Happy Easter

SUNRISE FLIGHT

A new day dawns. Easter has always been the Season of hope and possibility to me. And I am reminded each morning that I have the opportunity to begin fresh - to start over again. The mistakes and blunders of the day past are just that - past. Some mornings are brilliant, others are more subtle - especially here in Morro Bay. But when it is good, it is spectacular. I have won the lottery in life. I live in a free Country, I am loved, I have good health, I have an abundance of everything I could possibly want, and I am surrounded by Natural beauty. I am eternally thankful for all these gifts. I am also aware that I have an obligation to give back and to share some of my riches. I pray for the grace of a generous heart. Easter opens me up and allows the Light to flow through me. I hope each of you finds your own light and joy this Season too. Happy Easter.

I survived a computer crash!

 Merced NWR pre-dawn

Merced NWR 'clouds' of Snow Geese

 

Last month Don and I took a trip over to the Central Valley in California to photograph in Merced National Wildlife Refuge. It was my first visit to this amazing place. There are thousands of birds overwintering on the series of ponds and wetlands that make up the refuge. We spent three days enjoying and photographing there. I have always wanted to experience a huge number of birds flying and calling and making a 'cloud' in the sky. I got my wish. There must have been about 30,000 Snow and Ross's geese present and on our first afternoon at Merced NWR I saw the 'cloud' I had dreamt about. Thousands of geese rose and circled in the sky - all set against the backdrop of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It was jaw dropping! We also saw numerous other birds: Sandhill Cranes, White-faced Ibis, various ducks, Swallows and many many more. This is definitely a place I want to revisit.

 

I took over 2100 photos. I could hardly wait to get home to start processing my images. BUT!!!! That is when my problems began. For the first 30 minutes or so all was fine, then my computer froze. I tried everything I could think of to get back up and running, but to no avail. GRRRRR! My old computer was about 6 years old and I knew it was getting to the point of replacement, but..... I called my 'computer man' and when he took a look at my system the next day, I was informed that my Mother Board had fried. The good news - if there can be any good news in this situation - was that the hard drive was okay. Fortunately, all my images and documents were safely stored on multiple external hard drives so none of my important stuff was lost. Now three weeks later I have a new super-duper computer and am almost back to normal. There are still a few glitches to work out, but for the most part I am happy at this point. Now I need to get back to work!

Spring is on the way

It has been sunny and warm here the last few days - definitely Spring weather. And the Monarch Butterflies love it. I was happy to find these lovelies flitting about in a green field filled with wild radish plants. Their bright orange wings clearly stood out against the brilliant green foliage. I took some of the standard type of shots with them perched on the purple flowers, but then I became obsessed with idea of trying to catch them in flight. Oh, what a challenge! Who knew that butterflies were so fast. But my persistence paid off and I was able to capture some interesting flight shots. I was especially impressed by just how flexible they are. As they get ready to land on a flower, they push their wings far down and at the same time arch their bodies up. I have never clearly observed this behavior before. But the magic of still photography reveals the action. I love Monarchs. To me their wings are like small panes of stained glass - a delight to the eye and the heart.

What I saw at the Bird Festival

 White-tailed Kite

Common Merganser take off

 

I had a wonderful time at the Morro Bay Bird Festival last weekend. The weather was perfect. I spent time with many friends and had the opportunity to see lots of birds. And best of all, I was able to capture some great photos.

 

The top 2 photos are of a White-tailed Kite eating a mouse. I have taken many White-tailed Kite photos, but I have never captured this behavior before. He was perched on a post at the side of the road and was not about to fly away until he finished his meal. I was able to get very close by shooting out the side window of our car. Usually these birds are skittish and keep their distance, so it was a real gift to be so close. 

 

Later in the weekend we took a pontoon boat ride on Lopez Lake. We were very lucky that it was not too cold or windy. When this female Common Merganser took off,  I was in the right place to get a whole sequence of shots. It was amazing to watch her run acoss the water, all the while madly flapping her wings, trying to get enough lift to take off. The glassy water made some beautiful reflections. 

More happy news

poster featuring my Flicker photo and a photo of me

that will be shown at the Morro Bay Bird Festival 

this weekend

California Quail

More amazing good things are coming my way. This morning when I opened up our local newspaper - The Tribune - I found that my Flicker photo was featured on the front page of the Local section. Woohoo! And the photo that my husband, Don, took of me is there too. So we both got published at the same time. This whole experience has far exceeded my wildest expectations. 

Tomorrow is the beginning of the Morro Bay Bird Festival - an annual event that has been going on 17 years. I am going to be honored at the Festival and a poster of my winning Flicker photo is going to be on display at the registration area of the Festival. I am also going to be signing prints of my photo at the opening reception on Friday evening. Can you believe it???!! 

I have to keep myself a little bit grounded, so I went out to photograph at Montana de Oro State Park and found a lovely California Quail. This 'lookout' male stood on guard and alert in a nearby tree while a covey of Quail fed on the ground below. He sounds the warning if he senses any danger and the whole group instantly disappears into the brush. I have tried many times to find a cooperative 'lookout' and get a shot like this. At last, my persistence has paid off. 

My photo is on the cover of AUDUBON Magazine!

Yesterday when I went to pick up the mail I had a wonderful surprise waiting for me. The 2013 Jan/Feb AUDUBON Magazine had arrived with my photo of a Red-shafted Flicker published on the cover. Woohoo!!! And when I opened up the magazine I discovered that a full version of the photo was also published as a double page spread inside. I am floating on air. It may take some time for me to return to Earth. I am the Grand Prize winner of the 2012 photo contest. There were more than 6600 photos submitted from over 900 photographers. I feel highly honored to be chosen as the winner, especially when I look at some of the other amazing photos that were submitted. I have always thought of myself as primarily a landscape photographer. But I now am fortunate to live in an area that is rich with bird life and photo possiblities.  So at the beginning of 2012 I decided to embrace bird photography as part of who I am. It is extremely challenging. I can't tell you how many 'missed' shots I have taken. But many, many times I have sighed to myself and hit the delete button. My heart skipped a beat when I first looked at this photo. It captured the essence of the bird in his environment. I caught this male just as it just took off from the nesting hole after doing some 'housecleaning'.  At least 2 young Flickers successfully fledged from this nest. That makes me very happy.

 

2012 is now coming to an end and 2013 is just around the corner. May we each find what is best in ourselves and share it generously. May we each have some adventures and find joy and love in our lives. May we be kind to each other and take care of our Mother Earth.

I wish each of you a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

'Tis the SEASON

CHRISTMAS DREAM

 

"Blessed is the Season

which engages the whole world

in a conspiracy of LOVE."

                                                          - Hamiltion Wright Mabi

 

Peace and Love to each of you.

Alice