Spring Arrivals and a Surprise

Poor Dan will have to wait yet another week before I can continue posting photos of his trip to Thailand. Who knows when I will finally get to posting photos of Maggie's trip to Iran? Yes I said Iran. No one goes there, but she did, and loved it.

In the last few weeks birds have been showing up in Alaska and I have been out and about with my new camera and lens to photograph them. Although I have zillions of Arctic Tern photos taken from this same perch in Westchester Lagoon, I had to try it with the new equipment.

I cannot see any improvement in image quality using the Canon 6D over the HS-50. The Fujifilm camera is so much easier to manage and more powerful.

I like this photo because you can easily see the drake Northern Shoveler but did you notice the hen shoveler right next to him?

She almost becomes invisible in the grass.

A boring shot of a drake Gadwall. Nevertheless I am happy to see him.

A more impressive Northern Pintail.

I photographed this pair of Steller's Jays several weeks earlier. They were gathering nesting material.

This bird was a nice surprise to see along the coastal trail. Do you know what it is? They do not normally occur in this part of Alaska. It is common further South but a nice new addition to my Alaska bird list. I have not seen one since I my last trip to central Mexico years ago. It is a Say's Phoebe.

All of the nature oriented people around here anxiously look forward to the arrival of Sandhill Cranes.

I believe that its mate was sitting on the nest hidden in the grass in nearby Fish Creek.

The crane gets a running start before taking flight. I did'nt disturb it. Noisy hikers on the coastal trail did. I don't think they even noticed the crane.

I posted this photo earlier. I decided to paint it.

Notice the changes I have made in the arrangement? It has been well over a month since I have lifted a paint brush before starting this 11x14" composition. Shame on me.