Eastern Shore of Virginia
Bufflehead - Eastern Shore of Virginia - Nikon Z9 with Z 100-400 at 400 1/1250 sec, f/7.1, ISO 900
As we head south for the winter, our first usual travel break occurs at the Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge. The area has been hit with unusually cold weather and SNOW in the past week, so I didn’t know quite what to expect. By the time we arrived, the temps had risen into the 50s and we had clear skies. The birds were scarce, however, perhaps still hunkered down in the relatively chilly air. I did find some beautiful Buffleheads out in the creek that runs through the Preserve and the lighting was almost perfect for photos. As the pair swam upstream, I noticed that they were heading for a series of docks which I feared might block my shot, but I soon realized that they would be reappearing in the breaks between the piers. That made for a nice “frame” to surround my target and I waited until the drake was in nice position to capture the image.
As I finished my time with the Buffleheads, I noticed a small sparrow picking through the seeds on the grasses next to the slips. I was pleased to see that it was a Swamp sparrow in nice plumage with an exceptionally dark cheek coloration and nice chestnut sides. He remained in the same area for quite a time and I enjoyed watching and photographing his activity in the waning hours of daylight.
Swamp sparrow - Z9 with Z 100-400 1/2000 sec, f/11, IS) 1600
Tech Tip - One element of composition when photographing your subjects in nature is to attempt to “frame” the target bird using natural or other structures. Note that the image of the bufflehead in the first shot today used an opening in the structure of the dock to set the bird apart from its surroundings. Plan ahead when composing shots to see if there are overhanging tree limbs, trunks of other trees, hedge rows, etc which can be used to surround your subject.
