I spent some time Saturday morning watching the birds in the backyard, and happened to be at the right place at the right time to see a male and female western tanager pass through the yard. It was only the third time I’ve ever seen these birds, and the first opportunity to photograph, so needless to say, I was thrilled.
I had another interesting sighting earlier in the week; while out on my bike I spotted an interesting bird with a very long beak. After looking on my bird app, I figured it was likely a long-billed curlew, a first time I have seen the species. I hopped in the car with my camera to see if they were still in the area, and luckily managed a couple photos.
That’s enough of the chatter, I hope you enjoy the birds I have seen this week 🙂
A dark-eyed oregon junco with her chicks. Even though the ground was full of sunflower seeds that I spilled earlier in the day whilst filling up feeders, the chicks still wanted Mom to feed them.
I was watching the hummingbirds with camera in hand when I saw a flash of yellow land behind some branches. I moved slowly to get a better vantage point, worried I would scare the bird off before getting to ID it. The male and female tanagers arrived at separate times and only stayed a minute or to. I was really lucky to have seen them.
A long-billed curlew.A pair of long-billed curlews with a chick (mid photo far right). I was taking photos when pulled over on the side of the main road into my neighbourhood, so I didn’t spend any time adjusting settings; a couple quick photos then I was off.
I finally caught Cee’s Black and White Challenge topic with time to participate; this week’s them is “Close Ups”. And me being me, I thought what better subject for a close-up than elephants!
Late afternoon blowing sand created a dreamy sunset over Damaraland, Namibia.A Burchell’s Courser in Damaraland, Namibia.A different take on the Dead Vlei in Namibia.
While staying in the Okavango Delta last April, the lodge had to send a spare vehicle along with the guide that picked us up at the airstrip… the rapidly rising water levels meant that the luggage needed to be placed up on the seats to avoid going for a swim
It’s been a slow week for photos on my daily walks; and I had planned to spend some time photographing the hummingbirds this weekend, but yesterday slipped away from me, and today is completely miserable. So, it was into my archive of photos to edit instead.
The following are a pretty random group of photos,the only real common element being lovely light.
I hope you enjoy!
A leopard in the Okavango Delta in bright, early morning light. I love the glow of the long grasses framing the leopard.An Okavango sunset, with hints of light on the marsh grasses.A lone giraffe traverses through the low, scrubby brush at Phinda Game Reserve.A pair of springbok near Sossusvlei, Namibia. I think the glow of the sun provides an interesting outline to the pair.I don’t quite know what it is about this photo, but I really like it.
