We’ll celebrate Earth Day today with a series of six bird photos and a bunny by our regular, Stephen Barnard from Idaho.
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) acting out and grooming.
The second eagle photo — the one with its head upside down — is a compelling Gestalt illusion. It can be seen veridically, as an eagle with its head upside down, or illusory, as a weird mutant eagle with an upward-pointing beak. I’ve actually had comments on a photo sharing group where people made that mistake. I don’t know about you, but I can flip between the two Gestalts with ease. [JAC: it was harder for me!]
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias):
Black-billed Magpie (Pica hudsonia):
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) taking of from a perch [JAC: this is a gorgeous bird!]:
Finally, a desert cottontail, Sylvilagus audubonii:
Breathtaking photos! I especially loved the eagle photos…YAWN…STRETCH.
Sylvilagus audubunny!
Fantastic photos, Stephen! That’s one of the prettiest bunny photos I’ve ever seen.
Watch the eagles bunny…
Reminds me of a classic ‘photo’ of a young hare by Dürer.
I’m starting to think that it is never cloudy in Idaho.
Love the heron!
I have to ask…What Telephoto Lens do you use.
Do you use one on the DMC-FZ200?
I used a Canon 500mm f4 II with a 1.4x extender for 700mm. The camera was a Canon 5D3. All except the rabbit were shot from a heavy tripod with a Whimberley gimbal head while I was unsuccessfully waiting for an eagle to bring a fish to the nest.
Do the eagles prefer fish? or are they opportunist feeders? Will they take carrion?
I’ve only seen them eat fish. I suppose they’d eat carrion if they got desperate, but I put a stillborn calf out for them once and they didn’t touch it.
Thanks…Just great photos
Very nice. Especially the tree swallow. Very hard to capture. Blaze away and pray (so to speak). Nice!
I love the iridescence and the feathers and the curve of the wings!
+1 My observations exactly!
I locked focus on it when it was perched, knowing it would soon take off. When it did I pressed the shutter button.
Yes, the tree swallow is amazing. It looks like it’s gearing up for a graceful dive.
Yes, the swallow is gorgeous.
As always, Stephen, breathtaking, incredibly clear photography…! Nice job!
Great shots!!!
Nice yoga pose for the swallow. Bunny is happy and fat. Coyotes got all but a leg of one of our resident bunnies. Then a few days later just the bone, though maybe the ravens picked it clean.
Love the rabbit, such a dignified look. The magpie is great too; we don’t get them here in southwest BC.
The rabbit is back lit. When it’s possible to get a photo with good back lighting it’s always wise to do so.
I don’t know about you, but I can flip between the two Gestalts with ease.
Actually, I didn’t even notice. I only saw the obvious upside-down head before you pointed out the second interpretation. Is that normal?
Eh, what’s normal? If you’re able to look at the eye and see it as a right, the beak will then be deformed; but if you look at the beak first the eye must be a left. I couldn’t see any weirdness until I’d covered the beak with my finger and looked away for a while.
Exquisite as always, Stephen! The light in the bunny shot is just superb!
Who’d have thought that an ordinary old bunny rabbit could look so evocative? We’re a bit jaded on the subject of bunnies here Downunder, but that one is fabulous.