predator-prey

Back in the Desert

Posted June 6, 2019 by Chris Cunningham

The more unintelligent a man is, the less mysterious existence seems to him. –Arthur Schopenhauer

Ash-throated Flycatcher with Grasshopper, Cave Creek Canyon, Arizona — *Ash-throated Flycatcher with Grasshopper,* Cave Creek Canyon, Arizona. This bird was waiting for me to go away so it could deliver the grasshopper to its young in a nest cavity below. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

Well, another grueling academic year is in the rear-view mirror, and it’s now time to get my head screwed back on properly. According to the locals, June is the most miserable month to spend in Cave Creek Canyon, Arizona. Too hot they say! Certainly by late morning it’s too hot for a pudgy 55-year-old physics teacher to be doing hard manual labor outside, but the early mornings, evenings, and nights are beautiful. With the windows open, sleeping is comfy under a wool blanket! Try that in the sweltering hell that is Houston!

Thus far, the birding has all been about flycatchers. Say’s Phoebes and Ash-throated Flycatchers are everywhere, calling and hawking insects. While out binocular birding early one morning, I saw an Ash-throated Flycatcher with a dragonfly slip into a cavity in the bloom stalk of a large dead agave. The next day I came back with the big glass and staked out the agave. In less than two minutes, a flycatcher returned with a grasshopper to feed babies. The bird just perched on top of the agave and would not enter the cavity, probably not wanting to give away the location of its young. I took that as a cue and slipped away with a few images, probably having spent less than four minutes there. All Myiarchus tyrant flycatchers (Ash-throated, Dusky-capped, and Brown-crested) that breed in southeastern Arizona nest in cavities–definitely something to watch out for.

Nest Cavity in Agave Bloom Stalk, Cave Creek Canyon, Arizona — *Nest Cavity in Agave Bloom Stalk,* Cave Creek Canyon, Arizona. This cavity contains young Ash-throated Flycatchers! Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

By 9 AM or so, it’s far too bright for super telephoto bird photography. Around this time, I’ve been exploring the landscape for macro opportunities. Splashes of color now dot the Arizona landscape–so off I go looking for bugs and flowers . . . .

Bee on Prickly Poppy Flower, Cave Creek Canyon, Arizona — *Bee on Prickly Poppy Flower,* Cave Creek Canyon, Arizona. Canon EOS 5DIII/100mm f/2.8L IS Macro, hand-held, high-speed synchronized macro ring-flash.

Prickly poppy, cholla, desert willow, and a variety of small yellow and white composites are in bloom at my elevation (around 5000 feet). Generally I have been surprised at how few bees and Lepidoptera are around–perhaps a manifestation of the unfolding global crisis in insect populations (Guess who’s to blame? Right!). In any case, the elderberries are also currently in flower, but the fruit is still not ripe. Soon the elderberry trees will be an irresistible draw for many of the birds in the area–and for me and my big glass!

Immature leaf-footed bugs emerge from inside a Cholla, Cave Creek Canyon, Arizona — *Immature Bugs (Hemiptera) Emerge from Inside a Cholla,* Cave Creek Canyon, Arizona. Yuck! Canon EOS 5DIII/100mm f/2.8L IS Macro, hand-held, high-speed synchronized macro ring-flash.

Working Our Way back into the Field

Posted December 15, 2018 by Chris Cunningham

Let the great world spin for ever down the ringing grooves of change. –Alfred Lord Tennyson

American Coot Surrounded by Waves of Psionic Energy, Pilant Lake, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas — *American Coot Surrounded by Waves of Azure and Gold Psionic Energy,* Pilant Lake, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas. An immensely common bird, the Coot is still fun to observe with its goofy behavior and weird croaking hoots. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

Over the past few weeks we’ve been slowly getting back to observing nature. It hasn’t been easy, but when it has occurred, it has been a tonic. We haven’t really had time to seek out the new and unusual, but rather have visited several nearby favorites like Brazos Bend State Park and Fiorenza Park.

Neotropic Cormorant Take-off! Fiorenza Park, Houston, Texas — *Neotropic Cormorant Take-off!* Fiorenza Park, Houston, Texas. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

After next week, we’ll be in the field again regularly, and we hope to rack up some new experiences and species. Until then, we’ll plan, stay local, and reminisce about birding trips of the past. Never has what a long-time birder told us when we were first beginning seemed more true: “Go birding, you’ll live longer.”

Neotropic Cormorant wiht Crunchy Snack-treat, Fiorenza Park, Houston, Texas — *Neotropic Cormorant with Crunchy Snack-treat (South American Armored Catfish),* Fiorenza Park, Houston, Texas. I’m a sucker for these birds-with-prey shots. Luckily we’ve got a great spot for them about ten minutes from the house. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

We are Still Here!

Posted November 11, 2018 by Two Shutterbirds

The most splendid achievement of all is the constant striving to surpass yourself and to be worthy of your own approval.–Denis Waitley

Baby American Tree Swallows, Potter Marsh, Alaska — *American Tree Swallow Fledglings,* Potter Marsh, Alaska. Parents were circling around, occasionally alighting to deposit bugs, mostly craneflies and mayflies, into gaping maws. Legs can be seen protruding from the mouth of the youngster on the right. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

Regular readers will no doubt have noticed a decline in the rate of posting on twoshutterbirds.com. This is not by choice! This drop-off in productivity has been the result of a number of factors affecting our luxurious new post-Harvey lifestyle. A change in Chris’s teaching schedule has also meant the loss of an hour after work every day–the time he used to work on bird photography. Chris having a tenacious head cold the past few weeks hasn’t helped, either. In any case, for the near-term we’ll likely not be as productive as we have been in the distant past. Keep checking back! We’ll keep slogging forward, and a new equilibrium will eventually be reached!

Green Heron: Beautiful Hunter

Posted October 4, 2018 by Chris Cunningham

When, according to habit, I was contemplating the stars in a clear sky, I noticed a new and unusual star, surpassing the other stars in brilliancy. There had never before been any star in that place in the sky.–Tycho Brahe

Green Heron, Fiorenza Park, Houston, Texas — *Portrait Green Heron (Non-breeding),* Fiorenza Park, Houston, Texas. Even in non-breeding colors, the Green Heron is a spectacular bird. This heron was standing on the bridge plucking small fish from the water. Canon EOS 5DIII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x). Natural light.

Green Heron in Breeding Colors, Pilant Lake, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas — *Green Heron in Breeding Colors,* Pilant Lake, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas. Note the violet-blue lores and brilliant orange-red legs and feet. Canon EOS 7D/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

The Green Heron may be my favorite wader. This bird is unusual in a number of ways. On the small side (7-9 oz) for North American waders, the Green Heron is brilliantly-colored. The sexes are said to be similar, with females having slightly duller coloration. Immature birds have whitish triangular flecks on the wings and more white around the throat than adults. A number of subspecies are recognized by experts, but some of these are rejected by others. Some Green herons migrate, and others do not. Reportedly these two populations can be distinguished biometrically: the migrating birds have longer wings.

No wader is more fun to watch hunt. Like most North American waders, Green Herons are indiscriminate in their choice of prey: fish, frogs, tadpoles, crayfish, insects, spiders will all do. But their repertoire of hunting behaviors is unsurpassed. They will hang in wait, gargoyle-like, from logs, hide from fish below on tops of lotus pads, or stroll through the weeds like other waders in search of small prey, vertebrate or invertebrate.

Green Heron, Elm Lake, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas — *Young Green Heron About to Strike,* Elm Lake, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas. Canon EOS 7D/500mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). High-speed synchronized fill-flash.

Green Heron with Shad, Elm Lake, Brazos Bend State, Texas — *Fruits of the Strike: Young Green Heron with Shad,* Elm Lake, Brazos Bend State, Texas. Canon EOS 7D/500mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). High-speed synchronized fill-flash.

Most interestingly, Green Herons use tools. They exhibit bait-fishing and have been known to drown air-breathing prey in water before swallowing. I have seen this done with frogs on a number of occasions. Likewise, it is possible (rarely) to see Green Herons bait-fishing by placing aquatic beetles on the surface of the water to attract prey at Elm Lake.

Green Heron with Fish, Elm Lake, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas — *Green Heron with Small Fish,* Elm Lake, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas. Canon EOS 7D/500mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

Although Green Herons commonly nest across the eastern half of Texas, I usually see Green Herons in non-breeding colors. Only rarely do I see full breeding colors. Green Herons generally do not nest among large wader rookeries as most herons do, but when they do, they tend to nest away from the masses. They will nest in single pairs or in small groups, too.

While Texas Coastal populations will remain for the winter, soon the inland populations will be largely gone for wintering grounds in Mexico and Central America. They will return again next year for the sweltering summer weather.

Stretching Green Heron, Pilant Slough, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas — *Stretching Green Heron,* Pilant Slough, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas. Although Green Herons typically walk around with their heads against their bodies, their necks are capable of tremendous extension to grab prey. Canon EOS 7D/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). High-speed synchronized fill-flash.

On Being There

Posted February 25, 2018 by Chris Cunningham

This is just like television, only you can see much further.–Chance the Gardener (from Being There)

Gaping Great Blue Heron, Pilant Lake, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas — *Gaping Great Blue Heron (Breeding),* Pilant Lake, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas. This bird was just about to spear a big fat siren and drag it from its burrow. I have stalked Great Blue Herons for many hours always hoping for the bird to grab prey. Canon EOS 7D/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

Unlike the utterances of simpleton Chance the Gardener in the film Being There, things said or done in strange birding territory are unlikely to be perceived as brilliant by the locals–or anyone else for that matter. Travel birding generally doesn’t give you the time to get many good shots, especially since you don’t know the conditions well or even where the birds are. Generally it takes many hours of observation in a place you know well to see or photograph something interesting or unusual.

Case in point: Entertaining fantasies of becoming a world birder, I have begun building my ornithology library again. I just added Herons and Egrets of the World: A Photographic Journey by James Hancock. Published in 1999, the images contained within were captured on film and are a mixed bag. I can only imagine the difficulties involved in documenting avian species on film under what must have often been hostile conditions. The book has, however, provided some more exotic species to be added to the bucket list to be seen and photographed.

Great Blue Heron with Bluegill, 40-Acre Lake, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas — *Great Blue Heron with Bluegill,* 40-Acre Lake, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas. I watched this bird for hours. It grabbed several fish and then sat there doing nothing for the rest of the morning. Canon EOS 7D/600mm f/4L IS. Natural light.

Below find my travel birding exemplar. Despite working pretty hard to get a decent shot, the following is typical of my only encounter with a Great White Heron. Some consider this bird to be a color morph of the Great Blue Heron, others a subspecies. Being such a rarity, I’m sure this bird is hounded everywhere it goes by birders. We probably chased this bird for an hour. It was quite wary, and I felt a little guilty about running around after it. As added barriers to success, the light (or should I say glare) was white, and it seemed some knuckle-headed ibis or egret always wanted to stand in the way thus lousing up the shot.

Like my dad used to say, “There’s nothing so bad that it can’t be used as a good example.” In life, as in bird photography, all you can do is keep swinging.

Great White Heron, near Sarasota, Forida — *Great White Heron on a Not-so-great White Day,* near Sarasota, Florida. A moment later this bird was gone, as I had crossed an invisible rubicon of minimum approach distance. Canon EOS 7D/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

Fishing Through the Glare

Posted February 5, 2018 by Chris Cunningham

There are two kinds of light – the glow that illuminates, and the glare that obscures. –James Thurber

Great Blue Heron (Breeding) with Gizzard Shad, 40-acre Lake, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas — *Great Blue Heron (Breeding) with Gizzard Shad (Dorosoma cepedianum),* 40-acre Lake, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas. This bird spent a good deal of time with its head low to the surface of the water, neck outstretched. It seemed to be searching for prey by looking for minor disturbances in the surface of the water–and then the bird would go dashing after the makers of these ripples among the aquatic vegetation. Canon EOS 7DII/500mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

On Sunday we took a much-needed trip to Brazos Bend State Park. The light in the early morning was white, and the water shone like a mirror. Colors were washed out, and there was a general sense of omni-directional illumination. Shadows were pale, and the water lacked clarity. More than just a problem for photographers, these conditions necessitated particular hunting strategies on the part of waders . . . .

Tri-colored Heron Fishing, Pilant Slough, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas — *A Tricolored Heron Utilizes an Underwing Feeding Strategy,* Pilant Slough, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas. This bird was shuffling its feet to scare up prey. Likely the shadow of the wings cut the glare from the surface of the water allowing prey to be spotted more easily. Canon EOS 7DII/500mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

American Bitterns, Great Egrets, Great Blue Herons, Little Blue Herons, and a Tricolored Heron were harvesting little (and big) fish galore from vegetation-choked water. And a Great Blue Heron bullied a Great Egret into dropping a fish it had caught in 40-acre Lake . . . .

Most interesting, perhaps, was a Tricolored Heron that was employing a (single) underwing feeding strategy, and from time-to-time, a double-wing feeding strategy. Among herons and egrets, these behaviors involve a continuum of postures from shading the water with a single wing, both wings separated, to a complete canopy in which the wings meet in front of the bird as it crouches, feathers touching the surface of the water. This latter behavior, “canopy feeding” sensu strictu, occurs only in the Black Heron of Africa (Egretta ardesiaca), although the Reddish Egret and Tricolored Heron can approach this configuration.

Several functions for these wing positions have been proposed from scaring fish into divulging their positions, to getting fish to swim into the shade (and presumably under cover) after being be spooked by foot movements, to cutting the glare so that the bird can see its prey better. It is the latter I generally favor, primarily because I tend to observed these behaviors on days with a lot of glare. As an aside, the nickname of the Black Heron is the “umbrella bird.” If the shading to reduce glare is the correct interpretation of this behavior, then perhaps the parasol bird would be a better moniker for this creature.

Note: Special thanks go to naturalist and friend R.D. for sharing his high-speed video of a Tricolored Heron that plainly shows how much clearer the water appears in the shade of an outstretched wing.

Tri-colored Heron Fishing 2, Pilant Slough, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas — *A Tricolored Heron Utilizes an Underwing Feeding Strategy 2,* Pilant Slough, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas. The head of this bird swayed back and forth between outstretched wings. Canon EOS 7DII/500mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

Chasing Greater Roadrunners

Posted January 28, 2018 by Chris Cunningham

The vast sage desert undulates with almost imperceptible tides like the oceans. –Frank Waters

Greater Roadrunner, World Birding Center, Edinburg, Texas — *Greater Roadrunner,* World Birding Center, Edinburg, Texas. This bird is in a characteristic hunting posture. Canon EOS 7D/100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS. Natural light.

When the weather is dank and dreary like this along the Texas Upper Gulf Coast, my mind turns to just about anywhere else. Getting back out to the desert is always a top priority. Among the most interesting desert birds to pursue is the Greater Roadrunner (and the Lesser Roadrunner, too, I’ll bet, but that species doesn’t occur in the U.S., and I’m not up for living The Treasure of the Sierra Madre). Greater Roadrunners occur all across Texas, but we rarely see them anywhere but in the desert or scrublands.

Roadrunners are highly predatory, mostly terrestrial cuckoos. A common birding occurrence is to be walking in the desert and to see a Roadrunner skulk off into the brush as the bird detects your presence. Sometimes you’ll see one scurry across a trail ahead with a lizard or small snake in its beak. Sometimes the tail of a large snake (or lizard?) will be poking out of the beak. In this case, the anterior portion of the herp is being digested, and the rest of animal is slowly being fed down the gullet.

Roadrunners are masters of dispatching dangerous prey. Scorpions, centipedes, horned lizards, even venomous snakes are on the menu. Seeing a Roadrunner with prey is one thing, photographing it is another. Several times I’ve gone after Roadrunners in the field, prey dangling from their beaks. By the time I catch up to them, the prey is down the hatch! But with effort, documenting a Roadrunner with a dangerous, squirming victim is just a matter of time!

Greater Roadrunner in Tree, Big Bend National Park, West Texas — *Greater Roadrunner in Tree,* Big Bend National Park, West Texas. Roadrunners spend most of their time on the ground. If you startle one, it may fly a short distance–although it will more likely just quickly scurry away. This bird was just sitting around on a branch early one morning. Perhaps a big juicy snake was digesting away inside its belly! Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

What’s going on at Two Shutterbirds?

Posted January 2, 2018 by Chris Cunningham

For only love can conquer hate
You know we’ve got to find a way
To bring some lovin’ here today, oh oh oh–Marvin Gaye, What’s going on?

Summer Tanager, Lafitte's Cove, Galveston Island, Texas — *Male Summer Tanager,* Lafitte’s Cove, Galveston Island, Texas. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4xTC). Natural light.

Regular readers of Two Shutterbirds may be wondering what’s going on: Our posts have become sporadic, our commentary, elliptical . . . .

Neotropic Cormorant wit hShad, the bridge, Fiorenza Park, Houston, Texas — *Neotropic Cormorant with Shad,* The Bridge, Fiorenza Park, Houston, Texas. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

In a nutshell, we’ve been making the big push to get over Harvey. Both our our destroyed house and our new house are under contract.

Great Egret in Fight, Fiorenza Park, Houston, Texas — *Majestic Great Egret in Flight,* Fiorenza Park, Houston, Texas. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

The whole have-your-house-destroyed, sell it, and buy another one has not been the worst experience of my life, but it is on the list.

I have bought two houses before, but as those who have purchased/sold real estate since the housing crisis of 2008/2009 can tell you, it is a different world out there. It seems not to matter if you have money or a perfect credit rating or not: You are in for a [expletive deleted] nightmare. The amount of red tape has generated some real frustration. Luckily, Elisa has been a trooper and kept me in the game when I was about to give up–on repeated occasions.

So, for a while longer, all we’ll be able to do is peruse the archives, revel in the birding joys of the past, and dream of even greater birding adventures in the future . . . Stay tuned.

Tufted Puffin, St. Paul Island, Pribilof Islands, Alaska — *Tufted Puffin (Breeding),* St. Paul Island, Pribilof Islands, Alaska. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

Experiencing Animal Lives

Posted November 11, 2017 by Chris Cunningham

Every seed is awakened, and all animal life.–Sitting Bull

Cooper's Hawk with Pine Bark, Edith L. Moore, Houston, Texas — *Cooper’s Hawk with Pine Bark for Nest,* Edith L. Moore, Houston, Texas. Canon 7D/500mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

Although Sitting Bull spoke these words in the context of spring, the vitality he sensed is present throughout the year. It is this very vitality we seek through birding and nature photography.

When we can pry ourselves from the grip of work and obligation, capturing images of animals going about their business puts us back in touch with the natural world and out of touch with the annoyances of Mankind . . . .

A Blue-winged Warbler Hunts Caterpillars, Lafitte's Cove, Galveston Island, Texas — *A Blue-winged Warbler Hunts Caterpillars,* Lafitte’s Cove, Galveston Island, Texas. The grapevines at Lafitte’s Cove are food plants for caterpillars eagerly gobbled-up by trans-Gulf migrant songbirds returning to North America from the Tropics. Canon EOS 7D/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC), High-speed synchronized fill-flash.

One of our favorite photo-birding spots is open again (yay!) after being closed due to the devastation Harvey brought. The stretch from 40-acre Lake to Elm Lake at Brazos Bend State Park seems to have weathered the storm without too much damage–certainly less than the previous round of flooding.

Even the birding wasn’t too much off from a typical day this time of year. Marsh Wrens, Swamp Sparrows, and Common Yellowthroats were abundant. Northern Harriers hunted above the rice, and the air was filled with the clatter of Belted Kingfishers and the chittering of scolding Ruby-crowned Kinglets. I apparently just missed a male Vermilion Flycatcher and a small flock of Blue-headed Vireos. All in all a nice visit to a beloved place that will likely steadily improve . . . until the next catastrophe.

Baby Alligators on Mom's Back, Pilant Lake, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas — *Baby Alligators on Mom’s Back,* Pilant Lake, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas. Canon EOS 7D/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

*Brazos Bend is Back!* Calling Moorhen, Pilant lake, Brazos Bend State Park, Texas. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

Fishing by the Sea

Posted November 4, 2017 by Chris Cunningham

There is one knows not what sweet mystery about this sea, whose gently awful stirrings seem to speak of some hidden soul beneath. –Herman Melville

Reddish Egret (White Morph) with Shrimp, East Beach, Galveston Island, Texas — *Reddish Egret (White Morph) with Shrimp,* back beach lagoon, East Beach, Galveston Island, Texas. Canon EOS 7DII (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

The weather last weekend was nothing short of fantastic, so off to the coast we went! A stretch of beach with a collection of lagoons and tidal channels behind (just north of the Houston Audubon Least Tern nesting sanctuary) is one of our favorite birding spots on Galveston. Here, we saw a mix of the new and the familiar.

The birds were the usual suspects for this time of year, but we caught them doing something we’d not seen before: dining on a profusion of shrimp. We saw Reddish Egrets and Lesser Yellowlegs clearly grabbing shrimp. I also suspect that Neotropic Cormorants were eating them too, but I couldn’t document the interaction photographically. I have seen Cormorants eating shrimp before, but in freshwater.

Neotropic Cormorant with Fish, East Beach, Galveston Island, Texas — *Neotropic Cormorant with Fish,* back beach lagoon, East Beach, Galveston Island, Texas. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

Elisa noticed that potholes on the bottom of a lagoon–that used to be a tidal channel, now walled off from the sea by a dune–were filled wth young shrimp. These potholes appeared to be abandoned fish nests. The Lesser Yellowlegs were clearly plucking shrimp from the potholes, whereas the Reddish Egret seemed to be grabbing larger shrimp from the water column.

In addition to shrimp being taken, a variety of fish, including shad and killifish were being gobbled up by cormorants and waders. The strand line was scattered with flocks of Sanderlings. A few Ruddy Turnstones and Black-bellied Plovers were in the mix. All of these species can often be seen scavenging carcasses washed up on shore. This day was no exception: An aggressive Ruddy Turnstone repeatedly ran off a cadre of hungry Sanderlings vying for carrion.

All in all, a spectacular, winter-like day. We can only hope for many more,

Ruddy Turnstone with fish, East Beach, Galveston Island, Texas — *Ruddy Turnstone with Fish Carcass,* East Beach, Galveston Island, Texas. Outside the frame are a group of Sanderlings waiting for the least weakening of resolve by the Turnstone. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

The Bridge: Isolating the Subject

Posted June 10, 2017 by Chris Cunningham

Contrast is what makes photography interesting. –Conrad Hall

Great Egret with Shad, Fiorenza Park, Houston, Texas — *Great Egret with Shad 1,* Fiorenza Park, Houston, Texas. The bird was photographed against a shaded patch of water. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

Many consider the complete isolation of the subject to be an ideal in photography. This is often accomplished by photographing the subject against a contrasting, clutter-free backdrop using a shallow depth of field. Ironically, the bridge at Fiorenza Park in southwest Houston allows this sort of image to be taken in several different ways. And depending on the direction you shoot near the bridge, you can capture portraits of birds with remarkably clean backgrounds in a variety of colors.

Cormorants and a Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Green Heron, and a Great Blue Heron typically fish around the bridge, and are about the only subjects you’ll find in this area. The waders stand on the bridge and pluck fish from the water. Sometimes they turn around and eat the fish while standing on the bridge. Neotropic Cormorants (and a few Double-crested Cormorants in winter) fish from the water, often emerging with a wriggling fish in their beaks . . . .

Great Blue Heron with Shad, Fiorenza Park, Houston, Texas. — *The Flip: Great Blue Heron with Shad,* Fiorenza Park, Houston, Texas. Canon EOS 5DIII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). The action is close enough at the bridge to use a full-frame body without fear of not having enough reach. Shot from ground pod across the bridge from the south. Natural light.

I should note that photographing around the bridge presents a number of challenges in addition to the usual ones nature photographers face. Heavy human foot traffic often spooks the birds–but they return quickly. The bridge itself with its white hand railings is an eyesore that you definitely want to keep out of your shots. Because the cormorants often swim beneath the bridge, the action switches from one side to the other. Using a ground pod clearly helps to photographically isolate the birds, but greatly limits mobility leading to missed opportunities when the action shifts to the other side of the bridge. Finally, there is no shade for a photographer working the bridge. I generally shoot in the early morning before it gets too hot, so I will stand on the east side of the bridge with the sun at my back.

In general, a photographer has a number of choices regarding the bridge. They can position themselves on the sidewalk, or north or south of it. If you stand on the sidewalk when a wader grabs a fish and turns around to eat it, you can capture images like the one immediately above. Shooting slightly downward from a tripod, the sidewalk cement makes a uniform backdrop slightly darker than the bird. Shooting from the sidewalk or south of it allows you to capture images like the others in this post.

Sometimes the waders will have shaded or unshaded water behind them leading to dark green or blue backgrounds. I generally photograph cormorants fishing on the south side of bridge form a standing or kneeling posture and capture a wavy background. From a ground pod, you can achieve maximum isolation of the birds, but with the opportunity cost noted above. If you stand north of the bridge you will generally be at a disadvantage–with one exception. When birds fish on the north side they are very close close to the shore, allowing for some really tight shots . . . .

Now, get out there and photograph some birds!

Neotropic Cormorant with Plecostomus, Fiorenza Park, Houston, Texas — *Neotropic Cormorant with Big “Plecostomus,”* Fiorenza Park, Houston, Texas. This is a low angle shot (kneeling) of a bird at close range. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

Neotropic Cormorant with Shad, Fiorenza Park, Houston, Texas — *Butter Beak: Neotropic Cormorant with Shad,* Fiorenza Park, Houston, Texas. Canon EOS 5DIII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4x TC). Shot from ground pod. Natural light.

Twoshutterbirds Takes a Break!

Posted May 20, 2017 by Two Shutterbirds

There is a time for many words, and there is also a time for sleep. –Homer

Swainson's Hawk (Light Form), Fiorenza Park, Houston, Texas — *Soaring Swainson’s Hawk (Light Form),* Fiorenza Park, Houston, Texas. Fiorenza Park is one of those places: You never know what is going to show up next. Canon EOS 7DII/600mm f/4L IS (+1.4xTC). Natural light.

The school year is winding down, and exhaustion has settled in—so we’re takin’ a break! Never fear, we’ll be back on the job in no time to share some more images and prose. We’ll have some neat nature photography projects to report on in the upcoming weeks and months–so stay tuned!

Cormorant with Threadfin Shad, Fiorenza Park, Houston, Texas — *Juvenile Neotropic Cormorant with Threadfin Shad (Dorosoma petenense),* Fiorenza Park, Houston, Texas. Now that warm weather is here, small fish can be found in the shallows—where the birds can gobble them up with ease. Time will tell how many different fish species we can document as prey items at Fiorenza. Canon EOS 7DII600mm f/4 L IS (+1.4x TC). Natural light.

Birding by Camera | Adventures in Nature Photography