Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge
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A shadow in the night cast by an old street lamp. I'm not sure how long they'll keep these old gas lights. This is in Historic Occoquan, Virginia. Shot with Rokinon 12mm F2.0 Lens in manual mode. The camera is set to lens off because the lens is manual only. The distance was slightly below infinity at about f/10, #Occoquan #HTT #night #shadow #ombre #Schatten #urban #street #都市 #B&W #影 #街路灯 #StreetLamp #streetlight #ShadowInTheNight #GasLight #schwarzweiß #NoirEtBlanc #黒と白
Canada Geese on a log at the Occoquan River Regional Park shot with a macro lens from about 20 yards. #OccoquanRegionalPark
An Osprey leaves the Occoquan River empty handed after diving into the water after its prey. Canada Geese are in the background on a log. I'd just changed to the macro lens in hopes to get some dragonfly shots when I heard a loud splash. I didn't have time to change the lens back so I set the macro to infinity. The autofocus picked it up quick. The Osprey was gone in three seconds. It sounded like a large rock was thrown into the water when it hit. The shots came out better than I thought since I was unprepared for this kind of shot. I managed to get two shots without bracketing. #OccoquanRegionalPark #Osprey
In a few weeks the trail that comes near this Bald Eagle nest will be closed to prevent disturbance of the parenting process for the resident pair. But for now that trail is the only access to much of the refuge due to multiple trail closures elsewhere (construction activities). When I walked in the nest was empty but when I got ready to leave I saw it was occupied ... by a pair. I grabbed a few shots from more than a hundred meters away and gradually, over several minutes, slowly moved closer.
Normally I would not disturb a nest, but in this case I couldn't get back to my vehicle otherwise. One of the eagles flew away early on, but the other stayed and watched me as I got closer and closer. It finally departed when I was about 30 meters away. That's the closest I've ever been to a Bald Eagle.
This wild daisy (Daisy Fleabane I believe) is seen everywhere in the Washington DC area including Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge in northern Virginia. It's often seen in large groupings, but I decided to single out this solitary stem.
I made my first visit of the summer to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I can report that most all of the biting flies have moved on, but the mosquitoes are there in force. There's also an extreme amount of debris on the perimeter trail that was deposited from the recent flooding.
I didn't see many birds but I was happy to get a quick view of this Prothonotary Warbler.
Note: If you like Dragonflies, there are thousands upon thousands ... at least 4 different species.
Until last week I had not been to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge since May. When I saved a few photos to my Occoquan folder I noticed I hadn't posted many of my spring photos for whatever reason, so I'm catching up a bit.
My first reaction to this abundance of foam floating down the river was to think there had been some sort of toxic spill. Turns out there was a more benign explanation. At this point in the season tons of organic materials are being washed into the river. As they decay they produce surfactants which reduce the water's natural surface tension, and this allows for an easy absorption of large quantities of air into the water. Just above the site of this shot is a small set of falls which are roiling at quite a pace thanks to all the rain. End result: foam.
Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge
I have seen catfish carcasses before, but never seen an eagle catching one or carrying on its talons.
Summertime in Virginia is a blessing and a curse. The mid-day sun from 11-3 is just brutal, and honestly unworkable in most situations. But the late evening light, if you can get a train, is usually pretty fantastic. Friday evenings I try to slide out somewhere on the RF&P after work, and with the auto train being late into Lorton, I knew I'd have a great shot at them south. As they were still getting ready to leave, M415 roared over the Occoquan river bridge in spectacular late evening light.
One of dozens of Yellow-rumped Warblers I saw during my last visit to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge .... one of the few that presented me a clean view.
Charlette [Nikon D40] : 18-55mm
f/5.6, 1/50 sec., ISO-400, 48mm
Trip to Old Town Occoquan today.
Didn't get to upload a day 6 of 30 days of Thanks /:
But I hope you'll forgive me, cuz there's many more to come!
:)
Day 7 of 30 Days of Thanks
The River View at the Jean R. Packard Center is a multi-million dollar events venue with stunning views of the Occoquan River. I was there a few hours before the staff began prepping the hall for a wedding reception. They were kind enough to let me run in and out to get this shot.
Around DC, you know you are having a good day when you see more Bald Eagles than Canada Geese. I recently had such a day at Occoquan Bay NWR. The 650-acre refuge is about a half-hour south of DC near Woodbridge, VA. I usually see 2-3 Bald Eagles and maybe a half-dozen different birds species but, for reasons unknown, Feb 27th was far better. I saw at least a dozen Bald Eagles (probably closer to 20), and 17 other species of birds and waterfowl.
For me the B&W helps de-emphasize the obstructions.