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October 14, 2015February 16, 2017

Royal Tern

Whenever I’m at the beach I take a close look at any shorebirds I see, scanning to see if there is an uncommon species in the bunch. On a recent trip to Mexico, I was rewarded with great views (and photographs) of a Royal Tern. This is not necessarily an uncommon species, but one that I don’t get to see often.

When I see a target bird among a larger group, I do my best to isolate it photographically so that it will stand out as a well defined main subject. In this case I wasn’t able to photograph it away from a multitude of sandpipers, but by using the largest aperture I had available, I was able to isolate the tern using depth of field. By focusing on its eye, I made sure it was the only bird it focus, drawing the viewers eye to it.

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It is also a good idea to be patient, as you never know when you’re going to see action. In this case, I spent some time focused on the tern and was rewarded when it suddenly took flight. I was ready to go, and got several sharp in-flight photos before it disappeared.

The next time you see a large group of shorebirds clustered together, spend a little time picking through the crowd. You might just be surprised what you find!

October 8, 2015September 1, 2016

Black-headed Ibis Feeding Chicks

A black-headed ibis feeds two large chicks, Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, India

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My recent trip to India was timed well with getting to see chicks feeding from their parent. By this time in their lives, the chicks were nearly as large as the adult, however they still relied on the parent to feed and shelter them.

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Although I had never seen a black-headed ibis before, I was familiar with the feeding behavior of this size of bird. Typically the adult will eat food away from the nest and then bring it back, regurgitating the food for consumption by the juvenile.

This photo shows just how far the chick will insert its beak into that of the parent. During this feeding, only one of the chicks got food, pushing its sibling away from the parent with its wing. This survival of the fittest instinct is common amongst siblings – sometimes they go so far as to push each other out of the nest so that they themselves have a better chance at survival.

A black-headed ibis stands on a large rock in a shallow lake, Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, India

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Although the Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary was technically off season for the peak of bird activity, there were many ibis in and around the water. Most were nesting in trees and feeding their young, but several were out in the open, offering nice portrait opportunities.

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While not a beautiful bird by any means, it was great to get up close and personal with a new species. Appreciation of even the most common birds brings forward interesting and previously unseen details, allowing for much greater enjoyment of the natural world.

October 5, 2015September 1, 2016

White-browed Wagtail

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While almost every bird I saw in India was a new species for me, it always feels special to see a species you know is somewhat uncommon for the area. One such bird I saw at Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary was the white-browed wagtail.

White-browed wagtails call often in the mornings and are active at this time like most other wagtails. The song is long and loud with many different notes. The usual call has a wheezy sound. They can fly fairly rapidly for long distances, and have been recorded as fast as 40 km/h. They usually perch on the ground or low rocks.

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I was lucky to not only have great views of this species, but also beautiful light. Our small boat circled the bird and I caught several shots with a background of distant green foliage, lit by speckled sunlight.

September 25, 2015September 1, 2016

Pied Kingfisher

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On a recent trip to India, I managed to get photos of several new birds. The very first that I photographed in the country was this pied kingfisher, one of my target species. My friend Gaurav showed me around one of his local haunts, and within ten minutes, I had several hundred photos of this kingfisher under my belt. In fact, at one point, we got too close to the bird for my lens to focus.

Gaurav had taken me to Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary just outside of Mysore. As it was off-season, there were very few people around (great for bird photography), but there were also fewer birds than normal (not great for bird photography). Even given the that there were fewer birds than during peak migration, I was in photography heaven. Everywhere I turned there were new species to photograph. In order to get out into the middle of the action, we hired a guide and a rowboat for an hour, getting us within feet of many new and exotic birds.

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The pied kingfisher is the world’s third most common kingfisher, widely distributed across Africa and Asia. This species typically does not migrate, which is why it was see here out of season. This particular specimen likely lived at this lake year round. In the US, I am more used to the belted kingfisher, which is usually quite shy and difficult to photograph without spooking it. By contrast, the pied kingfisher was bold and didn’t leave the tree the entire time we were photographing it, offering many great poses.

While this bird is by no means a rare find, I felt honored to spend a little time with this little one. Any time I get a chance to capture great photographs of a new species, I am more than satisfied with the day’s outing.