Departure / Takeoff / Start / Abflug
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Two bufflehead couples were on Commonwealth Lake when I visited, and kept flying back and forth between two spots on the lake, affording me a few chances at catching them mid flight. Some worked out!
Wood Ducks are our most colorful duck here in Florida. The males are the most striking and I liked the green duckweed background. They don't give a lot of warning before takeoff but there are a few tells. When they stop feeding or paddling and are looking off in the distance, I like to think of it as "talking to the control tower for takeoff clearance". Sometimes the female will bob her head and they'll have a brief conversation. Other times, they just take off out of the blue. (Aix sponsa)
Ready for takeoff
One of my personal favourites. The light was simple breathtaking. I was hoping to get this girl to pose for a sunset picture but she had other ideas and flew immediately after this pic. This was the only one that turned out as I had slowed my shutter speed down to prepare for a portrait. I am overjoyed with the overall result.
This Snowy egret was seen at Radke Martinez Regional Shoreline in Martinez, California
The weather was rainy and overcast, which was great for minimizing glare from the white feathers.
I'm attracted to the body position of this Red-shouldered Hawk. This is just a moment after liftoff from the tree branch shown in the image.
A flock of snow geese on the ground will periodically erupt into the air, circle around, and then return to continue their foraging. It is an impressive sight to see (and to hear). It would seem that you can't take a bad picture of such an event, but it is actually maddeningly frustrating. I selected this image (among many, many) because my eye was able to settle on the one goose in the lower left. Now I understand a bit better the phenomenon that a group can foil a predator because the abundance of prey ironically makes choosing a single one difficult.