Western Rueppell's Vulture

I'm starting to worry here at the moment that you might be getting sick of photos of flowers, so I thought I'd shock you out of your "flower-daze" with this photo of a vulture. Yes, a vulture! This handsome guy is a Western Rueppell's Vulture, which I know for a fact because I had the good sense to also take a photo of the sign in front of his enclosure at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park. These guys come from the northern two-thirds of Africa...so the sign says. (I'm not an ornithologist yet.)

If you're wondering how I got this photo looking like this, after adjusting for white balance and color in Photoshop, I then created some layers to help me darken the background, and I finished up by putting some "omni" lights in a couple of places that I wanted lightened up. Had to do all of this because the zoo wouldn't let me take him to the studio for a photo shoot.

See this Western Rueppell's Vulture in all his glory in the Birds Photo Gallery.

Blue and Gold Macaw #2

This is the same photo as the previous posting, but with significant work done with it. Notably I have blurred and darkend the wing at the right front to provide a sense of depth of field. To draw attention to the bird's eye, I used Photoshop's "Lighting Effects" filter placing a soft omni spot on his eye and also a spot light running from the lower right to the top left across his face.

Working with this photo made me think about what it might be like to get a parrot. Luckily right about the same time I ran across this story from NPR called A Delightful, Awful Marriage, all about the joys, and drawbacks, of letting a parrot move in on your life. Quite funny! And quite a warning!

This and other photos I have taken of birds can be found in the bird photo galleries. There's one for broadband visitors, and one for dialup visitors. Here are the links to each:

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Blue and Gold Macaw Parrot

This beautiful blue and gold Macaw lives with his buddy, a scarlet Macaw at the Sheraton Hotel in Kaanapali on Maui.

You can see this and other nature photos in the Bird Photography Gallery.

If you're interested in finding out more about Macaw parrots, visit the Wikipedia page about Macaws.

Peacock and Flamingos San Diego Zoo

Not to be outshone by pink, Mr. Peacock struts his stuff at the San Diego Zoo.

"My plumage is brighter than theirs! Perhaps if I spread my plumage r-e-a-l-l-y w-i-d-e, those people over there won't get to see those bratty, show-offy flamingos."

See this photo and more bird photos in the Bird Photo Gallery - Broadband Flash Gallery. For visitors with slower internet connections, try the Bird Photo Gallery - Dial Up Optimized

Red-Tailed Hawk II

Here's a second shot of this red-tailed hawk at Lake Cachuma. Actually when I saw him land on the pole I got a good view of the feathers on the underside of his tail, and they really were red!

Camera: Canon EOS 20D
Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/400)
Aperture: f/11
Focal Length: 300 mm
ISO Speed: 200

Red-Tailed Hawk I

A group of us went up to Lake Cachuma which is about 20 miles out of Santa Barbara this past weekend. We went in a 32-foot motor home that some friends are currently renting. What a great time we had. This red-tailed hawk happened to land on a high-voltage power pole right by our site and luckily I happened to see him. He was very used to people it would seem as he wasn't bothered at all by me walking around the pole taking his photo. What a high voltage bird!

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Camera: Canon EOS 20D
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/1600)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 225 mm
ISO Speed: 200

Annas Hummingbird on Guard #2

I reworked this one a little more by blurring the background. It's a lot better this way I think. This is the original photo of this Anna's Hummingbird. Make sure you click on the image to view it in its larger size. It's a lot better.


Canon EOS 20D
Canon 70-300mm lens at 300mm
1/30s secs at f/10
ISO400

Annas Hummingbird on Guard

This is the big Kahuna of hummingbirds in my yard, believe it or not. If he's around, then the other hummers don't stand much chance of getting to the feeder unmolested. This photo has him at his post where he can keep an eye on the feeder and attack any interlopers. Once the spring breeding season has finished, the birds become more territorial and defensive of "their" feeder and one establishes him or herself as the primary bird in the pecking order. During the spring they appear to be more concerned with raising their young, however, and this past spring I had up to 5 birds at a time at the one feeder, all happily coexisting. There's no such peace and harmony at this time of the year, however, and there are many dog-fights throughout the day.

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Canon EOS 20D
Canon 70-300mm lens at 300mm
1/30s secs at f/10
ISO400

Hummingbird Calypte Anna #2

The previous post I made of a photo of a Anna's hummingbird was taken side-on and the feathers of the neck and head are a brownish black. Here we see our little beauty, whose official name is "Calypte Anna", facing us which shows how the color of his neck and head features display as a bright rose. I presume this scares off other competitors for the nectar feeder as they come barrelling down on any intruders.

It is quite inexpensive to feed hummingbirds in your yard. Once you have bought the feeder from your local garden nursery or hardware store, you can make the nectar yourself at home with ordinary white sugar. Here's my recipe for hummingbird feeder nectar: make a 25% solution of white sugar and water. That's it! So for example, I make 8 cup batches at a time, so I first of all measure out 2 cups of sugar and then add 6 cups of warm water to make up a total of 8 cups. Stir it for long enough to dissolve the sugar. It doesn't need to be colored; I know in the stores it's sold with red food coloring in the solution, but the hummers will be attracted by the fake flowers and colors on the feeder itself. Do NOT use powdered (icing) sugar!

How do you attract hummingbirds to your garden feeder? Well, first of all you have to live in an area where hummingbirds live. In warmer parts of the US some varieties, such as the Anna pictured above, don't migrate at all and you will delight in seeing them in your garden year-round. In colder parts, you may only have them during a season. So, presuming you live in an area with hummingbirds, just buy a feeder, fill it with nectar solution, and hang it from a tree branch or other convenient spot. It may take a few weeks for the birds to find it, but once they have, you'll have them as long as you feed them. And once you start, you shouldn't stop as they will come to rely on you especially in the winter and spring.

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Cannon EOS 20D
Canon 70-300mm lens at 300mm
1/30 secs at f 5/6
ISO 400

Anna's Hummingbird #1

Anna's hummingbirds live in my garden here in Southern California year round. I encourage them with hummingbird feeders in my garden and the action is non-stop year round. Visitors always delight in the show. This year has been the best ever. I guess my garden must be "on the map"; in the spring there were up to 5 birds feeding at the same time.

It seems to be that in the spring during breeding season they are less territorial and feed together, but as the year progresses into summer, a dominant bird will take ownership of a feeder and stand guard over it from sunup to sundown clicking away all day long. It's a battle royal, and at times the birds actually manage to get a hold of each other and I have actually seen them wrestling on the deck! I kid you not. Mostly it's a matter of dive-bombing interlopers, and some of them will not give up easily. One night evening last week I just couldn't believe the fights going on out there with kamikaze pilot hummers bombing each other with a great cacophony of angry sounds to go with it. There are times when a bird will fly up vertically to what seems like a hundred feet or more and then will dive at immense speed making an incredible high-pitched whizzing sound with his wings.

This is a photo of one of the bosses in the garden right now. That's him standing sentry over "his" feeder. From the side their necks and heads look dark brown to black, but when they face you the light catches their features and turns them an iridescent rose color. The next post will show that. And I'll also share with you my recipe for the nectar for a hummingbird feeder.

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Cannon EOS 20D
Canon 70-300mm lens at 300mm
1/80 secs at f 5/6
ISO 400

Swan #2

This is the same swan as the one I posted back in June. The photo was taken at the Desert Springs Marriott Resort near Palm Springs, CA. There is a large lake the skirts the hotel which is populated by numerous swans and other bird life. This swan happened to float by in front of my room.

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Canon EOS 20D
Canon 70-300mm at 300mm
1/2500 sec f/5.6
ISO 400

Hummingbird and Bromeliad Flower

Finally! In my first post of one of these photos of a pink bromeliad flower I had mentioned how I had seen a hummingbird feeding on the flowers the Sunday before last in the morning. Of course I just had to capture a photo of that and set up my camera and tripod ready to catch the guy next time he came back. Of course he didn't and my Sunday passed by with me spending most of it waiting behind my camera and growing more and more frustrated. I had even taken the two hummingbird feeders from my yard inside the house to no avail. Another week and another weekend of frustration have past. Today I was working from home so set up outside on the patio and put the camera back up. I actually got a few shots this morning but at that time the plant was in deep shade and obviously to eliminate as much blur as possible the exposure had to be very fast. To be able to take a shot in low light and with a very short exposure you have to really crank up the ISO setting. I had it at 800, so the photos are very grainy. But actually I am thinking they look sort of artistic so I am going to print them nonetheless just to see.

Anyhow, late this afternoon when I was almost ready to pack everything up and come inside, I happened to be delayed by a phone call from a friend, and while on the call along came my wily friend and with full sun shining on him and the flower. I quickly excused myself to my friend, looked through the lens, found it just happened to be trained on the exact flower the bird was supping from, and shot! Finally a respectable photo of the elusive character. I hope you like it! I feel it's been worth the wait, and I have a new-found appreciation of the patience required of nature photographers.

If you would like prints of this or any of my photos, please contact me using the link at the very bottom of the page. I can accommodate a range of sizes and papers. This photo would look exceptional on Kodak's metallic paper.

I welcome any comments on this and all of my photos. Just click the "Comments" link at the end of the post.

Canon EOS 20D
1/250 sec at f/5.6

70-300mm lens at 300mm
ISO 200

Red-Winged Blackbird

Red-winged Blackbird (agelaius phoeniceus)

San Diego Creek runs through the city of Irvine from the east to the south-west where it enters the "Back Bay" of Newport Bay. It is certainly an urban creek with stretches of it that are cemented, and others that are mostly natural. The last stretch of it passes by the Irvine Ranch Water District's "wetland" where the water is diverted through a series of ponds to remove nitrates and other pollutants before sending it on its way into Newport Bay. The ponds known as the San Joachim Wetlands have been landscaped with native California plants, and are frequented by hundreds of water birds. The Audubon Society has an office and visitor center there, and it is a wonderful place to visit and hike around.

Despite the predominance of concrete along long stretches of the creek, bird life abounds. One stretch of the creek between Jefferey and Sand Canyon was until recently a micro-environment replete with birds of all kinds; mallards, herons, hawks, avocets, and many others that I don't recognize. A reed had naturalized in this stretch of the creek over the last couple of years, and this past spring red-winged blackbirds that build their nests in reeds moved in in force.

I actually ride my bike past this stretch of the creek on my way to work, and it was a joy each morning and evening riding by the birds which have a beautiful song that they call out to defend their territory. There were literally hundreds and hundreds of birds nesting in this stretch of the creek in the spring. And then along came the Irvine Company, The Evil Empire of this area of Orange County. It appears that somehow they own this stretch of the creek and while the birds were still nesting they sent in gangs who cut the reeds down. Now they have heavy equipment in the creek bed having completely destroyed the habitat and my fear is that they are going to cement the creek.

This photo was one of the many I took one Saturday morning this past spring.

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Red Phalarope Monterey Bay Aquarium

Not all the creatures at the Monterey Bay Aquarium swim in the water. Here's a case in point; this guy, officially titled Phalaropus fulicaria, or more commonly "red phalarope" swims on top of the water. While spending some of its time on the seashore, the red phalarope spends long periods out at sea. In California they are also common at Lake Mono where they feed on brine shrimp in the very salty waters of the lake, building up fat supplies for their long migrations.

You can read more about the red phalarope at the Monterey Bay Aquarium website.

Photo of Peacock

Peacock Photo with Tail Feathers Extended

I took this photo of a peacock with his feathers fully-extended at the magnificent San Diego Zoo. He was really showing off and pulling in quite a crowd as you can imagine. I had some fun with the image using Photoshop. If you'd like an archival print of this photograph, use the link at the bottom of the page. Of course, all watermarks and copyright markings on the face of the photo will be removed.

Still Life with Bird and Poem

Still Life with Bird and Poem

As I was in the bathroom getting ready for work this morning I heard a loud crack against the glass sliding door and my dog starting barking. I knew immediately that it must have been a bird that had flown into the glass, and sure enough, lying there on the deck was a finch (I have subsequently been informed that this bird is in fact a MacGillivray's Warbler). Sometimes they just seem to knock themselves out and after a couple of minutes they get themselves together and fly off. But not this little birdie. From the loudness of the sound I knew this little guy was literally going at "break-neck speed" and that's what he had in fact done. I felt so sad. He was so small and handsome and no doubt so full of the joys of spring. I felt very moved and brought him inside and cupped him in my hands and huffed on him to keep him warm just in case he might come around. After several mintues it was obvious there was no hope for him so I took him back outside and put him on the patio table with a lavender flower for a pillow. As I rode my bike to work I just couldn't stop thinking about him, and riding along the creek where there are so many birds, I composed a poem in his memory. I put the poem on the photograph with him in his honor. Hopefully this guy's made it to heaven by now and is singing with the angels. (Click the photo above for a larger image that will allow you to read the poem).

Just in case you aren't up on world religions sufficiently to know who the Jains are, they are a strict Hindu sect that respects life in all its manifestations to the extent that they wear masks in daily life so as not to inhail even an insect that might be floating on the air. Although I didn't set out to write a poem that is about the Buddhist principal of following the middle path, that's essentially what the poem is about. The invisible glass, albeit inanimate, brought death to the bird; he needed to pay attention to the invisible in life as well as the visible. The moral of the poem is that we should not give all our energy to one thing or belief to the extent that we lose touch with other realities, points of view, etc. I have no idea what might have been going on in my subconscious at the time I composed this poem in my head as I rode to work and to have ended up with this as the outcome of my "meditation" on the death of this bird, but that's in fact where it all led.

This image and poem are copyright. If you are interested in prints, please contact me using the link at the bottom of the page.

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Photo of Flamingos

Flamingos

In this photo of a flamingo I have created a slight watercolor effect with Photoshop. I really like how this made the reflections in the water become quite "painterly". These flamingos make their home at the Marriott Resort in Palm Desert, California.

Dualing Flamingos

Dualing Flamingos

This picture was also taken at the Marriott Resort in Palm Desert, CA. The flamingos are captive in a pond in front of the hotel. Flamingos are fascinating to watch as they are not only very attractive but also very comical on their incredibly skinny legs that bend forward at the knee rather than back when they walk. Like all birds, they are concerned with preserving their personal space and establishing their pecking order, and these two were doing just that.

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Song Sparrow in Spring Wildflowers

Photo of Song Sparrow in Spring Wildflowers

I love taking pictures of birds. This little guy, a song sparrow, was singing away very merrily when I was walking along the boardwalk at Moonstone Beach in Cambria, California last spring. I love how all the background yellows and pinks came out so well in this picture too.

This and other photos I have taken of birds can be found in the bird photo galleries. There's one for broadband visitors, and one for dialup visitors. Here are the links to each:

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Photo of a Swan

Photo of a Swan

This picture proves the point that you don't have to venture far to get photos of bird life. This picture I actually took at the Marriott Resort in Palm Desert, CA. My room was above the lake that comes right up to the rooms on one section of the hotel, and this swan did me the favor of floating by in front of my room.

This and other photos I have taken of birds can be found in the bird photo galleries. There's one for broadband visitors, and one for dialup visitors. Here are the links to each:

Bird Photo Gallery - Broadband Flash Gallery

Bird Photo Gallery - Dial Up Optimized