Mar 09 2010
No big backstory here…just a beautiful little bird, singing his heart out, an image that seems appropriate for the gorgeous early spring weather we are having today, though it will still be another month before Prairie Warblers return to our area.
The buzzy, ascending song of Prairie Warbler is the first “fancy” song I remember learning, [...]
Mar 08 2010
The second of my photos that appears in the Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Eastern and Central North America is one of the big ones, spanning two pages, a treatment afforded only 3 shots in each book. It appears across pages ii & iii.
But the photograph has to share space–lots of space–with two text boxes and [...]
Mar 04 2010
I’m beginning with the first of my bird photos that appears in the Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Eastern and Central North America, hereafter simply, Eastern. It appears on page i.
Obviously, it’s a male Scarlet Tanager. It was photographed 19 May 2009 near Georgetown, DE. When I accepted the assignment to provide 30 photographs [...]
Mar 02 2010
A few days ago, something besides another foot of snow fetched up against our doorstep. Two big brown heavy boxes, all the way from Indianapolis.
Sure enough, they were the brand-new Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Western North America and the similarly titled but quite distinct, Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Eastern and Central [...]
Sep 24 2009
I’m just back from the 2009 Midwest Birding Symposium, which was without doubt one of the best organized and coordinated events of its kind, ever. I kept pretty busy, giving a presentation on the uses of digital technology in birding, successfully chasing a Kirtland’s Warbler that turned up nearby, burning the midnight karaoke oil, and [...]
Jul 27 2009
On Saturday, July 26th, I attended a half-day photography workshop hosted by Wil & Donna Hershberger, a couple of dedicated wildlife photographers and sound recordists who live in eastern West Virginia. The workshop was held at Lilypons, a unique nursery for aquatic plants just northwest of Washington, DC. I went expecting to concentrate on water [...]
Jul 24 2009
Self-portrait by Matthew Sarver
Good news for all of you who enjoy well-written, thoughtful, authoritative, and nicely-illustrated blog posts (and if that’s you, what are you doing here?). My buddy Matt Sarver has been cultivating his web presence, including launching a new blog, appropriately called The Modern Naturalist.
Matt’s a great birder, naturally, but he’s also lamentably talented [...]
Jul 10 2009
A Royal Tern slices through the air near Ocean City, MD
Well, I seem to be taking one of my periodic (frequent?), unplanned absences from the blogosphere, so here, at least, is something new to look at for a while.
I went down to Ocean City, Maryland, the other evening with Kevin Fleming to photograph a Royal [...]
Jun 17 2009
Atlantic Puffins at (Machias) Seal Island
You don’t need a fancy camera to take a puffin photo like this one–you just need to be in the right spot. I took the above shot with a compact, point & shoot stye camera. And you can, too, if you want. Or you can just enjoy one of North [...]
Jun 16 2009
Male Wilson’s Warbler, San Mateo County, CA
Here’s a shot I would describe as a likable miss. It’s not very sharp (light was incredibly low, requiring slow shutter speeds) and there’s too much obstructing vegetation. But that vegetation, especially the way its pink and green colors complement the yellow and black warbler, is also what makes [...]
