A Few Of My Favorites...

 

"You don't make a photograph just with a camera. You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, all the books you have read, the music you have heard, and people you have loved."

~Ansel Adams

Photography means a lot to me, but I sometimes sacrifice the quality of my photos, so I can get a picture in the moment. Bird photos sometimes have to be taken, before you think about whether the opportunity will be for the art, or whether it will be to build your yearly bird list. I try really hard to bring the two together, but oh boy, there are challenges. Weather. Birds that seem to fly at the speed of sound. I am getting older, so I am having a bit of a tremor in my hands, which might be from arthritis. There are a lot of factors. But here I want to share the ones I got right, or at least, okay. There is a lot of emotion here. They reflect happiness, sadness, serenity, wonder. It has been quite a year, filled with, you know LIFE. Each year I try to get a photo good enough to enter into the Audubon Photography Contest. Hopefully, 2026 will be my year!

My Year End Favorites

The Smallest Of The Falcons

 

"A kestrel can and does hover in the dead calm of summer days, when there is not the faintest breath of wind. He will, and does, hover in the still, soft atmosphere of early autumn..."

 

 ~Richard Jefferies

 

This is one of my favorite birds, the American Kestrel. I love it for it's beauty, but just watching how it flies, really draws me in! They soar with such whimsy, and they hover for food with deep precision. They are stunning birds, and in my opinion, not mentioned enough in the arts! Did you know they are the smallest of the falcons?

 

 

Ho-Hum

 

“Au revoir, mon ami.” 

~Susan Kay,

 Phantom 

 

Okay, it's the last day of February and I have not yet lit a candle, but as I compose this post there are still about 6 hours left in the day so I am not finished with that. After dinner I will go to the new room and try my best. Ugh. It will happen. It will.

 

 

The American Kestrel

 

“Beauty of whatever kind, in its supreme development,

 invariably excites the sensitive soul to tears.” 

~Edgar Allan Poe 

 

I don't think the American Kestrel has ever brought me to tears, but I do know that I photograph them every chance I get. They catch my eye not just because of their beauty, but because at a glance the share a lot of the same features of a Merlin, although Merlin's are a bit bigger. I have yet to find a Merlin, to add to my birding lift list, but I am having a great time searching for them. That's how I found the American Kestrel is the smallest of the falcons, but what a cool, mighty little bird!

An Osprey A Kestrel And A Cormorant

 

“His eyes reflected the open grey of the autumnal sky.” 

~Juliet Marillier,

  Daughter of the Forest

 

 I visited the Clifton Court Forebay yesterday, and unfortunately there is still very few birds to be found. During most years the forebay would be filled with all kinds of ducks, coots and gulls, in addition to many other birds, but yesterday there existed a few coot, a couple cormorants, and some raptors, but in single digits like the Osprey and the American Kestrel. I am going to check in on my friends at Cosumnes and Desmond road on Saturday, hopefully I will be pleasantly surprised and a beautiful noise a million birds will waiting for me. Cross your fingers. I need to see more beauty, and I only need 9 more birds to reach 170 birds for 2023!