ruby throated hummingbird – Wandering Dawgs

Lens Artists Photo Challenge # 210 – Picking Favorites

August 3, 2022Posted in Birds, Flowers, Nature, PhotographyTagged coneflowers, garden, Lens-Artists, Orcas, Photo Challenge, Picking Favorites, ruby throated hummingbird24 Comments

In this challenge guest host Sarah asks us to pick three favorite photos and describe why they are favorites. I had a difficult time coming up with just three images but here they are.

My first image is one one I took earlier this summer while I was sitting in my back yard. I was hoping to capture birds at the feeder or butterflies on the flowers. The birds and butterflies didn’t cooperate so instead I took a few shots of the coneflowers using my telephoto lens. I’m happy with the effect and like the purplecone flower in the background.

I couldn’t pick three favorites without including a bird image. This next image is my favorite hummingbird image. I captured him from above as I was sitting on my deck above the flowers.

My final image is of two Orcas I captured on a wildlife cruise from Valdez, Alaska. Valdez was near the end of our nearly two months of traveling by RV through Alaska. We saw plenty of humpback whales on two other wildlife cruises but we had not yet seen any Orcas. This wildlife cruise would be our last chance to see them before we headed south for home. I was thrilled when a pod surfaced close to our boat and I was finally able to capture a few shots. This one is one of my favorite photos from the trip.

A pair of Orcas on Columbia Glacier tour from Valdez

Many thanks to guest host Sarah for this Lens-Artists Challenge #210 – Picking Favorites

Feeding the Backyard Birds

February 11, 2022February 11, 2022Posted in Birds, Nature, PhotographyTagged Are you a bird feeder, backyard birds, Carolina Chickadee, Change, Georgia birding, Lens-Artists, Painted Bunting, Photo Challenge, ruby throated hummingbird, Sunday Stills, Tufted Titmouse32 Comments

I enjoy feeding my back yard birds and keep a feeder filled with seeds close to my butterfly garden. It’s fun to see how the birds in the yard change with the seasons. During the warm months I keep three hummingbird feeders filled with nectar and grow flowers that attract them. I enjoy sitting and watching the birds and trying to capture them with my camera.

In Fall and Winter birds like Carolina Chickadees, Tufted Titmouse, House Finches, and Northern Cardinals show up frequently. All of these birds can also be seen at various times during the rest of the year. The pair of Northern Cardinals in the header photo were perched in a tree near the bird feeder this week. They like to hang around waiting for seeds to fall to the ground for an easy meal.

I start seeing a change in the birds in the spring when the weather starts warming up. The hummingbird feeders go up and I anxiously await the first Ruby Throated Hummingbird. Spring also brings the Painted Buntings to the yard. Both the hummers and the buntings come around frequently all spring and summer.

This post was inspired by John Steiner’s Lens-Artists challenge Change

and by Terri’s Sunday Stills Challenge Are you a Bird Feeder? Her post reminds us that February is National Bird Feeding Month.

Bird Weekly Challenge – Birds I’ve seen this week

April 15, 2021Posted in Birds, Nature, PhotographyTagged birdweekly, House Finch, ruby throated hummingbird, Seen in past week, Tufted Titmouse27 Comments

Lisa has challenged us to show birds we’ve seen in the past two weeks. All of the ones here are from this week.

I’ve been enjoying the variety of birds that have been coming to the feeder in my back yard this week. They are eating the seeds as fast as I can fill the feeder. Some days I just sit and enjoy seeing them without running to get my camera. In addition to the birds featured here there were also Carolina Chickadees, Cardinals, Doves, and a male Painted Bunting in my yard. One day I spotted a Great Egret pruning in the marsh.

Shared with Lisa’s Bird Weekly Challenge Birds seen in the past two weeks.

Bird Weekly Challenge #15: Birds with Green Feathers

September 21, 2020September 21, 2020Posted in Birds, Nature, PhotographyTagged birdweekly, Green Feathers, Painted Bunting, Photo Challenge, ruby throated hummingbird14 Comments

Painted Buntings and Ruby Throated Hummingbirds are two of my favorite back yard birds. I’ve seen them daily for the last few days and managed to get a few captures of these gorgeous birds.

Thank you Lisa. for this Bird Weekly challenge. Her original post is Bird Weekly Challenge #15 – Birds with Green Feathers.

Lens-Artists #110: Creativity in the time of Covid-19

August 21, 2020Posted in Birds, Flowers, PhotographyTagged creativity in the time of COVID-19, Lens-Artists, Mexican Sunflower, Photo Challenge, ruby throated hummingbird40 Comments

This week, Tina has asked us to show creativity in the time of Covid-19.

I’ve tried my best to stay creative with my photography during this time. I’ve been experimenting with different photo techniques and some different editing effects.

One day in early spring I went out after a rain shower to take some photos. I wasn’t happy with them until I started playing around with different editing effects. This Mexican Sunflower photo was boring until I added a water color effect.

I am usually on the ground looking up when I take pictures of hummingbirds. One day I sat on our deck looking down at the flowers and captured this Ruby Throated Hummingbird going from flower to flower. By shooting from above I was able to get the shots I wanted.

I’d like to thank the amazing Lens-Artists team of Tina, Amy, Anne-Christine, and Patti for giving me inspiration and keeping me motivated during this time.

Tina, thank you for this weeks Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Creativity in the Time of Covid-19