Spring brings many birds to our yard, especially to our feeders. None of them are more colorful than the rose-breasted grosbeaks. This male beauty landed in our serviceberry and eyed me and my camera suspiciously before it decided it was safe to eat. We have also spotted our first female ruby-throated hummingbird at our wild […]
Our feeder is getting plenty of bird visitors. In addition to the usual suspects – titmice, chickadees, woodpeckers, cardinals, nuthatches, sparrow, and finches – we are happy to announce that two male rose-breasted grosbeaks have arrived the other day. One species baffled me lately, however. Were they common redpolls, very colorful house finches, or purple finches? […]
Snowy egrets and great blue herons migrate to Pennsylvania, but they are very photo shy. They won’t let me come closer than a quarter of a mile before taking off. I was therefore thrilled how tame those birds are in Florida. This heron was sitting on top of a shelter, providing me with an uncluttered […]
Last weekend I attended a bird photo workshop in Florida’s Everglades. Sixteen eager photographers attended the workshop, which was led by Arthur Morris and Denise Ippolito. It was still dark when we headed toward the Anhinga Trail for the first of three field sessions. Here are two photos I took on the first day. The […]
For the second year in a row I am an ambassador for the Great Backyard Bird Count, which takes place from February 18-21, 2011. In connection with this event I will give a presentation at the Sewickley Library on February 16 from 4:30 – 5:30 p.m. Participating in this free event is easy, but it […]
We recently purchased a bird bath heater, and it has been a hit. Apparently, birds do need drinking water during the winter just as much as during the sweltering summer heat. Keeping it filled and clean in these frigid temperatures can be a challenge, though. Because of the icy weather, I have been birding through […]
In late October, I attended a raptor photo workshop held by Brian Zwiebel at Ohio Nature Education. I came away with some beautiful photos of permanently injured birds, which are now being used for educational purposes. I am glad for the opportunity to get an up-close view of these awe-inspiring raptors. Just days before the workshop […]
These images of a female and male wood duck depict the differences in their appearance. Fall is an especially good time to photograph them because they have just molted and look their best. The top photo shows the autumn trees reflected in the water while the bottom photo brings out the iridescent head of the […]
The other day I set up my blind in our backyard to photograph some of the birds that visit our feeder. We had placed the feeder close, but not too close, to our serviceberry so that the birds can scope out their surroundings before flying to the feeder. The fall foliage provided a nice backdrop. I expected […]