Anhinga Sunning
I took a break from the winter weather to attend the Birds of a Feather birding festival in Palm Coast, Florida. It was a great three days of birding and photography. I participated in three full-day outings and the evening event featuring Moose Peterson. There was fog, overcast, and sunny periods, each presenting a birding and photography challenge. This Anhinga was taking advantage of a sunny period to dry off and warm up after diving for a meal.
There is a beautiful aquatic garden in Washington, DC along the Anacostia River. The main attractions are the ponds featuring waterlilies and lotus flowers. There is also a board walk over and into a wetlands area. It is a great place to see water birds, beavers, dragon flies, song birds and other small creatures.
I like to pick a spot where I see some dragon-fly activity and wait. I watch to see what they are doing. Dragon flies often have a favorite perch they use to observe what is going on. Many dragon flies are territorial and use this perch to watch out for intruders. Once I spot a dragon-fly I want to photograph, I’ll prefocus, lock it down and fire away. I often get several chances even if they fly away because of their habit of returning to the same spot.
I find photographing dragon flies a nice way to spend a few hours in nature. At Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, there are dozens of different types of dragon flies to try to capture.
Sunny even in the rain
I didn’t intend to photograph in the rain. I had spent the morning at the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. I left the gardens because of a few drops of rain and headed west into the sunshine. By the time I arrived so had the clouds. I was out in the field when the rain arrived. I had an umbrella along so decided to make a few images anyway. I liked the effect of the overcast sky, rain drops and water dripping off the leaves.
An evening with the kids.
A Lotus Blossom catching some rays at the Kenilworth Gardens