Category: Birds

Finding Peace in Birding: A Unique Form of Meditation

It’s always exciting to photograph Whimbrels and Red Knots because they are bigger and rarer than most shorebirds, like Western Sandpipers or Dunlin, but my favorite part of birding during Spring or Fall Migration is actually when smaller sandpipers completely surround me .

To make that happen, you need to be standing on the beach long before they arrive and stand very still, becoming part of the scenery. On this visit, that meant we were on the beach by 6:00 AM, just after sunrise.

While the Whimbrels, Dowitchers, Red Knots, and Black-Bellied Plovers maintained their distance feeding at the water’s edge,

A group of shorebirds, likely Whimbrels or similar species, foraging on a sandy beach at sunrise, with soft golden light reflecting on the water.

Western Sandpipers covered the beach, skittering here and there, eating only God-Knows-What.

A shorebird with brown and white plumage stands on wet rocks near the water's edge.

They come so close that you almost need a zoom lens to fit them into the frame.

A small, brown and white shorebird standing in shallow water, looking down at its reflection.

You obviously don’t have to stand perfectly still, or you wouldn’t be able to get pictures like this, but sometimes something as subtle as a camera click can startle them into flight. And it should go without saying that the last thing you want to do while birding is scare them into flight since these little guys migrate up to 6,000 miles to breed.

A bird walking along the edge of a shallow water body, with its reflection visible in the water.

It’s not unusual to end up with more blurry shots than focused because they seldom slow down, but sometimes you get lucky, and they will pose for a series of shots like this Dunlin and Western Sandpiper did.

Two shorebirds foraging in shallow water, reflecting their images on the water's surface.

I wish I had experienced the Spring or Fall Migration when I worked in Aberdeen nearly sixty years ago. If I had, I hope that I would’ve returned to the area much more often than I have over the years, because it is a powerful experience with or without a camera. For me, it is probably the ultimate meditation, one that calls to mind a saying we practice in Spring Forest Qigong, one that I translate as “I am in the universe, the universe is in me, we are One.”

A Day in Bodega Bay: Birdwatching Despite Unpredictable Weather

Although the weather on our first day in Northern California, the day we visited the Sacramento and Colusa NWRs, was delightful, the rest of the week could best be described as unpredictable. It rained so hard during our first full day in Santa Rosa that water was pouring over the gutters. I didn’t mind that too much because it gave me time inside to sort the thousands of pictures we had taken at the Sacramento and Colusa NWR.

For a while, though, I was afraid the weather would keep us from going to Bodega Bay, another regular stop on our Santa Rosa visits. When the weather forecast finally predicted a sunny day, we quickly arranged our plans to go. It was a sunny day. Unfortunately, it was also a windy day.

High winds are usually not good for birding, as proved to be true on this visit. Nevertheless, I saw things I’ve never seen, like this huge flock of Godwits sheltering from the high winds. I’d never seen anything quite like this, so it took me a while to realize they were birds, much less Godwits.

It was only when I used my 800 mm lens that I realized these were birds, not foliage.

They certainly looked like the grassy knolls they were sheltering on.

We found a much smaller flock of Godwits, Willets, and smaller shorebirds on our beach walk. Unfortunately, the flock was disturbed by people, one annoying young man in particular, and flew back and forth, making it impossible to focus on a particular bird.

This photo, shot at a high shutter speed, was much clearer than what I actually saw, which was little more than a blur.

It was equally difficult to focus on a single bird on the ground because there were so many birds in the picture frame — and the sun wouldn’t cooperate.

It didn’t help that these little guys would skitter among the much larger Godwits and Willets. It did illustrate that flying in large flocks can not only provide camouflage but also make it difficult for predators to focus on a particular bird, improving its chances of making it to distant breeding grounds.

Though the birder in me was fascinated by seeing how well a large flock provided camouflage, the photographer in me was frustrated and wanted to get well-focused, bright shots of these beautiful birds. As it turned out, I had to wait until we were coming back from our walk to get a good shot of this Marbled Godwit

and this Willet.

Overall, the day was a little disappointing in that I didn’t see nearly as many birds as I usually do there this time of year, but it still seemed a lot better than sitting inside waiting for better weather.

Chili Relleno and Birding: A Perfect Day Out

Creature of habit that I am, after I spent the morning birding Theler Wetlands I headed to Port Orchard for my Chili Relleno with Green Sauce at La Palapa Mexican Grill. For me, at least, a great day birding (or hiking, for that matter) should include a meal at a favorite restaurant.

I started going to Port Orchard many years ago because the marina was a great place to see seabirds. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been true for me since they started reconstruction last year.

I though perhaps it would be different this year when I got this nice shot of a Great Blue Heron on the roof of one of the boat docks as I entered the marina.

He looked almost as cold as I felt with cold winds blowing across the bay. Despite the cold, I walked around the marina as far as I could before I encountered a gated area. Unfortunately, I didn’t see a single bird in the marina. I did manage to get this shot of a Horned Grebe in winter plumage just outside the marina.

I took pictures of a couple of flocks of Widgeons, but I preferred this close-up of these two who already seem to have paired up.

Dissatisfied by how few seabirds I saw, I ended up driving all the way to Manchester Park looking for Harlequin Ducks I’ve seen there in the past. I did see ducks on the way, but more often than not they were in areas where there weren’t any places to pull off — just private docks with warnings not to trespass

I never did find the Harlequin Ducks, but I managed to get a shot of this male Greater Scaup, a bird I rarely see,

and as Ruth Sullivan always used to say, “one good bird” is all you need to make your birding successful.

Exploring Birding: AI vs Real Photography

On my recent trip I met John and the monthly birding group that visits Theler Wetlands  on the Second and Fourth Thursday of every month. The photographers in the group were all trying to capture shots of the seldom seen Crossbill. Naturally I joined in, but was generally frustrated because the birds were too close for my camera to focus or I had so many branches between me and the bird that my camera wouldn’t focus on the Crossbill.

This is the best shot I could manage out of twelve photos taken, and it’s one I would normally just trash, certainly not post.

While I was trying to polish the photo and make it as presentable as possible I remembered a Adobe promotion I’d gotten recently and wondered what kind of picture of a Crossbill I could get using their AI.

The first images I generated were pretty cartoonish,

but after several iterations and a more detailed description I got this picture,

and I’ll have to admit that it’s a better shot than I’ve ever gotten of a Crossbill.

And it took less time to generate than I spent trying to improve the photo that I took.

Which leaves me with the question of why should I carry a heavy camera around when all I have to do is make a list of the birds I see on a walk and then use AI to generate them.

Heck, why walk at all when all I have to do is imagine what birds I would see if I went on a walk and then generate them in Photoshop ?

Would a reader know the difference or would they just think I was a fabulous photographer?

Luckily, I know my body would feel the difference, and I am too stuck in my ruts to give up birding. Getting out in nature is both physical exercise and a form of meditation that I can never get from my computer or iPhone.

Perhaps I should end this with a quote from Thich Nhat Hanh:” “When you walk, if you enjoy every step, if every step nourishes and transforms you, then every step is a prayer.”