Photo opportunities with Red-headed Woodpeckers provided the first quality images of this iconic species for Paul during the summer of 2019.
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It’s a good time to slow down a bit and think about your photography year in review: Do you have a favorite photo you took in 2019? A top 10? A favorite photo experience? A favorite birding trip? I find that I become a better photographer each year, and my file of favorite photos grows larger month after month – and I expect that’s the case for you too. But it’s up to us to make the time, take the time, and enjoy each photo outing like a great adventure; each bird you photograph could be a potential contest winner, and you have no better friends than your camera and lens (ha-ha).
So much of the fun of bird photography is the excitement of not knowing what’s around the next corner, or what birds will fly into your view, seemingly out of nowhere. Surprises happen often while birding, and the level of excitement is increased with a camera in hand. Seeing an exciting bird is one thing; photographing it is another level of remarkable. A dull day, even a dullish field trip, can change with the flap of a wing as a new bird reveals itself before your camera. How many times has that happened for you this year?
As usual, 2019 was a remarkable bird photography year for me. It was definitely the best year so far as warbler photography, the best for duck brood photography, and it was one of my best years for getting quality photos of birds of prey. I also broke through a huge “barrier” that has always kept me from getting a good Red-headed Woodpecker photo – they’ve been a long-time nemesis species – so what a thrill it was the first time one flew in to perch near me. After that breakthrough, I was able to spend many evenings studying and photographing these beautiful woodpeckers. Each hour I spent with that pair and their fledgling last summer was especially rewarding.
As for warblers, I doubled the time I usually get to photograph warblers during spring migration by spending almost a week at the best warbler hotspot I’ve witnessed along the southwest shore of Lake Ontario east of Toledo, and more specifically along the boardwalk at Magee Marsh. There I was able to get some first-time photos of such iconic eastern migrants as Black-throated Blues, Prothonotarys, Blackburnians, Northern Parulas, Cape Mays, and Black-throated Green Warblers, among many others.
After I returned to my home court, I was awarded with another week of warbler migration at Melody’s Grove that provided such highlights as Canadas, Mournings, Connecticuts, Northern Parulas, Nashvilles, Wilson’s Warblers, and many more. What fun I had! And what surprisingly nice photos I was able to get! At home, the Orchard and Baltimore Orioles made my feeding station especially exciting again from May to September, and I enjoyed photographing the colorful birds outside my bay windows for the second year in a row.
Three photo episodes among the many I enjoyed with birds of prey stand out for 2019. A pair of dark morph Harlan’s red-tailed Hawks provided memorable photos, and two other raptors – a Golden Eagle and a Merlin – graced me by circling low around me as I stood in amazement and photographed in earnest as they mysteriously focused on me as what? A thing of surprise or attraction? A subject of curiosity with my telephoto lens pointing at them and spinning as I followed their flight as they passed into and through the best light time and time again? Their interest definitely wasn’t random, considering the Golden Eagle circled three times, and the Merlin was an overachiever as it circled no less than nine times! All I can say is: “Thank you very much! Let’s do it again!”
Conversely, it was a terrible year for shorebirds – as a result of the ultra-high water levels. And my goose photography wasn’t very good – spring or fall – in spite of being surrounded by five species of geese collectively numbering in the tens of thousands at peak migration. Nonetheless, compared to other recent years, both spring and fall stopovers were short with fewer geese than “normal” – spring was late and winter was early. But it only takes a couple key moments with a special flock of birds to provide a satisfying experience and photos, and that’s what we search for and appreciate when they transpire.
There are still two weeks left before the new year, so I’ve set my sights on getting a few more standout photos. Over the holidays I will be crossing three states, so I’m expecting to have chances of photographing some cold weather waterfowl in southern Minnesota and central South Dakota, plus a variety of wintering raptors in SoDak. North Dakota hasn’t been productive the past couple weeks, so I don’t have high hopes for any super photo ops in my neighborhood or along my varied routes to Bismarck, but it just takes a Snowy Owl or a flock of White-winged Crossbills to change that without a moment’s notice.
When you have a little quiet time over the holiday season, give some thought to start planning for the new year – actually the new decade! 2020 should bring even better photo opportunities, better photos, and unlimited exciting birds through the year, week after week, month after month. Good luck with your camera over the holidays and next year – and Happy New Year!
Article and photographs by Paul Konrad
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