Category: #outdoor photography

• “Agonistic Behavior” Among Birds: More Than Just Fighting

  A useful introduction to the term “agonistic behavior” is found here,” from Wikipedia—”Agonistic behaviour is any social behaviour related to fighting. The term has broader meaning than aggressive behaviour because it inecludes threats, displays, retreats, placation, and conciliation.” My camera and I see it all the time, from our bird bath to clashes in the (relative) wild. I have documented such…

  jwilce

  September 16, 2020

  #bird photography, #digital cameras, #FlagstaffArizona, #northern Arizona, #outdoor photography, #photoblog, #photography, #photonarratives, #raptors, #wildlife photography, #wings, agonistic behavior, animal behavior, Arizona, bird photography, bird photos, Canon EOS Rebel Cameras, Digital single lens reflex cameras, outdoor photography, wildlife photography

• Motion Blur Photography #3: Flock of Geese

  You have noticed by now that there are two connected ponds on the Old Walnut Canyon Road (the road that leads to Walnut Canyon National Monument) that attract a variety of waterfowl as well as ospreys, bald eagles, and swallows. Once again I turn to my cache of photos taken there for another favorite— the…

  jwilce

  September 15, 2020

  #bird photography, #digital cameras, #FlagstaffArizona, #northern Arizona, #outdoor photography, #photoblog, #photography, #photonarratives, #wildlife photography, #wings, animal behavior, Arizona, Behavioral synchrony, bird photography, bird photos, Canon EOS Rebel Cameras, Digital single lens reflex cameras, outdoor photography, wildlife photography

• Motion Blur #2: Photographing American Avocets in Flight

  I live hundreds of miles inland from the Pacific, but late in August, Flagstaff was visited by a flock of American Avocets. As you saw in my first Motion Blur post, the technique produces some cool effects. (By the way, like yesterday’s post, this shot was taken at the Old Walnut Canyon Road Ponds. I…

  jwilce

  September 14, 2020

  #bird photography, #digital cameras, #FlagstaffArizona, #northern Arizona, #outdoor photography, #photoblog, #photography, #photonarratives, #wildlife photography, #wings, Arizona, bird photography, bird photos, Canon EOS Rebel Cameras, Digital single lens reflex cameras, outdoor photography, wildlife photography

  #northern Arizona, #Shorebirds, Avocets, Flagstaff, Flocking behavior, Motion blur photography, Nature photography

• Red-tailed hawk in Claremont, CA

  A week ago my wife and I visited my home town, Claremont California. Whenever I go there I prioritize taking a walk along Thompson Creek. As we walked, something caught my eye—a hawk on a 15-foot-high eucalyptus branch. I began to photograph what was apparently a red-tailed hawk. The next thing I know, another hawk…

  jwilce

  September 3, 2018

  #accipiters, #bird photography, #California, #digital cameras, #hawks, #outdoor photography, #photoblog, #photography, #photonarratives, #raptors, #wildlife photography, #wings, animal behavior, bird photos, California, outdoor photography, wildlife photography

• Waterfowl on Frances Short Pond (Flagstaff)

  It’s been a frightfully warm winter, but not so warm as to completely melt the ice on our fair city’s beloved municipal pond near a couple of our public schools. Frances Short was an “educator and city councilperson” in Flagstaff. (For more information, click here.) The pond and its immediate environs are home to waterfowl…

  jwilce

  December 28, 2017

  #bird photography, #digital cameras, #FlagstaffArizona, #northern Arizona, #outdoor photography, #photoblog, #photography, #wildlife photography, animal behavior, Arizona, bird photography, bird photos, outdoor photography, wildlife photography

  #Arizona, #birds, #publicspaces, coots, ducks, Flagstaff, mallards, municipal parks, waterfowl

• Spring (or at least nest-building material) is in the mouth

  It’s always nice when I discover that my camera has seen more than I did when I took a shot. That has happened lately, as spring gets ready to turn to summer, when I see “Well well, the little creature seems to be building a nest!” (Of course I am also very aware of seeing…

  jwilce

  June 4, 2017

  #bird photography, #digital cameras, #northern Arizona, #outdoor photography, #photoblog, #photography, #wildlife photography, animal behavior, Arizona, bird photography, bird photos

• Photo Walk With Jim Wilce, June 24

  Ordinary Cameras, Extraordinary Encounters:Taking Wildlife Photos From the Heart A Workshop Led by Jim Wilce, and Sponsored by the Northern Arizona Audubon Society Saturday, June 24, 8-10 a. m., Kachina Wetlands (near Flagstaff, Arizona) What do you want from outdoor/ wildlife photographs? How can you take photos that you and others will enjoy? And how…

  jwilce

  May 30, 2017

  #bird photography, #digital cameras, #FlagstaffArizona, #insects, #northern Arizona, #outdoor photography, #photography, #wildlife photography, Arizona, bird photography, bird photos

• Dragonflies mating mid-air

  One of my favorite places in Flagstaff is Frances Short Pond. It is a hotspot for members of the Order Odonata— dragonflies and damselflies like the one below, which is, I believe, a “bluet.” But now the show I promised—a shaky video of two orange dragonflies and their mid-air mating dance. The still photos on…

  jwilce

  September 30, 2016

  #dragonflies, #FlagstaffArizona, #insects, #mating rituals, #northern Arizona, #outdoor photography, #photography, #photonarratives, #wildlife photography, #wings, animal behavior, Arizona, insect behavior, insect photography

  #Arizona, #insects, #nature, #parks, #photoblog, #photography, #wings, Flagstaff

• Reflective great(-tailed) hop

  Back in April I visited Frances Short Pond here in Flagstaff— a pond fished by man (sometimes woman) and osprey alike. Blackbirds and grackles occupy trees and the marshy island in the middle of the small pond. Here is a great-tailed grackle (I think), caught mid-hop. Click here to see the full-sized photo of the…

  jwilce

  August 6, 2016

  #bird photography, #FlagstaffArizona, #northern Arizona, #outdoor photography, #photography, Arizona, bird photography, bird photos, outdoor photography, wildlife photography

  #birds, #publicspaces

• Unidentified insect: Beetle?

  I’m posting this on Reddit ( /r/whatsthisbug). For you who once saw me post HERE rather regularly, I apologize for my long absence and offer this strikingly beautiful insect (a beetle?). I was seeing this orange-winged insect (probably a beetle) this spring, then suddenly it reappeared today in the Rio de Flag, Cheshire neighborhood, Flagstaff,…

  jwilce

  August 1, 2016

  #FlagstaffArizona, #northern Arizona, #outdoor photography, #photography, #wings, Arizona, insect photography

• Hawks: Chasing and Being Chased

  Anywhere you see hawks you are likely to see them being chased by smaller birds and not just chasing after them. The following photos (some of which are links to wilcephotos.com) tell two stories. The first story consists of a single photograph of what we might expect to be most common—a bigger, more carnivorous bird…

  jwilce

  February 18, 2016

  #accipiters, #bird photography, #FlagstaffArizona, #hawks, #northern Arizona, #outdoor photography, #photoblog, #photography, #photonarratives, #raptors, Arizona

  #Arizona, #birds, #nature, #northern Arizona, #photography, #photonarratives

• Monarch Discovery

  Google Doodles— the graphics atop Google’s splash page that change every day—are sometimes worth taking the time to consider. Such was the case with the 9 January 2016 Google Doodle. The Doodle acknowledges the “41st Anniversary of the Discovery of the Mountain of the Butterflies” The mountain in Mexico where the monarchs “overwinter” is the…

  jwilce

  January 11, 2016

  #butterflies, #outdoor photography, #photography, insect photography, outdoor photography, rural America, wildlife photography

  #insects, #nature, #photography

• What Wikipedia calls the “default desert bird”

  If you have never heard of Curve-Billed Thrashers, you probably don’t live in or near a desert. But if you google “default desert bird” you’ll see a lot of text etc. devoted to Thrashers.  Unfortunately, the phrase “default desert bird,” with or without proper attribution is a misquote. At least Wikipedia rightly cites Dunne as the…

  jwilce

  December 6, 2015

  #bird photography, #outdoor photography, #photography, #wildlife photography, Arizona, bird photography, bird photos

  #Arizona, #birds, #desertbirds, #DesertBotanicalGarden, #nature, #parks, #Phoenix, #photography

• Four Raptors

  Raptors are birds of prey. I try not to overuse the word “awesome,” but raptors are awesome, awe-inspiring. I love it when raptors, who have extremely sharp eyes, are so generous as to allow me to photograph them. So, I have gathered here, in one place, photos of four different raptors— three diurnal and one…

  jwilce

  November 14, 2015

  #bird photography, #FlagstaffArizona, #hawks, #outdoor photography, #photography, #raptors, #wildlife photography, Arizona, bird photography, bird photos, outdoor photography, wildlife photography

• What’s the beetle doing to its companion?

  This brief video (about 7 seconds long) captures a pair of beetles, apparently “Darkling Beetles” (family Tenebrionidae). It shows one beetle touching the other with its antennae.  The video was shot September 5 on Fatman’s Loop trail (Mt. Elden area of Flagstaff, Arizona).  I removed the sound track and edited out most of the effects…

  jwilce

  September 7, 2015

  #FlagstaffArizona, #insects, #MountElden, #northern Arizona, #outdoor photography, #photoblog, #wildlife photography

  #beetles, #insects, #naturevideos