Intending to take a photo walk in the park this morning, I discovered I didn't have to leave home. I simply opened the kitchen window, stuck the lens of my Nikon through the opening, and snapped away. I never made it to the park, but I got lots of great pictures because some colorful migratory …
Red-bellied surprise!
The red-bellied woodpecker is one of my favorite birds, which makes this photo doubly pleasing to me. Seeing a RBW is not uncommon in our neighborhood park where there are lots of old trees and a bog nearby; however, until today I had never seen two of them sitting on the same tree stump. I …
No doubt about it…
Spring has arrived! I wouldn't be silly enough to believe we won't have any more cold, wet weather, but I've seen the signs, and I am announcing the arrival of spring! Today, on my walk in the park, I spotted a golden-crowned kinglet and a yellow-bellied sapsucker for the first time, and there were lots …
An uninvited dinner guest
I have been playing around with creating diptychs and other collages, so today, after I "developed" my pictures in Lightroom, I chose three related images that I think tell a story. Can you follow the storyline? Hint: Start in the upper left corner. Here's the sequence: Sparrow was ready to tuck into his favorite meal: …
Sparrows can be SO confusing!
Juvenile white-crowned sparrow -2 I knew it was a sparrow, but I couldn't find it in my bird app on my iPad. Then I had a brainstorm (Don't know what took so long) and posted it to my Facebook page, asking for help with the ID. Within minutes, a friend I didn't realize was an …
I found “big bird!”!
Look at those holes the pileated woodpecker has dug in the tree. I have been tracking this big bird for weeks, actually for the entire winter, ever since I realized that there was one living in our neighborhood park. Now I know that there isn't just one, but a pair, a male and a female. …
Birding with a camera
Most birdwatchers, or twitchers, as they are called in Britain, carry binoculars. I carry my camera. You can probably guess that I am not a serious birder with a long life-list and a longer list of exotic locations I've visited in the pursuit of elusive species. I have high regard (envy?) for the experts who …
Winter Wonderland
Consecutive days of snowfall have turned our park into a winter wonderland, making for some wonderful photo opportunities. The tree branches and fence rails are heavily laden with snow, and the wildlife have gone into "mooching mode." With a deep blanket of snow covering their source of food, the animals have become conditioned to turn …
Misty Morning
Rain fell during the night, but the temperature this morning was a bit warmer and the air was very misty. Despite the less than favorable weather, I headed to the park, leaving my usual lens, the 70-300mm telephoto, at home, and was delighted to discover that my little 50mm lens (nifty-fifty) was more than equal …
Working and playing in the park
I walk in this park almost every day of the week. It conveniently borders our neighborhood, and is wonderfully maintained. It is also designated as an Important Birding Area by Audubon, and park naturalists lead frequent nature walks along the trails. I created this photoblog and titled it "Seen Along the Trail" because I felt …
SEEN ALONG THE TRAIL 