Tag: Nature

An American Badger

Posted in California, Nature, Nikon, Photography, WildlifeTagged , , , , , 2 Comments

Copyright © 2012 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved

This was the first time I’d ever seen a Badger!
My friend Dali and I got together to do some hiking in Pinnacles National Park and on the way home we drove by one of our favorite Birding places. We were on the way out; heading home when Dali spotted this guy on a hillside. Check out those claws!

We also saw a Coyote. He was busy hunting Voles, and Ground Squirrels for dinner.

…and we saw a Greater Yellowlegs. The background is awful! I’d like to get a picture of one with a nice background one day.

and no country back roads drive would be complete without a Cute Cow.  I hope she wasn’t too disappointed that I didn’t bring fresh hay.

We didn’t see any Eagles, but it was another fun, and exciting day in the country full of wildlife.

Nikon D700| Nikkor 70-300@300mm| f8| 1/1000 s| ISO 800| Manual Mode| Hand-held

Camouflage it’s for the Birds

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Copyright © 2012 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

This little bird was very busy pecking through all the dropped leaves, and twigs looking for worms grubs I think. I watched it for a little while but never saw it get a worm.

I’m not sure what breed it is. It looks sort of like House Wren or some sort of Thrush to me. Anyone know?

Nikon D700| Nikkor 70-300@ 300mm| f5.6| 1/60 sec| ISO 640| Manual Mode| Hand-held

White-tailed Kite

Posted in Birds, California, Nature, Nikon, Photography, WildlifeTagged , , , , , , , , 4 Comments

Copyright © 2012 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

This photograph is one I took at last month’s Pacific Flyway Festival.  It’s a week-end event for birders out on Mare Island in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Several hikes, and guided tours with experienced birders are offered. I went with a group of folks, and my friend Dali out to Skaggs Island for a private walk-about. It’s part of an old Navy base which is being renovated and rehabilitated to marsh land.
This Kite was perched in a tree just within range for me to get several shots of it before it flew away. I was so excited to be this close to one that didn’t fly away the moment it spotted me. They’re so skittish they perch far away from the roads, or they take flight as soon as they see me coming.
The day was overcast, and the sky was flat so I decided to turn this one into a “high Key” shot.

Nikon D700| Nikkor 70-300 @ 300mm| f7.1| 1/1600sec| ISO 500| Manual Mode| Tripod

“Everybody, get on the floor, let’s dance! Don’t fight the feelin’, give yourself a chance! Shake, Shake, Shake! Shake your booty!” KC and the Sunshine Band

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Via Flickr:
Copyright © 2012 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved

Nikon D300s| Nikkor 70-300mmVR@ 300mm| f5.6| 1/2000 sec| ISO500| Manual Mode| Hand-held from a car window- Auto-Tour

Northern Pintail

Posted in Birds, California, Nature, Nikon, Photography, WildlifeTagged , , , , , , 4 Comments

Copyright © 2012 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

I’m looking through some photos of earlier birding trips and finding a few I like more now than when I first uploaded them.
Colusa National Wildlife Refuge.

Nikon D700| Nikkor 70-300mm @300mm| f5.6| 1/2000 sec| ISO 500| Manual Mode| Tripod| January 2012

Gliding in a Cloudless Sky

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Copyright © 2012 Deborah M. Zajac.  All Rights Reserved.

Nikon D700| Nikkor 80-200mm @ 200mm + 1.4x TC | f8| 1/2000 sec| ISO 800| Manual Mode| Tripod  I spent part of the time shooting him in manual focus. With the TC on my Auto-Focus would hunt from time to time and I found it faster just to manually focus. I was changing from AF to MF  I don’t know if this was MF or AF. Must find that in my Metadata.

Please click the photo to view it large. It looks blurry at this compressed size.

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