A nesting american avocet peeks above the pickle weed
This american avocet was sitting on her nest, hidden in pickle weed along the bank of a shallow slough. Avocet nests are fairly unimpressive – they are usually just a small scrape along the ground, sometimes lined with grass. Sometime avocet females will lay their eggs in other avocet nests – or even the nests of other species. Likewise, other species (usually black-necked stilts) have been known to lay their eggs in active avocet nests. The avocet female that tends the nest will raise the stilt chicks as if they were her own.
Two black-necked stilts stand back to back reflected in shallow water
This pair of stilts had a nest nearby that they were watching over. I couldn’t tell if there were eggs there yet, but they didn’t seem to stray too far. I photographed them on a windless morning (great for reflections due to the glassy still water) about an hour after sunrise.
Whenever possible, I try to position myself in between the sun and the subject I am trying to photograph. While side-lighting can add interest to a landscape, smaller subject matter almost always looks better with direct front light. Sometimes if the physical space around an animal doesn’t permit this positioning I’ll go ahead an take the picture anyway, but those usually go straight to the garbage bin.
A white-faced ibis stops searching for food briefly as it soaks in the last rays of daylight
A few weeks ago I was at Baylands in Palo Alto, photographing at sunset. I was hoping to catch a glimpse of a white-faced ibis, which I had seen several weeks before, but only briefly. This bird is a rarity in the area, and seldom emerges from the pickleweed, choosing to hide in the wetland vegetation. However, a pair have been spotted in the Palo Alto and Mountain View area more regularly since January of this year, and up to three have been seen intermittently over the last few years. Whether this is a migratory aberration, or more likely a few year-round rogues, it is exciting to see one up close.
A white-faced ibis preens in shallow water
This specimen does not follow the normal head plumage that give the white-faced ibis its name, but is an alternate of the same species. Its iridescent bronze-brown feathers glow in the sunlight. I was very lucky on this day to see the ibis out in the open, fishing along a slough just as the sun was setting behind me.
I almost missed it however – as I was packing up my gear for the day, I saw another photographer with a large lens speed-walking toward a slough with open views. I hoped that the thing that had caused this rare burst of speed was the very bird I was looking for. I decided the effort was worth the chance, and unpacked my gear to follow him. I was happily rewarded when I saw the ibis poking through the mud, in gorgeous evening light. I had about five minutes with the bird before it was spooked by passerby’s and flew off for the day.
A white-faced ibis searches in the shallow water for food, its plumage glowing in the setting sun
A Snowy Egret is reflected in shallow water in early morning
This photo was take this week just after sunrise. When I got to the area in which I wanted to shoot, I looked for a spot next to a pond where lots of birds were congregating. As I approached that area, they all moved to the opposite side of the pond (as expected). However, I just sat down and waited, knowing they’d be back.
By lowering my tripod close to the ground and sitting behind it, I accomplished two things. First, I knew by my low profile and by keeping very still, the birds would stop perceiving me as a threat and move back to their original locations. Second, by getting down to their eye level, I could create more intimate images of the various species.
This egret actually showed up to the pond just after I did, apparently unaware (or uncaring) that I was hunkered down beside the shoreline.
