A quiet moment

I enjoy how an image can capture a moment that may have an entirely different feeling than what you perceive as you see it in real time. Here, this dowitcher was actively preening and doing his best to get that overly long bill to properly reach his front feathers. But when the shutter clicks, the scene is transformed into a very solitary moment. To me at least, it gives the feeling of silence and a quiet introspective, as if the dowitcher is taking a moment to relax, close his eyes, and just be.

Shoveler at Rest

Northern shovelers are one of my favorite ducks. I think they are strikingly beautiful -- from their exaggerated bills to their subtly bright colors. In this shot, I really like how the yellow of the eye stands out from that deep green head. Taken at the Radio Road Ponds in Redwood City a few weeks back.

Calling dowitcher

There were plenty of dowitchers (your guess is as good as mine for long-billed vs short-billed) lining the ponds along Radio Road. These are a beautiful medium-sized shorebird that I'm quite fond of, but haven't had a chance to photograph up close very often. Here, they seemed like they could care less about the flocks of bird-watchers milling around, and they happily went about their business.

Finally found some skimmers!

I've been fascinated by these birds ever since I first saw them in a nature documentary (perhaps the fabulous "Life of Birds" with David Attenborough), and have been itching to get them in front of my lens ever since I started getting into bird photography. Their range is supposed to be just in Southern California, but for a long time I had seen posts of the colony of these guys that live down in Redwood City at the Radio Road Ponds. Unfortunately, it took me a few years to finally take a trip there.

This is a fantastic location for all kinds of water birds (more about the species I saw in future posts), and you could get close enough to do some nice photography too. While the fading light was nice while I was watching other birds, it just happened to stay foggy while I was near the skimmers -- but regardless, it was still a lot of fun to have them in front of the lens. They were mostly interested in napping and a little bit of preening, so a good reason to go back for more in the future.

You've gotta love those bright bills with that oversized underbite.