American Avocet Takeoff Sequence

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I am still culling images I obtained on my birding trip to the Bolivar Peninsula (TX) in April. This is one of my favorite birding locations, but on most days during my visit, the wind, tide, and cloud conditions were not favorable for finding and photographing shorebirds. This lowered my expectations of finding many “keepers” in the files from that trip and my enthusiasm for spending a lot of time sorting the photos. But, I am finding a few pleasant surprises. .

American Avocet taking off sequence. Bolivar Peninsula (TX). April 2021
Olympus E-M1X camera with 150-400mm f4.5 TC lens @ 500mm.
Settings were the same for the three photos: 1/1600 sec at f/5.6, ISO 200

Click on the image for a slightly larger view.

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David Sparks

I retired in 2005 after 40 years of research and teaching at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (24 years), the University of Pennsylvania (8 years) and the Baylor College of Medicine (8 years). Photography is my retirement hobby.

Nature photography, especially bird photography, combines a number of things that I really enjoy: bird-watching, being outdoors, photography, travel, messing about with computers, and learning new skills and concepts.  I now spend much of my time engaged in these activities.

David Sibley in the preface to The Sibley Guide to Birds wrote "Birds are beautiful, in spectacular as well as subtle ways; their colors, shapes, actions, and sounds are among the most aesthetically pleasing in nature."  My goal is to acquire images that capture the beauty and uniqueness of selected species as well as images that highlight the engaging behaviors the birds exhibit.