She flew off to try her luck further down the levee. We tracked her as far as we could see — far out of camera range — till she dove behind the next levee and disappeared. For a few minutes. Then she took off from the far side, rose over high the levee, kited, and dropped like a stone. A moment later she rose again, this time with her prey. That was her Thanksgiving dinner. […]
November 28, 2019 — Baylands, Sunnyvale, California After a couple of passes, she spotted prey. A tight turn to zero in… (Nikon D500, Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR zoom. RAW processing in DxO PhotoLab 3.0; Editing in Adobe Photoshop.)
December 8, 2018 — Point Reyes National Seashore Mr. Red Tail sat on a rock about fifty yards down a ravine, in perfect view but with his back to the camera. I waited. And waited. With scant warning he took flight, heading out to sea before turning a tight one-eighty and coming right at me. No. Not at me. At his next perch. He picked his spot. Flared. And grabbed his rock. He gave me […]
July 11, 2019, Just down the street. Red-tailed hawks have lived in my neighborhood for years but they have been stubbornly elusive when I’m out with a camera. One day last week I went out to get the mail and I heard hawk cries nearby. Several different voices. I looked up, into a tree and there they were. Three of them. I dashed inside and got the beast — eight pounds of camera body and […]
July 1 and 2, 2018, Near Waipara, New Zealand. We were staying in a remote location near the Greystone Winery. Our trip was nearing the end and I was losing hope of getting a good shot of my favorite New Zealand bird: the New Zealand fantail — the Maori names being Pīwakawaka, Tīwakawaka, or Piwaiwaka. The trouble was, being insectivores, they were in constant darting motion playing “you can’t catch me,” which made them very […]
Friday, April 26, 2019. Point Reyes Peninsula. One of the best things about living in the San Francisco Bay Area is that no matter where you are, you’re not far from nature. This is a place where you can finish your morning chores and still make it to Point Reyes for an afternoon of hiking and photography, have supper at the Inverness Park Tap Room, and be home at a reasonable hour. We went for […]
Not one of the most influential rock bands of the ’60s. Not a denizen of a prison yard — after whom the band was named. No. These birds visited my yard on Saturday morning. Ever vigilant, I was there. I was particularly on the lookout for Anna’s hummingbirds, but the Hutton’s Vireo (I believe) above posed for me so nicely had to include him/her. But for the rest, I refer to — and alter — […]
February 17, 2019, San Joaquin River Delta; February 10, 2019, San Francisco Bay. I’m lucky to live in an area where White-tailed Kites are relatively common. Yesterday we went on a birding trip through the San Joaquin River Delta with naturalist David Wimpfheimer on a boat operated by Dolphin Charters. I recommend both. Along the way we saw about sixty species. One standout was this beautiful and cooperative white-tailed kite. He watched us as we slowed […]
Saturday, December 8, 2018. Point Reyes National Seashore. I probably shouldn’t give the secret away, but the Tomales Point Trail is one of the best walks it’s possible to take—anywhere. Best known for its Tule Elk preserve, the trail will also put you under the flight paths of Red Tailed Hawks, Northern Harriers, Peregrine Falcons, Osprey, and more. Here we have a Raptor on a Rock surveying its realm, which includes Point Reyes itself, some […]
Thanksgiving morning. November 22, 2018. On the first morning of clear air after the smoke from the recent Northern California fire washed away in very welcome rain, my wife and I took a walk by the marshes at the south end of the San Francisco Bay. As we discussed our immediately upcoming Thanksgiving chef duties, I tracked this Northern Harrier hunting for her own Thanksgiving meal. This series was shot over the course of about […]
AMAGA Photography Blog 