Date: 12/29/24 4:38 pm From: Ellie Womack <womackele...> Subject: Re: Recent Oklahoma Birds, 14 Nov - 19 Dec
Enjoy your photos and descriptive comments. Keep posting.
On Sun, Dec 29, 2024 at 4:52 PM Bryan Reynolds <nature_photo_man...>
wrote:
> All,
>
> I hope everyone had a nice Christmas.
>
> I've gotten out a few times in November and December with my camera and
> wanted to share some images. Most are of very common birds, but besides
> the standard photos, I always strive to get interesting behavior and action
> shots.
>
> On 14 November, I went to Lakes Hefner and Overholser. I started with
> Hefner and got a bunch of Double-crested Cormorants and a couple American
> Coots. A few American White Pelicans joined a group of hundreds of
> cormorants for a feeding frenzy. I tried to get large group shots and
> photos of cormorants flying to and from the frenzy. After the bulk of the
> birds got out of range, it was time to hit Lake Overholser. Again,
> cormorants were the bird of the day, and I got my closest photos to date of
> that species, including head shots. I also got one with a fish and as well
> as a couple Pied-billed Grebes.
>
> 1 December, I headed to Lake Thunderbird SP to look for deer and any birds
> that presented themselves. A Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Chickadee, and
> Yellow-rumped Warbler made an appearance for some shots.
>
> 14 and 16 December, I decided to do some set-up photos (bird-on-a-stick)
> near my feeders (Cleveland County). I had seen a few species on my
> property that would be photo-lifers (Brown Creeper, Red-breasted Nuthatch,
> Northern Flickr, and believe it or not, House Finch) and I wanted to get
> them. I set up a perch and was able to get the regular feeder-visiting
> group of American Goldfinch (one that had an injured leg that was
> bleeding), Carolina Chickadee (one with what looks like scaly leg mites),
> Tufted Titmouse, and a photo-lifer female House Finch. I saw the other
> target species, but was unable to get photos.
>
> On 19 December, I decided to hit the three main lakes in OKC - Zoo,
> Hefner and Overholser. Because of the light angle, I always hit the Zoo
> Lake first, just at sunrise (after braving the morning rush hour). This
> day was cold and a bit breezy and I got a little chilled trying to sit
> still at the end of the dock and exposed to the wind. Like usual, I got
> the obligatory Double-crested Cormorants in flight, but to my pleasant
> surprise, a Bald Eagle flew by and landed at the top of a large tree along
> the western bank. I grew up in northern Wisconsin where eagles were pretty
> common, but this was my first time getting photos. The flight shots were a
> bit far away, but as I was looking at other birds, a second eagle flew in
> and the first one took off after it. They interacted with each other, and
> then one of them flew back to the tree, this time flying a little closer to
> me for better shots. A Lesser Scaup swam by for a photo and by this time I
> was pretty cold and needing some hot coffee and a sandwich. So, I hauled
> my gear back to my vehicle and hopped in to get warm and eat. I got
> halfway through my sandwich and to my surprise the eagle flew right towards
> me and landed in a tree in perfect light and right next to the parking
> area. I jumped out and started to get some shots. After each burst, I
> crept a little closer until the bird had enough and flew back to the same
> tree on the west edge of the lake. After the eagle, I went to Lake Hefner
> and got the standard group of species including more cormorants, a Mallard,
> coot, Pied-billed Grebe, Bonaparte's Gull, and Ring-billed Gull. Like
> other visits, I saw an Eared Grebe, but they were just too far away.
> However, I did get one shot, even though it's a bit small in the frame
> (photo-lifer). After that bird, I headed to Lake Overholser where my first
> bird was a male Northern Shoveler. I didn't see much until I got to the
> fishing dock on the west edge and there were a bunch of American White
> Pelicans fishing very close to the dock. They'd come in, plunge down, and
> then swim back out and circle back. I think they were trying to corral the
> fish before plunging for them. During this, several would swim or fly in
> and out of the group and that's when I photographed them because I really
> didn't want any of the fishing dock in the frame. I got lots of behavior
> including my best landing shot. At one point, a huge group of Red-Breasted
> Mergansers came in and started diving and fishing. In among this activity,
> I also photographed Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Double-crested
> Cormorant, Pied-billed Grebe, White-throated Sparrow, and House Sparrow.
> As the sun got low, I finished up the day just west of the dam where I got
> some late-light pelicans and mallards. Then I headed home through the
> ridiculous traffic.
>
> I made an album in Flickr of all these recent photos: Recent Oklahoma
> Birds, 14 Nov - 19 Dec 2024 | Flickr
> <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.flickr.com/photos/bryanereynolds/albums/72177720322847301/__;!!GNU8KkXDZlD12Q!6cbZOQVUxbspg_gMeZjm8ytd15CTG3CTXcz19Gvl176mzzZRUfKoVzNeHUCBCcRTlY9FEwU4l85gvgjimioH48b_uKN6KhI$> >
> Comments and critiques are always welcome.
>
> Take care and have a great New Year,
> Bryan
>
> Bryan E. Reynolds
> Photographer/Writer/Consultant/Speaker
> My nature and wildlife photography portfolio
> <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.flickr.com/photos/bryanereynolds/albums/72157648698477036__;!!GNU8KkXDZlD12Q!6cbZOQVUxbspg_gMeZjm8ytd15CTG3CTXcz19Gvl176mzzZRUfKoVzNeHUCBCcRTlY9FEwU4l85gvgjimioH48b_MmTZduw$> >
