Birding by Camera | Adventures in Nature Photography
Chris’s Selected Favorites, 2015
No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.–Heraclitus
2015 was another year of exploration. Our two big photo-birding trips were to Rocky Mountain and Big Bend National Parks. The former was new to me, but not Elisa. It’s now near the top of our return-to list. Big Bend is a fantastic place that we want to visit in every season again and again. We hope to return in spring for the singing male Colima Warblers—but we’ll have to get in shape for the climb up to the nesting sites. We’ll see.
Most of the rest of our birding adventures took place at the usual spots: Brazos Bend State Park, Frenchtown Road (Bolivar), Bryan Beach, and Galveston (East End and Lafitte’s Cove). As always, we focused on capturing animals do their thing—while dodging the terrible weather!
The Last Thing a Frog Sees: American Bittern, Pilant Lake, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas. 2015 was the year of American Bitterns at Brazos Bend State Park. They were everywhere calling, displaying, and hunting. Canon EOS 7D/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). High-speed synchronized fill-flash.American Avocet Courtship Behavior, East End, Galveston Island, Texas. Documenting bird breeding behavior is one of the true joys of bird photography. Most American Avocets breed to the north and west, in the western interior of the U.S. and Canada. A few remain along the Texas Coast during summer. Canon EOS 7D/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.Green Heron with Gar Fingerling, Pilant Lake, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas. As of this writing, Brazos Bend State Park is still closed due to the horrific flooding of spring, 2016. Canon EOS 7D/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). High-speed synchronized fill-flash.Nest-sitting Great Horned Owl at Dawn, 40-acre Lake, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas. Canon EOS 7D/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.Male White-tailed Ptarmigan, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. RMNP: Alpine birding at its finest—without having to travel really far. Canon EOS 7D/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.A Mixed flock of Water Birds Drives a School of Small Fish Across the Shallows, lagoon behind Bryan Beach, Texas. Canon EOS 7D/600mm (+1.4x TC). Natural light.
