Month: December 2013

Judging from the number of photos I have posted recently, you might think that I haven’t been out birding locally for a while. Fortunately, that’s not true. I’ve actually been out birding several times and enjoyed it as much as I ever have. The problem is that once I’ve gotten home and looked at the pictures on the computer I don’t think they capture the feelings I actually had while out birding.

It’s fun posting pictures of birds I’ve seen for the very first time. Those pictures always look “special” to me. The real test, though, is trying to make pictures you have posted many times look “special,” to make them capture the excitement you still feel when actually out birding. Sometimes you’re lucky enough to catch birds doing unusual thing, or catch them in particularly dramatic moments. Those are the “one-of-a-kind” shots that you can actually sell. If you get four of those shots in a year you could probably consider yourself a “professional photographer.” Even if you’re a professional, though, you’re not going to be able to fill up a blog page every day.

For me, the alternative is to use “Photoshopping” to try to make pictures look striking. I used to do that much more often than I have been lately because I’m lazy and it’s time-consuming and often when you return to a shot later you decide you really don’t like the effect. But, I’m desperate enough to give it a try for today at least.

No matter how many times a flock of Canada Geese flies over my head I’m still awed by the sound of their beating wings,

and even though my hard drive is full of Great Blue Heron shots, I can’t resist trying once again to capture the elegance of these birds,

Tai Chi masters of the ponds they inhabit.

I went to Colorado to spend Thanksgiving with Tyson and family, the first time we’ve ever managed to do that. I probably should have taken more pictures of the kids, but I was having too good of time crafting with them and playing video games to take pictures. This shot of the Leslie, Jen, Logan, Zoe, and Sydney is as close as I got to a family portrait and I actually had to splice two pictures together to get Sydney in the shot.

Tyson and the dogs are nowhere to be seen, though they might have been standing next to me, as I remember it.

Luckily for me, going for walks is always a part of my visits, even though Sydney doesn’t seem to enjoy them as much as the other two, at least not until she actually gets outside.

I didn’t see nearly as any birds this time as I usually do. In fact, I could’ve easily gone a few miles down the road and got most of the same pictures I got there. This Ring-Necked Duck is quite common around here during the winter.

Mourning Doves are not as common but they’re certainly not rare, either.

The only bird I saw that I thought might be one I hadn’t seen before is this bird, which I think is a female Rose-Breasted grosbeak.

My favorite shot of the trip, though, is probably this shot of a Kestrel

that seemed more willing than most to pose for a photograph. It’s a striking bird that I’m more apt to see in Colorado than anywhere else, though they are found in Western Washington, too.

I was amazed at the number of Red-Tailed Hawks I saw in Colorado my recent trip. In fact, the very first picture I got in Colorado was a picture of a Red-Tailed Hawk catching a large snake.

Perhaps the greatest surprise of all was that there was even a snake out in winter in Broomfield, especially since it had snowed the week before.

Seconds later the apparent mate of this bird started circling us

dropping ever closer to the point where I could barely keep it in the frame.

I actually had several more sightings of Red-Tailed Hawks on my 5-day visit, but this one on the last day particularly stood out because of how white its chest was,

even more noticeable because it was sunning in the 50° weather. Although it didn’t look like any Red-Tailed Hawk I’ve seen while sitting in the tree, it did look like one once it took off and flew by us.

I often find it difficult to identify Red-Tailed Hawks because there are so many “morphs,” or variations in plumage. Luckily they are all beautiful and photogenic, which is all I’m really very concerned with.