Photo Stories – Page 23

May 24, 2010January 14, 2013

Spring babies – bring on the cuteness

American Avocet Chick — A young american avocet chick wades in shallow water looking for food

I was fortunate this spring to get out and capture a few different species of new hatch-lings. It was wonderful to watch these brand new birds explore around their nests. The image above is an american avocet chick, while the image below is a black-necked stilt chick. While these chicks look very similar within the first few weeks of their lives, they soon begin to develop characteristics of the very different looking adult species.

Black-necked Stilt Chick — A black-necked stilt chick is reflected in shallow water, Baylands, Palo Alto, California

While the avocet and stilt chicks tend to stay very close to water, canada goose chicks spend most of their time on land, feeding off of grass. The gosling below was one of five siblings, all feeding amongst short grass, very close to their parents. If anyone approaches too closely, the geese will corral their chicks and surround them, hissing a warning at the offender (which is why I always stayed a good distance away).

Canada Gossling In Grass — A Canada Gossling grazes in the short grass. He stops periodically to peer about.

The last species I covered this spring is the ever-present mallard duckling. I followed a family with four chicks for a few days, watching the mother keep her chicks hidden in the tall grass next to a pond, while the father warded off any other water foul that ventured too close. Here is the mother with one of her chicks, just after preening.

Mallard Hen With Duckling — A mallard hen preens with her chick in the grass next to a slough

The flash gallery below features more images of these very cute newborns. Please enjoy them, share it with friends, or click through to the spring babies gallery on my photo site. I hope you enjoy watching as much as I enjoyed capturing them.

May 3, 2010January 14, 2013

Willet Eating a Mollusk (Photo of the week)

In taking this week’s photo, I had the opportunity to watch up close a willet’s feeding behavior when one opened a mollusk (probably a mussel) and pulled it out of its shell.

It started by moving to a likely area of shallow mud at the edge of a slough. Using its beak to poke repeatedly into the mud, it soon hit the hard shell and pulled the mollusk free. Then, it slipped the tip of its beak into the opening of the shell, and began to pry it open. Once it had a large enough opening, it was able to reach inside and grab the creature, shaking it back and forth through the water, most likely to clean it off, and shake it free of the shell. This process went on for a couple of minutes, the willet slowly extracting more and more of the mollusk from its shell. Finally, it was pulled free and vanished down the bird’s throat. Satisfied, the willet stalked off in search of other prey.

April 26, 2010January 14, 2013

Black-necked Stilt Pair (Photo of the week)

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.

April 25, 2010January 14, 2013

White-faced Ibis at Baylands

White-faced Ibis At Sunset — 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.

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.