resting

Resting Mule Deer buck at Bear River National Wildlife Refuge

By Mia McPherson, on November 22nd, 2012%

Resting Mule Deer buck – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/400, ISO 250, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited or called in

We went north to Bear River National Wildlife Refuge this morning because Antelope Island State Park is closed on Thanksgiving and I was hopeful that we’d see some great birds there due to some recent reports from other people who have gone there this past week. Two Ross’s Geese had been seen and photographed there and I would have loved to have photographed them. I say loved because I could not find them. I did see an Adult Bald Eagle, several Northern Harriers, a couple of Red-tailed Hawks and a single Rough-legged Hawk but they were all too far away. I saw two Western Grebes, some Pied-billed and Eared Grebes that were also too far away. Way out on the water I could see flocks of Ruddy Ducks, Gadwalls and Northern Shovelers and even further away two Tundra Swans. Closer up were some Common Coots and Northern Pintail duck drakes but the Pintails were very nervous, I would be too because today is one of the biggest days for duck hunting in Utah.

The shorter version of the long paragraph above is “Bird photography sucked today”.

So, my best shots of the day were of this resting Mule Deer buck that I almost missed spotting because he blended in so well with the habitat. I wish his antlers stood out better from the dried Pigweed behind him but he is still a handsome buck.

Mia

More Mule Deer images

Resting Black Skimmer juvenile – My banner image

By Mia McPherson, on September 11th, 2012%

Resting Black Skimmer juvenile – Nikon D200, handheld, f7.1, 1/640, ISO 160, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 330mm, natural light

Several people have remarked on how much they like the juvenile Black Skimmer (Rynchops niger) image that is in my rotating banner at the top of this blog so I thought I would post it to show the whole bird. Composition is always a challenge when photographing skimmers because their bodies are so long so I went with a pano crop for this one.

I saw this resting juvenile at For De Soto’s north beach and laid down in the sand quite a way from it then slowly sand crawled forward so I wouldn’t disturb the youngster or upset its parents. When I say slowly I mean about 10 – 15 minutes of inching forward as low to the sand as I could get. I try to never get so close that I bother the birds, especially with chicks. When I finished photographing the chick I did a backwards sand crawl and left them in peace.

The immature skimmer seemed so comfortable with my low profile that it fell asleep and only got up when the adults came in to feed it. I felt very privileged to photograph this bird. I am not sure my images do its beauty justice .

Mia

More Black Skimmer images

Playing Favorites – Resting Willet

By Mia McPherson, on August 24th, 2011%

Resting Willet (Tringa semipalmata)

Resting Willet (Tringa semipalmata)
Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida
Nikon D200, handheld, f7.1, 1/500, ISO 200, Nikkor 70-300mm VR at 300mm, natural light

There are images that I have created that as soon as I see them on my monitor become listed as one of my favorites. Sometimes they aren’t all that great technically but they touch me in a way that is hard to describe. At other times it can be the subject, the setting, the light or the memories the photo awakens within me. This Willet image is one of my favorites and it was taken just about four years ago on August 26, 2007.

I remember the lovely light that morning, how warm the sand felt as I belly-crawled to get close enough to the Willet, the flock of resting Marbled Godwits in the background and how relaxed the bird was in my presence. It even dozed a few times. I remember wanting to get into the water because it was scorching hot but the angle of light would not have been as nice as it is here. I also remember a light sea breeze and the smell of salt water. Another reason could be that it was my first time out photographing birds with my new Nikon D200 and it felt great in my hands.

I almost lost this file due to two hard drive failures, I was only putting my files on two external desktop drives at the time and believe it or not within less than a week both of those drives had major issues which corrupted some of the files I had stored on them. I had taken this photo in both RAW and Basic JPEG and the RAW file became corrupted. I’m very glad it didn’t affect the jpeg file. I would have been heart broken.

I love the subtle colors of this picture and those of the Willet. It seems a lot of people prefer images that “pop”, a term I have elected to remove from my language unless I am talking to my mid-western relatives who refer to sodas as “pop”. I think I have enough hard drive space to include many different types of files from colorful birds and those not so colorful. Besides, I think all birds are beautiful and a delight to photograph.

This image doesn’t shout in my opinion, it whispers and because of that I take notice.

Mia

More Willet images

Snowy Plover Resting at the Wrack Line

By Mia McPherson, on July 12th, 2011%

Resting Snowy Plover

Resting Snowy Plover (Charadrius alexandrius)
Pinellas County, Florida
Nikon D200, f10, 1/350, ISO 160, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light

Snowy Plovers are the smallest plover of North America and as their name implies they are very pale colored. I spotted this plover resting near the wrack line near the Gulf of Mexico during the winter and sand-crawled up close to it to get a low angle in the beautiful light. For Florida the morning was cool so the bird had its feathers fluffed up to help keep the warmth close to its body.

I know that there are those photographers who would have “cleaned up” the sand on the bill of this bird using cloning and other Photoshop techniques but I prefer to leave my images as natural as possible. The sand was there when I took this so I left it alone. Personally I think it adds interest and reality as it is.

Mia

More Snowy Plover images

Roseate Spoonbills

By Mia McPherson, on December 19th, 2010%

Roseate Spoonbill feeding

Roseate Spoonbill feeding
Pinellas County, FL
D200, HH, laying in the tidal mud, ISO 200, f/6.3, 1/1250, 80-400mm at 400mm, natural light

Cotton candy pink… are the descriptive words I thought of when I saw my first Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja). Of the world’s six species of Spoonbills the only ones that are pink are are the roseate spoonbills and it also the only spoonbill native to North America.

Spoonbills were named for their bills which at the tip are spoon-shaped. I’ll post some immature roseate spoonbills another time and just focus on the adults now. The bird above is in breeding plumage, the head turns a pale greenish color and just below that there will be an almost black area on the neck, the bill will show some dark speckling and the yellows near the tail will be more pronounced, it also seems to me that the carmine red on the wings becomes redder.

Roseate Spoonbill in the light of the setting sun

Roseate Spoonbill in the light of the setting sun
Pinellas County, FL
D200, sitting in the water of the lagoon, f6.3, 1/400, ISO 250, 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light

Roseate Spoonbills can be found in saltwater tidal lagoons and in freshwater areas such as marshes, swamps and lakes. They feed on small fish, shrimp and crabs in the water by swinging their bills side to side in a sweeping motion to locate their prey. They fly slowly which can help when taking images in flight.

Some nicknames for the roseate spoonbill are Flame Bird, Banjo-bill, Pink Curlew, Pink and Pinkie but the one I would hear most often is Spoonie.

Roseate Spoonbill on the edge of a lagoon

Roseate Spoonbill on the edge of a lagoon
Pinellas County, FL
D200, sitting in the water of the lagoon, f6.3, 1/750, ISO 200, 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light

Because of their unique coloration and bill shape spoonbills stand out from the other wading birds and are easily recognizable. The spoonbill above is an adult in nonbreeding plumage. I find that photographing them is best in early morning or late afternoon light as the whites of the neck and belly are easily blown out.

On photo critiques sites spoonbills are often presented with too much saturation applied in postprocessing. I much prefer to keep the saturation of spoonbills or any other species on a more natural and realistic level. Spoonies are colorful enough naturally. None of my spoonbill images posted here have had any increase of saturation applied in post processing.

Adult Roseate Spoonbill

Adult Roseate Spoonbill in afternoon light
Pinellas County, FL
D200, laying on the sandy shoreline, full frame, f6.3, 1/750, ISO 250, 80-400mm at 400mm, natural light

I always think of “Cotton Candy Pink” when I photograph this species or look at my images of them. They may be odd looking birds to some because of the bald head and strange shaped bill but I find all species of birds to have their own beauty and will photograph any bird that I see through my viewfinder.

Mia