I tried to get shots of the vulture as it watched a large school of fish. However, i had no idea it was watching the fish when i took the picture. I tried multiple shots of the vulture from different angles and found that this was the best one due to the sun. Finding out that the vulture was looking at fish i thought was really cool. It was clear it was waiting for some fish to die. This brought me a better understanding of nature and a better appreciation for vultures and other scavengers.

Oops, forgot to include these 2 images...there's always 1 gosling who seems to be on the look-out, and catching a nap in the sunshine. I've learned patience, keeping a respectful distance & that light is so important. I've tried shooting on more dreary days but the results are dreary too. I want to get the catch-light in the eyes whenever I can, and see the light bouncing and highlighting fine feathers.

By observing common birds in our region, I've come to appreciate their beauty even more. This seagull in flight reminded me of the book, 'Jonathan Livingston Seagull'. I love how the light emphasizes the feathers.

Exploring, warding off predators & sleeping

 'zen' time, preening & swimming with others for safety.

Watching the Canada Geese goslings in their daily activities gave me a more in-depth view of their practices, and infused me with appreciation, wonder & joy! This species is often maligned because their numbers have exploded and their droppings in the park are a 'nuisance', but that is due to the feeding practices of well-meaning humans. We need to let them forage for themselves!

The three day war. I observed this Red-bellied woodpecker and Downy woodpecker claim ownership of a dead tree branch cavity, which they had both worked on at different times of the day. The dead tree was in our back yard, so I was able to witness and photograph the squabble in different light situations. The Downy woodpecker would attack the Red-bellied with continual angry vocalizations and incessant swooping at him. Neither bird won because three days later, the cavity had been so overworked by the two of them, that the walls were too thin and the branch crashed to the ground.

I did learn that if I wanted to get close and capture a good image, I had to let them get use to me, since every time I tried to get close, they would immediately walk away slowly away from me. I knew they would get comfortable at some point since they stopped moving away and started feeding right away. In this image they are still watching me but it was a few minutes after, that they relaxed and started feeding. I had done this game of cat a mouse more than 4 times at this point. I had to settle for a landscape picture instead of a close up. My only zoom lens is a 300 mm with a teleconverter of 1.4 because it is very easy to carry on my trips.

I usually don't take photos of captive birds because it makes me so sad and angry, but I took this photo of a parrot a little while back. It might be a red-browed parrot, native to eastern Brazil, which is threatened by habitat loss and smuggling via the exotic animal trade. It's captor had three, and was using them as an "alarm" for when people came to the parking lot (so he could collect parking money). I couldn't tell if their behaviour was aggressive or just really stressed but they made a lot of noise and flapped their wings as people neared. Here you can see a destroyed wing. This bird will never fly again.
On that note, my husband's sister just bought two clipped birds and their family is really excited. I've explained to him why pet birds upset me so much and he agrees, but he says it's part of a bigger cultural change that is slowly happening in Brazil.

Experimentation has opened my visual resources to see what else might be a part of a photograph. All too many times I've focused on a single item and missed what could have been a great shot. This often happens when I am not fully paying attention to the subject bird and then not prepared for its flight. Occurring way too many times and I must train myself to learn about different approaches to the shot and experiment with ways to better capture the image. Another area to which I must pay more attention is learning the different species and their respective behavior. Melding into what I mentioned earlier.

The attached image shows a juvenile White Ibis. This is included as it took me a bit of effort to discover the species. The guides I have often miss things like the changing colors of feathers as the bird matures. Finally, making use of the Merlin ID system the answer was found. And I must say that given the slight ripple of the water exemplified this bird's habitat while offering a subtle background and thus this image was selected.

And now (of course these 3 posts are in reverse order), the pileated woodpecker digs this way, then that way, until he is finally satisfied that he's worked that hole for all it's worth. And that's my story.

But the pileated woodpecker isn't satisfied with the pickings on the first log. With what an anthropomorphizing person might call a glare of annoyance, he hops to another. On the buggy warpath, he attacks with a vengeance, pecking straight on, then digging around the edge of his previous hole.

I was standing near a pond where there was an ancient pile of long logs. Suddenly I hear a pileated woodpecker, and a bright red cap - just the cap - peaks up from behind a log. Then he jumps on a log and surveys his domain. He digs in. (Now, with only 3 photos per reply, it's going to take 3 replies to tell the story.)

Northern Mockingbird perched on a bush; visible is its preferred scrubby habitat with UCI and the San Gabriel Mountains in the background

This spring has been special because blue jays built a nest in a tall pine tree that was easily viewed from my kitchen window - and with binoculars, I was able to see the babies as well as the mother! So, I decided to photograph them for this homework assignment of a story in photos. I actually took eight photos for the story, but I'm submitting my favorite three. While photographing, I could see the importance of showing the habitat, rather than cropping closely around the birds. This was important with the first photo of the mother jay alone in her nest and then the second photo of the babies in the nest - safely surrounded by the pine tree. Then, I was very worried that the babies had fledged too early. I saw the empty nest and just one solitary baby bird up against a tree waiting. Later, I saw that the baby was hopping around the back yard and hopped onto a wheelbarrow, trying to fly. I'm including this photo, which is interesting because I had to take it looking into the light and the shape of the baby and pine boughs are silhouetted. I was able to use telephoto and keep a distance. Then, the baby hopped over and flew slightly up the stairs of the neighbor's house. He/she seemed afraid and didn't move for a long time, so I went out looking for the mother. I saw her up above in a tree and took a photo which shows nice backlighting again with the bird and foliage silhouetted against the sky. The last photo is of the mother and the baby on the stairs. The baby seems to be asking to be fed. I took the photo so the baby and the mother seem small compared to the fencing on the stairs. I unfortunately had to leave and when I returned, I searched for the baby and there was no sign. So, I can only HOPE that there was a happy ending to this and the baby was indeed able to fly! So this became

a bittersweet story - caused me to realize how safe & snug the babies are at first in the nest and to feel with a pang just how big & scary the world may seem to a baby bird. But I was also somewhat reassured because I witnessed great dedication from the mother jay on the nest and she was right there for the baby jay who was out of the nest so young to explore the world......

This morning, June 1, 2021,  I went out to one of my usual spots; Sand Creek in northeast Denver.  I had it in mind to try to practice capturing birds in flight using the tips that Melissa shares in a following lesson.  I was blessed with more than a dozen snowy egret sightings.  I've never had luck capturing a decent flight photo of these graceful birds, but I thought I would give it a try again today.  In particular I kept in mind Melissa's suggestion to have the sun and wind behind me, and try to capture the bird as it was coming towards me.  That's not easy!  I didn't quite do that in this photo but I am happy to have been able to get an image of the egret's wings going downward.  The photo certainly isn't as clear as I would like it to be.  I have work to do on my settings.  At first I was disappointed with the shadow that shows up on the egret's right wing, but then I thought that it was unusual and unique.  So it's a keeper for me!

April 21 we visted Pickerington Ponds Metro Park and were happy to see a Cooper's Hawk.  It was far away with many branches and in deep shadow, so the few photos my husband got were unremarkable.  Later, he approached a tree with a well lit Song Sparrow he thought perhaps might show a better side.  When the sparrow suddenly flew, the hawk appeared on the branch just above, a few meters away, "ready for her close up."

I took this photo from shore and noticed the reflection along with ripples of the water of the Canadian Geese with other species in the background I

I took this picture of a immature Gold Finch in the late summer; my story is that it was jumping around in a local Arboretum planting catching insects. I noticed how abundance the color surrounding the bird and brought it out in a sharp view making it a pretty bird even if it was in it's drab color. 

This is a Southern Redbill Hornbill that was being mobbed by an African Paradise Flycatcher as it was raiding the flycatchers nests in the Kruger National Park, South Africa

Here is another story of a Red-wattled Lapwing mobbing an Oriental Honey-buzzard. I regret the missed photos where both would be clearly focused

Here is a story that I documented in Nov 2019 - Three young of Wire-tailed Swallow begging for food and parent feeding them one by one. That time I did not have a good lens (Tamron 70-300) so photos are grainy and less sharp

The flight patterns and particularly the landings of Sandhill Cranes were particularly interesting. I kept thinking about being on an airplane and experiencing the landing gear going down, then the flaps going up to slow progress before setting down. While not an environmental story, the sequence of these three shots tell a science story that to me explains a little about aerodynamics. I would like to combine them into one image to tell the story. Yes, they need post production but I haven't had that lesson. And I still need a longer lens or closer access.