Its all about the Spoonbill

Was surprised to see a lone Roseate Spoonbill the other day working first a small wet area in the fairway and then a more predictable body of water. Staying to the shade in already 95 plus heat and burying the spoonbill in the mud and water, I captured a lot of images of a pretty pink bird that really didn’t want to show his defining feature to anyone. Like a lot of times in wildlife photography, patience paid off and he finally took a moment to reposition himself at the edge of the pond.

Roseate Spoonbill


I think I’ll have a bug for breakfast

We have a lot of Red-Shouldered Hawks in the area. This one was more interested in finding breakfast than worrying about me. Standing as still as a statue on the edge of the fairway, it suddenly broke out in a dead run, buried its head in the grass and came up with breakfast. Still loving the Nikon D6 with the Nikkor 500mm PF combination.

Red-Shouldered Hawk on the run
Red-Shouldered Hawk with cricket


Feeding Time 1

Shooting with the new Nikon D6, I have been working a lot of birds in the early hours. Whether out on the golf course or out back of the office, we have water and there is an assortment of tidbits that draws the birds in. This Great Blue Heron surprised the heck out of me (and probably the turtle) when I watched him grab a small turtle, fiddle with it for 5 minutes and then swallow it whole. Hadn’t seen that one before….

Great_Blue_Heron_with_Turtle


Keeping alert for opportunities

We tee’d off just at sunrise. My favorite time to play golf since there is usually no one behind you and it is full of shooting opportunities at that time of day. I have been shooting with the new Nikon D6 with the Nikkor 500mm f/5.6 PF ED VR lens; a combination that I am really enjoying. It is producing excellent image quality.

As I was driving past a large shade tree, I noticed a red-shouldered hawk fly into the middle of it. With the early sun illuminating the leaves around its head, the D6 performed with its usual brilliance; especially considering the hawk was deep within the canopy keeping a low profile.

Red Shouldered Hawk

Testing the new Nikon D6 during Dinner Time

Thanks to Bedford Camera and Nikon Professional Services, the new Nikon D6 arrived on my doorstep in the past week. To date, I have been pleased with the results I am getting during my testing. The greater selection of Auto-Focus options has been particularly interesting. Despite a steady downpour of rain, a Black-Crowned Night Heron suddenly appeared out back on the edge of the pond. Shooting with the Nikon D6 and AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens, I followed him as he went about getting dinner….