Other Birds

This seagull was so fat I don’t even know how it could fly. In this photograph, it is actually sitting on top of a large garbage can. I made this image from sitting inside of my truck. The death stare he gave me cracked me up. The hardest part of shooting this photo was not laughing and shaking my camera.

While other seagulls sit tight on a frozen pond near Muskegon, this one does a fly-by, allowing me to nearly fill my viewfinder with its image. I have been patiently awaiting such a moment with my 500 millimeter telephoto lens mounted on my camera. Believing such a good thing will happen helps me wait longer. I am a positive thinker. I know it makes me happier and luckier.

Earlier today, I was in my backyard helping build a deck off the back of my house. While working, I kept seeing this little bird flying around and hopping from tree to tree. When trying to figure out what to photograph for my photo of the day, I remembered the beautiful bird from earlier in the day. F5.6 at 1/50, ISO 1600, 600 mm lens at 600 mm

365 Week

Gull Morning

Emerald Lake

I love seeing the red-winged blackbirds in the Pere Marquette River flats south of Ludington. This male sings what I imagine is a springtime love song while swaying in the breeze atop a cattail. F5.6 at 1/2500, ISO 800, 500 mm lens with 1.4 extender at 700 mm

Today is my dad’s 78th birthday. We celebrated with him at the farm, and afterwards I took a winding drive through the woods along the Pere Marquette River. To my surprise, I saw a sandhill crane in the water. I grabbed my camera and big lens and climbed halfway down the steep bank. I waited until she walked into the clearing and her reflection showed in the calm river.

I grew up listening to the mourning doves on the farm. Today, they were fighting over dropped grain in our freezer beef field. I love the combination of sharpness in the sitting dove, and movement in the fluttering one.

I am fortunate to live in an area where it doesn’t take much to see wildlife around you. I am not sure what type of bird this is, but it sure is a beauty.

When I look upon the heron rookery that Don and Mary Klemm told me I could find along US 10 west of Clare, all I can think is how eerily beautiful the scene looks. This great blue heron stood out among the many herons we watched. F4.0 at 1/1250, ISO 400, 300 mm lens at 300 mm

Color Coordinated

Dotties Delight

This tom turkey displays its full regalia while strutting amongst a flock of turkeys in the morning light. How can a bird that often looks ugly look so magnificent looking when it wants to? I was glad to have shot him (with my camera) during turkey hunting season. F5.0 at 1/125, ISO 250, 80-200 mm lens at 165 mm

This is my first good photo of a Caspian tern. I have not seen many of these birds around West Michigan until recent years. They are beautiful, agile and incredibly nimble in the air. Just after I made this photo, the tern dove head first into the water and came out with a nice treat for dinner in its beak. F5.0 at 1/2000, ISO 640, 70-200 mm lens at 200 mm

Have you ever seen a pelican in Michigan? I had only ever seen one in the past. Today we had over a dozen of them hanging out in the Ludington harbor. These fishermen got an up-close view of them as they took flight off the south pier in Ludington.

A chipping sparrow chirps away while basking in the morning sun near the top of a pine tree in southern Oceana County. The bird seems as excited as I am that the sun has finally come out on this April day. F4.5 at 1/4000, ISO 800, 500mm lens at 500mm

Morning Stroll

Morning Wait

This chipping sparrow came to say hello to my dad and me today and it sang us the most beautiful little song. The warm sunshine made all three of us feel joyous and in the mood to sing. Unfortunately, nobody wants to ever listen to my dad and me sing. F7.1 at 1/3200, ISO 800, 600mm lens at 840mm