Frigatebirds Playing
Here are a few shots from the archives of two Magnificent Frigatebirds playing. One was carrying a fish around and would drop it and the other one would try to catch it in mid air. I had only see one of these birds before this so it was a thrill to see two of them together and playing. Just wish that it had been sunny that day. Not great photos but I wanted to share anyway. Taken at the east end of Galveston Island.
Bolivar Shorebirds
Here are a few shots from my last trip to Bolivar Flats. Turned out to be almost perfect conditions with low wind, calm water and low tide. The light about 1/2 hour before sunrise was amazing. Sheldon and I want out wading in the gulf to get some flight shots while David went to find a spot to shoot from. We should have followed him. Had to do a double take while wading around when I saw a fin come up out of the water. Glad that no one was playing Jaws music at the time. Using my higher intellect, ie. opened my eyes, to detect that it was just a dolphin. I’ve never seen one before on that side of the jetty close to shore. It was very cool to see. Small groups of Avocets kept flying by us so there were some decent flight shot opportunities.
We eventually moved to stake out some sand bars to get down low and shoot the birdies. David was the furthest inland already shotting away, Sheldon was in the middle and I was on the outskirts. There were more avocets there that day than I’ve ever seen. Had to be hundreds if not thousands of them. It’s a challenge to shoot them while they are in such large groups. They tend to stick together and getting an isolated shot is tuff. That’s where being on the outer edge helped as some individual ones wondered in my direction. Had some crappy backgrounds (Sheldon) to deal with but it was all good. We kept following David around and he came upon the Peregrine Falcon that has been hanging out around there. Too bad that he didn’t fly our direction when he launched but it’s always cool to see him. Overall a great morning.
Bald Eagle from Anahuac
Tried going to Bolivar again on Sunday morning but since it was cloudy and windy, I decided to take the long way home via Anahuac NWR. Found this juvi Balk Eagle after I left on the road leading to the NWR. Was driving down the road seeing several raptors sitting on telephone poles. Saw what I thought was a big vulture but changed my mind when I saw the white head. Almost locked up the car breaks and came to a quick stop right beside him. Got one shot off and then he jumped up and launched. First couple of shots were blurry but got some of them. Some where cluttered with power lines and had cropped wings since I didn’t have a chance to zoom out so I cropped some of these tighter. He flew back behind me and landed on another telephone pole. So instead of sitting in the middle of the road like I was, I did the intelligent thing and backed up down the road to get some more shots. My first juvi eagle sighting which was very cool. I’m lovin how many eagle sightings there have been this year in SE Texas.
Taken out the car window with Canon 7D and 100-400 lens.
F6.3, + 1 1/3 exposure compensation, ISO 400
Kestrel BIF
About the only time that I find a Kestrel is when they are hanging out on power lines. That was the case with this one that I found while leaving San Bernard NWR. I don’t like having the power lines in my shots so I waited for this guy to take off. They are fast so I was pleased to keep it in focus.
Taken with Canon 7D and 100-400 lens out the car window
F5.6 @ 1/1000 sec, +1 exp compensation, spot metering, ISO 200
Incoming Harrier
This was one of my favorite end of 2010 experiences. Saw some Northern Harriers as I was leaving Bolivar the day before but couldn’t get close to them. Decided to follow one of my golden rules: if you don’t like the shots that you got today, go back tomorrow. After trying to get some shorebird shots, I decided to go inland to try to find a Harrier. Got to the edge of the tall grass line and decided to lay down in the sand to wait for one to come by. Not too bright of an idea and I quickly learned that the grass was too tall and I couldn’t see anything coming. Got up and then kneeled down in the sand at the grass line. Decided that was also a dumb idea as I stuck out like a sore thumb. Finally used my aging brain and went into the grass to wait for the Harriers. Another miscalculation was that the grass was very tall and I had to get up fairly high on my knees to see anything. Should have brought the weed wacker with me. It was a little challenging to get situated with having my waders on. My ‘ol back was hurting already from laying on the beach so I ended up laying on my back a few times in the grass to rest. Really glad that no one else was around to see me rolling around in the grass.
Finally saw a couple of Harriers in the distance and waited for them to come my way. Was thrilled when this one dove out of the sky and flew right at me. He didn’t see me until he got fairly close. Unfortunately I lost the focus on him at the critical moment with the tall grass in the foreground and he flew off. Bumbed that I missed the best shot but glad that I got this one.
Taken with Canon 7D and 100-400 lens hand held (with ground pod and flash laying in the grass beside me)
F5.6 @ 1/800 sec, +1 exposure compensation, aperature priority, spot metering, ISO 250
Mating Dance
Great Egret mating dance
This Great Egret was striking its best mating dance pose at the High Island rookery. This shot was taken early in the rookery season in 2009 during one of my scouting missions to see if any birds had shown up yet at the rookery. Not many birds around except this one doing the dance. I love how they show their breeding plumage to attract a mate. It was a foggy morning and the shot came out a little soft with ISO 500 and shutter at 1/125 sec but it gives it good feel. That’s my story and I’m stickin to it. I can’t wait until this spring…
Avocet Crossing
Why do Avocets cross the road? Probably because some idiot is trying to take their picture. Another trip to Bolivar Flats at low tide found this group of American Avocets in what I’d call a tide pool area near the shore. I waded out into the water to take some flight shots and then made my approach to them from the water side. Thought that a covert water landing would be better than to possibly spook them from going back on shore first. Ended up on my knees trying to carry the camera/ground pod as I got closer to shore and then belly crawled up on the sand bar. That would have made an interesting photo op in itself. Got totally wet but it was worth it as they didn’t spook but just walked past me on their way to the water. It’s the thing that I love about laying down with the ground pod – the birds don’t see you until they get very close. I liked the golden light and the look of their thin legs all grouped together in this shot.
Taken with Canon 40D and 100-400 lens
F5.6 @ 1/500 sec., ISO 250, spot metering on ground pod
Reddish Egret Portrait
This Reddish Egret was doing his best posing for me at Bolivar Flats. I really liked the side lighting on this one. This is one of my favorite Reddish portraits. Taken while laying down in the sand using my ground pod.
Canon 40D with 100-400 lens on ground pod
F5.6 @ 1/640 sec, ISO 250, spot metering
Out of Body Experience
Northern Harrier
This is a Northern Harrier taken before sunrise at San Bernard NWR. Took it hand held out the car window while waiting for a flock of geese to blast off. Used shutter priority at 1/6 sec to get a blurred shot. This one turned out looking like a double exposure. Converted it to B&W in photoshop since there was very little color anyway.
Canon 7D with 100-400 lens
F13 @ 1/6 sec, +1 exp compensation, spot metering, ISO 200
Skimmers in a Blur
Black Skimmers
Since I’ve been having fun lately with slow shutter speeds, thought that I’d try it out with some Black Skimmers. Found several hundred of them hanging out at the east end of Galveston Island in the windy, cold weather (relatively speeking). They were in two different groups and would blast off every 10 minutes or so. Took this shot panning with the flock at 1/8 sec on shutter priority.
Canon 7D with 100-400 lens out the car window
F16 @ 1/8 sec, +1 exp compensation, ISO 100
Reddish Egret Silhouette
Almost didn’t get this photo of the Reddish Egret because I didn’t follow one of my own rules for wildlife photograhy: ” look behind you”. I had been laying down shooting other birds when a couple of wade fisherman came walking up behind me and scared away all of the birds. Really ticked me off but I stuck around for a while longer but the birds didn’t come back, or so I though. Was about to get up when I remembered the look behind you rule and found this Reddish Egret. He was not in the traditional “have the sun at your back” position to get a good shot. I tend to ignore tradition and love back lit and silhouette shots so I fired away. He caught a fish and I was able to get this shot by firing off a burst.
Taken with Canon 40D and 100-400 lens on ground pod
F5.6 @ 1/1000 sec, ISO 160, 400mm, evaluative metering
Avocets at Sunrise
American Avocets
Here is another one of my favorite shots from Bolivar Flats. This was taken just after sunrise while wading out into the Gulf. I had just bought a pair of waders to use in the winter to keep my lower half dry while laying in the wet sand taking bird photos. I also finally figured out using my infinite wisdom that they also work to actually “wade” out into the water. So with my new found intelligence, I started to walk off shore before sunrise to get close to the birds flying by. On this particular morning, the water was very calm and almost like glass, which is rare for the Gulf. I was about 100 yds off shore when this group of American Avocets flew very close to me. Got this full frame shot while hand holding the camera with the ground pod attached.
Taken with Canon 40D and 100-400 lens
F5.6 @ 1/4000 sec, ISO 200, spot metering
Blast Off
Here is a blast off of geese from San Bernard NWR. There were a few thousand of them hanging out in a pond near the road. Got there about 1/2 hr before sunrise. They all lifted off at once just after sunrise. Took this shot out the car window. Slowed the action down by using shutter priority at 1/6 sec. Panned with the birds and got lots of blur with some more defined heads of the geese. The wind was just right and they flew directly in front of me. Bailed out of the car to get more shots as they flew by. I love the sight and sound of the blast off. I’m always tempted to take a video of the blast off with my 7D but don’t want to pass up the still shots.
Some favorites from 2010
Welcome to my new blog. For the first post, I wanted to show some of my favorite photos from 2010. It was a great year for taking pictures in SE Texas. I’m looking forward to more fun in 2011. Click on the photos to see larger images along with a description for each photo.
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- Yellow Crowned Night Heron
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- White Morph Reddish Egret
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- White Morph and Reddish Egret
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- Willet
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- Great Egret
Tim Timmis Photography 
