Riffing off my last post about places… here is a series of birds in their environments. If you’re ever caught out with a short lens or the birds are just too far away, you can still get good shots that tell the wider story. Above, a Burrowing Owl near the Salton Sea.
A Western Meadowlark floats near San Francisco Bay.
A Wilson’s Warbler in the reeds at a lake’s edge.
A Black Turnstone at the edge of the sea.
A Red-shouldered Hawk preens in a Eucalyptus tree.
Young Great Horned Owls await night in the woods.
A Red-tailed Hawk out for a sunset stroll on the beach.
A Varied Thrush ghostly through the trees.
Red-tailed Hawks in the countryside.
Northern Pintails are the perfect addition to any lagoon scene.
Almost done. Here are Cinnamon Teal in tucked into their chosen habitat.
A Eucalyptus tree frames a Red-shouldered Hawk keeping watch over its nest.
*Environmental Photo Bonus Round: Extra points if you can find the hawk in this picture.
Until next time…
In all honesty I’ve always preferred these somewhat wider bird photos to the frame-filling ones of just the bird itself. I like seeing the habitats where the birds were found. The photos that include habitats always seem more artistic to me. The really close birds shots often look as though they were taken in a zoo or some other non-natural setting. I’ve always felt that birds and their habitats are part and parcel of the birding experience, and shots where I can only see the bird leave me feeling a bit cheated somehow.
Looks like he could be perched almost in the center on a power pole.
Not only can I spot the last hawk, I’ve got it in the scope from the living room.
Excellent work, Walter! Very well captured. Always a pleasure to look through what you’re sharing.
Do I see 2 hawks? One on the roof of the mustard colored house and one on the tele pole?
Looks like it’s perched on the roof of the structure beyond the Pacheco street sign.
El Halcòn se encuentra sobre la cruceta del dècimo poste…
Saludos desde Chile.
The majority of these shots are superior in nearly every way to those increasingly common ones which are normally featured. In these composition is factored in…. How nice.
Carolyn H said it exactly the way I feel it. I think they’re captured more artisticly in wider shots that capture the bigger picture of the bird in his element. A wider photo is more of a “heart” experience and not just an “eyes” experience. These are all gorgeous and evocative!
So interesting; and I was “forced,” but happy to Zoom-Out this morning on this Meadowlark shot:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rbinv/7420311290/in/photostream
while out shooting some Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks this morning
Damn…the shots of the turnstone and the pair of Red-taileds are phemonenal, dare I say PERFECT.
Phenomenal photo of the Black Turnstone! Wow!
I like the idea of showcasing birds in an environment obviously has experienced human development to one degree or another. I often find myself trying to position myself to avoid that in my shots, or to crop it out, but these pictures do just fine with it in—not in spire of but because of. My favorites are the BUOW and the pair of RTHA.
Perhaps I should have proof-read that better before hitting submit…
“…in an environment *that* …”
“…in *spite* of …”
Your photos are knockouts. I really prefer shots of birds in their environments.
Walter, I have no idea what you are talking about. ALL my shots are like that, and then I crop, crop, crop! 🙂
awesome shots!!!!! great!!!