My Birds

Here are my birds. Interesting I say my birds when I don’t own them but I feel sort of obligated to protect and care for them as I can. In fact, they probably own me more than I do them – they allow me to photograph them (i.e. they control whether or not a I can photograph them; they pretty much control the situation). I plan to showcase the birds that have allowed me to photograph them.

Lately I’ve been hanging around Huntley Meadows Park in Alexandria Va. My initial plan was to visit just the one weekend but the park has been very active – Ospreys, Herons, Egrets, Swallows, snappers, frogs, snakes, beavers etc. - that I’ve gone there for the past 3 weekends. The Green Heron and Swallows have been particularly cooperative in allowing me and other photographers to capture them going about their everyday business, without fear. So I will start the set with the Green Heron.

Green Heron - A small, stocky wading bird, the Green Heron is common in wet spots across much of North America. It can be difficult to see as it stands motionless waiting for small fish to approach within striking range, but it frequently announces its presence by its loud squawking. It commonly drops bait onto the surface of the water and grabs the small fish that are attracted. It uses a variety of baits and lures, including crusts of bread, insects, earthworms, twigs, or feathers.

The first photo I call Reflections.








This message was edited Jul 10, 2010 12:03 AM

This shot I call The Balancing Act

When I came along the boardwalk that enters the wet area, I spotted this fella and the first thing that came to mind was this guy is knee deep - so I call this shot "Knee Deep"

I thought this guy was cool. So I call this one "Cool Hair Day"

Got an Itch

This one I call - Streeeetch'n it

Ok here's the last one for now. This one is called - Bye Bye

Very nice set of the Green Heron Met!! Really like the (Cool Hair Day) shot!

Lovely pics Met! I always enjoy seeing the Green Heron.

Those are incredible shots. Love the stretched out neck!

Wowee Al, they're fantastic shots.

Fantastic shots of the bird and their 'tittle' on each pic. Al. I like them all especially the 'Stretch it'. Had no idea their necks are soooo long. Fab. pictures! Thank you.

Excellent captures, each one of them. I really get a kick out of their long necks and the "hair".

Hope to see more photos soon!

Beautiful shots...well done!

Thanks everyone. I appreciate you taking time to view the photos and comment. I will be posting more photos on a regular, hopefully. I am getting more into sports photography and little league football is around the corner - but Sunday's are bird photo days. But the good thing is I have a stock full of bird photos.

Take care.

Nice photos of the 'Green Heron', Al. I have yet to visit Huntley Meadows. It looks like a great site and is only an hour away from me. Did you get any photos of the Beaver ? This afternoon, after the rain, I decided to visit Schoolhouse Pond in Upper Marlboro to look for the 'Common Moorhen'. I did see it quite a distance away but most of the time it was shielded by lots of vegetation. There is also a small flock of American Avocets in a pond off of Brown Station Road in Upper Marlboro but the directions I had didn't help me find the location. Oh well !!!

Yes I did get photos of the Beavers. There were three sleeping in the vegetation - fat little suckers too. I was able to get a couple decent shots through the vegetation. You would enjoy Huntley Meadows, especially if you get there by 6-6:30 in the morning. Families start coming around 9 or 10 but by that time I am just about off to Jugs Bay to see the Ospreys.

Barn Swallows:

A familiar inhabitant of barns and other outbuildings, the Barn Swallow is easily recognized by its long forked tail. Although this may be true, I have yet to see them at a barn – not that they don’t inhabit barns, I just have not seen them at any barn. It was originally a cave breeder, but now the swallow nests almost exclusively on man-made structures.

When I entered the wetland I thought these were bats flying around as they seem to have similar flight characteristics – that and I did not have my binoculars to confirm the identity. These little wonders have been all over the wetland lately. They have been pretty cooperative and constantly perch on some dead trees waiting for the parents to feed them - sounds familiar.

The 1st few images is a male who popped up on the branch as I was photographing the Great Egrets.

Another of the same perched Swallow

And another one

This is a shot of the little one scratching an itch.

Here you can see the one of the left must have seen on adult fly by as it opened wide looking for some grub.

Here I think the sibling is telling the other one - you need to stop relying on mommy and daddy and go out and earn your own, stand on your own 2 feet. Oh now I like an independent child.



This message was edited Jul 13, 2010 12:55 AM

Obviously he didn't get the message so the sibling had to really take a stand and get his message across. See you next time.

This message was edited Jul 13, 2010 12:53 AM

Love these shots Al...especially the little one with it's mouth open, just adorable. These are one of my favorite birds and they nest in our barn every year. They are a beautiful bird to watch and very entertaining. You have really done them justice!!

Wonderful shots Al. I'm another Barn Swallow fan.

Count me in as a Barn Swallow fan too! These are amazing photos of them Met. I see them here once in a while, but they don't sit still more than a couple seconds. Great job!!

Great shots of the juvy Barn Swallow's Met!! The mouth open shot is my favorite...but they all are excellent shots.

Thanks everyone.

Great shots all!

I too like the barn swallows. Such interesting birds. And if you get near their nest those guys will really dive-bomb you. Much more so than the tree swallows -- or at least that has been my experience.

Dave

Hands up for swallows here too. They are the first bird I ever remember. They used to dive bomb the family cat. I must have been about 4-5 at the time.

Thanks Dave and Mrs_Ed. These little ones were being fed by their parents as they sat on nearby branches. The parents wizzed by and the little ones got so excited. They (the parents) seemed to know which little one was in line for the next catch, although at one point they kept forgetting about one of them, while the others screamed for more. I guess the squeaky wheel always gets oiled.

Here's a short series with the feeding in action. This went on all the time I was there (Huntley Meadows). Did the little one get his catch...umm lets see.

First shot you can see he notices the parent is out there flying around with food. They

The next 2 shots you can see how excited they start to get when the parents are flying around

Look how big the mouth is for such a little bird

Here comes Daddy with the food. Did he get it

This message was edited Jul 21, 2010 10:23 PM

Nope. He missed; they were about 50/50 with the in air smorgasborg.

He looks ok with the fumble though. I guess he figured there's more where that came from.

Awww. Better luck next time.

Take care everyone...see you next time.



This message was edited Jul 21, 2010 10:29 PM

Outstanding shots Met!!!!

So clear and detailed right down to the fly.

Spectacular all of them.

Great clarity, Met. Waiting anxiously for the next set of photos. What will it be ?