Hagerman NWR: April 2021, Part III

As the morning wore on at Hagerman, the temperature rose and the birds became less conspicuous.  So I had to look more closely for wildlife, and take more notice of the wildflowers that were starting to bloom.

I found Hairy Vetch along the roadside.

Did I say the birds became less conspicuous?  Not the Yellow-headed Blackbirds along the pad roads.  They continued to be quite obvious.

A small group of White-faced Ibis were foraging in the grass, which had already grown fairly tall.

I thought this large, white flower was a lily of some sort.  Inaturalist, however, says it's a Pinklady.

After about three hours driving around the refuge, I needed to stretch my legs.  A hike on the Prairie Loop trail was just the answer.

What the trail lacked in birds, it made up for in wildflowers like Texas Paintbrush ...

... Prickly Sowthistle ...

... and Bush Vetch.

I decided to drive around one last time in case there was anything I missed, and was treated with a small group of Pectoral Sandpipers picking their way through the mudflats.  

The little birds are apparently somewhat picky about their feeding spots -- and willing to squabble over them!

Five glorious hours soaking up the natural beauty of the refuge.  Why exactly aren't I doing this more often?

Related Links:

• Hagerman NWR: April 2021, Part I
• Hagerman NWR: April 2021, Part II

Hagerman NWR: April 2021, Part II

My day at Hagerman was off to a great start.  Next up was a slow drive out to Pads O, P. and Q.  I say slow intentionally, because from past experience I know the water comes up quite close to the roads and the shores can be full of birds.  Driving too fast tends to spook them. 

This Greater Yellowlegs looked a little sad to me as it foraged.  So I left a lot of empty space in the photo to play into that mood.

These Wilson's Phalaropes were in the same area as the Yellowlegs, but much more energetic.

There were quite a few Snowy Egrets.  I loved the tandem pose I got from these two.

I got out of my car to approach this group of American White Pelicans, and thought I was being quite stealthy about it.  But they noticed me immediately and in unison began swimming away.  It was fun to watch them glide off, since I couldn't actually see their feet moving under the water.  At least they moved at enough of an angle that I was able to see their profiles.

I honestly don't think I'd ever seen a Yellow-headed Blackbird before this day.  It was a real treat to get such a close view of my first one!

And then I got an even closer view of my second.  And honestly, before I knew it I'd probably seen a hundred of them.  They were flocking quite densely along the pad roads, and quite comfortable with my car blind.

Not to be outdone, this Red-winged Blackbird belted out his call while doing an impressive split.  Bonus points for difficulty!

I stopped my car to try and get a picture of a hawk that unfortunately flew off before I got anything decent.  But stopping allowed me to notice a Tree Swallow spending a lot of time around a particular tree.

 

It turned out to not just be one swallow hanging out by the tree, but a pair who seemed to be building a nest!  I always love how time spent in nature can lead to the unexpected. :)

Related Links:

• Hagerman NWR: April 2021, Part I
• Hagerman NWR: April 2021, Part III

Hagerman NWR: April 2021, Part I

After a great experience down in Ennis shooting bluebonnets I was itching to get back out again.  It had been more than three years since I'd been up to Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge, which was far too long!

The forecast called for about 50% cloud cover at sunrise this past Sunday -- potentially great conditions for a sunrise shot.  Unfortunately, the forecast got the clouds wrong by about 100%.  There was some interesting morning mist, but by the time I found a spot I liked and got set up it had already pretty well burnt off.

Because of my lens flare issues I've started trying to get a good shot of sunrise right before the first rays actually appear.  I've been pretty happy with the results so far.

On this morning I was even fortunate to get a shot with rays and barely a hint of lens flare!  So, two wins. :)

I liked the warm light on this tree at the water's edge, and its ripply reflection.

Pinkladies during golden hour: now with bonus dew drops!

This Dickcissel was singing his little heart out to greet the new day.

The skittishness of ducks still annoys me.  I saw plenty this day, but this shot of a pair of Blue-winged Teals is sadly the best one I got.

The Snowy Egrets were more abundant and more accommodating.  I love the serenity of this one.

Driving from one of the pads I noticed tons of spiderwebs.  The sun was at just the right height to backlight them brilliantly.  This one was my favorite.

Related Links:

• Hagerman NWR: April 2021, Part II
• Hagerman NWR: April 2021, Part III

Hagerman NWR: December 2017

My outing to Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge last December was one of my most rewarding days of picture-taking all year, yielding a beautiful sunrise and the best shots I'd ever gotten of snow geese. It was a no-brainer to head back up there this year while the geese were still around.

I made sure to get up there in time for sunrise again, but wanted to try a different location where I could get more reflection off the water.  So I drove partway out the road to Q Pad, stopping at the first pair of wells to see what I could get.

I bracket all my landscape shots, especially in high-contrast situations like sunrise, then merge the exposures in Lightroom.  But for this shot I preferred the darkest of the three original images to the "normal" exposure version or the blend.  Rich colors, and it better captures the twilight feel.

The sun and few clouds were doing their job in the sky.  I hopped around a bit trying to find a suitable foreground composition to complement the rest of the scene.

I enjoy the time pressure of shooting sunrise and sunset.  You can't necessarily see the conditions changing moment by moment, but you know you've got a limited window to capture the right combination of color and light.

Then the sun breaches the horizon, and you get your last few snaps of the shutter before the magic goes back into hiding until the next morning.

Even with sunrise technically over, I knew I was better off continuing to focus on landscape shots until the sun got higher in the sky.  I love my D5200, but I can't get great wildlife shots in low light with it.  So I relocated along Wildlife Drive and kept at it.

These trees caught me, and I chose a vantage point where various lines all seem to converge at a point on the middle right.  I like the effect.

Eventually I joined a group from the Friends of Hagerman and we headed out in search of geese.  The first batch we spotted were obscured by some brush, but I like the effect of these birds who seem to be heading for cover.

I was able to move into position for a less obscured view, but was still fairly far off.  And the birds weren't doing anything all that interesting.

We headed back towards the Visitor Center and found a large group on the water fairly close to shore.  That's where we set up shop for a while as geese took flight in small groups, which provided a nice opportunity to try and isolate birds in the air.

My attention kept coming back to the birds on the water, hoping to capture a moment when some of them decided to take off.  I was eventually rewarded.

And so it proceeded for a while, a fairly leisurely time of intermittent activity.

There never was a large-scale "blast-off."  I don't think more than 30 ever left at once.

We re-located one last time to the fields adjacent to the Visitor Center where a small flock had gathered.  A small group of cyclists rode through, startling the flock to all depart.  So I got a bit of a blast-off after all.

It was early enough that I thought about making one more jaunt down Wildlife Drive and back.  I drove past this fellow perched right off the road, and I turned my car around to go back and shoot him.  He didn't stick around long -- I find raptors generally touchy about having their portraits taken -- and once he flew off I decided I'd had a satisfying morning, too.

Bluebonnets near Ennis, shore birds at High Island, and snow geese at Hagerman have become my three annual Texas photo traditions!

Hagerman NWR: December 2016, Part III

Click here for Part II.

As if snow geese and a sunrise weren't enough, I was able to catch some other fine specimens of Hagerman's wonderful wildlife on my visit to the refuge last Thursday.

Ducks regularly confound me.  They tend to stay just outside of my shooting range, and if I'm fortunate enough to get close without them noticing they spook and fly at the slightest movement.  Somehow, I got close enough for a decent shot of this mallard drake.

Killdeer are another story.  I have much better luck with them.

Another duck that didn't take off as soon as I got within a hundred yards -- a northern pintail.

This turkey vulture kept a wary eye on me, but didn't mind me approaching close enough for this shot.

This great egret was too busy hunting to pay much attention to me.  I'm sure the fact that I was across the water helped.

The warm weather last week must have gotten this fellow up and about.  I'm not sure what his plans were, but he seemed to be trying to cross Wildlife Drive.  He was close enough to the side of the road that I didn't feel the need to move him.

Another bird that tends to generally not want me to get too close.  But like the egret, this great blue heron was a little more focused on finding something to eat.

The area right around the visitor center is always a good place to spot meadowlarks.

Last bird of the day -- a lesser yellowlegs looking for food in what was really more of a large puddle than a small pond.

I spent about six hours on the refuge, which is probably the longest visit I've ever had there.  The extra time gave me a tremendous number of opportunities to see and shoot many beautiful things, which was the whole point of going!