Anna's Hummingbird

This gorgeous male Anna's was coming to a wild currant bush in Steigerwald Lake NWR. Patience paid off as it took several hours before it came to my side of the bush where my tripod was stationed. Loved the gorget iridescence of its gorget!

Northern Harrier (female)

She took on the hues of the lake as she launched from the fence post to glide by me.

Anna's Hummingbird

This male loved visiting the wild currant near the parking lot of Steigerwald Lake NWR

Northern Harrier (female)

She glided on the 25 mph wind that held her only a few yards from me in a relatively steady position. Harriers being held up by wind going over levees are easy targets.

Great Blue Heron

The GBH offered me the opportunity to see every single feather on its back. They look so graceful, but primitive, when they fly. Love watching them feed and fly!

The illusive Gray Ghost

Steigerwald photographers agree with me that the ratio of male Northern Harrier shots to female Northern Harrier shots is 1 to 30. We find the male much less cooperative. Here I caught it in a rare moment of just being suspended by the wind over the levee near the entrance. Getting an open shot of a soaring hawk's back doesn't happen every day!

Confused Northern Harrier (juvenile)

This kid's first week out of the nest offered it some interesting moments, like this. It was awkwardly flying low to the ground when an American Bittern came up and flew right beside it. The harrier was so distracted, it didn't notice I was standing right in front of it. Here it looked right into my camera before it veered to miss me and then screamed at the bittern. Sometimes I happen to be standing in the right place at the right time. The bitterns wing tips were only about a foot to the right of this bird's wing on our right.

Northern Harrier

This adult female was sitting on a park rail on a wet, cold, winter morning. I could see her from over a quarter mile away. I walked close, took shots, walked closer, took shots, and repeated the sequence until I had to zoom out to keep her in my 200-500mm zoom lens. I shuffled closer until she flew and produced at least three great shots in a .3 second sequence of three shots at 10 frames per second. The back-lighting with the bokeh of the light on the grass made my wait worth it.

Northern Harrier takes flight

This was the third shot of the take-off sequence of three that were in focus. My favorite thing about this picture is seeing the droplets from the wet morning sit session being flung upward on its powerful take-off.

Great Blue Heron

This heron seemed to know exactly where to stand to make the perfect heron, log, and reflective fall background. Thanks, buddy!

Northern Harrier

I worked so hard to get close to this gorgeous bird. As I looked into its really intense stare, I felt like it was seeing down inside me. What a look! Thank you for sharing your space with me.

Gorgeous Red-tailed Hawk

Sometimes we get lucky. This hawk flew by my open window on the driver's side just as I pulled my camera and lens out to start shooting in the cold morning. It wasn't any higher than 10 feet off the ground.

Hairy Woodpecker

This was a very active individual. It was taking the moss and lichens off a tree trunk to get at something more tasty. You can see the debris flying, but it managed to hold still enough for this slow and dark photo to be taken.

Spotted Towhee

Their eyes!

Wilson's Snipe

My all time record close encounter with a snipe. This on was only a few yards from the second bridge at Steigerwald Lake NWR that traverses Red-tail Lake. It and its partner seemed to become totally habituated to people over the two weeks we saw it in the same place. They are the ultimate blenders with their environment.

Ring-necked Pheasant

To find this grass-dwelling bird on Steigerwald's Gibben's Creek drinking from a log while allowing the still water to reflect its image was special. One of those moments where you think to yourself, "oh, this is going to be good! I hope I got it."

Rufous Hummingbird

This was is my favorite Rufous shot!

Rufous Hummingbird

Hummingbird; Rufous; wild currant; hummingbird in nature; Washington; Steigerwald Lake NWR; wildlife photography; tiny creature