Category Archives: wildlife

Crow and Gull Combat

When in the wild, you have two options for food. First, you can find and catch your own. Second, you can find someone else that has already found and caught some food, and you can steal it from them. The latter is way easier than the former, provided you have the ability to relieve the owner of their meal. I was walking alongside the water at the locks in Ballard one weekend and a crow was attempting to help a gull lose weight by taking its meal. What followed was quite some aerial ballet and they twisted and turned with the gull trying to make sure it kept a good hold on its food while maneuvering hard to prevent the crow from taking anything. The gull was ultimately successful in this case.

How Low Will the Light Be for My Robin?

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The Airbnb that we rented in Stockbridge had a grass area out front that had a steady stream of birds in and out. That included some robins that would show up under the bushes and find themselves some food. They clearly liked the shade because they would either be under the bush or come on to the grass in the areas shaded by the bushes. Never in the sunlight on the grass.

The evening improved things a lot. The shade was now over the whole of the lawn and they would hop about finding their latest meal. However, if I wasn’t already by the window, moving into position would spook them and they would be gone. I consequently spent a bit of time sitting by the window with the camera in position waiting for another one to appear. When they did, it was getting pretty dim. However, high ISO is worth a go these days and there are going to be good options in post so why not? I used the tilt screen to frame the shot to avoid moving the camera much and scaring them off. It also provided a lower angle which helps. Much hopping around and then eventually it was right in front of me. How cute European robins are!

My Nemesis Returns

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When we first moved to our current house, we used to get lots of rabbits in the back yard. For a while, it was nice seeing them around. However, they did have a habit of “leaving” seeds for other plants in our grass and the weeds became an issue. We went about blocking up the various access points for them to keep them from coming in. This was broadly successful, but it is a continuous process as they find ways to breach the perimeter.

Recently I looked outside to see a rabbit not eating but stretched out and sunbathing in the back. Now that is taking the Michael. I went outside and he bolted so I saw where he had punched a new way in and closed it off. Later in the day, I saw him out front – where I have no issue with him being. Instead, I decided to get some images of my latest intruder. Now I’ll have proof if he ever denies being the one to break in previously!!

Afternoon Sun on the Ducks at Juanita

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It has been a long time since I was at Juanita Bay. A combination of lack of time and lack of nice weather has stopped me going down there. One afternoon after work, the sun was out, and the time was not too late, so I dropped down there for a walk around to see what was going on. The answer was not a great deal. It was a lovely afternoon but none of the more crowd friendly visitors were around. The ducks were, though. A merganser stayed too far away to be photographed by there were plenty of wood ducks and green winged teals, so I made do with them. The low sun angle picked up the colors really nicely.

Pigeon Dynamics

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Walking along the shore, someone had been feeding the pigeons. The term rats with wings is often applied to pigeons and you can see why. (I think rats are amazing creatures so it might be a compliment to draw the analogy.) While pigeons might not be too popular, they are incredible flyers and I find their flight and, specifically, their wings, to be amazing. As we watched from a distance, they got spooked by a dog and all flew off. However, they only circled for a short while before landing on a nearby roof. Soon, they swooped down to the railings and then back to the ground where the food still was.

They repeated the process shortly afterwards and this got me interested. Photographing wildlife can be tricky since you never know what they will do next. Having some predictability can give you better options. I decided to get around to the other side of them and wait for them to get spooked again. With so many people walking dogs in the area, it couldn’t take too long! Sure enough, they were soon back up on the roof.

I didn’t try to get any one bird. That would be very tough to do. Instead, I shot wider and with a higher shutter speed to freeze the action and waited for them all to return. They kindly performed exactly as they had done before so it was a case of waiting and shooting as they all gradually made their way back down. Some of them had really amazing poses as their wings flexed and folded as they flew to the food. What amazing creatures they are.

Hawk and the Moon

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My El Centro wildlife encounters continued after the owls had been photographed. A hawk showed up on a utility pole close to us at one point and, since no jets were landing, I was happy to take its photo. Then I realized that the moon was rising not far away, and a short movement allowed me to bring the two into closer alignment. With the long lens, the focus depth was narrow, so I took shots of the bird and shots of the moon. When I got home, a little focus stacking allowed me to make both sharp to show how it looked to me at the time I was there.

Back to Some Old Cormorant Shots

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Regular readers will be shocked to see more cormorants showing up on the blog. These aren’t even recent shots. I can’t recall why I was running through old images, but it matters not. All that is relevant is that I came across some older shots I have of cormorants sunning themselves which I had forgotten I had. This got me looking for others. The result is a few new shots of my favorite birds to share on the blog.

Owls in the California Desert

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I have been getting photos of owls a bit recently with the shorties making their winter stay up in Skagit County. However, when Mark and I headed to El Centro, it was planes rather than owls that we were after. I knew that they were around there because other friends have posted shots of them in the past, but they weren’t something I was thinking about. However, as Mark was driving us along a dirt road near the base, I saw one sitting ride by the road.

Trying not to spook it, Mark was able to grab my camera from the back seat and pass it to me so I could shoot out of the window. The owl seemed unimpressed and stayed exactly where it was. After a few shots we moved on but there was another a short distance away. Same result as it wasn’t too bothered by the car. A bit further still and another one. This one was either standing on one leg with the other tucked up or just only had the one leg. I can’t tell. Again, it obliged as I took some shots. Three owls in a short distance seemed like a pretty lucky run of things.

Flicker in the Backyard

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I have mentioned before the difficulty I have had when trying to photograph flickers. They are so easily spooked. When one showed up in the back yard recently, I knew there was no way I would be able to go outside and try for a shot. Through the windows was my only option. Two layers of glass are not ideal for photographic clarity, but it is better than nothing. Even then I have to be cautious since even the movement within the house is enough to scare them off. Some careful positioning and very slow movements meant I was able to get a few reasonable shots. It wasn’t long before they were off, though. Whether it was me or just time to go to the next spot, I don’t know.

Kestrel on a Post

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Kestrels are so small, getting a good shot of them is going to be tricky at the best of times and, unless they come nice and close, you are always working to see what you can get. This little fella landed on a post near the road and was clearly having a snack. Looking very closely at the images, I still can’t work out what it is eating. I then waited for it to fly away and, of course, once I put the camera down for a bit, off it went. I did get another shot of it as it flew to a post but nothing special.