Wildlife in Photography

Wednesday’s time in Alexandria’s Huntley Meadows was rainy and mellow. So mellow in fact, that I nearly fell asleep on the boardwalk.

Initial scans yielded little results, but off in the distance were the highest number of egrets I’ve seen to date. I counted six in all, but there could have been more that I missed.

Few approached within shooting distance, but I still enjoyed watching them.

On a previous visit, another birder let me watch through his 25x scope. I was a fan and might consider investing in one once I actually find out what that costs. May be a bit too much… but I digress.

As the rain began to pick up, I tried to make some nice portraits of geese.

It’s always like shooting fish in a barrel with geese, but I like them in the rain because it’s a little bit different.

Along the path were also a number of Southern Leopard Frogs (Rana sphenocephala) who ended up being pretty cooperative.

As I rounded the far end of the boardwalk, I found the lone gosling foraging through the grasses and settled in to watch it.

Then it happened. As the rain softly created a rhythm on my rain jacket, I zoned out and before I knew it my eyes were closed. Oops. Maybe that’s a bit too much relaxation for one outing?

After a few minutes I scanned the area again and returned to the primary boardwalk.

Activity overall was minimal, but I did finish out the day with a nice view of the mother Merganser from my last outing.

A nice end to a laid back day.