Dreaming of spring

A mallard duckling swims close to its mother, who keeps a close eye on her chick
A mallard duckling swims close to its mother, who keeps a close eye on her chick

As I sit here in the pre-dawn morning, I can’t help but think of longer (and warmer) days. Although winter is a fantastic time for birds (at least around the SF Bay Area), I get tired of gearing up for the cold every time I want to go out for photos. This is the time of year that demands real dedication. The time of year that only sees the most dedicated of their fields up and outside in the cold darkness.

Soon enough however, buds will be forming, light will stay later, and little ones like this hatchling will start gracing us with their presence.

2012 Round-up – Top 40 photos of the year

It is once again that time of year where we assemble compilations of the best and worst of the previous 12 months. Here are the results of culling through my many photos from 2012. Looking back it was a nice mixture of birds, wildlife, and landscapes. I had great photo trips to Death Valley and Grand Teton National Parks, but didn’t spend quite as much time in the High Sierra as I would have liked. Please enjoy the gallery below. For best viewing (especially if viewing on a mobile device), please click on the following photo:

Click the photo above to see the top picks from 2012!
Click the photo above to see the top picks from 2012!

Or, just enjoy the gallery here on the page. To view larger photos in the embedded gallery below, be sure to click the icon in the lower right corner to enter full screen mode.


Hank’s Picks 2012 – Images by Hank Christensen

If you are interested in compilations from previous years, please see the 2011 and 2010 lists.

Happy New Year

A black-necked stilt chick walks on wobbly legs, staying close to its mother
A black-necked stilt chick walks on wobbly legs, staying close to its mother

May you have a year filled with joy, rejuvenation, and rebirth. Thank you to all of you for following along on my photo exploits for another year. Here’s to a great 2013 and many more wonderful moments!

Chicks, Man

While I was able to capture some nice shots of other spring newborns this year, as usual the most ubiquitous and easy to photograph chicks were Canada Geese. Between April and early June these goslings are just about everywhere around the Bay, as evidenced by the goose pellet landmines strewn along miles of shoreline. When running along the bay trail, I sometimes feel more like a triple-jumper than a jogger.

A Canada gosling eats large quantities of short grass
A Canada gosling eats large quantities of short grass

However, as annoying as these geese can be, you can’t deny the cuteness of their offspring! Here are a group of four heading across the road to (literally) greener pastures.

Four Canada goslings cross over the center yellow line of a road
Four Canada goslings cross over the center yellow line of a road

In all I probably saw about ten different groups (gaggles?) of chicks with precocious trouble makers running off by themselves. Each group was accompanied by at least two adults, and some families would group together with four or five adults and as many as twenty little ones. The watchful parents had their work cut out for them, but all in all, this is a relatively safe environment.

A Canada Goose watches over its chicks as they eat short grass
A Canada Goose watches over its chicks as they eat short grass

It was a pleasure to see the new families partake in a variety of activities, my favorite of which was swimming lessons.

Ever watchful of its chick, a canada goose leads its young out on a still lake
Ever watchful of its chick, a canada goose leads its young out on a still lake

Yes, they poop a lot, make a racket, and get in the way sometimes, but I for one am a fan of the Canada Goose.

Copyright 2017 Hank Christensen