Frigatebirds are the unofficial mascot of every cruise ship in the Caribbean. But getting a good photo is harder than it looks. Being a birdwatcher, or a ‘birder’ as we call ourselves in a vain attempt to sound cool, is not for everyone. I recognize this. But when people tell me, emphatically, “I just CAN’T …
This is a quick sequence of shots featuring glaucous-winged gulls and black oystercatchers, those amazing and loud shorebirds that look like a “crow smoking a carrot”, to quote a colleague of mine. I was trying out the video capacity of my Nikon D7000 with a Sigma 50-500 “Bigma” lens. This is why I live in …
On a recent trip to beautiful Manitoba, we stopped for lunch at Pinawa Dam and I ended up spending the entire time chasing these guys. I’m a sucker for butterflies but they so rarely cooperate with me and my telephoto lens. These Canadian tiger swallowtails (Papilio canadensis) were really intent on getting a bit of …
Why are Canada geese nesting and pooping all over our cities? ‘Tis the season for goslings again: adorable, fluffy, peeping, traffic-stopping broods of wee Canada geese, following their parents through all sorts of inappropriate and dangerous areas. As a result, many of us who work or volunteer in parks, sanctuaries, animal hospitals, etc. find ourselves …
How quickly Mother Nature reclaims her own here in Dominica. A few years ago I had the privilege of traveling the Caribbean as the naturalist/presenter aboard the exquisite Azamara Quest. The Quest is a smaller vessel, as cruise ships go, and visits lesser-frequented ports of call. Thus we made our way to Cabrits, on the …
Read more “The Ruins of Dominica- A Photographer’s Field Day”
If every cat in North America caught only one bird per year, that would be over seventy million dead birds. Today, a salute to the winsome dark-eyed junco, and with it a plea to please keep your cats indoors. Cornell University reports that this tame little sparrow is the number one victim of backyard cats, with more …
As a bird photographer, I’m learning to judge just how closely I can approach a bird before it starts to show signs of alarm. Of course there are two good reasons for this: I don’t want to stress my subjects, but I do want to get a decent shot before they flee. One of the …
I recall awakening from a deep sleep one moonless summer night, alone in my tent, to the demonic caterwauling of a barred owl pair somewhere above my head.