The cardinal is the state bird of Virginia and there are plenty around. They can be tough to photograph because they never seem to allow people to get very close and they tend to move quite a bit. As I was photographing a landscape I heard the easily identifiable chirp of a cardinal and noticed this male watching me from a nearby tree. He stayed put long enough for me to take several photos before flying away.
Goldfinch in Sycamore
This gold finch, in winter plumage, was feasting on the seeds of a sycamore tree near the James River. It was rather far away and very high up in the tree but I was able to zoom in and crop the photo to produce this image.
Curious Horned Grebe
I spotted this Horned Grebe swimming in one of the canals at The Great Dismal Swamp. It didn’t seem to mind me watching it at all. It just swam around, in and out of the shadows and would occasionally dive under water. I was able to get quite a few photos of it but this is one of my favorites.
Flamingo 1
This flamingo stood out among the group of its peers. It was a bit more relaxed and kept lifting its head, lending itself to a nice avian portrait.
White Breasted Nuthatch II
White Breasted Nuthatches have the odd habit of creeping down tree trunks. This one stopped to survey it’s surrounding. In the process it showed off it’s flexibility by craning it’s neck more than 90 degrees to assess the scene. This photo was taken on a rainy day and you can see a tiny drop of water clinging to the bird’s belly.
Landing Zone
Animal tracks always catch my attention but they aren’t always very photogenic. These bird prints were on a beach along the James River. It would be impossible to identify the type of bird that left them but the deeper, wider prints in the foreground indicate the bird landed here and then hopped along the beach before taking flight. The early morning sun provided enough shade within the prints to make them stand out in the photo.
American Coots
The American Coot is a rather funny looking bird. They break the old rule that says “if it looks like a duck and sounds like a duck, it must be a duck”. They are actually more closely related to rails and cranes. When you get a good look at their feet, which are not webbed, you realize they must not be ducks.
Female Cardinal on Feeder
This female cardinal enjoys the sunflower seeds at my backyard bird feeder. I was out taking photos and the feeder was in full sun when I snapped this photo.
Foraging Finch
This male house finch was busy searching the ground for sunflower seeds under a bird feeder when I captured this image.
Yellow Breasted Chat
This little Yellow Breasted Chat and I met up along a rather unscenic part of a hike. I didn’t have my camera ready when I first spotted the bird but it was gracious enough to hang around and let me snap a few pictures of it. It almost seemed to pose for me a couple of times.