December 16, 2018
Most of my 2018 photos have now been posted in three galleries. The first gallery contains all my images from the spring, including trips to California, Arizona, and Washington, as well as local photography in New Mexico. The highlight of my spring was finding a Black-backed Woodpecker nest at eye level in Washington, allowing me to finally photograph the last North American woodpecker missing from my collection. Finding an approachable Buff-collared Nightjar in Arizona was also a high point.
A Black-backed Woodpecker prepares to enter a nest hole.
A Buff-collared Nightjar perches on a snag in Arizona. Buff-collared Nightjars are rare north of the border, but a few have been found each year in extreme SE Arizona recently.
An Elf Owl perches on an ocatillo branch. This tiny owl is about the same size as a sparrow.
In late July I stopped over in Florida for a few days dedicated to trying to get photos of Swallow-tailed Kites in their pre-migration staging grounds.
A thirsty Swallow-tailed Kite skims the surface of a lake on an early morning in Florida.
I also made a quick trip to Ohio in September to try my hand at photographing migrant warblers. Though I've spent many days and weeks searching for warblers on their breeding grounds, where they sing in all the spring splendor, I've never worked on them in their more muted fall plumage till now.
A Black-throated Green Warbler perches on a beech branch in early fall.