Tag: Nature

Harbinger of Spring

Posted in Bird Photography, birding, Birds in the Wild, Birds of North America, Cedar Waxwing, Nature Photography, Photography, San Jose California Nature PhotographerTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , 19 Comments

Copyright © 2016 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

This has been a fantastic birding season so far!  The Vermilion Flycatcher,  the Red-tailed Hawk with its prey, the elusive Loggerhead Shrike, the Bald Head Eagle I didn’t get a photo of, the pair of Ring necked Pheasants, and the sweet Hermit Thrush on my fence all were amazing, and exciting sightings, but in Winter is there anything better than a Harbinger of Spring?

I heard Cedar Waxwings were showing up, a sure sign that Spring is on the way!  I’ve had Robins in the Ginko tree out in the front yard, and in back yard lately so, I’ve been looking for the Waxwings because, they usually arrive with the Robins, and last year there was a flock of Waxwings in the Ginko trees a few houses away from me. That was a first for me.  You can read about that here

Last week-end my birding friend and I stayed local and found some!

Cedar Waxwings

Soon they were taking turns flying down to the bush with  luscious, ripe red berries   beneath this tree.

Cdear Waxwing Feast

… and one was shy,

Cedar Waxwing

I spent some time photographing the Robins that also were there to feed on the same berries, but I’ll save those images for another post.

I’m off to Yosemite National Park today to photograph something other than birds, and my son and his girl-friend are arriving early Saturday morning for the week-end. It promises to be a stellar week-end!

I’ll catch up with all your posts when I return.  I hope you all have a wonderful week-end!

Nikon D700| Nikkor 200-500mm VR| Lexar Professional Digital Film| PS CC 2015

More to come…

 

 

Monochrome Madness 2 45/52: Willows

Posted in Black and White Photography, Fine Art, Landscape Photography, Monochrome Madness2, National Wildlife Refuges in California, Photography, TreesTagged , , , , , , , , , , 6 Comments

Copyright ©2016 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Here we are at week 45 of Leanne Cole’s Monochrome Madness 2. It’s hard to believe I’ve been posting in this group for almost a year already! Time has raced by with just 7 weeks to go until this year of Monochrome Madness 2 comes to an end.

For this week’s entry I’m in California’s unspoiled marshes in the wildlife refuges surrounded by grass, reeds,creeks, ponds, and the willows.

Copyright © 2016 Deborah M. Zajac ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Some of the Willows look like shrubs, and others like the Black Willow stand tall.  Until I started photographing these trees I had no idea there were so many types of Willow Trees.

To see all this week’s entries to Leanne’s Monochrome Madness 2 click here.

Nikon Df| Nikkor 28-105mm| Hoodman Digital Film| PS CC 2015 & On1 Photo 10

More to come…

 

 

Early Spring!

Posted in Bees, Flower Photography, Flowering Trees, Honey Bees, Nature, Nature Photography, Nikon DF, Photography, Poems of Robert Frost, Poerty, San Jose California Nature Photographer, Seasons of the Year, Spring, Trees, WinterTagged , , , , , , , , , 27 Comments

Copyright ©2016 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

I had a walk-around the neighborhood Sunday morning and found Spring everywhere.

The flowering trees are in bud, and beginning to blossom while others are in full bloom!

A Prayer in Spring by Robert Frost-

“Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.”~Robert Frost (from A Boy’s Will, 1915)

Flowering Tree in Full Bloom

The huge white flowering tree was a hive of activity in the canopy. The buzz of bees

was dizzying, and the warmth of the sun on my face when I looked up felt wonderful, healing, and nourishing.

The branches were heavy with blossoms,

Flowering Tree in full bloom

papery white, with lovely “look at me!” centers.

Blossoms on a Flowering Tree

Plus one more…

Nearly home I found a huge Sweat Pea vine spilling over a fence with dozens of busy bees.

Honey Bee and the Sweet Pea

Nikon Df| Nikkor 28-105mm| Hoodman Digital Film| PS CC 2015

More to come…

 

A Western Bluebird at her Toilette

Posted in Backyard Birding, Bird Photography, birding, Birds in the Wild, Birds of North America, PhotographyTagged , , , , , , , , 24 Comments

Copyright ©2016 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

A few weeks ago I had a first time visitor to the little feeder which turned into a bird bath after the rainy week. I was thrilled to see the Western Bluebird in my yard!

Well, she like the temperature, and atmosphere so she decided to stay and have a bath. Luckily my camera was nearby.

Eyeing up the tub, and making sure the coast is clear overhead…

Bluebird Female

At her toilette

Western Bluebird Female bathing

“Do you mind! I’m bathing here!” That look really got me thinking…”man I’m a voyeur!” 🙂

Do you mind I'm bathing here!

All clean! She had a good shake and flew away after this image was taken. I hope she comes back!

Western Bluebird

I took these images through the window so they’re a bit soft. I used the dehaze feature to help that a bit. It’s a pretty neat feature!

 

Nikon D300s| Nikkor 300mm f4| Lexar Professional Digital Film| PS CC 2015

A Single Drop

Posted in Grasses, Macro, Macro Photography, Photography, Plants, Poetry, QuotesTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , 18 Comments

© 2016 Deborah M. Zajac
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

“I have left my bed and walked upon the grass and the night dew has wet my feet and the hem of my garment. Here I stand under the blossoms of the almond tree, heeding the call of your spirit. ”
~Kahlil Gibran, Communion of Spirits, The Treasured Writings of Kahlil Gibran

Went I laid in the grass to photograph the dew and rain drops in the grass yesterday morning I thought of these lines from Kahlil Gibran’s prose Communion of Spirits.

 

Dew Drop

I hope you all have a sunny Friday and week-end  both in your spirits and weather!

Nikon Df| Nikkor 105mm macro lens| Hoodman Digital Film| PS CC 2015| Hand-held

More to come…

Monochrome Madness 2 34/52 Birds

Posted in birding, Birds in the Wild, Birds of North America, Black and White Photography, Monochrome Madness2, Nature, Nature Photography, Pacific Flyway, PhotographyTagged , , , , , , , , 15 Comments

Copyright ©2015 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

This week’s Monochrome Madness 2 I selected an image from a recent day I spent birding in the Pacific Flyway.  The Pacific Flyway is a section of CA. that is part of the Winter migration path used by birds fleeing the cold months in the Winter.

These are Black-necked Stilts, and Long billed Dowagers foraging for food.

MM2 34 of 52 Black Necked Stilts and Long Billed Dowagers

I was trying out the Tamron 150-600mm super telephoto lens this week-end for the extra reach which was nice to have, but I won’t be saying much about the lens because I wasn’t able to use it as much as I had hoped. We had rain come in which kept me indoors the following day instead of out photographing birds.  I won’t complain too much since we need all the rain we can get. 🙂

I’m really behind reading blog posts, but am catching up ever so slowly.

Too see all this week’s posts in Leanne Cole’s Monochrome Madness 2 click here

Nikon D700| Tamron 150-600mm| Hoodman Digital Film| CS6 & Silver Efex Pro

More to come…