David's Images of the Day Photoblog
There were several Northern Gannets following the MV Explorer. I wanted to get an image of one crossing the full moon. I took lots of pictures, but only came close a few times. Then there was the issue of whether the moon, or the bird should be in focus.
Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slideshow.
Pair of Black Vultures in Flight in Belize. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 300 mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec).
We had our first significant winter storm leaving about 8 inches of wet, heavy snow. We have experienced several cold spells, lots of rain but little snow until now. This was the first time I had to shovel a path to the road. I was expecting an Amazon delivery later in the day. A lot of birds showed up at the bird feeder. This was the first time that Red-winged Blackbirds visited. The females look a lot different than the males — but turned out to be more aggressive than the regular visitors. Later in the afternoon, the sky was filled with soaring Turkey Vultures.
Individual images in the slide shows can be viewed here.
Turkey Vultures Soaring at Dawn. As soon as the sun rises, the committee (group of vultures in trees) that spent the night in the neighborhood (conifer trees and some roofs) take off to hunt for food. Recently, the number of vultures in the neighborhood has increased to several dozen. The kettle (group of vultures soaring together) start looking for thermals to carry them on their daily hunt for carrion (mainly road-killed deer).