Sunday, September 22, 2013

Birding Extremes

Saturday morning as I sat beside a meadow I was startled when a large bird swooped past so close that I could hear the wind in its feathers.  As quickly as it appeared it was out of sight and I was unsure of whether I had seen an immature bald eagle or my first golden for the fall. 
 
 
About 15 minutes later the eagle returned to perch in a tree 100-120 yards away.  While I would have loved to have had the bird closer this was close enough to get some decent shots with the 600mm lens.  It was also close enough to confirm that it was an immature bald eagle.

 
As the rain began falling I packed up my camera gear and began walking away.  Looking back I was surprised to see the eagle continuing to preen paying no mind to my presence.
 
 
 
After photographing the eagle, one of our largest birds, yesterday; this morning I went to the other extreme.  This female ruby throated hummingbird was perched in a dogwood tree moments before the sun crested the eastern horizon.  I began photographing the tiny bird from a few feet away and was rewarded with the best shot of the session when the little bird shook and ruffled its feathers before buzzing off in search of food.

5 comments:

Ruth Hiebert said...

Both the large and the small birds are beautifully captured.

Montanagirl said...

The tiny and the large - great images!

Elaine said...

The hummingbird shot is spectacular!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful captures of these amazing birds.

Lindsjö taxar said...

Hi!
The eagle is great. They are big I Think.
Great capture