husband how rich and beautiful the colors were. I set it back outside and attached my macro lens to get some photos of it.</p>
<p>I had forgotten how humid it was outside and needed to keep wiping my lens off due to condensation. This wasp was getting ansy and I knew I didn't have much time to get some photos of it. As mentioned in my <a href="/birds/greenheron07/">prior article</a>, I don't often shoot a high ISO unless I would miss the shot otherwise. It came out well despite that. I was able to get a couple minutes photographing before its wings were dry enough and it flew away pissily, not listening to my pleas to hang around awhile.</p>
<p>This is not the first wasp that I have rescued from drowning. I did the same down along the Patuxent Branch Trail last fall with a different wasp type and it also did not stick around after its wings were fine to fly.</p>
<p>Lens - Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM Macro Lens on Nikon D500</p>
Green Heronurn:uuid:94338a21-0a4d-3cd3-ae5c-2a69b08e65462020-06-20T22:29:00Z<p>Green Heron at Wilde Lake on June 21, 2019. Due to upgrading my photo editing software (Affinity Photo) and noting that the current noise reduction module seemed to have improved, I decided to test it with an older photo at a high ISO. I normally don't like going above ISO3200 on my camera but will occasionally to get a good shot. I intend to see soon how the software handles shots up to ISO6400 and ISO12800</p>
<p>From what I remember on this particular evening, I was sitting at the bottom of the Wilde Lake Dam with my husband. I had slightly twisted my ankle two days prior and wanted to get out of the house so off we went to a local lake. I was laying down on the cement slabs below the dam while shooting this particular Green Heron as I was unable to put too much weight on my leg. My husband was sitting on the rocks nearby reading, monitoring me to make sure I didn't make my ankle worse. This Green Heron shifted from the dam itself to the stream at the dam and hunted for some time there. It was nearly dusk by this time but I can never pass up an opportunity to photograph herons.</p>
<p>This photo only has exposure and brightness corrections. No other post-processing, including no color adjustments.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 460mm on Nikon D500</p>
Asian Lady Beetleurn:uuid:08e2c8ef-5f94-3835-9b3e-0c0c48f4c7392020-06-17T17:29:00Z<p>Asian Lady Beetle taken on April 29, 2020. This image had been sitting for over a month on my desktop. In my de-cluttering of my desktop, I had decided to finish some minor edits on it. Earlier this day, I was down at the retainment pond with my telephoto lens and noted that I was finding many bugs on the branches and plants. Since it is hard to shoot incredibly small bugs with my telephoto (~6.5 feet minimum focusing distance), I wandered the few minutes home and swapped lenses.</p>
<p>With the focal plane for a macro lens being thin (several millimeters), it can be difficult without a flash to shoot moving bugs while keeping them in focus. While most of my shots of this beetle were out of focus, I had nailed this one by chance. I have come to appreciate how efficient (and fast!) bugs are in learning how to shoot macro. It is still a bigger learning curve than wildlife in my personal opinion and I am learning more about getting in-focus images as time goes on.</p>
<p>Lens - Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM Macro Lens on Nikon D500</p>
Eastern Bluebirdurn:uuid:307ff87e-981c-30ed-95ce-85d4c8dace652020-06-10T13:29:00Z<p>Eastern Bluebird male on June 3, 2020. We don't often get Bluebirds around our residence so it's interesting when one shows up. This male was actively searching for food in our area for a day or two prior to this image. I had some far shots of it but never close. They are a bit skittish so getting close to one can be hard. Fortunately for me on this day, the Bluebird made photographing it trivial. He flew up onto this branch and perched for about 15 seconds near our balcony. I love to photograph birds on this particular branch as it has a nice, smooth background and it is nearly at eye level.</p>
<p>My ISO was high on this shoot as I was shooting +1 overexposed. I was shooting in evening light the night before and forgot to change my settings. While I was annoyed about that, the photo can out pretty well for what I consider a high ISO!</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500</p>
Jumping Spiderurn:uuid:7b5e1ba9-9bcd-3985-8070-51a4b0e3da992020-04-20T22:29:00Z<p>Jumping Spider on April 20, 2020. I have been spending more time shooting with my macro lens recently. While my Downy Woodpeckers are still working on their nest hole, I haven't photographed any other birds that aren't in view from the balcony. To keep busy with photography during the pandemic, I have been spending more time around the neighborhood scouting for small bugs on the dandelions. It is also nice when interesting subjects show up on the balcony.</p>
<p>I already had my macro lens on while shooting an unidentified bug on the balcony screen this afternoon. The Downies had just returned to their nesting hole and I swapped to my telephoto lens. A small spider climbing up the plastic railing caught my eye and I swapped back to my macro. Glad I did! This Jumping Spider was a real thrill to shoot for 45 minutes. I had stopped when I got too close to the spider, it climbed on my lens and subsequently fell somewhere I couldn't find. I figured it was best that it went on its way.</p>
<p>I have no way to know whether this particular spider is male or female.</p>
<p>Lens - Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM Macro Lens on Nikon D500</p>
Pink-spotted Lady Beetleurn:uuid:f93effa2-e0d4-35f6-8e0e-6ef935393fb72020-04-13T23:29:00Z<p>Pink-spotted Lady Beetle on April 13, 2020 in Columbia, MD. I have had my macro lens since early February but have not used it to date. I only tested it when it arrived and back into the box it went, awaiting warm weather. With the current pandemic happening, I have not been traveling and my bird photography has been minimal. While I have a pair of Downy Woodpeckers that have nested right outside the balcony, I had decided to take my macro lens out after the rain today to get some water droplets on dandelions.</p>
<p>I only went across the street to a patch of grass that has many dandelions and small miscellaneous flowers. I found many small bugs over there including spiders, ants, flies, mimics, and beetles. I initially thought this was a pink ladybug but learned this was actually a beetle. It wanted nothing to do with me and was displeased with a camera 8 inches from its face. It was already almost 6 PM and I was losing my light so I left it be.</p>
<p>This image is actually rotated as having it climb vertical made for a less appealing image in my opinion.</p>
<p>Lens - Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM Macro Lens on Nikon D500</p>
Chipping Sparrowurn:uuid:81081805-0bee-3777-8a4c-97879aa50e2f2020-04-08T23:29:00Z<p>Chipping Sparrow in Columbia, MD on April 8, 2020. Due to a shoulder and neck injury, as well as COVID-19 currently happening, I have barely been shooting these past 2 months. My last major birding outing was February 8 to Oakley Street in Cambridge for duck photography. Today was a sunny day and decided to sit on the balcony for a few hours to see what popped in.</p>
<p>I had both my cameras outside with my long telephoto and my macro lens. While I was practicing macro work with flies, I discovered the hole I found in the tree near our balcony was being excavated by a Downy Woodpecker. This led to several birds photographed today, including a Carolina Chickadee eating a bug. I found this Chipping Sparrow on my second visit down to the tree to photograph the Downy. It was fluttering around and wound up in one the more photographable trees. I really enjoyed the colors of the leafs today with it.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500</p>
Bald Eagleurn:uuid:63ebaee6-f369-3f2c-b93c-d71cb3a7c1752020-01-05T17:29:00Z<p>Bald Eagle taken in Northern Maryland on January 5, 2020. This was my first photographing outing of the new year and decided to go try my luck photographing ducks this morning. I woke up later than I wanted and didn't get started until almost 9 AM. When I arrived at this location, the only birds that I saw were geese and mallards. No Ring-necked Ducks or Mergansers were in sight. I kept driving a ways to see if they were further down.</p>
<p>I thought I saw something with a white head in the distance and thought "There is no way that is a Bald Eagle sitting there." As it turned out, it was. I got out of the car and grabbed my camera out of the passenger seat and took a few shots. Not thinking too clearly, I realized that was a mistake. It saw me and flew off, circling for a small amount of time before heading off into the distance. I did not have my auto-focus settings correct for birds in flight nor did I have the right shutter speed so most shots are blurry. I would have crawled into the passenger seat and taken shots from there if I could do it over again. I won't be making that mistake again!</p>
<p>This is also the first photo I have taken with my DSLR in 2020.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500</p>
Northern Shovelerurn:uuid:866e400c-b712-34b6-9a99-5bd68a2344752019-12-28T20:29:00Z<p>Male Northern Shoveler at Constitution Gardens, Washington D.C. on December 25, 2019. This is the 3rd year my husband (begrudingly) and I have gone to DC for Christmas morning to photograph the sunrise on the National Mall and the 2nd since I took up bird photography.</p>
<p>My concern this year was in prior days, the temperature was low enough overnight that the pond was freezing (and staying that way throughout the day, despite temperatures getting into the 40s). After staying an hour at the Lincoln Memorial and Vietnam Veterans Memorial areas, we headed to Constitution Gardens. The pond was well over half-frozen but the area around the island and to the west was clear of ice. Despite having an initial issue with unleashed dogs scaring the ducks from near the island, I was able to go back a few minutes later and shoot them for an hour in solitude.</p>
<p>My strategy for this area is to be as close to the ground as possible since they are skittish ducks. The temperature was hovering around freezing and the grass was still frozen. There was also quite a bit of goose droppings that were also fortunately frozen. Despite those things, I crawled about 25 feet to the edge of the island and photograph quite a bit of them. As with last year, they tend to go to the southwestern side right beside the island to preen and nap. Since I had a more powerful camera with me this year, I took about 4000 shots of the Shovelers over that hour.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500</p>
American Robin Eating Berriesurn:uuid:5045fd21-4d62-3b02-b6a5-896fbf6991972019-12-08T22:58:00Z<p>American Robin eating berries at Lake Kittamanqundi on December 8, 2019. My visit to the lake today had started rather boring as the lake itself was void of any wildlife, including no sounds of birds. I walked the trail connecting Lake K to Wilde Lake as there is usually some common birds back there. My first walkthrough only turned up with some sparrows I had heard off in the brush. Wilde Lake was pretty quiet as well with the exception of some geese and after a quick scan, I decided to return back to Lake K.</p>
<p>The connecting trail, which is dubbed as the "Fitness Trail" by many birders due to having fitness equipment up and down it, was very full of bird noise on my return trip. While searching for a woodpecker that I had seen fly off, I noticed some robins gathered in a tree right off the trail. Of note in this tree were berries, which I was surprised to see there were still quite a bit on the tree. I sat and watched the robins (as well as two species of woodpeckers, sparrows, cardinals, and a lone waxwing) pull berries off for over an hour. It only happened a handful of times as they were off and on the tree.</p>
<p>I liked the colors in this photo (the orange/blue combination). Birds on trees with berries always makes me pause and wait for some action.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 550mm on on Nikon D500</p>
Indigo Bunting in Sunflowersurn:uuid:00919a1e-22c8-36c5-afc4-7e40332f38fb2019-12-08T00:58:00Z<p>Indigo Bunting at McKee Beshers Wildlife Management Area on July 13, 2019. I had not done sunflowers at McKee Beshers since 2017. I was not doing bird photography at that point so I wanted to head back to get some wildlife on the sunflowers. Peak sunflowers were already starting to happen at this point so my husband and I decided to make the hour trip to Poolesville before sunrise that day</p>
<p>The first field you encounter is usually the most visited due to being the closest one. Unfortunately this field was already getting past its peak and was unpleasant for birds and landscapes. Many of the flowers were wilting and the birds were lacking. This particular Indigo Bunting I saw fluttering around and only managed to get a few shots of it before it disappeared. I had ignored this shot for a few months until I went back to it this evening and decided to edit it.</p>
<p>The second field we went to had much more vibrant and non-dead sunflowers. We did not wait around that field for many birds. I did catch a few Common Yellowthroats on sunflowers back there.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on on Nikon D500</p>
Male Northern Pintailurn:uuid:ca588d0a-b3d9-310c-8756-4c331b0fe4a12019-11-26T17:58:00Z<p>Male Northern Pintail at Huntley Meadows Park on November 24, 2019. I had not been to Huntley Meadows Park (HMP) for almost 2 months but seeing others shots of the pintails made me really want to go. The only other Pintail I've seen was also at HMP in the spring. As per my usual when I go to HMP, I was out the door well before sunrise to make the 45-minute ride.</p>
<p>It had rained the prior evening so I spent most of the morning crouched on the boardwalk until the sun was warm enough to dry it off to sit. The pintails were cooperative enough for shots but not as close as I would have liked. I spent most of my time there shooting them as the 15 MPH winds were keeping most of the other birds quiet. By the time the sun came out around midday, I was shooting into the sun and those shots had harsh light.</p>
<p>While there was a slight amount of sun after sunrise, I still had a higher ISO due to overcast. I tend to shoot at least 1/1000th with my monopod as I still have some steadiness issues at lower shutter speeds with such a long lens on it. I was surprised by how well these shots came out at 1/500th. This shot was at 7:52 AM.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500</p>
Yellow-bellied Sapsuckerurn:uuid:eab2b12b-8731-3043-97f0-e83ae9a86e322019-11-15T23:29:00Z<p>Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at Buddy Attick Park on November 15, 2019. I went out with another photography friend for several hours to Buddy Attick after we had finished at another bird hotspot nearby, Lake Artemesia. The lake at Buddy Attick has been drained a fair bit recently to do work on the dam there so the birding was looking lackluster when we arrived. Just a few Hooded Mergansers in the portion of the lake that had water but were too far out for good shots. We decided to keep moving around the dried portion of the lake to see if we would find anything.</p>
<p>We had fantastic luck when I saw a hawk fly nearby into a tree. It stayed there for several minutes before flying back to the pond behind the lake. We followed it but the angle was harsh to shoot it. It flew off back into the woods. When I went up the path to see how far back it went, I saw what I thought was a Downy Woodpecker in the tree. To my surprise, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker! It posed briefly before flying off. I don't often find sapsuckers though they are common in Maryland. This was my first sapsucker of 2019 and only my second time seeing one.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500</p>
Red-headed Woodpeckerurn:uuid:99e64e88-35c6-3c7f-8437-c56cd4988d1f2019-09-24T23:29:00Z<p>Red-headed woodpecker at Huntley Meadows Park on September 19, 2019. I have been spending quite a bit of time at this particular park in Virginia recently due to an increase in various heron and egret activity. I have been there 7 times in the last month or so. The red-headed woodpeckers nest at the far end of the boardwalk where all the activity normally is so it is easy to keep an eye on their location. While the wading bird activity was slow that day, I spent a little time right off the boardwalk trying to get some shots of them.</p>
<p>This particular adult flew up right in front of me, perhaps 25 feet up at the top of the tree. I shot a burst and hoped one would come out. If you look carefully, you can see a bit of detail in the eye. The other noticeable thing is the small marks on the tree, indicating these woodpeckers are frequently there.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500</p>
Snowy Egret Reflectionurn:uuid:df08c1ca-f7b2-3e47-9760-d7c29a7602902019-08-05T15:43:00Z<p>Snowy egret standing in calm water at Wetlands Overlook Park in North Beach, MD. Taken on July 27, 2019. This small park in North Beach features a large marsh right beside the Chesapeake Bay with a small boardwalk through one section. I had heard the tricolored herons and snowy egrets were back this year in high numbers. I had never been there but made the hour drive to be there at sunrise on 2 days. While the first day was good for tricolored herons on the boardwalk railing, the snowy egrets did not come close. I decided to go back a few days later to get more action shots.</p>
<p>On this day, I saw 5 tricolored herons and approximately 40 snowy egrets. Nearly all of both species did not come close for some time. While the water was high on my first visit, the low tide on this visit was better. Low tide in this marsh makes the area look like a mudflat so wading birds are more inclined to be in the shallows.</p>
<p>Only 5 snowy egrets flew near to the boardwalk while this particular one was the only bird who just stood in the water for a reflection shot. I have many shots of it standing with its reflection but I wanted to wait for the water to stop rippling from the landing. It stood there for almost 30 minutes until another snowy came in and scared it off towards the large group far out in the marsh.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500</p>
Juvenile Ospreyurn:uuid:a77bc4b5-5bfa-3145-a646-a04c71592dc42019-07-11T18:43:00Z<p>Juvenile osprey exercising their wings in preparation to leave their nest. Taken at a private residence in Pasadena, MD on July 9, 2019. A photographer friend built an osprey nesting platform several years ago at her home along the Magothy River. She has had osprey nest each year that she has had this platform and invited me to stop down this nesting season. This is my 3rd visit in the past 6 weeks. I had the opportunity to see them about a week old and waited for them to get bigger for my next visits.</p>
<p>On my last visit, it felt over 100 degrees so this visit was much more pleasant and shaded. I stayed for 3.5 hours this time around waiting for them to do things of interest (flapping, eating, attempting to fly). One of the adults eventually flew in with a fish. Most of the shots of them eating were with their backs turned from the sun so I did not get many shots of them with it. The adult flew off shortly before I left, allowing me to just get the juveniles together. My friend's neighbor happened to be mowing his grass towards sunset, making the juveniles tense. I snapped off many shots of the wing flapping while this was going on.</p>
<p>My friend has said that there is one of each sex in the nest.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500</p>
Pileated Woodpecker with Babiesurn:uuid:74212ce1-f404-360c-800c-6a30333f8f9d2019-06-10T17:43:00Z<p>Male pileated woodpecker feeding its young on May 18, 2019 in Howard County. I was told about this nest by a few photographers I know at the end of April but had forgotten about it. After seeing several photos of this nest on Facebook mid-May, I looked through my messages and decided to head over before the babies fledged. The dead tree they were nesting is was about 60 feet high and their hole was close to the top, a bit of an extreme photography angle. Once feeding had commenced, the parent would step into the nest and bring the babies fecal sacs out, flying off with them for disposal. Most of us were able to get good flight shots out of the hole. There were 3 pileated babies in the hole but I and many others only ever saw 2 poking out. Another photographer friend got lucky on her visit and she saw all 3 babies out for feeding.</p>
<p>As this location was just a few minute drive away, I spent 13 hours photographing them over 4 visits. The parents would only come about twice an hour average so there was a lot of downtime and talking with the other photographers. I plan to spend some time next spring searching for other pileated nests in the area.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 550mm on Nikon D500</p>
Green Heronurn:uuid:ee3d231a-22ff-3c8c-a922-538c18e70ba42019-05-03T18:43:00Z<p>Green heron with a double catch in an undisclosed location in Maryland on May 2, 2019. As it is that time of year for migration and numerous species to return to Maryland, several photographer friends and I have been checking a few of my good locations for green herons from last year. A few birdwatchers had spotted a green at this location in recent weeks but my searches were coming up empty. I decided to stop on a whim after an unsuccessful bird photography trip near Washington, D.C. and hoped one would make an appearance.</p>
<p>Not one but two green herons were in the pond when I scanned with my binoculars on arriving. One had shifted and I saw the second one, which did not stay long. I attempted to follow on the path but one flew out of sight and the other flew deep into the reeds in the marsh, making photography impossible. I walked away from the pond and stream for some time, knowing at least one would go back to the pond in my absence. My plan had worked as one was sitting near the edge of the pond later, which I walked by and didn't see.</p>
<p>After a little while of it being on the pond, it flew down into the stream. When I followed earlier, it flew off almost right away. This time it allowed me to crouch down about 5 feet above the stream to photograph it for nearly 45 minutes. It had caught several small fish but I was shocked when I saw 2 fish in my viewfinder. With a large buffer, I kept shooting almost continuously in the hopes that I would get a great shot. The second fish managed to wiggle out and escape but the first was not so lucky.</p>
<p>My ISO was high as I had an exposure compensation of +1 to brighten up image.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 420mm on Nikon D500</p>
Common Loonurn:uuid:99bf8e54-7d77-397f-8569-d99c60ef9c9b2019-04-19T17:43:00Z<p>Common Loon flapping its wings at an undisclosed location in Maryland on April 18, 2019. When I go out to photograph loons, some of the things I am very interested in is catching a fish and wing flaps. Since this was my first time seeing a loon in full breeding plumage at a reasonable distance, I spent as much time as I could photographing it from every angle. I was limited with my camera buffer speed due to leaving my XQD card at home since it was full from several days ago (~140 shots on XQD vs. ~30 on SD). I tried to anticipate when a flap or interesting movement would happen. I liken this one to looking like a breaching whale.</p>
<p>It did catch one fish yesterday, a suckerfish another photographer noted. When the sun came out, it made for some great reflection shots.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 550mm on Nikon D500</p>
Female Wood Duckurn:uuid:6295b84b-76de-3866-b0f2-5c9a1bb8ac172019-04-04T18:43:00Z<p>Female wood duck napping on the rocks on April 4, 2019. I have primarily only been shooting wood ducks the past couple weeks at the same private location as my prior wood duck photo. There were 7 here this day (4 males and 3 females). They were more skittish this visit than the past few. Despite tempting them with corn, only one or two had an interest in it. As my friend and I moved closer to the group of mallards, geese, and wood ducks, a male and female couple hopped onto the ledge nearby and nibbled on some corn. While this was not a good angle due to both the sun and a tree casting a shadow where they were, we stayed there for some time. While my friend moved down around the tree, I slowly crept up the hill and around to where he was shooting.</p>
<p>After my friend had left, I tried to woo them with corn again with no better luck than an hour earlier. I eventually went back around the tree and sat on the ledge while allowing them to get more comfortable with my presence. Eventually 6 of them were up on the ledge preening and eating the occasional pieces of corn I'd toss. While this female was initially cautious of my presence, she eventually settled down and got a quick doze in before a male came by and woke her up. While I did try to lie down to get a level view of her and the others, the rocks made it uncomfortable so I continued shooting from my monopod for at least another 30-40 minutes.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 550mm on Nikon D500</p>
Male Wood Ducksurn:uuid:a9310c98-b158-302e-9385-a7c1909929c72019-03-17T13:43:00Z<p>Two male wood ducks foraging for corn on March 17, 2019 at a private location. A friend had messaged me the prior evening asking if I would be interested in shooting wood ducks in the morning at a location he frequents for them. Wood ducks, like many ducks, are very skittish and I do not like to pass up easy opportunities to shoot them. When we arrived at the location, there was a slew of gulls and geese as I expected. I did not see the wood ducks initially until we sat on the grass and my friend started tossing out corn. Only 2 wandered up despite being told there is usually more than that. These particular 2 wood ducks only stayed for a few minutes and waddled back into the stream. We attempted to slowly follow them but they eventually eluded us. They managed to go further downstream and eventually flew off when they were spotted.</p>
<p>I was thrilled when I got home and saw that this shot was in-focus. It was hard to single them out with so many geese and gulls trying for corn as well. I intend to go back to this location in the future and hope the wood ducks will cooperate.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 330mm on Nikon D500</p>
Ducks - Oakley Streeturn:uuid:8ccf6ef9-8493-3b04-a5f2-b024098f70092019-03-07T18:43:00Z<p>Canvasbacks, american wigeons, scaups, and redheads feeding frenzy at Oakley Street in Cambridge, MD on March 6, 2019. This particular end of Oakley Street is famous for having hundreds upon hundreds of ducks that stay in this part of the Choptank River every winter. It also goes by "The Wall of Shame" to some photographers due to how easy it is to get these ducks together for photos. They regularly get fed corn and seed all winter so it is a very easy place to get close-up shots of these ducks that would normally be skittish.</p>
<p>It was very cold that day (20° F with wind chill) so I bundled up in several layers and made the journey across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to Cambridge. This was my first time at this location. I expected I would be there alone due to the weather and that was a correct assumption. There is normally a handful of photographers here on any given day throughout the winter. A friend had given me a bag of corn a few weeks prior and when I arrived, I made good use of it. Since these ducks are friendly, all I had to do was shake the bag of corn to get them excited. Unfortunately, being the only person there was also a curse. It was hard to throw corn and pick a spot to focus on where I think they would flock to. I gave them my entire gallon bag of corn over the 3 hours I was there.</p>
<p>I had forgotten to take a spare battery but I did have my old camera ready as a back-up. Due to the ducks being so close, I swapped lenses to my 100-400 instead of my 150-600 as I was just a few feet away. I was unable to get the wide shots I wanted near water level with the longer lens. I took almost 4000 shots there and plan to upload more from my time there. I intend to go several times next winter.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D500</p>
Male Redheadurn:uuid:b9fc39a7-cfde-3310-bf10-880a00fd78992019-03-02T13:43:00Z<p>Male redhead at Lake Artemesia on February 28, 2019. I recently upgraded to a longer, heavier lens and wanted to test it somewhere that I knew had both closer birds and some far out. Artemesia has had a nice variety of ducks and random migrants this year (a trumpeter swan and red-throated loons to name a few). I photographed the redheads last week close to shore so I wanted to go back to get them as well as the canvasbacks. On that same trip, the canvasbacks were out beyond the capability of my lens to get good photos.</p>
<p>When I arrived, the redheads were about 300+ feet out closer to the wide part of the lake. I took a trip around the southern portion of the lake in the meantime. I came upon the canvasbacks wandering within the large groups of geese. While watching the canvasbacks and solitary merganser, a green-winged teal was spotted swimming in and out of the geese (not a rarity but still unusual to see here). I had run into several photographers and birdwatchers I know that frequent this lake, so several hours were spent trying to get good shots of the teal.</p>
<p>It was around 3 that I decided to head out after being at the lake for 4 hours already. I made a quick detour through the brush to check where the redheads were before I left. They were not far from shore in a large cove right by the path. I sat on the ground for almost an hour shooting them and they eventually started to move further out into the lake. They did plenty of feeding and I witnessed a few wing-flaps. As it was getting late, I felt I had enough shots to see how well my lens performed.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 @ 600mm on Nikon D500</p>
Male Wood Duckurn:uuid:5bb7cd84-426d-3c1f-af1d-4c8af7fb26322019-02-11T13:43:00Z<p>Male wood duck taken on February 10, 2019 at a private location. I went to this particular location yesterday morning to shoot the wood ducks as well as some domestic species of birds. I found just one of the wood ducks, hanging on the opposite side of the pond from me. By the time I got to him, he had departed and I retraced my steps hoping to come across him. I rounded a corner and found him in a small stream. Unfortunately, he saw me as well and started to swim off. I had tried to outsmart him by getting in front of him and crouching behind some bushes as cover. It worked as he went back into the small stream. He did not fall for it a second time and swam off into brush a few hundred feet away.</p>
<p>It stayed in that area nearly the entire time I was there. I was crouched down along shore, attempting to shoot through the brush with little success. He eventually got bored and swam back towards the initial place I saw him. I followed and took a slow approach as he was rounding a bend, which was unsuccessful. He swam to nearly the opposite corner of me. I was debating which way would be faster to get to him when a couple came by with seed to feed the mallards and geese. All the waterfowl in the pond swam to the couple as they tossed seed. The wood duck slowly but steadily made his way over. I was able to shoot within 5 to 10 feet for approximately 15 minutes while he attempted to nab some of the seed.</p>
<p>This is one of my favorite photos I have taken. I love the colors on the male wood duck and I was really able to make them pop in post-production.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 290mm on Nikon D500</p>
Great Blue Heronurn:uuid:5ae6f1f1-91d1-3333-855d-6e4665c6469f2019-02-03T10:43:00Z<p>Great blue heron gliding across a frozen, snow-covered Wilde Lake on February 3, 2019. I was shooting ring-necked ducks for over an hour with not much sign of many other birds. There were some geese initially, a brown creeper and a few miscellaneous songbirds. This small inlet where I spent most of the time was one of the few unfrozen sections of the lake.</p>
<p>While I was waiting for a particular duck action shot, a great blue had flown in around me and landed on the ice nearby. A second great blue heron had opted to fly in the same spot, causing great blue heron #1 to flee its spot. Great blue heron #2 mistimed its landing, causing it to wipe out on the ice. After regaining its balance, it gave chase to great blue heron #1. Being the hopeful photographer, I headed to the small covered pier a 10-second walk away and hoped one would fly back. I was rewarded with a burst of shots of one of the great blues coming back across the lake perhaps a minute later, making for some great flying shots with a shadow on the snow.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D500</p>
Northern Shovelerurn:uuid:c635f427-be8b-3c0c-b1af-ff31b8cbfa1c2019-01-21T10:43:00Z<p>Northern shoveler floating across Constitution Gardens after sunrise on December 25, 2018. This is the second year we have gone to D.C. on Christmas Day. Last year I was not shooting birds actively yet, so it was primarily a landscape trip. This year was quite the opposite where I was more excited to shoot the shovelers along the mall than seeing the sunrise from the Lincoln Memorial. When we arrived at the pond, there were about 50 shovelers and a variety of other species (herons, cormorants, gulls and a few other miscellaneous species of duck). As I expected, the shovelers were not thrilled about me shooting them. Walking closer to where they were napping and preening would send them off to the other side of the pond. I was able to get some close shots crouch-walking up slowly up to the edge of the pond.</p>
<p>While not knowing much about shovelers beforehand, I noticed they had hair around their bills (known as lamellae) when I took a closer look at my photos at home. They use this to skim invertebrates from the surface of the water. This particular photo does not show how long their beaks truly are as his head is turned away slightly.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Red-shouldered Hawkurn:uuid:1d817426-3896-3261-97db-4663f19b5c272019-01-17T10:43:00Z<p>Red-shouldered hawk perched above Centennial Park in search of a potential fish meal on January 15, 2019. I had just received my new camera several days prior and spent several hours both learning the camera and shooting. I had already gone out both to Lake Artemesia and Wilde Lake with slightly disappointing results shooting in less-than-desirable conditions (no sun on Saturday and shooting into the sun on Monday). Since I had good luck with hawks recently at Centennial and we were to have a little sun, I headed out there mid-morning.</p>
<p>I ran into many birdwatchers and photographers as there were 3 redhead ducks in the lake from the prior day. As I was chatting with a few of them that I knew as we watched the redheads, I mentioned the luck I'd been having with hawks and offered to walk down the path with them to show them a consistent spot. One of the photographers spotted one of the red-shouldered hanging above the shoreline. We walked a short distance off the path through 10" of snow to get better angles. There were 3 of us initially and a 4th photographer I also know joined in. We stood around for about 25 minutes shooting it without it minding our presence before it flew off deep into the woods.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D500</p>
Ring-necked Duckurn:uuid:741bde88-8630-3ba3-8403-ceacad3696792019-01-11T10:43:00Z<p>Ring-necked duck in Baltimore County late December. While this is private property, they have a small pond they allow people to come feed the waterfowl. Most of the waterfowl are geese and mallards with a few more interesting duck species mixed in. While this spot is known to have wood ducks, none have been seen for several weeks. Great blue herons will occasionally pop in along the far shore as well.</p>
<p>While people were feeding the geese, I noticed there was only one ring-necked duck in the pond. I did not have any food on me (corn, peas, non-bread/grain) to toss out so the ring-necked was further out most of the time. One group of ladies who came by tossed out what looked like a large sack of food that I was unable to identify. It kept the geese and mallards occupied and bottom-feeding for almost 30 minutes, as it did the ring-necked. Despite the sun being high in the sky, I was able to angle myself to get some colorful shots. I sat there for some time until it seemed the food supply had run out and the ring-necked duck went back into the middle of the pond.</p>
<p>Another species of note I was surprised to see here was a lone female common goldeneye.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Red-shouldered Hawk with mealurn:uuid:5918f271-0647-362a-b9c1-8f233e6b48732018-12-20T13:43:00Z<p>Red-shouldered hawk with a snake meal at Centennial Lake. I was at Centennial on December 11 to photograph a long-tailed duck that had been there for two days. I did get shots of that particular duck three times while I was there and was wandering around the lake path for a good deal of my time there. I had run into several other photographers I knew and joined up with them to continue shooting the long-tailed (as it had moved from the boat launch to the end of the lake). A red-shouldered hawk had flown by us and perched up in a tree nearby. I got closer to it over the course of 25 minutes, to which it did not fly away despite me being right below it. I decided to shoot the great blue heron close by instead as I waited to see what the hawk would do.</p>
<p>The hawk eventually flew down into a pile of brush. I did not realize initially that it had a snake in its talons until it flew off with it. I attempted to approach it but it flew off into the woods. I searched for it down the path a ways with no luck. Not wanting to pass up an opportunity to watch a hawk eat, I went back to where I initially saw the hawk and started to search again. I found it up in this particular tree not far from the brush pile. While I missed a few minutes of mealtime, I was able to stand here (with another photographer with a longer lens shooting a little bit behind me) for almost 30 minutes photographing it eating.</p>
<p>I had realized a little while later after the hawk had finished and I had left that part of the lake, I had lost my cap to my binoculars and went back to locate it. While I did find it, it gave me a chance to witness the same hawk grab another snake from the same area. When it flew off this time, I found it very close on a fallen tree nearby. I caught up with it when it flew off again later but did not have a great view like I did with this first set. Another birder had pointed out to me there was most likely a snake nest in that brush.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 300mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Snow Buntingurn:uuid:a6239d12-3626-3d0a-a74c-cb4b580f7b622018-12-01T13:43:00Z<p>Snow bunting at North Point State Park on November 29, 2018. Snow buntings are primarily Arctic birds who migrate further into Canada and the northern portion of the US in winter. I have been told that there are a few who make their home for a few weeks at North Point every winter. The first sighting of this season was very late October, with just one bunting. Over the course of the past few weeks, the sightings had increased to 4 birds. I knew my chances were higher with 4 birds as opposed to 1 so I decided to make the drive up there.</p>
<p>While it was cold and incredibly windy in the days leading up to my visit, I went on a day that had less wind and slightly warmer temperatures than the prior days. I mention wind as a factor in seeing them as the pier they have decided to reside on (Crystal Pier) is 1000 feet long. Being that they are spending time at the end of the pier, it gets very chilly with even slight wind in the wintertime that far out into the Chesapeake. I had on 2-3 layers of clothing, a hat, earmuffs, face mask, and retractable mittens with hand warmers.</p>
<p>When I first located them, I was able to get about 30 shots off before they flew off and I lost them. I drove 35 minutes to see them and was not giving up so easily. I walked back to the beginning of the pier and still was unable to locate them. If I could not find them again, my intent was to go back to the car for awhile and try again in a bit. Unbeknownst to me, they had flown around my field of view and were right behind where I initially saw them on the wooden railing at the end of the pier. I had no problems relocating them when they would fly off again knowing they liked it there and on the rocks below the railing. To my surprise, I had 5 of them there as I was expecting 4 or less. In total, I spent 3 hours out there (with one trip back to the car to warm my thumbs up) and took 3500 shots.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Snowy Black-crowned Night Heronurn:uuid:d6b56b00-c0f5-398e-85b6-cbdb0ec3cf412018-11-25T13:43:00Z<p>Black-crowned night heron with a snowy background at Baker Park on November 16, 2018. Our first winter snow came November 15. While Columbia got minimal snow, Frederick had received over 5 inches. I went back and forth all day that day debating whether I should drive to Frederick the next day. Since the roads would presumably be clear and it would be sunny, I did not want to miss one of my chances to get my shot before the snow melted. I had joked all summer long that I would love to get one of the night herons with a snowy background, knowing it was most likely futile at that time. There had been recent reports on eBird that the BCNH (both juvenile and adult) were still at Baker Park despite the temperatures dropping into the 30's so I figured my chances were high.</p>
<p>I met another photography friend there and we set out looking for the BCNH. We found the juvenile in its usual spot at the lake but no sign of the adult. We had finally found the adult over the creek a short time later but no snow in the background with an added bonus of it being asleep. A red-tailed hawk was our saving grace and woke up the heron as it went squawking by overhead. It still had no intention of moving but was awake. We sat there for some time waiting and it finally flew down to the creek by the snow! I was thrilled that some of my shots had turned out. I also got shots of it partially in the snow behind the tree.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 320mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Yellow-rumped Warblerurn:uuid:c304af18-4711-3608-9993-db0fdf9de0d52018-11-09T13:43:00Z<p>Yellow-rumped warbler gathering a berry meal at Lake Kittamanqundi on October 30, 2018. We have many migrating warblers that pass through in the spring and fall. I tend to have trouble identifying most types of warblers but the yellow-rumped warblers are easy. The yellow on the back by their tail has also given them the nickname "butter butt" in the birding community.</p>
<p>I have been spending more time practicing getting the smaller (non-heron) birds recently. My camera does not have a built-in autofocus motor and my lens is good but not as fast as I would like (or need) to get the proper focus on smaller birds that move around a lot. I still get reasonable shots like these but most of the time they move too fast or are out-of-focus.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Great Blue Heron Morning Portraiturn:uuid:db00894f-1a29-32fa-84d7-bdc0a6632d472018-10-14T13:43:00Z<p>Great blue heron in the morning light. Taken mid-September 2018 at Font Hill Wetlands Park. I have rarely seen great blues at the ponds in this particular park so I consider it a treat when one flies in and stays for a few photos. It was earlier in the morning while searching for kingfishers when this particular heron circled over several times and landed on the opposite side of the island. It spent several minutes wading across the pond in search of a meal before flying off. It circled several times again but did not land a second time.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 380mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Flustered Green Heronurn:uuid:9345628b-a10e-3795-baac-c5f7e9b4b09e2018-09-16T13:43:00Z<p>Green heron flustered in a tree in early September 2018. It flew up into the branches when I approached it from the opposite side and stayed up there for a long period of time. If they are feeling more skittish than usual, they will fly away immediately. It was not concerned with me and allowed me to shoot it for almost 15 minutes. This particular one gave me some fantastic shots with the evening light approaching. I am looking forward to shooting them with fall foliage before they migrate for the winter.</p>
<p>Taken in Howard County. I avoid posting the location of this spot as I consider it a hidden gem in my area. You are guaranteed to find at least one green heron at a very close range. I have found up to three at once earlier in the summer.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Royal Ternurn:uuid:cc3f8462-cbe1-3c58-8980-4b0d22d081912018-08-26T13:43:00Z<p>Royal tern along the beach just after sunrise at Sandy Point State Park. I had went to Sandy Point on August 8 (in the middle of a very hot day). While seeing several new species of bird that day, I only saw a few terns flying out far in the Chesapeake. I decided my next trip would be a sunrise trip and I was able to be there before 7 AM on August 17.</p>
<p>I spent 3 hours on the beach photographing and observing the terns. They are easy to pick out among the gulls but that did not mean they were easy to photograph. I discovered nearly instantly that while the gulls did not mind my presence, the various tern species were much more apprehensive and would fly off while walking towards them. Even at far distances of about 150 feet was enough for them to fly off. I did attempt to slowly walk up to them several times with no results. I ended up squat-stepping slowly through the sand, which worked about half the time. I also tried to use the lifeguards towers as a blind. That was also unsuccessful due to not being able to get close to the towers without scaring them. The other problem I was trying to overcome with their skittishness was photographing them without the gulls in front of or behind them.</p>
<p>No post-processing done on this photo.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Juvenile Green Heronsurn:uuid:f8c634e7-7312-372f-b3f3-61c5a4674f972018-08-13T13:43:00Z<p>Juvenile green herons at Wilde Lake on August 11, 2018. This particular brood of green herons is an exciting one for photographers and birdwatchers in the area as this is the second brood of the summer. While many knew of the first brood, the second brood was much more low-key. While I was photographing the first brood nearly every day, I stopped over only every few days to keep track of the second brood (for estimating when they were most likely to be wandering on the branches). Shooting into the nest itself is hard due to the location and branches in the way so I skipped that for this brood.</p>
<p>Patience is much needed for photographing the juveniles as one can arrive and see them immediately wandering. Other times you can sit there for several hours with minimal movement. The reason most photographers wait for them to wander from the nest at Wilde Lake is the dead branches from the tree make for the easiest spots to view them. Once they learn how to fly better and jump more easily on the branches, they become much harder to find as they will hunt in deep, thick brush surrounding the lake and will not come back to the nest.</p>
<p>This photo is straight from the camera with no post-processing as I really enjoyed the colors and natural look of these.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Juvenile Red-shouldered Hawkurn:uuid:dc56cc49-75e7-3069-b16c-4e6cc8233b7f2018-08-09T16:41:00Z<p>Juvenile red-shouldered hawk making a brief appearance at a small pond in Howard County on August 8, 2018. While photographing green heron yesterday, this flew in front of myself and another photographer and perched in a nearby tree. I thought at first it was a dove as I only caught a brief glimpse until I looked up at the branch. Was staring at the ground about 6 feet up and about 12 feet away, looking for a meal. There was a third photographer who was on the opposite side but the hawk flew off once he started making his way over. It was not found again as it flew off beyond the pond and out of view.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Tricolored Heron in Flight - Lake Elkhornurn:uuid:b1f727c5-97ae-3ff4-a6e2-d5a0765723642018-07-31T13:43:00Z<p>Juvenile tricolored heron about to land from a short flight across the forebay pond at Lake Elkhorn. This particular heron is a very rare heron for this area. They are primarily found along the east coast shoreline, mostly Ocean City and Assateague for Maryland. They are also found on the Chesapeake's eastern shore by Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge downward. This is only the fifth recorded time one has been found in the county and only the second sighting since 1994. It was only sighted for 2 days (July 27 and 28). Many people, including myself, searched the morning of July 29 for several hours with no sign of it.</p>
<p>As Elkhorn is not far away, I spent several hours between Friday afternoon and Saturday afternoon photographing this juvenile as it is one of my favorite herons. I took about 1000 photos and, while I am still sorting through them, intend to post several more flight shots. While quite a bit of my flight shots were blurry and misfocused, I am excited that the shot of it turning in flight came out great.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 290mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Black-crowned Night Heron - Baker Parkurn:uuid:42d76db5-36f2-30e4-8713-569056c6e4072018-07-26T13:43:00Z<p>Black-crowned night heron at Baker Park in Frederick, MD. Baker Park is a fantastic spot for observing very friendly night herons. Black-crowned have been nesting here for several years each spring and summer. (This year has a new addition of a pair of yellow-crowned night herons that have nested and fledged young.) It has become my new go-to place for the night herons and I hope they continue to nest here in the upcoming years.</p>
<p>There is a lake in the middle of the park named Culler Lake, where this photo was taken. The heron nest up in the trees nearby so one is almost guaranteed to see at least one or two night heron in this area. I have numerous photos of the juveniles but always enjoy seeing the adults. This was the only adult I saw on this particular day in mid-July. I have been trying to get an adult in flight or fishing with both being unsuccessful thus far.</p>
<p>I have left this photo uncropped as I think it makes a nice phone background.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 290mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Black-crowned Night Heron #2urn:uuid:0b6d4b09-fd7b-3a07-b0ba-073bd05f34ed2018-07-04T13:43:00Z<p>Black-crowned night heron at Wilde Lake on July 3, 2018. I was there birding with a friend primarily to photograph the juvenile green herons (which are harder to find now that they know how to fly and fish). She spotted this BCNH sitting in the shade of the trees just above the water. We were waiting for the sunlight to come through the leaves and glimmer off of its big red eyes. After photographing for several minutes, it appeared to close its eyes and take a nap. We stopped back about an hour later and found him very awake and possibly hunting. This photo was from our first encounter with it.</p>
<p>I have only seen the BCNH one other time since the end of May. It was not in good lighting as it was underneath the brush. There is a juvenile BCNH I have been trying to photograph here (presumably this one's offspring) but have had no luck thus far.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 380mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Alligator - Huntington Beach State Parkurn:uuid:aa5dc2ac-bf9d-3570-98a6-23086e31b7f42018-06-28T13:43:00Z<p>One of many alligators seen at Huntington Beach State Park, SC. There are hundreds of alligators in this particular park throughout the marsh. While we did not see this happening, one occasionally has to stop their car or back away on foot as the alligators use the roadway and trails to cross between the marshes. In this part of the marsh, there is a paved bike trail approximately 6 feet above the marsh's water level. This allows you to view the alligators (and other wildlife) very closely but caution is still needed as one of the alligators we saw nearly started making an attempt to cross from below.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Baby Green Heronurn:uuid:a68c4a2a-6135-3bd4-a71b-19ba83c1c50e2018-06-14T13:43:00Z<p>One of four green heron babies at Wilde Lake venturing from the nest. I spent about 16 hours at Wilde Lake photographing the mother sitting nearby the nest and attempting to get shots of the babies in the past week. The nest is tucked away about 15 feet above the water and would be next to impossible to find on just a brief glance. I had some very kind photographers and birdwatchers show me where the nest was, which still took some time to remember the exact location. The babies will soon be wandering further out of the nest and eventually onto the branches in the open. I'm unsure how much longer it will be until that point but intend to continue to go over as often as I can to observe. The other babies were content staying in the nest.</p>
<p>I shared <a href="https://www.facebook.com/kelseywellons/videos/10213367325471406/">this video</a> of the babies jumping around the nest on the MD Birding Facebook group. It is a public video and does not require logging into Facebook to view.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Great Blue Heron Tossing Fishurn:uuid:5fc0c4df-9dcb-3902-ade5-fd588c122e922018-06-10T16:45:00Z<p>Great blue heron tossing in lunch at the bottom of the Wilde Lake dam. I ran into another photographer I'd met once before and we were both following the heron along the bottom of the dam waiting for it to catch a fish. It went up to the top of the dam once but flew back down after we arrived back at the top of the dam. After an hour of observing, it finally made a successful attempt at a meal. It had another successful meal several minutes later before flying to the top of the dam again. I skimmed my photos when I came home but came across this one later on while doing a full look through the set.</p>
<p>While I normally get many photos of heron eating, I'm usually further back or on higher ground looking down at the heron. I was level with the heron for this shot. This was my favorite of the day and it is always exciting to get a shot off that you weren't expecting.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Juvenile Great Blue Heron with Breakfasturn:uuid:dafd8fb9-935c-329b-ad72-a07304d16b112018-06-10T16:44:00Z<p>Juvenile great blue heron at Wilde Lake enjoying a quick breakfast. I had stopped over in a break in the rain on June 3rd after a failed visit to Lake Elkhorn prior. It was raining very hard at Elkhorn with wind gusting above 20 mph. By the time I got to Wilde Lake, the rain was mostly died down and I happened upon this juvenile right beside the bridge hunting. It stood there for about a minute after it caught this fish before flying upstream to eat. There is a heron rookery not far from Wilde Lake so I expect to see an increase in juveniles in the upcoming weeks.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Green Heron Reflectionurn:uuid:8abd7c57-93c0-375a-aaa8-252bd87bea1a2018-06-10T16:43:00Z<p>Green Heron at Wilde Lake pausing from fishing. There is a nest with 4 green heron babies not far from where this was taken. The female will stay on the nest while the male goes out to hunt for the family, so this is presumably a male. I have had several missed opportunities to photograph the male coming back to the nest with food as I was not ready with my camera. I have spent many hours observing over the past several days and will continue doing so this week. I have taken nearly 2000 photographs of the green heron in that time frame and plan to take many more in the next week or so. The experience of knowing where the nest is has been fantastic for my photography journey as I am very excited to potentially photograph the babies wandering out onto the visible branches.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 360mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Black-crowned Night Heronurn:uuid:51b38eb8-9406-38e1-8aaf-086454adfd802018-05-31T21:44:00Z<p>Black-crowned night heron at Wilde Lake. I had spent several days looking for this particular heron (BCNH for short) at Wilde Lake at varying times hoping to at least get a view. They tend to be hard to spot during the day as they hide, spending more time out in morning and dusk. On May 29, another fellow birder messaged me on Facebook to let me know the BCNH was at the north end of the lake very visible at 8 AM. Throughout the day I checked on what was being seen by others and noticed people were still able to photograph it in the same location in the afternoon. My husband came home from work early so I could drive over and attempt to look for it.</p>
<p>I did a quick scan of the shore and saw it (in plain sight) hanging on a branch a ways down from the initial reports. I was able to walk over within feet of it and take shots for about 10 minutes before it flew back up the lake. When I arrived at it's new location several minutes later, it flew to where it was initially seen that morning. I stayed for an hour photographing it, though it did get hard as it was hunting in low hanging brush. I was unable to get good shots at that point but did attempt as best as I could. It did catch one fish while I was watching. A great blue heron flew in and managed to get the BCNH back up in the tree while it hunted nearby. It flew off some time later where I lost sight of it. Someone had spotted it at the opposite end of Wilde Lake at the dam a couple hours later.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Great Blue Heron Reflectionurn:uuid:39296edd-b1af-32d5-8ac5-7cfd04deb4ba2018-05-31T21:43:00Z<p>Great blue heron at the Forebay Pond at Lake Elkhorn. I try to get shots occasionally where I see an interesting composition (good example like this with the reflection). I am normally not a fan of having the green from the leaves reflecting on the water but it contrasts the shoreline color nicely. I wait with excitement for shots like this as the heron will soon make a dive attempt for a meal. My shutter speed is set higher around heron because of this. The pond is very marshy, with overgrowth and reeds around the edges and no real shoreline to walk on. I found a way down through some recently cut grass and stood in half an inch of mud for 30 minutes while observing. I was able to walk about 50 feet along the shore before the water and mud prevented me from going further for photos. (I would not consider this water clean enough to step through unless you had on fishing boots or high boots.)</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Ebony Jewelwingurn:uuid:2f9bec60-000c-3c0b-ab00-300bf64959d42018-05-31T21:42:00Z<p>Ebony jewelwing at Howard County Conservancy - Mount Pleasant. I initially thought they were dragonflies but was easily corrected by a simple Google search. I have been seeing these same species at various places around the Columbia area, particularly around streams and rivers. My first photos of them were on a trail in Patuxent Research Refuge - North Tract but under a lot of shade. This particular one was perching in the fields of tall grass in the early AM. While my telephoto lens is not a macro lens to get close-up detail, I do enjoy having a blurred background when I am able to get good shots of insects and butterflies.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Great Blue Heron mimicking a Swanurn:uuid:f5e72103-97a7-3f38-810a-d8375f71e5832018-05-31T21:41:00Z<p>Great blue heron wading through Lake Kittamanqundi. I had never seen a heron wading so far from shore at our local lakes so this came as a surprise to me. This particular heron was being incredibly tolerant of me being several feet away photographing it for 2 hours on the eastern side of the lake. When it started wading out from shore, my initial thought was "It looks like a swan out there!". It did catch a fish while out there far and brought it back to shore to eat.</p>
<p>I uploaded this photograph to the "MD Birding" group on Facebook with the quote "My mom told me I could be anything so I became a swan." (which I thought was an amusing caption).</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Osprey Before Impacturn:uuid:7610eb4e-0351-3e8a-8f04-375dbc14751a2018-05-25T21:41:00Z<p>Osprey diving into the water for a meal at Lake Kittamanqundi. There were 2 of them there while I was there several days ago, both hanging around the Lakefront area. They were not hunting together so I was attempting to keep tabs on both of them (one to my east and one to my west). This was the closest and most successful photo I got. Unfortunately for the osprey, it came up empty-handed. Several more attempts were made for a meal but they were all on the opposite side of the lake from me (about 700 feet) and too far for a good shot.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Wood Frogurn:uuid:ec8a5a7b-5435-3491-b1e1-97f0cc4b06062018-05-25T21:40:00Z<p>Wood frog at Howard County Conservancy. There is a small manmade pond in the gardens. We found one frog when we first observed the pond but heard others. On a second look several minutes later, we were able to spot 3 more. Even with the early morning sun reflecting off the water, the frog shots came out better than I expected.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Barn Swallowurn:uuid:d62b4437-d713-3d2e-9fe1-e73b4a9c78b92018-05-18T15:38:00Z<p>Barn swallow taking a break from the rain at Lake Elhorn. It has been raining almost continuously for several days now so I have not had much luck with bird photography (the exception being an osprey and several great blue herons). Around mid-April, we had a mass amount of swallows at Elkhorn with my estimate being in the ballpark of 150+. I have not seen nearly as many even on hot, sunny days. They are very agile, small birds that require skill to follow and focus with a longer telephoto lens. I have attempted many shots at them in flight with very few shots in focus. It makes it easy when they are stationary.</p>
<p>While I enjoy this shot, I was not prepared for one of the swallows to be hanging out in a puddle by the Brokenland parking lot entrance. The swallow flew off before I even took my lens cap off.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Female Ruby-throated Hummingbirdurn:uuid:10162a47-cb20-3df6-82d0-deac72e1da162018-05-08T16:38:00Z<p>Female ruby-throated hummingbird at Patuxent Research Refuge - North Tract (Merganser pond observation tower). I had read several days prior that the hummingbirds were back at the Refuge and since it's only about 15 minutes away, I headed over there for over 2 hours. I had many shots between the feeders at the contact station and the flowers growing around the observation tower. I would usually crop a shot like this but feel that keeping the environment adds to the beauty of this shot.</p>
<p>To get the wings in focus, you need to shoot at a very high shutter speed if you do not have an external flash on your camera. It was a very cloudy day so I had to shoot with a much higher ISO than I normally would as my upper limit (in order to shoot at a very high shutter speed). Most of my shots were in the 1/3200th to 1/4000th category so I am surprised this came out as well as it did for 1/1000th second. I would have preferred a higher shutter.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Male Ruby-throated Hummingbirdurn:uuid:a02b1ceb-c686-30c4-b7fa-4664c8dc62c92018-05-08T16:37:00Z<p>Male ruby-throated hummingbird at Patuxent Research Refuge - North Tract (Merganser pond observation tower). I had read several days prior that the hummingbirds were back at the Refuge and since it's only about 15 minutes away, I headed over there for over 2 hours. I ran into several birders photographing them both here and at the main contact station where they have feeders. I was given a tip by another local birder that one of the hummingbirds was taking a liking to a particular branch and to keep a watch in that area. Not too much longer afterwards, one of the male hummingbirds took a break on that branch and I snapped off a bunch of shots. The pollen on his beak is very visible in this shot.</p>
<p>I had to do a bit of post-processing on this shot as the noise at ISO6400 was too much. I blurred everything that was not in focus to make it look more pleasing.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Garter Snakeurn:uuid:7707e52e-b579-3d28-a60a-3750e83d98272018-05-02T21:38:00Z<p>Garter snake at Font Hill Wetlands Park. I was trying to get closer to one of the green heron I saw in the stream while barely stepping into the short grass. I was focused ahead of me (and not below) when I looked down and saw this not far from my feet. I jumped back several feet and took some shots of it sticking it's tongue out at me (which meant it wasn't threatened but "tasting" the air). It did slither away shortly after.</p>
<p>I learned a very important lesson to remember what lurks in the grass when I go off the paths. And another reason to make sure I've got sturdy shoes and covered legs and ankles!</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Green Heronurn:uuid:c9274a00-ffa0-39dd-8f32-4330d6fc09002018-04-29T21:39:00Z<p>Green Heron at Sewells Orchard Pond in Columbia. This is only my second time I have seen a green heron and the first time so closely. I had seen one several days prior while observing the egret at Lake Elkhorn but was several hundred feet away. I was not intending on stopping here but remembered while driving to a different lake that a green heron had been tagged here on eBird several hours prior. I spotted it at the edge of the largest pond right as I started my search. I went back and forth several times following it to get some good pictures. It eventually flew off to the other side of the lake. I chose not to follow as it seemed agitated by my presence.</p>
<p>This has no post-processing and was cropped straight from the camera.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Calvert Cliffs State Parkurn:uuid:3be91999-a8f4-3520-9407-53664e3822a92018-04-29T21:38:00Z<p>First visit to Calvert Cliffs State Park in Lusby, MD. It's a 2 mile flat hike to get to the cliff viewing area. The fastest path to the cliffs is the red trail, which is mostly bordering a swamp. The cliffs are unable to be walked under currently due to erosion and the possibility of rock slides. There are orange fence and barriers up to prevent people from straying away from the main beach. Outside of the view, the other draw to this particular park is finding shark teeth and fossils that wash up on the beach.</p>
<p>I used my telephoto lens to take this. I took several shots with my wide-angle lens but we were too far away to get any meaningful detail.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 140mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Great Egreturn:uuid:e2ed6e3b-df0d-320d-8130-3f6a076432302018-04-25T21:41:00Z<p>Great Egret at the forebay pond at Lake Elkhorn. I searched for the egret a week prior with no success at Elkhorn. Several people had seen it recently and my husband saw it early morning a day prior to my sighting. I found it in the forebay pond as I was at the east end of the lake. I was about to head back and find the heron that flew west when I saw white in the swamp ahead. I stood out at the edge of the recently flooded shore and got a bunch of shots.</p>
<p>I hung around in the mud for about an hour waiting for it to move back to no avail. I joked that I was playing chicken with the egret to see which of us was going to move away (me) or move closer (egret) first and that the egret won.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Great Blue Heron in Flight #2urn:uuid:6c585755-cd6a-38e0-8f39-e74c5c099fca2018-04-16T21:40:00Z<p>Great Blue Heron in flight at Lake Kittamanqundi. I was observing two caspian terns circling around the lower portion of the lake when I saw something large fly by. I thought it was a hawk at first but realized it was a heron after bringing my lens up and focusing it. It was flying along the eastern shore of the lake where I was standing, maybe just 15 or so feet away. I consider this to be my best flight picture of a heron I have taken so far.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Osprey Misses Lunchurn:uuid:d1880058-1cc5-388b-910b-0c5e057ef48a2018-04-10T21:41:00Z<p>Osprey with a missed opportunity at Lake Artemesia. The same osprey was hovering when I arrived at the lake. I learned from another birder a few weeks back that they will hover before they dive down into water for meals. I patiently waited two times. The first time it did get a fish. This time it came up empty-handed.</p>
<p>I shoot birds of prey at a high shutter speed now (minimum 1/1000th or 1/1600th) as they move very fast.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Male Red-shouldered Hawkurn:uuid:da1cab0e-8c86-3ef9-9876-ae157f3210e92018-03-26T21:41:00Z<p>Male red-shouldered hawk sitting along the pond shore at JHUAPL. There were two hawks I spotted at the pond several minutes apart. I presumed it was a male and female based on their calls back and forth. Later on this was confirmed as they sounded like they were mating in a pine tree nearby.</p>
<p>I had presumed that this was the female based on looks. I asked in a bird identification group online and females are the larger birds. Based on other pictures of mine, it was determined that this was <em>probably</em> the male. I found an image online that showed the male hawk looking spot-on to this one.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Great Blue Heron #12urn:uuid:7b3ddc25-7047-3fd4-ac3b-120269472d852018-03-26T21:40:00Z<p>Great Blue Heron hunting at Lake Elkhorn. I waited patiently in the cold on the path around the lake waiting for it to make a move on lunch. It was windy and my hands were getting cold but I waited around for at least 10 minutes for it to make a move on a fish. It did ultimately wind up with a large fish that I got a few shots of it eating.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Great Blue Heron Front Profileurn:uuid:236e09ed-c381-3764-94ff-1e061058c0662018-03-26T21:39:00Z<p>Great Blue Heron front shot at Lake Elkhorn. I rarely ever see a heron looking in my direction like this. They look scrawny and not very majestic from this point of view. I was following it around the southern portion of the lake while it was hunting.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Blue-eyed Grassurn:uuid:5981f0c5-1598-3de6-864f-e3a4c89ba5d42018-03-24T21:38:00Z<p>Blue-eye grass at Wilde Lake. I took photos of these flowers for my husband to use as a background. This is my first non-birding post in over 2 months and only the second in 3 months. Now that spring has arrived, I will have some flower photos mixed in with my bird photos.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Great Blue Heron in Flighturn:uuid:9705b6c4-3a35-3604-b4d7-ddabee39a7cd2018-03-22T21:39:00Z<p>Great Blue Heron landing at Lake Kittamanqundi. It flew from the middle dock to the wooden pathway by the Sheraton. I had taken many shots of it flying overhead 10 minutes prior to this but did not come out well enough. Post-processing was needed on this photo as it was over-exposed. Herons in flight is hard to get right with a split second or two to react so I take the failed shots as a lesson on what to do in the future.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Great Blue Heron Profileurn:uuid:273d58ff-36cc-3802-9df1-db44434730fe2018-03-22T21:38:00Z<p>Great Blue Heron at Lake Kittamanqundi. It flew from the middle dock to the wooden pathway by the Sheraton. I followed it over there (this is the same area as my bird in flight shot of the same heron) and was able to get some great head shots of it. It allowed me to get within about 15 feet before it flew off to the opposite side of the lake.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Cooper's Hawk #2urn:uuid:22c82339-d2a9-35b5-8477-b2ceb0505c7f2018-03-13T21:41:00Z<p>Cooper's Hawk in a clearing close to Patuxent Branch Trail. This is my favorite picture in the set. I saw a similar hawk the prior day just outside the apartment window but flew off when I went to get my camera. While out birding the next day closer to the trail, I was observing some sparrows in brush in the clearing for about 10 minutes when I saw something larger (and not as dark) as a crow flying and perched up on a tree nearby. It had a gray back so I assumed it was a cooper's hawk. I shot about 20 pictures of it over two minutes or so. When I pulled my camera down to change a setting, it was already gone in that few second span and I had no idea which direction it went.</p>
<p>When I was double-checking I had the right hawk species, it was a very close tie between a cooper's and a sharp-skinned hawk. It took me about 10 minutes back and forth comparing images before the cooper's hawk won. It had some notable differences. I had to do a bit of post-processing on this to bring out the red eyes.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Cooper's Hawkurn:uuid:d7e50717-48ca-3406-afe8-4856858e010c2018-03-13T21:40:00Z<p>Cooper's Hawk in a clearing close to Patuxent Branch Trail. I saw a similar hawk the prior day just outside the apartment window but flew off when I went to get my camera. While out birding the next day closer to the trail, I was observing some sparrows in brush in the clearing for about 10 minutes when I saw something larger (and not as dark) as a crow flying and perched up on a tree nearby. It had a gray back so I assumed it was a cooper's hawk. I shot about 20 pictures of it over two minutes or so. When I pulled my camera down to change a setting, it was already gone in that few second span and I had no idea which direction it went.</p>
<p>When I was double-checking I had the right hawk species, it was a very close tie between a cooper's and a sharp-skinned hawk. It took me about 10 minutes back and forth comparing images before the cooper's hawk won. It had some notable differences. I had to do a bit of post-processing on this to bring out the red eyes.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Male Cardinal #3urn:uuid:db3979e7-62af-3fad-972c-d85b362e35512018-03-09T21:40:00Z<p>Male cardinal on a cold day. He let me get several feet away. Most cardinals tend to not let you get close to them. My assumption is by the time you see them, they have already seen you and are prepared to fly away. I do appreciate when I am able to get this close to a bird and capture a lot of detail. I was able to play with my settings while in the process of getting close to him, which I can say does not work most of the time. (If your exposure is off or shutter speed is too low/high, you have seconds to re-adjust. I have had this happen numerous times but have been adjusting my camera buttons to make these actions quicker.)</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Red-bellied Woodpeckerurn:uuid:8a088410-0991-33bb-8a94-3bf0845ba25c2018-03-09T21:39:00Z<p>Red-bellied woodpecker outside our apartment. I see downy woodpeckers much more frequently than I see red-bellied. They are also much larger. I have trouble locating woodpeckers - you can easily hear the direction they are coming from but hard to pinpoint the exact location unless you are very close.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
White-breasted Nuthatchurn:uuid:d3b82a7e-f3fa-3958-9a36-b70bff40caec2018-03-09T21:38:00Z<p>White-breasted Nuthatch. A nor'easter had just passed through several days prior, leaving many trees and tree branches down in our area. It is possible the large branch it is sitting on was broken off during the storm. The other shots I took were too blurry due to low shutter speed. I was very excited to get one on a branch and having dinner in it's mouth was a bonus. I see this frequently on the trail behind our apartment.</p>
<p>What I enjoy about these birds in particular is that they frequently climb down trees headfirst and also climb upside-down on branches. I have not seen any other birds around here that do these things.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Wilde Lake - Great Blue Heronurn:uuid:6d4d3e8c-ddae-32a5-8a14-7a7f3e28f0f92018-02-23T16:38:00Z<p>Great Blue Heron sitting atop the Wilde Lake dam. There is a stream stabilization project happening right below the dam but the herons have not been bothered much by it. I frequently see them hunting or preening there. This was the first of three I had seen at the lake yesterday, which was a record for heron I've seen in one given location. It's not uncommon to find one hanging out on someone's roof around the south side of the lake.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Male Cardinal #2urn:uuid:4b06c1bd-22b8-3334-8792-0ea2ed45706d2018-02-21T21:38:00Z<p>Male Cardinal at the footbridge behind our apartment. While I enjoy the overall details with this one, the detail in the eye is what prompted me to post this one. One of the most stunning cardinal pictures I've taken thus far.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Great Blue Heron Montageurn:uuid:8caaa46e-1c5c-342c-b723-ad1b4fb57a722018-02-18T21:40:00Z<p>Great Blue Heron atop the dam at Wilde Lake. It was closer to the opposing side of the dam but there is currently construction on the stream below the dam (pathway bridge will be rebuilt after finished). It was tempting to wade through a few feet across the stream but decided to go back to the north end of the bridge. The lighting was great today as it was cloudy and nearly sunset when I went on 02/16/18. He flew away a few minutes later but was in the same place when I returned an hour later. You can consistently find a heron at Wilde Lake. This particular heron looks like a juvenile based on it's size and plume atop it's head.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Bald Eagle #2urn:uuid:5cf6955d-af34-3053-99d5-712c02b06c5e2018-02-15T21:39:00Z<p>Bald Eagle at Wilde Lake. After spending several minutes taking photos of it in the tree, I waited for him to take flight. I was short on time, so I didn't have more than a few minutes to spend waiting. He did take off and I got several shots of him in flight. A few of them were blurry but the rest were fantastic. My prior bald eagle pictures (not on this blog) were pixelated and taken from afar, so details were lost. If I had been a few minutes later to the lake, I would have missed out on this.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Bald Eagleurn:uuid:6491b19f-8c0e-3729-a201-2827ad2bd6a52018-02-15T21:38:00Z<p>Bald Eagle at Wilde Lake. I initially stopped to search for a heron that is occasionally at the lake. I spotted him (or her — I have been informed that it is too hard to tell what the sex is without one of each being together) while walking the opposite direction flying over and assumed it was a hawk. When I saw the white on the tail, I knew it was a bald eagle. I hoped he would perch on one of the trees on the opposite side of the dam at the lake. I lost it for a moment while getting my camera out and found him in the spot I just mentioned. There was construction below the dam so I was unable to take the footpath to the opposite side. If I had been a few minutes later to the lake, I would have missed out on this.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Tufted Titmouseurn:uuid:fbf2c2b4-fbc9-3ac2-8cb4-fa3ce6b4ebfb2018-02-08T21:45:00Z<p>Tufted Titmouse at Howard County Conservancy - Mount Pleasant. There are bird feeders set up outside around the visitor's center. I scared off the birds being in close proximity to the feeders. I sat at a picnic table for several minutes underneath an overhang and awaited them to come back. Once one or two birds flew back to the feeder, about 20 birds followed. This was one of 14 various species of bird I photographed while I was there.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Male Hooded Merganser in Flighturn:uuid:fb7a0b2a-d05e-3865-b5ff-184023b630a22018-02-08T21:44:00Z<p>Male Hooded Merganser in flight at Lake Elkhorn. Mergansers are known to be skittish so one needs a long telephoto lens to have a chance to capture them swimming, let alone in flight. The eastern part of the lake still being frozen worked to my advantage - I was ready to capture them flying away. I was on the shore about 30 foot away when the male flew away, followed by the female not long after.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Female Hooded Merganser in Flighturn:uuid:8915b07d-1c39-36ab-a7b0-0caa5b528b172018-02-08T21:43:00Z<p>Female Hooded Merganser in flight at Lake Elkhorn. Mergansers are known to be skittish so one needs a long telephoto lens to have a chance to capture them swimming, let alone in flight. The eastern part of the lake still being frozen worked to my advantage - I was ready to capture them flying away. I was on the shore about 30 foot away when the male flew away, followed by the female not long after.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Red-shouldered Hawk #2urn:uuid:87f256cf-a8d9-333e-8708-31fc31a17f9b2018-02-08T21:41:00Z<p>Red-shouldered Hawk at Lake Elkhorn on 01/31/2018. I was at the eastern end of the lake photographing the Trumpeter Swan. Many geese were also around. I turned around and saw something moving in the tree about 20 foot away. I initially thought it was a different bird in the tree but was very pleasantly surprised. This is my first hawk I have seen since I started birding. He flew away twice down a footpath. After the second time, I assumed he was hunting and did not want to be bothered so I did not pursue further.</p>
<p>This was my initial view of the hawk for about 2 minutes.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Red-shouldered Hawkurn:uuid:bf33d8dd-3ed7-3373-bf0c-b75478f9f06f2018-02-08T21:40:00Z<p>Red-shouldered Hawk at Lake Elkhorn on 01/31/2018. I was at the eastern end of the lake photographing the Trumpeter Swan. Many geese were also around. I turned around and saw something moving in the tree about 20 foot away. I initially thought it was a different bird in the tree but was very pleasantly surprised. This is my first hawk I have seen since I started birding. He flew away twice down a footpath. After the second time, I assumed he was hunting and did not want to be bothered so I did not pursue further.</p>
<p>This was taken before his second departure.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Full Moon 01/30/2018urn:uuid:305f98e5-3492-3fa9-93e2-e8e5792c943f2018-01-31T21:41:00Z<p>Full moon evening before the lunar eclipse. I had attempted to photograph the lunar eclipse around 6:30 AM but a giant cloud had moved in front of the moon. I tried to focus the moon both manually and auto-focus but was not able to get any detail through the clouds. By the time the eclipse was starting (~ 6:47 AM), the clouds had not moved and the moon was already setting below the treeline.</p>
<p>I found out (via my own experience and research on the internet) that a full moon is not the best time to photograph the moon. In my prior moon photo, you can see all the details of craters in the area by the unlit part of the moon. You get very little detail with the sun reflecting on a full moon. I used post-processing to make the photo more realistic to what one sees with the naked eye. (The moon tends to come out bright even underexposed.)</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Female Cardinal Preeningurn:uuid:e4d760c0-523c-3b23-8a61-2a364e7290f22018-01-31T21:40:00Z<p>Female cardinal preening along the Lake to Lake Trail in Columbia (Wilde Lake to Lake Kittamaqundi). She is one of only about two or three types of birds I found several days ago. I went looking for a hawk that has been spotted along that trail recently with no luck. She let me get surprisingly close (about six feet) for a couple minutes. The photos I took of her just sitting there made me realize how fluffy some birds get in winter.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Carolina Wrenurn:uuid:f3367fcd-ef65-3d8c-aaa4-95e272cb76ff2018-01-31T21:38:00Z<p>Carolina Wren sitting atop a stump along the trail behind our apartment. This was the first time I have seen a wren. From where I was standing, I initially thought it was a sparrow. I had to dig a bit through Google until I found a close match. I used the white on the head and the longer than normal beak to narrow the search.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Male Cardinalurn:uuid:8c0604c1-4cb2-3f01-b792-f11c6f3eee8e2018-01-28T21:38:00Z<p>Male Cardinal. Taken along the path by King's Contrivance Park. I noticed a lot of birds hanging out along the path and down by the wooden bridge the other day. When I attempted a few days ago, my older lens didn't have the zoom to be able to get good quality while being further away. We spent about 20-30 minutes hanging out in about on the bridge observing the birds. It's a bit hard for autofocus to find the right focus point (being the bird in this one) with a noisy background like branches. This was one of my favorite cardinal photos in the set. There were several males and females hanging around so plenty of photos were taken.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Moon 01/25/2018urn:uuid:abd6c097-6f76-3598-a2eb-4ff764e697e12018-01-26T21:38:00Z<p>I just received my new Tamron telephoto lens this evening and wanted to do a quick test on autofocus and quality. The moon was bright and visible in the sky so I used that as an opportunity to get some samples.</p>
<p>With my older Nikon 55-200mm, I was not able to get much detail out of the moon. I had tried several times to get good shots with limited success. My first few shots with the Tamron were good but overexposed. Because the camera perceives the moon as being very bright, you need to underexpose your pictures to bring out enough detail in the moon. With this new knowledge in hand, I went back outside for a better image. I was thoroughly impressed with this lens after just a few more shots. I cropped down the image to just the moon and adjusted a few items in post-processing.</p>
<p>Lens - Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD @ 400mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Great Blue Heron #2 - North Point State Parkurn:uuid:7167e77c-2f58-3362-85f6-53e4e041d14e2018-01-20T15:57:41Z<p>Great Blue Heron along the Marsh Trail at North Point State Park (Edgemere, MD). The first heron we saw was already flying away from me by the time I saw it. We were observing two bald eagles in the distance when we heard a sound coming from the beaver dam about 75 foot away. A heron started walking onto the beaver dam and was hanging out there. I took some photos and attempted to walk around through the woods to get closer to the heron. He had heard me coming and flew off. I got stuck in thorns and bruised my shin on a tree in my failed attempt.</p>
<p>I had to post-process this as it was over-exposed and too bright to show detail.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G VR II @ 200mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Great Blue Heron - North Point State Parkurn:uuid:4565cc8c-fa93-33b3-bcb4-caea8cdf9de12018-01-20T15:56:41Z<p>Great Blue Heron along the Marsh Trail at North Point State Park (Edgemere, MD). The first heron we saw was already flying away from me by the time I saw it. We were observing two bald eagles in the distance when we heard a sound coming from the beaver dam about 75 foot away. A heron started walking onto the beaver dam and was hanging out there. I took some photos and attempted to walk around through the woods to get closer to the heron. He had heard me coming and flew off. I got stuck in thorns and bruised my shin on a tree in my failed attempt.</p>
<p>I had to post-process this as it was over-exposed and too bright to show detail.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G VR II @ 200mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Downy Woodpeckerurn:uuid:a2804bd5-2f00-32bb-895b-37793243a5c52018-01-20T15:55:41Z<p>Downy Woodpecker at Lake Elkhorn. I was only able to identify it was a woodpecker while I was photographing him. I had to do a bit of searching through Google to find the official name. I heard him pecking at the tree so the red on his head made him easy to spot on the dreary day. This is the first woodpecker I have seen since I have started birding.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G VR II @ 200mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Hooded Merganserurn:uuid:f4e5e573-1346-30e4-a995-353495c63d312018-01-20T15:54:41Z<p>Hooded Merganser at Lake Elkhorn. I have had difficulty photographing this species of duck. They seem to dislike people and fly/swim away fast even at about a 40–50 foot buffer. I've spent some time sitting at the spillway at the lake attempting to photograph them. This one is a male—the female mergansers are all brown with a reddish head.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G VR II @ 200mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Lincoln Memorial Sunriseurn:uuid:46975df1-1716-3978-b6d3-02b565980b0b2018-01-14T20:36:42Z<p>Lincoln Memorial on 12/25/17. Even though it was windy and cold (25° with wind chill), we spent several hours Christmas morning in D.C. We drove to the National Mall at 7 AM. There were few people outside and only one other photographer in the Memorial. Tripods are typically not allowed in the Memorial due to how busy it is but the parks police was allowing it (due to no one else being there). You can see how windy it was by looking at the water on the Reflecting Pool.</p>
<p>This photo was shared by Capital Weather Gang on Facebook later the same day.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-P DX NIKKOR 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR @ 10mm on Nikon D5500</p>
House Sparrowurn:uuid:5995e1a5-ace3-39cd-b1c5-48d38fd616732018-01-07T15:54:41Z<p>House Sparrow at Lake Elkhorn. I was also unable to determine what this bird was without searching through pictures of sparrows to find the correct match. They frequent the trees along the north side of the lake between the dam and boat launch.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G VR II @ 200mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Northern Mockingbirdurn:uuid:78284fde-8453-36aa-9e5b-92b496d110382018-01-07T15:53:41Z<p>Northern Mockingbird at Lake Elkhorn on 01/01/18. I did not know this was a mockingbird at first as I had to research online based on the color of the bird and location. The image was initially underexposed so I used post-production to brighten it to be able to see the bird. It is also cropped.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G VR II @ 200mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Great Blue Heronurn:uuid:a647a91b-b079-3a67-97e3-6177d9773eea2018-01-07T15:51:41Z<p>Great Blue Heron at Lake Elkhorn on 12/23/17. I initially went to the lake to take pictures of the Trumpeter Swan and came across one of the several herons that reside there. It had just started to rain (you can see the rain drops falling and hitting the water zooming in). With the extremely cold weather in the Northeast currently, I have not been able to find a heron in over 2 weeks at several of the lakes in Columbia.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G VR II @ 200mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Blue Jayurn:uuid:1578e07a-21ea-303a-9130-831c533e900c2018-01-07T15:50:41Z<p>Blue Jay along the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C. on 12/25/17. This photo was cropped down as there was empty space around the bird. I brought out the blue color very slightly in post-production.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G VR II @ 200mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Trumpeter Swan #9urn:uuid:932bc535-ce1b-3275-b0ed-aa339fee80c52017-12-29T14:53:41Z<p>Trumpeter Swan at Lake Elkhorn on 12/21/17. This is perhaps my favorite photo I took of the swan. She was standing in the spillway pond right below the dam (the water is not very deep at that part). I was able to get an incredibly crisp reflection with great framing. The blurred darker background makes her stand out more.</p>
<p>This particular bird (P95 tag) is a female, 3 or so years old. Yellow tag indicates this bird is originally from Ontario. Was spotted in searches there several months ago. Pretty rare to find one in our area as they are primarily found in Alaska, Western Canada and the US in states along Canadian border. I have gone many times to photograph her. She has been making the lake her home since approximately December 15. She had disappeared for several days from about December 22 until December 27.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G VR II @ 200mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Graceful Trumpeter Swanurn:uuid:44e8ef66-28a7-3a1a-bdbc-3fc17daded082017-12-29T14:52:41Z<p>Trumpeter Swan at Lake Elkhorn on 12/19/17. She was being very graceful standing on one leg in the spillway pond. The reflection coming down the rest of the photo adds to the beauty of this one.</p>
<p>This particular bird (P95 tag) is a female, 3 or so years old. Yellow tag indicates this bird is originally from Ontario. Was spotted in searches there several months ago. Pretty rare to find one in our area as they are primarily found in Alaska, Western Canada and the US in states along Canadian border. I have gone many times to photograph her. She has been making the lake her home since approximately December 15. She had disappeared for several days from about December 22 until December 27.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G VR II @ 200mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Trumpeter Swan #7urn:uuid:e7306889-b46a-3210-b6c2-2779297d26522017-12-29T14:51:41Z<p>Trumpeter Swan at Lake Elkhorn on 12/19/17. Another image of her sitting in the middle of the spillway pond.</p>
<p>This particular bird (P95 tag) is a female, 3 or so years old. Yellow tag indicates this bird is originally from Ontario. Was spotted in searches there several months ago. Pretty rare to find one in our area as they are primarily found in Alaska, Western Canada and the US in states along Canadian border. I have gone many times to photograph her. She has been making the lake her home since approximately December 15. She had disappeared for several days from about December 22 until December 27.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G VR II @ 200mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Sleeping Trumpeter Swanurn:uuid:1d86114d-9ee9-318f-807a-d8dd27cbe8302017-12-29T14:50:41Z<p>Trumpeter Swan at Lake Elkhorn on 12/21/17. It was cold that morning, so there was not much movement from her. The sun was behind me, making it almost seem like sunset out. There were several ducks around her paddling. There was a heron behind the duck in some of the photos that morning.</p>
<p>This particular bird (P95 tag) is a female, 3 or so years old. Yellow tag indicates this bird is originally from Ontario. Was spotted in searches there several months ago. Pretty rare to find one in our area as they are primarily found in Alaska, Western Canada and the US in states along Canadian border. I have gone many times to photograph her. She has been making the lake her home since approximately December 15. She had disappeared for several days from about December 22 until December 27.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G VR II @ 200mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Trumpeter Swan #5urn:uuid:ec145401-f9bb-3417-8bdf-50992f138b462017-12-29T14:49:41Z<p>Trumpeter Swan at Lake Elkhorn on 12/19/17. She was residing in the spillway below the dam still. It was a sunny day so I had the opportunity to spend more time at the lake taking photos. She was in the middle of the pond so I zoomed through the surrounding bushes to add a border to the photo. I really enjoyed taking photos of her with her reflection in the water.</p>
<p>This particular bird (P95 tag) is a female, 3 or so years old. Yellow tag indicates this bird is originally from Ontario. Was spotted in searches there several months ago. Pretty rare to find one in our area as they are primarily found in Alaska, Western Canada and the US in states along Canadian border. I have gone many times to photograph her. She has been making the lake her home since approximately December 15. She had disappeared for several days from about December 22 until December 27.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G VR II @ 200mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Trumpeter Swan #4urn:uuid:00b9e362-7e24-3511-9b8b-756284002bde2017-12-29T14:48:41Z<p>Trumpeter Swan at Lake Elkhorn on 12/20/17. Same place as prior picture but I was able to step in closer. Her beak is nuzzled into her feathers. You can really see the detail of how beautiful this bird is.</p>
<p>This particular bird (P95 tag) is a female, 3 or so years old. Yellow tag indicates this bird is originally from Ontario. Was spotted in searches there several months ago. Pretty rare to find one in our area as they are primarily found in Alaska, Western Canada and the US in states along Canadian border. I have gone many times to photograph her. She has been making the lake her home since approximately December 15. She had disappeared for several days from about December 22 until December 27.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G VR II @ 200mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Trumpeter Swan #3urn:uuid:e9e5b314-8e88-3db0-97f3-82cddd0d69662017-12-29T14:47:41Z<p>Trumpeter Swan at Lake Elkhorn on 12/20/17. This was only the second time I had seen her in the main body of the lake as opposed to the spillway below the dam. She was attempting to sleep, so I was able to nearly step into the lake to take this.</p>
<p>This particular bird (P95 tag) is a female, 3 or so years old. Yellow tag indicates this bird is originally from Ontario. Was spotted in searches there several months ago. Pretty rare to find one in our area as they are primarily found in Alaska, Western Canada and the US in states along Canadian border. I have gone many times to photograph her. She has been making the lake her home since approximately December 15. She had disappeared for several days from about December 22 until December 27.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G VR II @ 200mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Trumpeter Swan on Iceurn:uuid:fdc2d6f1-679c-3cae-b26a-e6b4d9201bc62017-12-29T14:46:41Z<p>Trumpeter Swan at Lake Elkhorn on 12/29/17. She was already on the ice when I arrived in the afternoon. The lake had thinly frozen over, so she was primarily in a melted patch close by the Lake Elkhorn docks. I love the reflection of her in the ice.</p>
<p>This particular bird (P95 tag) is a female, 3 or so years old. Yellow tag indicates this bird is originally from Ontario. Was spotted in searches there several months ago. Pretty rare to find one in our area as they are primarily found in Alaska, Western Canada and the US in states along Canadian border. I have gone many times to photograph her. She has been making the lake her home since approximately December 15. She had disappeared for several days from about December 22 until December 27.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G VR II @ 55mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Trumpeter Swanurn:uuid:8b9362d3-6dd0-3ec1-84dd-610265c25ac12017-12-29T14:45:41Z<p>Trumpeter Swan at Lake Elkhorn on 12/29/17. Using autofocus this trip, I was easily able to get motion without having to make sure she was in focus.</p>
<p>This particular bird (P95 tag) is a female, 3 or so years old. Yellow tag indicates this bird is originally from Ontario. Was spotted in searches there several months ago. Pretty rare to find one in our area as they are primarily found in Alaska, Western Canada and the US in states along Canadian border. I have gone many times to photograph her. She has been making the lake her home since approximately December 15. She had disappeared for several days from about December 22 until December 27.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G VR II @ 55mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Mushrooms #2urn:uuid:33bcefc6-07d5-322c-8082-5e901462eace2017-12-20T16:37:41Z<p>Another set of mushrooms in the middle of the grounds. The rainbow lights are in the background. Garden of Lights at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G</p>
Sunflower #2urn:uuid:74c88793-2624-33d9-a6e6-bf8bfab234b42017-12-20T16:36:41Z<p>Another sunflower in the middle of the grounds. There were several sets of lighted flowers in this portion. There is a lighted dragonfly attached to a tree in the background. Garden of Lights at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G</p>
Mushroomsurn:uuid:1a574faa-e7f0-3d69-9ce3-b76365cb1e952017-12-20T16:35:41Z<p>Set of mushroom lights. Garden of Lights at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G</p>
Caterpillar Archurn:uuid:239f1752-76c3-3211-bb80-dff11df5ac7c2017-12-20T16:34:41Z<p>Opposite side of entryway. The lighted archway in the middle of the photo is meant to be a caterpillar. You can see one of the antenna on careful examination. Garden of Lights at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G</p>
Tree of Lights #2urn:uuid:23300095-ed5e-38cd-b538-e4ab2ce1bec32017-12-20T16:33:41Z<p>Another set of decorated trees. It was hard to read in the dark what types of trees were on the grounds as it was dark and the christmas lights were not emitting enough light. Garden of Lights at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G</p>
Tree of Lightsurn:uuid:1310a0e8-839d-3c73-b453-f9c5c1e8d53f2017-12-20T16:32:41Z<p>One of the hundreds of trees decorated on the grounds. If you look closely enough, you can see some of the cord plugs but that is to be expected at an event like this. Garden of Lights at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G</p>
Lighted Terrace #2urn:uuid:d4ad4cb6-4cd5-3bc2-9acc-b6b9bace18ac2017-12-20T16:31:41Z<p>Another lighted terrace. This one is plain in ways but the bokeh from the lights in the background put this as one of my favorites. Garden of Lights at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G</p>
Lighted Terraceurn:uuid:c5feca38-b0d3-34c2-a50a-075a5448b3a42017-12-20T16:30:41Z<p>Lighted terrace with the effect of bokeh from several displays in the distance. Garden of Lights at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G</p>
Sunflowerurn:uuid:c0ba2591-452d-3dad-8885-f035af72a1a62017-12-20T09:30:41Z<p>Christmas lights set in the shape of a flower. Garden of Lights at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G</p>
Central Park Christmasurn:uuid:3cf856ad-8a1b-3a4f-8c10-0b2a3bbaf8672017-12-13T23:30:41Z<p>Central Park Christmas in Johnstown, PA. We went down to take some holiday photos while we were visiting my parents over Thanksgiving. This image has a nice amount of bokeh in the background. (Bokeh is the blur in the background which makes light stand out as circles.)</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II @ 55mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Rocc #4urn:uuid:8e789a0f-b448-37ac-999e-a6de9a28ab3b2017-12-13T23:02:41Z<p>Rocc has magnificent facial expressions and a beautiful fur color.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G</p>
Susie #3urn:uuid:136b0318-7e26-3b68-ae90-7342aef314672017-12-13T23:01:41Z<p>Susie looking very sophisticated and proper as she takes a nap on their dog bed.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G</p>
Calvin #2urn:uuid:d732501e-8b1f-3ee3-9ce0-7332d6bad3112017-12-13T23:00:41Z<p>Calvin in one of his favorite boxes.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G</p>
Rocc #3urn:uuid:442e45d3-ec68-395e-9727-e67447abe33c2017-12-10T22:56:41Z<p>Rocc sitting in her favorite cat perch by my husband's desk.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G VR II @ 200mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Susie #2urn:uuid:d0e81f10-1b16-3413-a529-d3ccb0aae8562017-12-10T22:55:41Z<p>Susie posing for a photo in our kitchen.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G VR II @ 92mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Lake Elkhorn Snowurn:uuid:34e62ac5-40b4-3624-a9bb-8330b5981d242017-12-10T22:50:41Z<p>Lake Elkhorn lower pond after our first winter snow (12/10/2017). I intended on going to Centennial Park but it was closed due to the snow. I headed back to Columbia before the afternoon sun started melting what little snow we got. There was a set of power lines, some sledders and a drain in this picture, but I removed those items to make it a better photo for a background.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II @ 18mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Snowy Benchurn:uuid:4052c3cf-1605-3e1c-b246-c1c9287307272017-12-10T21:50:41Z<p>Snowy bench at Lake Elkhorn lower pond after our first winter snow (12/10/2017). While there were footprints down to the lake in several places, the benches and picnic tables were covered in untouched snow. You can see it was getting warm enough at this point for the snow to start melting. The footbridge at the southern end of the lake is at the top of the photo.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II @ 35mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Howard County Police Helicopterurn:uuid:856c7ab2-176a-3791-9f7d-d9bcdf3bbb352017-12-04T19:38:00Z<p>Howard County Police helicopter. It had circled around a small area of King's Contrivance several times before I grabbed my camera. I wasn't able to find any information on the police Facebook page but it was circling around for about 15 minutes before it flew off.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G VR II @ 200mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Me at Nittany Lion Shrineurn:uuid:21ae0bb1-09c3-3dc1-8582-6b1cd5206de72017-12-03T22:15:42Z<p>Me at the Nittany Lion Shrine on our alumni visit. I had set up the camera on the tripod for my husband take a few pictures. Autofocus was used so he could just tap where I was on the screen.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II @ 48mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Pattee and Paterno Libraryurn:uuid:b993368d-f980-30ea-9ed6-4f92de5f9f2f2017-12-03T22:05:42Z<p>Entrance to Pattee and Paterno Library - south entrance. Looking up towards the Reading Room on the second floor. We wanted to head into the library as the Penn State Stacks would have been a great place for photography, but the library was closed for the Thanksgiving break.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-P DX NIKKOR 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR @ 18mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Old Main Armillary Sphereurn:uuid:04817135-c912-36ad-9387-131ce75726fe2017-12-03T21:52:42Z<p>Armillary Sphere in front of Old Main. Gift from the Class of 1966. If one looks at the bottom of the sphere carefully, you will see it is balancing on a turtle. It appears as several interlocking rings. Roman numerals I through XII line the inner part of the largest ring, and astrological symbols of the zodiac are scattered on the outer part.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-P DX NIKKOR 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR @ 10mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Old Main - Penn State #2urn:uuid:6354ac17-1ab0-365b-ad82-8207fdf2bd742017-12-03T21:49:42Z<p>Old Main at Penn State University - State College. Shot from below the entrance. Fun tidbit is that I was never inside Old Main my 4.5 years at the university.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-P DX NIKKOR 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR @ 17mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Curtin Road - Berkey Creameryurn:uuid:0dfe472b-e46e-3ea4-8ecf-55d09c15e1cc2017-12-03T21:39:42Z<p>Intersection of Curtin Road and Bigler Road by Berkey Creamery at Penn State. At the end of our alumni visit, we stopped here as my husband was never in the new Creamery location. It provided a good opportunity to get shots in the street as on-campus dormitories were not open until the day after. There was little foot traffic and even less road traffic, so I took some time to get street shots one would be unable to get almost every other day of the year.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-P DX NIKKOR 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR @ 10mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Old Main - Penn Stateurn:uuid:2a74e1e3-df70-3713-ad03-63beeccd50952017-12-03T21:38:42Z<p>Old Main at Penn State University - State College. Several days after Thanksgiving with few people on campus. The sun was just starting to come out at this point in our trip.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-P DX NIKKOR 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR @ 19mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Pittsburgh Night Skylineurn:uuid:d4013a89-daa1-38d9-b137-0a937cd73c632017-12-03T20:36:42Z<p>Long-exposure of Pittsburgh taken from the top of Mt. Washington. Taken from the Upper Incline Scenic Overlook just to the left of the Monongahela Incline. My husband's family is from Pittsburgh so we took a drive downtown the night before Thanksgiving. The temperature was in the 30's, which felt much colder with the wind on the top of the mountain. A tripod was used and no post-processing was done. The long exposure made for good light trails on cars. The river also looks very smooth.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-P DX NIKKOR 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR @ 20mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Black-capped Chickadeeurn:uuid:a3b4db45-7e97-3ece-8c54-fcf2c0bdac312017-11-26T15:50:41Z<p>Black-capped Chickadee sitting atop my parent's bird feeder. I was unsure what the name of this bird was initially. My first result searching for Pennsylvania bird identification gave me not only the name of this bird but that this bird was also one of the most common songbirds in Pennsylvania.</p>
<p>Several birds had visited the feeder prior to me going outside with my camera and tripod. This was the last bird that I had photographed. My setup for over 20 minutes afterwards consisted of almost 1400 pictures (1/1000 second aperture at 1 second intervals) with an empty feeder.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G VR II @ 200mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Columbia Mall Plaza #2urn:uuid:89233d19-3bcd-31b6-8e07-07ff4ffc39282017-11-25T21:36:42Z<p>Ed Kidera metal sculptures at the Mall in Columbia outdoor plaza. This is a small portion of a sculpture of a man and woman holding a flower together. I was able to avoid the busyness of the merchants in the background by crouching down. I kept the tree to add more color to the background.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II @ 48mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Columbia Mall Plazaurn:uuid:a1d7352c-3707-3be6-90b7-f3077ec876ea2017-11-25T20:36:42Z<p>Ed Kidera metal sculptures at the Mall in Columbia outdoor plaza. These sculptures have been here for several years but this was the first time viewing them. Rust from the metal that has started forming on the ground adds a small touch.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II @ 18mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Guilford Pratt Railroad Bridgeurn:uuid:afd3c732-9d2b-3220-8ed1-839249a0581c2017-11-11T17:59:24Z<p>Guilford Pratt Railroad Bridge seen from the Little Patuxent River. This was after a day of rain at the beginning of November. We have occasionally seen the water nearly touching the bottom of the bridge at times after an incredibly heavy rainfall or the rare tropical storm remnants. Occasionally a tree from one of the prior storms will lodge where the grassy patch is.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II @ 55mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Green Climber Ivyurn:uuid:bb16eb7b-36f6-324c-92e1-cb7e3d5cdbed2017-11-11T16:59:24Z<p>Green ivy climbing up a tree with the last remnants of fall in the background. Unsure what type of tree this is. Green ivy was the best fitting match searching Google.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II @ 55mm on Nikon D5500</p>
B & O Railroadurn:uuid:507b5aa3-5977-3662-92d8-3f4dc5e81f932017-11-11T15:29:24Z<p>Mid-morning view of B & O Railroad - Old Main Line looking east. Directly north of Patapsco Swinging Bridge in the Glen Artney area of Patapsco Valley State Park. There is a small unmarked path up to the railroad tracks. We did see a train coming by about an hour later. While they do not want people so close to the tracks for safety reasons and being private property, it was an interesting experience being able to be close-up to a long set of railcars.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-P DX NIKKOR 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR @ 20mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Lake Elkhorn Heron #4urn:uuid:55e6ff7f-771f-30ae-93b4-4c7427419f3a2017-11-03T14:51:41Z<p>Female heron at Lake Elkhorn. I followed her around a small part of the lake for about 40 minutes. While I preferred a similar picture where her legs were out of the water, not enough of her body was in the picture. I attempted to keep her in the center of the pictures, but being zoomed in made it a challenge. No post-processing done.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G VR II @ 200mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Lake Elkhorn Heron #3urn:uuid:ecf3a86f-d775-32a7-83c6-bb46a71dc8b02017-11-03T14:45:41Z<p>Female heron at Lake Elkhorn. I followed her around a small part of the lake for about 40 minutes. While her face is just slightly blurry if you zoom in far enough, the framing of this image turned out fantastic. No post-processing done.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G VR II @ 200mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Lake Elkhorn Heron #2urn:uuid:00435038-fad6-3b6c-8b97-59d16d9cb2782017-11-03T14:40:41Z<p>Female heron at Lake Elkhorn. I followed her around a small part of the lake for about 40 minutes. This was one of my favorite shots. The leaves framing the heron was not intentional but added a nice touch. Her eyes really stand out in this. No post-processing done.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G VR II @ 200mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Lake Elkhorn Heronurn:uuid:eed91277-a3eb-34b3-9ebb-5ed7f2c713922017-11-03T13:50:41Z<p>Female heron at Lake Elkhorn. I followed her around a small part of the lake for about 40 minutes. I had to shoot at a faster speed in burst shots. The reflection is crisp. No post-processing done.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G VR II @ 200mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Patapsco Swinging Bridgeurn:uuid:7565ced1-fa0b-3608-90af-c7621b578f722017-10-30T13:20:52Z<p>Patapsco Swinging Bridge at Patapsco Valley State Park - Avalon/Orange Grove. The Patapsco Valley has a history of "swinging" bridges built for pedestrian travel from one side of the river to the other. The Orange Grove Flour Mill was one such popular crossing and is where the current bridge now stands. The current bridge was rebuilt and opened in 2006.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-P DX NIKKOR 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR @ 10mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Patapsco Riverurn:uuid:cdfd90a1-bca1-3ec8-b679-ad0b286441ac2017-10-30T13:01:52Z<p>Patapsco River in Patapsco Valley State Park - Avalon/Orange Grove. Fall foliage came out slowly this year in Maryland. Many of the leaves have fallen before we got a nice set of colors.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G VR II @ 55mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Great Blue Heronurn:uuid:f43b5cbc-41f6-3e16-ab14-a995c57de6712017-10-30T12:38:00Z<p>Great Blue Heron at Patapsco Valley State Park - Avalon/Orange Grove area. I had a hard time spotting him in the tree. I wasn't able to get much closer as I misstepped into the river, causing enough noise for the heron to fly upriver and out of sight.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G VR II @ 200mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Rocc #2urn:uuid:237309a2-991a-31fb-a6f8-5117d5d03afa2017-10-29T21:30:41Z<p>Practicing portrait photography with Rocc as a subject. No post-processing on this photo.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II @ 55mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Centennial Park Self-Portraiturn:uuid:02590dc1-c42e-33ad-9075-267af7b7e01e2017-10-28T23:59:24Z<p>Centennial Park just a few steps to the left of the jetty from the prior picture. I consider this to be a photographer self-portrait of sorts and find it a unique take on "selfies".</p>
<p>Lens - AF-P DX NIKKOR 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR @ 10mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Centennial Park Jettyurn:uuid:bba15e60-a83d-3f66-9b9a-e7b95fd7f57b2017-10-28T23:45:24Z<p>Centennial Park jetty at the Centennial Lake Boat Ramp. I prefer to use the wide-angle for these types of shots on sunny days. I have been working on centering items and using the rule of thirds more recently. It makes for a great phone background.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-P DX NIKKOR 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR @ 10mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Little Patuxent River #4urn:uuid:e207cc9c-94eb-3795-abfa-db6b16382dba2017-10-28T21:45:24Z<p>Little Patuxent River. Pathway off Columbia Association Connector to Patuxent Branch Trail. Guilford Pratt Truss Bridge is to the south.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II @ 55mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Little Patuxent River #3urn:uuid:071af90d-6034-3258-bd6e-7e5d301d587e2017-10-21T01:45:24Z<p>Little Patuxent River. Pathway off Columbia Association Connector to Patuxent Branch Trail. Guilford Pratt Truss Bridge is to the south.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-P DX NIKKOR 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR @ 10mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Patuxent Branch Trailurn:uuid:b25694f4-7e6f-3404-a2cf-e058a7cb9d7f2017-10-21T01:25:24Z<p>Patuxent Branch Trail east of Guilford Pratt Truss Bridge heading down into the valley.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G VR II @ 55mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Billy Goat Trailurn:uuid:80d22236-22eb-33f9-841b-6e7a2851b9aa2017-10-21T00:25:24Z<p>Billy Goat Trail at Great Falls. Looking across Potomac River into Virginia side of Great Falls. While zooming in, one can see a heron sitting on the single rocks in the river. You can also see several people climbing up the rock faces on the Virginia side.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-P DX NIKKOR 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR @ 20mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Olmstead Island Trailurn:uuid:1942742e-2007-3394-86cc-a2aae8b917932017-10-21T00:24:24Z<p>Great Falls - Olmstead Island Trail looking north. Looking into the preserved part of the island as you are unable to go off-trail.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-P DX NIKKOR 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR @ 10mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Sugarloaf Mountain White Trailurn:uuid:259fef6f-5710-3a81-a3a7-b722f532716d2017-10-15T20:36:24Z<p>Sugarloaf Mountain in Urbana, Maryland. Heading down the White Trail from the summit towards parking lot.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-P DX NIKKOR 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR @ 20mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Sugarloaf Mountain Orange Trailurn:uuid:04738760-a436-3685-a644-76b7e8acba952017-10-15T20:24:24Z<p>Sugarloaf Mountain in Urbana, Maryland. Beginning of the Orange Trail at East View Parking Lot. I did not take any pictures heading up this trail as it is a very steep climb. I hit my camera lens several times on the way up and my husband had to help me climb up at one point.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II @ 18mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Berma Road Pathurn:uuid:75059287-6fd6-36c4-946b-6d05518dd2132017-10-11T23:24:24Z<p>Great Falls - Berma Road path via C & O Trail south of Stop Gate. It was morning when this picture was taken but the image was quite bright. I placed more emphasis on the river and trail while darkening the trees. I added an angled filter to add a slight shadow to the lower right image.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-P DX NIKKOR 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR @ 10mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Centennial Lakeurn:uuid:ba4c1c90-e285-3bf7-8433-ef44136e63182017-10-11T21:00:42Z<p>Centennial Lake along the southern portion of the lake loop. With the leaves starting to change locally, I had wanted to venture to some local parks to see how the foliage was. It wasn't as strong as I'd hoped. Several geese were passing by to join the few to my west.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-P DX NIKKOR 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR @ 14mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Nighttime Flighturn:uuid:c0389093-c0ad-3fc5-b02b-643c6fb91c112017-10-11T20:36:42Z<p>Plane flying into BWI from our balcony October 7, 2017 at 8:42 PM. I had the shutter open for 20 seconds while having a negative exposure to not have the image be bright. There was some still some noise after post-production I was unable to smooth out without having the small details blend together.</p>
<p>Prior to writing this, I attempted to research which flight was inbound at that time but was unsuccessful. It was a lesson learned to look at real-time flight tracking while taking pictures of airplanes.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED VR II @ 55mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Fall Foliageurn:uuid:c9fe62bc-4150-3495-a849-837f46ef22ad2017-10-08T19:19:52Z<p>Fall foliage starting to hit its peak in Maryland.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G VR II @ 145mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Harvest Moon 10/04/2017urn:uuid:6d2b2128-4bdf-3036-979d-c9f64a2964642017-10-07T23:38:00Z<p>Harvest Moon - October 4, 2017 at 10:07 PM. I attempted earlier in the evening to capture the Harvest Moon between an opening in the trees but it was too cloudy. I spent the next 2 hours in and out from our balcony waiting for the clouds to clear. When there was minor cloud coverage, I was able to get shots in but they were still bright. I had to set the exposure negative several steps to preserve the details of the moon. (This shot was -2.7 exposure - some of my others were at my camera's maximum negative at -5.) With night photography, a higher exposure is almost always needed to allow enough light in. The downside of this is that more noise is added to the image. By being able to shoot the moon at ISO100, there is 0 noise (an ISO of 100 is used for shooting in bright light).</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G VR II @ 200mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Little Patuxent River #2urn:uuid:38bf28ae-ae2a-3668-8c4a-a559762a79b42017-10-05T00:19:52Z<p>Guilford Pratt Truss Bridge along Patuxent Branch Trail. Looking north along Little Patuxent River. Opposite side of the bridge of prior picture.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G VR II @ 200mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Little Patuxent Riverurn:uuid:84311073-d8dd-3854-ab4f-6f1956b19a2a2017-10-03T21:19:52Z<p>Guilford Pratt Truss Bridge along Patuxent Branch Trail. Looking south along Little Patuxent River.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G VR II @ 55mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Patapsco River Quartzurn:uuid:b1c549de-bf2a-360f-aebc-3732bd1c9b302017-10-02T22:19:52Z<p>Found along Patapsco River at Patapsco Valley State Park - Avalon. We attempted to search for what type of quartz would be local to the Patapsco watershed but were not able to find much information.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II @ 36mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3urn:uuid:097c4336-e3a4-389a-8249-6930885291772017-10-01T20:56:12Z<p>Naval Aircraft Factory N3N-3 "Yellow Peril" at Smithsonian Air and Space Museum - Udvar-Hazy Center. Taken December 2016. I was just starting into DSLR photography at this point last year. Unlike the pictures I took of the Discovery shuttle, I was able to get no people in this image. As the original image was dull and less vibrant, I brought out the colors of the plane while lightening the background to give more focus to the subject.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G II VR @ 36mm on Nikon D5500</p>
C&O Canal Trail Lockurn:uuid:6f80e6b1-08ec-3b5d-a64b-9f254be628242017-09-30T01:47:52Z<p>Just south of Lock #16. Framed the image with the fallen tree and flowers to make it more interesting. The reflection of the rocks and trees on the water came out crispy in post-production. I emphasized the objects in the water being visible at the bottom of the image.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-P DX NIKKOR 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR @ 10mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Olmsted Island Pathwayurn:uuid:736b5961-9fa1-312c-9e2d-7ed7cca28d2e2017-09-30T01:41:52Z<p>The only way to the Great Falls Overlook is via one wooden pathway (in order to preserve the ecosystem of the island). It was early enough that only a few people were trekking to the Overlook. It gives a feeling of seclusion on an otherwise crowded area of the park.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-P DX NIKKOR 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR @ 20mm on Nikon D5500</p>
C&O Canal Lock #15urn:uuid:84bee05f-dda8-368d-875f-3e3d898baf1a2017-09-30T01:36:52Z<p>Bridge overlooking former canal stonework. Water flowing in from just south of Lock #15. Overgrowth was evident again in this portion of water. I used a tree with leaves just changing colors to frame the image. The red and yellow provided more coloring to the image. I brought out the browns on the wall and grass to brighten it up.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-P DX NIKKOR 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR @ 10mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Olmsted Island Rapidsurn:uuid:5048bb5c-7698-3482-b7e3-eb51030fde742017-09-30T01:25:52Z<p>Second bridge heading to the Great Falls Overlook on Olmsted Island Trail. The water cutting through the rock is still considered to be the Potomac River. The rapids are more interesting when there has been more rain or snowfall is starting to melt.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-P DX NIKKOR 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR @ 10mm on Nikon D5500</p>
C&O Canal Pondurn:uuid:4c6cc97e-1d2b-3906-9897-4235d13bbedb2017-09-30T01:02:52Z<p>This pond is situated between Locks 15 and 16 on the C&O Canal Trail. The overgrowth in the pond was brought out in post-production. The trees and grass contrast the overgrowth. It was difficult to balance out the greens between the pond and the grass/trees.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-P DX NIKKOR 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR @ 12mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Olmsted Island Flumesurn:uuid:d16d2c51-175c-3590-9bc7-88f8fffa2c372017-09-30T00:51:52Z<p>Olmsted Island Trail entry from C&O Canal Trail. Main bridge looking south. This was the lowest water level we have seen rushing through in 3 visits. The rapids through this part of the Potomac River are truly amazing. My only (minor) complaint with this image was that the water is slightly off-center.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-P DX NIKKOR 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR @ 10mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Great Falls Overlookurn:uuid:2a544e08-7b1e-360a-b8a8-090fc19bab3d2017-09-30T00:49:52Z<p>This is the most visited part of Great Falls on the Maryland side. When there has been a large rainfall or snow melt, the falls are roaring. This was the lowest we have seen them in several visits. As it was early morning (and foggy), there were few people at the overlook. View is looking north. The opposite side of the falls is Virginia.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-P DX NIKKOR 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR @ 20mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Potomac River Inleturn:uuid:a2f402fb-0225-33fb-a876-d6e130ea5ddb2017-09-30T00:47:52Z<p>Path south of Canal Lock #17 on C&O Canal Trail. Rocky Islands are in the background. It was still foggy at this point in the morning, so a bluer sky would have made for a better reflection. The water reflection of the rock still makes this a personal favorite from our Great Falls trip.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-P DX NIKKOR 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR @ 16mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Zoomed Morning Dew Sunflowerurn:uuid:8aa81f53-a3c0-321c-a80a-bc17096f1a8c2017-09-28T23:54:54Z<p>I took the prior sunflower image (Morning Dew Sunflower) and did a crop that focuses on the dew resting on the petals. I intended for this to be used as a background on my computer so I wanted to extend out into the blurred background.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED VR II @ 170mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Morning Dew Sunflowerurn:uuid:9c6b2d24-0969-3e30-837d-fe89654d63472017-09-28T23:49:54Z<p>A single sunflower with morning dew. McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area - located in Poolesville, MD late July. I wanted to make the yellow really stand out. My main focus was to make it feel as though the flower is right in front of you by bringing out the yellows and reds. I also wanted to make the water pop out.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED VR II @ 170mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Roccurn:uuid:aa53ab9a-dce9-3cc8-8ed3-3043bd52ae7a2017-09-28T04:47:24Z<p>Rocc, otherwise known as Roccketship, posing in one of her favorite cat beds. I had to get incredibly close to her using the wide angle lens, which promptly ended the portrait session about two minutes later.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-P DX NIKKOR 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR @ 20mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Susieurn:uuid:af61fab4-c05d-3521-82ae-e19d33090ba42017-09-28T00:52:16Z<p>Susie lounging in her favorite spot - bedroom balcony during the afternoon. She loves the sun shining in the balcony window all afternoon.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II @ 48mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Cascade Trail Waterfallurn:uuid:5b68a3b1-051b-3d8e-8b3c-da5a3ac159f12017-09-27T17:40:33Z<p>A smaller waterfall north of Cascade Falls along the Cascade Falls trail in Patapsco Valley State Park - Avalon. I was enjoying using different exposure times on the other smaller waterfalls. It is not as dramatic as an effect as some of the other waterfall pictures taken.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II @ 29mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Cascade Fallsurn:uuid:42769e5f-b808-38e7-b885-46cd8119b2ea2017-09-27T17:26:42Z<p>Patapsco Valley State Park - Avalon along the Cascade Falls trail. This is the unique stop along the trail where many people tend to cluster to take pictures of this waterfall. I had about a 45 second to a minute window where no one was posing on top of the falls. First foray into blurring water with a longer exposure time.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G II VR @ 24mm on Nikon D5500</p>
River Shadowsurn:uuid:5f1dc469-049e-3cfa-aef6-e492d0ea52f42017-09-27T17:19:19Z<p>Patapsco Valley State Park - Avalon along Patapsco River just north of the Swinging Bridge. While wandering along the river, I saw our shadows stretch out far and thought this would make for a unique couples picture.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-P DX NIKKOR 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR @ 17mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Deck of Cardsurn:uuid:01ecfceb-06c9-3efc-bd23-d5fe2fcb28b72017-09-27T00:36:42Z<p>My husband requested a picture of a deck of cards for one of his programming articles. I used a black construction paper background that appears as almost velvet after post-production. I wanted to lay out the cards in a tidy fashion.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II @ 48mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Calvinurn:uuid:0e937aa1-3127-3a42-a0a8-d15eeaf9b2642017-09-26T22:50:41Z<p>One of our three cats. Was using him as a test subject to try out my current lenses for portrait photography.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II @ 34mm on Nikon D5500</p>
International Space Station timelapseurn:uuid:6b1ddd9d-91c7-3a64-a69d-58961d4f836d2017-08-10T01:38:00Z<p>International Space Station had a several minute flyby at 9:38 PM on August 09, 2017. The flyby was set to be visible very high above the horizon. We set up in the field behind our apartment with a tripod and the camera set to take 21 pictures with 6 second intervals at 1.6 second exposure. We initially missed the bottom trail as it was hard to see the ISS. I stitched together 19 images (which was a task in itself) and changed the colors to make the sky stand out more. You can also see the star trails due to having the lens open longer. This was basically a shot in the dark hoping it would work and was pleased with how well it came out for a first try.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-P DX NIKKOR 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR @ 15mm on Nikon D5500</p>
C&O Canal - Mile 26urn:uuid:2d91abd4-5a6f-3c54-8151-d19582d855052017-07-28T12:00:00Z<p>Entered C&O Trail via West Willard Road (McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area). My husband wandered up the trail while I was swapping lenses and I snapped this. I tried to emphasize the light coming through the trees onto the trail.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II @ 18mm on Nikon D5500</p>
Sunflower Beesurn:uuid:c0eb51ca-9419-3335-88d6-a5f0045f2cf22017-07-28T00:00:00Z<p>McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area - located in Poolesville, MD -
is home to several sunflower fields in midsummer. Many bees were out early in the morning. One of the first times getting shooting experience
with DSLR and enjoyed doing macro photography with the bees.</p>
<p>Lens - AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED VR II @ 200mm on Nikon D5500</p>