Standing Alone
This Willet was hanging out by himself near one of the sand bars at Bolivar Flats. Some side lighting and nice depth of field helped to make him stand out.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/2500 sec @ F5.6, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
1/2500 sec @ F5.6, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Dance of the White Morph Reddish Egret
Being the rarest of the American herons/egrets, Reddish Egrets are listed as a threatened species in Texas. Total population is estimated at about 2,000 nesting pairs with 5 to 10% being White Morph’s in the US. From my experience, they are much better at fishing than Great Egrets so hopefully they will continue to make a comeback from being hunted for their plumage. They are very active when feeding and will jump around and use their wings to help find their prey.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III telconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/3200 sec @ F5.6, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1/3 exposure compensation
1/640 sec @ F11, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Focused Stare Down
This White Morph Reddish Egret was very focused as he was searching for breakfast. Had to widen the depth of field to F11 to get his head in focus with being so close. No noise reduction on this shot.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4x III mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II head
1/800 sec @ F11, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, + 1 2/3 exposure compensation
A Very Good Day
Bolivar Flats along the Gulf of Mexico in SE Texas continues to amaze me. Made my second trip over the long holiday weekend yesterday and this one was special. My typical goals at Bolivar include trying to find and photograph Avocets and Reddish Egrets. All other birds are icing on the cake. It was a target rich environment and had the opportunity to have my cake with lots of icing on top.
In my FeatherFest workshops, I stress to the participants to keep your head on a swivel and look behind you as the best shot may be there. Took my own advice and it paid off big time on this outing.
All photos were taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head. Very little cropping on most of these photos.
Got up at 3:30 a.m. and made it to Bolivar before the sun came up. Hiked along the beach to check out where the birds were located and saw this Great Blue Heron flying by. Picked up my rig, including the ground pod, and got a series of blurred flight shots. Got a nice blurred wing spread when he landed.
1/20 sec @ F16, ISO 1600, +2/3 exposure compensation, evaluative metering, handheld
Worked my way down the beach and saw a group of White Pelicans, Gulls and Avocets in the distance. Didn’t see a practical way to get close to them so headed to one of my favorite spots and settled on a small sandbar just off shore within reach of a Reddish Egret. Got a few shots of him dancing around when the tide came in and the sand bar went under water. Decided to stay put and laid in the water waiting for some more bird action. Patience paid off as I heard a group of three American Oystercatchers coming in for a landing near by. Got off my first shot as this one was landing and he gave me a very nice wing spread. They only hung around for a couple of minutes and took off.
1/640 sec @ F7.1, ISO 4000, +1 1/3 exposure compensation, evaluative metering
Looked behind me and saw a Reddish Egret dancing in the distance so headed back in that direction. Saw what I thought was a Snowy Egret and decided to lay down and get a few silhouette shots. Discovered that he was actually a White Morph Reddish Egret, which ended up providing some great shots over the next hour.
1/4000 sec @ F9, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Followed this White Morph back to near my original location when a Reddish Egret flew in and scared him off. After the Reddish Egret didn’t do anything but stand there, turned around to see that the White Morph had landed back in the area where I first spotted him. Moved my position again and ended up working his way back towards me. Got some of my best White Morph shots as he danced around. I’ll post some more shots of him later.
1/640 sec @ F11, ISO 800, +1 exposure compensation, evaluative metering
After the White Morph walked passed me, heard a familiar bird and looked behind me to see a single Avocet starting to feed along side a Yellow Legs and a Willet. The challenge at this point was to rotate around in the wet sand without spooking him. The Avocet kept moving back and forth and got close enough for some head shots. This one is uncropped.
1/400 sec @ F16, ISO 800, evaluative metering
A very good day indeed.
Snowy Launching
Caught this Snowy Egret as he was getting ready to take-off with wings extended, leaning into the wind and some catch light in his eye. Looking at the bird in the distance helped to give the photo some more interest.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/2000 sec @ F11, ISO 1600, +1 exposure compensation
Reddish Wing Stretch
This Reddish Egret was getting some stretching exercises in at Bolivar Flats. Always a good time. Hope to get back there soon over the holidays.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/800 sec @ F9, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1/3 exposure compensation
B&W Lift-Off
From the my last trip to Bolivar Flats, this White Morph Reddish Egret landed nearby and then suddenly took off. The colors were muted as the sun was behind the clouds so I tried using B&W on this one.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/1000 sec @ F7.1, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Pelican Close-up
Tried to go to Bolivar Flats again last Sunday after a very successful trip on Sat. Should have known better as it’s difficult to get two good days in a row at one location. That turned out to be the case as it was too windy, which covered up most of the sandbars and kept the birds from being out where I could reach them. Headed back across the ferry and found this Brown Pelican just hanging out. Got some good eye contact as he was probably wondering what I was doing.
Taken with Canon 1DX with Canon 500mm F4 IS II and 1.4x III teleconverter, handheld
1/640 sec @ F5.6, ISO 3200, +1 exposure compensation
Reddish Egret in Golden Light
Made another trip to Bolivar Flats on Saturday. The wind was supposed to be fairly calm on Sat. and got confirmation of that when heading into the Texas City area and could see the steam coming off the of refineries going straight up. Always a good sign. Was hoping for completely calm, like glass, water but didn’t get that lucky. Arrived at the Flats around 6:30 a.m. and had plenty of time to head down the beach and set up on the ground before the sun came up. Picked a location on a sandbar with water on both sides of me and the sun at my back. Turned out to be a good location with an abundant amount of bird activity, i.e. a target rich environment.
Was getting shots of a Marbled Godwit to my right when I looked around and saw this Reddish Egret to my left. He gave me a nice pose when the sun popped out above the clouds. Nothing like seeing a gorgeous sunrise over the Gulf of Mexico and having birds like this to photograph. I’m very luck to live in this neck of the woods.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4x III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
Aperture priority, 1/800 sec @ F9, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1/3 exposure compensation
Oystercatcher Feeding on ???
Here is another Oystercatcher shot from the Texas City dike. He was feeding on a carcass of some kind but not sure what it was. Got some nice wave action in the background.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4x III teleconverter, handheld out the car window
1/640 @ F18, ISO 1600, Evaluative Metering, +1/3 exposure compensation 
Nighthawk Snoozing
Found two Common Nighthawks lying in the gravel at the Texas City Dike. They were hard to spot and were well camouflaged at a distance. This one was snoozing but luckily opened his eyes long enough to get a catch light in his eye from the sun.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens with 1.4X III teleconverter, handheld
1/800 sec @ F13, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
Oystercatcher in Flight
Tried to make a trip to Bolivar Flats yesterday but couldn’t get there as it looked like I might get my car stuck in the sand with all of the rain that the Houston area had last week. Ended up heading to the Texas City dike in search of the elusive American Oystercatcher. Found him in the usual spot and got this shot as he flew off.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X teleconverter, handheld out the car window
1/1600 sec @ F16, ISO 1600, evaluative metering
Smiling Nighthawk
This Common Nighthawk appeared to be smiling at me as he did a fly-by. However, it’s an illusion as what appears to be his nose is really his mouth.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X Teleconverter, handheld
1/3200 sec @ F8, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Tri-Colored Focus
There was a “gaggle” of Tri-Colored Herons on this trip to Brazoria NWR in SE Texas. My definition of a gaggle is >20, which is a record for me. They were everywhere mixed in with Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Spoonbills, Ibis and a few Wood Storks. It wasn’t very conducive to clean backgrounds but was fun none the less.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter, hand-held out the car window
1/640 sec @ F5.6, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
1/1000 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
1/1000 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Lift-Off
One of my first decent bird photos was a Tri-Colored Heron back in 2005 at Armond Bayou. Times have really changed in the past 9 years but I still enjoy taking photos of these birds. This one was taking off at Brazoria NWR.
Taken with Canon 1DX with Canon 500mm F4 IS II and 1.4X III teleconverter, handheld out the car window.
1/800 sec @ F9, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
BIF Practice with 1DX
Finally getting back in the saddle, so to speak, with wildlife photography after taking a few weekends off to help my daughter move into her new apartment. Family comes first but it felt great to be back out at Bolivar Flats yesterday. Got the opportunity to get some BIF practice with my 1DX. It works much better than my 7D with maintaining focus on flying birds.
This shot of a Long Billed Curlew was taken from my ground pod, which is always a challenge with the short-range of motion while lying down. He gave me a nice wing spread and catch light in his eye.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X teleconverter
1/1000 sec @ F11, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 1/3 exposure compensation
The Black Skimmer experience was a first for me as I got buzzed and circled by two Skimmers. While walking back to my car, heard the distinctive barking of incoming Skimmers. Took my camera off of the ground pod and got ready for some flight shots. Was surprised when the skimmers flew towards me and then circled very close three times before flying further down the beach and landing. Apparently they like me lying down better.
1/2000 sec @ F8, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
This photo of a Common Nighthawk was taken after getting back to my car. Spotted the Night Hawk flying around in a field as I was putting my gear away. Grabbed my camera and got several minutes of flight shot practice as he circled around the field. They fly very erratically catching bugs so it was a challenge to keep him in the view finder. Used all focus points, which helped with this shot as he was flying towards me.
1/2000 sec @ F8, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Squawking about the Seaweed
I wasn’t the only one complaining about the build up of seaweed at Bolivar Flats. This Willet was voicing his opinion as well.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/1600 sec @ F11, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1/3 exposure compensation
Great Blue Point of View
On my last trip to Brazos Bend State Park, Doug and I didn’t have much luck with birds until we came across this Great Blue Heron that allowed us to get very close. Too close to get anything but head shots, which is not a bad situation to be in. When that’s the case with long necked birds, it’s time to go vertical. Got some photos as he was facing us but kind of liked these POV shots as he was looking away.
Somehow in the move to a vertical shot, ended up moving the dial by mistake and got -2/3 exposure compensation. I’m still not used to having the exposure compensation bar on the right side of the viewfinder compared to my 7D with the bar on the bottom.
Taken with Canon 1DX with Canon 500mm F4 IS II and 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on tripod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/1000 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, -2/3 exposure compensation (wrong setting)
1/1000 sec @ F8, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, -2/3 exposure compensation (wrong setting)
Swallow Tailed Kites – Part II
Here are some more shots of Swallow Tailed Kites from last weekend at Dayton, TX. They use their 4 ft wingspan to soar while catching bugs in mid-air and off of trees. Their forked tail is unique and very functional as they use it like a rudder to steer as they glide along, as shown in the first two photos. They didn’t come out until about 9:00 a.m. so the light was harsh on their white head. My ol’ arms got sore handholding the camera/lens but it was worth it to get some close-up’s of these majestic birds.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II with 1.4X III teleconverter, handheld
1/2000 sec @ F13, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
1/2000 sec @ F13, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
1/1600 sec @ F14, ISO 1250, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
1/2500 sec @ F9, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation
Swallow Tailed Kites – Part 1
Spent the last two mornings taking photos of Swallow-tailed Kites in Dayton, TX. This was my first time seeing this bird so thanks David for the tip. Got lots of shots so more to come.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens with 1.4X III teleconverter
Rejection
No matter how hard you try, no matter what gifts that you bring, rejection can be a very hard thing…so just fly away, to try again, another day
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II head
1/1600 sec @ F9, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
1/1600 sec @ F9, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
1/1600 sec @ F9, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
1/1600 sec @ F9, ISO 800, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
American Oystercatcher
After a not overly productive morning at Bolivar Flats, started to head back to the car but the large amount of seaweed on the beach made me take a detour back off shore to walk along a sandbar, which turned out to be the best decision of the day. Ended up lying down to take photos of a couple of Willets when I heard a non-typical bird for this area and looked up to see this American Oystercatcher circle above me as he was coming in for a landing. Luckily he landed close off to my right. Had to carefully rotate my ‘ol body around without spooking him to get into shooting position. He looked around and then walked away, which allowed enough time to squeeze off several shots. A great end to a good day at Bolivar Flats.
Taken with Canon 1DX with Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens and 1.4X III teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/640 sec @ F10, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, aperture priority
1/640 sec @ F10, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, aperture priority
1/1000 sec @ F10, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation, aperture priority
Morning Light Gaze
This Willet was gazing into the sunrise while giving it a little leg action. Full frame shot without any cropping from last Saturday at Bolivar Flats in SE Texas.
Taken with Canon 1DX with Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens and 1.4x teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II gimbal head
1/2000 sec @ F9, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +2/3 exposure compensation, 700mm
Hiking in Seaweed
This little shorebird was quickly working its way through a patch of seaweed along the beach at Bolivar Flats. Appears to be a Dunlin with breeding plumage.
Taken with Canon 1DX and Canon 500mm F4 IS II lens with 1.4X teleconverter mounted on Skimmer ground pod with Wimberley II head
1/640 sec @ F5.6, ISO 1600, evaluative metering, +1 exposure compensation
Tim Timmis Photography 
