I managed to squeeze out a walk in Washington Park before a light morning rain began on February 2 (Groundhog Day). By noon the weather looked more promising so I set out on an excursion to Fir Island. My first stop was in the neighborhood where I found this male Anna’s hummingbird in the middle of what we locals refer to as the Cap Sante Wetland. It’s easier to photograph them in the yard, but I was pleasantly surprised to find this one ‘in the wild’! The hummingbird was busy defending a perceived territory but took a break for some preening.

Not far away this Bewick’s wren popped up from the undergrowth and, after surveying the area from a handy perch, began singing… can spring be far behind?

On to Fir Island. This stoic Great Blue heron allowed me to stop and take photos without undue alarm.

I found two Black oystercatchers combing the rocky beach on the east side of March’s Point.

Also on March’s Point I found two juvenile Bald eagles sitting in a couple of trees. One flew, but the other hopped to a snag that made for good photography. The bird was wet from the light rain that had recently fallen and was apparently drying its feathers by lifting its wings and letting the breeze pass under its wings and next to its body. The pose made for great photography, and this was probably my closest approach to a juvenile eagle in the wild.

I continued towards Fir Island but just before reaching Pleasant Ridge I encountered a field full of Snow geese next to Calhoun Road. There was a LOT of activity, giving me an excellent opportunity to practice my skeet photography skills. I had been disappointed in previous photos I had taken of flying birds with my (relatively new) 500mm lens so I was anxious to have an opportunity to better evaluate the lens. I probably took over 100 photos of the geese and wouldn’t know the results until I got back home and processed them on my computer. As is usually the case with photographing flying birds, you end up throwing out a lot of photos for a myriad of reasons, but I got some fairly good photos, some of which are displayed below .