I like to practice taking nature photographs whenever I get the chance and the inspiration. I want to hone my photography skills for an anticipated Alaska tour/cruise later this year. Just about every sunny day a group of turtles like to climb out of the pond behind our home to sun themselves on the grass bank. But they are sensitive to any noise or movement and are hard to capture with a camera because by the time I get close enough to take a picture they have scrambled back into the water. That leaves me with plenty of photo opportunities of ripples in the water but that's about it. Today was different. Different subject and different sensitivity. The spoonbill in these pictures was too busy spooning around in the muck to worry about me taking his picture. Even seemed to preen a little bit by circling around from time to time as he worked his way along the edge of the pond. That was just my imagination, I'm sure, but he did give me a variety of profiles to photograph.
OK, spoonbill pics completed. Bring on the whales! Bring on the seals! Bring on the bears...the small furry animals I can run away from if they look menacing.
