birds

Silhouettes in Nature /  by Todd Henson

I’m not certain if I’ve experimented with, or shown, photographic silhouettes before. Something prompted me to try it with these two photos, and so here you are, two examples of silhouettes in nature.

Caroline wren in silhouette

When I first photographed these birds I wasn’t thinking about creating silhouettes from them. I simply didn’t think enough about the exposure with these strongly backlit subjects, which resulted in a fair bit of underexposure. I suppose that’s what sparked the idea of silhouettes.

Song sparrow in silhouette

I increased the contrast in post, darkening the darks and lightening the lights. As simple as this is, I enjoyed it and I could see myself trying this again, either with photos already in my library or actively seeking to create these in the field.

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Photographing Birds on an Overcast Morning /  by Todd Henson

An overcast sunrise over the Potomac River as seen from Leesylvania State Park

In late January my father and I picked Leesylvania State Park as our destination for a morning nature hike. We’d not been to that location in a while and there was the chance we might see some of the wintering over tundra swans closer to shore. We struck out as far as that goes. We didn’t see or hear a single tundra swan. But we did see a number of interesting birds.

None of these are stellar examples of bird photography. It was a grey overcast morning and the light was sometimes very uninteresting. In many cases I didn’t nail the focus. In most there is noticeable noise if you look closely enough. But none of this stopped us from enjoying a sunrise hike and taking advantage of the opportunity to observe and photograph some birds. Not every outing will result in stunning photography, but every outing can be an opportunity to practice photography, to practice identifying bird species, and to enjoy the simple act of getting together and going for a walk in nature.

Bufflehead Ducks

The first bird we noticed was a male bufflehead duck swimming in the waters just inside some rocks nearest to shore. Before long we realized there were two buffleheads, a male and female.

A male bufflehead duck swimming in the calm morning water

The male bufflehead has now joined a female

Great Blue Heron

When we began walking along the sandy river shore we spooked a great blue heron that had been standing in the waters near shore. I managed to capture an image of the heron as it flew away.

A great blue heron flying close to the surface of the water

Many Different Ducks

There were many groups of ducks in the distance, some at a very great distance. When I got home I was able to identify some. I believe there were ruddy ducks, which are fairly small and often swim with their tail sticking up. There were the buffleheads we saw above. The largest of the ducks were, I believe, canvasbacks. And I think there might have been some scaup. I suspect they were greater scaup but I they might have been lesser. Let me know if you’re good at identifying duck species and know for certain what some of these are.

I think the larger of these ducks are canvasbacks. The medium sized ones may be scaup, possibly greater scaup. And the smallest may be a couple of ruddy ducks.

The two smallest ducks on the left are ruddy ducks. The male bufflehead is on the right and the female just left of center. I believe the larger ducks are scaup, possibly greater scaup.

A group of what I believe are canvasback ducks taking flight.

I’m always entertained by how close some birds fly to the surface of the water.

Here we see five of the ducks, which I think are canvasback, flying over the surface of the river.

Downy Woodpecker

When we’d left the shore and followed the trail inland we noticed a flash of red while on a boardwalk over a marshy area. It turned out to be a single male downy woodpecker.

A male downy woodpecker in the dried grass and reeds on the ground

A slower shutter speed shows the motion of the downy woodpecker while pecking

Brown Creeper

Then I noticed movement on a tree, almost as if the bark were moving. Brown creepers can be easy to miss if they’re not moving, but thankfully they are often moving. They’re much easier to see when they turn to the side so you can see their profile. That white stomach stands out much better than their camouflaged brown back.

A brown creeper can be difficult to see if facing its back when it’s not moving. Thankfully, they’re usually moving.

A brown creeper in profile is much easier to see

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Three Grebes of Two Species /  by Todd Henson

On a recent morning while hiking a nearby wildlife refuge we spoke with someone who said they’d seen several grebes out in the water, so I kept my eyes open when we made it to the bay trail. Sure enough, we also saw a few grebes swimming around and fishing, sometimes near shore.

Plumage Transition of Horned Grebes

We found two great examples of Horned Grebes. One has almost completely transitioned to its summer, or breeding, plumage with fairly dark body feathers and the distinctive lighter yellow “horns” stretching from its eye to the back of its head.

Mostly summer (breeding) plumage of a Horned Grebe

The other appears to only recently have begun its transition and still retains more of its winter, or non-breeding, plumage, which is less colorful and more grey.

A Horned Grebe transitioning from its winter (non-breeding) to summer (breeding) plumage

I wonder if perhaps one is male and the other female. Some birds have distinctly different plumage for male and female, but with grebes they look alike and instead change plumage with the seasons, so I can’t tell their sex from their plumage.

Pied-billed Grebe

The other grebe we found was a single Pied-billed Grebe, which is smaller than the Horned Grebe. This one appears to have transitioned to its breeding plumage, which includes that distinctive black bar across its bill.

A Pied-billed Grebe in breeding plumage

All of these grebes were very busy feeding, which meant they kept disappearing from view, diving down below the surface for food and resurfacing, often at a distance from where they first dove. They are a very enjoyable bird to watch and photograph, and I’m glad we happen to be in an area they migrate through on their way north to their breeding grounds.

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