Creepy Bird of the Month #5: Marabou Stork

Ah, the stork.  The universal symbol of new life.  If you’re anything like me, the mention of a stork brings up memories of Mr. Stork delivering a sweet baby “Jumbo Jr” to his mother, Mrs. Jumbo in the classic Disney cartoon, Dumbo.  Precious.

Not so much with the Marabou Stork.  I don’t think we need to do much to convince you that this ungainly bird is prime candidate for “Creepy Bird of the Month.” 

Brrrrr...baby it's cold outside.

Temperatures have dropped severely in the last few weeks, making it painful to get outside and do any photography for more than about 15-20 minutes.  We don't have that much good light these days, so on clear, cold days when the sun shines for a few hours, us die-hards embrace the frigid weather and make the most of the opportunity.

When I got into birding last year (read about it here), one of my obsessions became putting up bird feeders around my house. I wanted my house and yard to be a bustle of feathered activity and I tried several different varieties of bird feeders, both handmade and store bought. It didn't take long for the Black-capped Chickadees and the Red-breasted Nuthatches to find my suet cages and little plastic bird feeders. I bought the generic "wild bird seed" and watched as a few birds here and there came to enjoy the feast. I noticed that the Nuthatches would sift through the seeds and pick out tasty morsels,

Creepy Bird of the Month #4: Purple Swamphen

Welcome to another installment of Creepy Bird of the Month. This months featured freakazoid is the Purple Swamphen which was nominated for Creepy Bird of the Month by my good friend Matt. Thank you Matt, for your suggestion!

Now this bird isn't your typical ugly bird. In fact, at first look it's not ugly at all. But this series is called "Creepy Bird of the Month," not "Ugly Bird of the Month" and this bird gets creepy credit due to its enormously ghoulish legs and feet. Seriously, this bird is the Bigfoot of the Avian world. One look at those huge, disturbing spider-like claws they use as feet and you'll be creeped out too.

Getting my mojo back: 151, Pacific Wrens, and little owls.

I really enjoy winter birding. I think it's the challenge of it that I like best. I have to work harder hunting for new species. The reward of finding an owl or another winter bird is a thrill, and getting them in good light to photograph provides additional challenges. What's your favorite season for birding and why? Are you new to birding or a seasoned vet?

When I dropped my camera and lens back in September, I felt like the wind had gone out of my sails. I didn't shoot for weeks even though I still had my backup trusty D5100. Once I cleaned up my lens and discovered it had survived the fall, I started getting back out shooting again, but didn't quite have the drive I had had before. Well, I am happy to report that I feel like I've got my mojo back, or, as my friend Travis calls it, my "Bird Juju". Last week,

Finding owls

Here in Alaska, the days have gotten much colder and the leaves on the trees have been replaced by lumps of snow and frost. The ground is covered by about 3 inches of snow, which crunches under our feet as we venture outdoors. For me the changing season is like grinding to a screeching halt after the momentum of a sprint. The warmer months were filled with so many birds offering many great photo opportunities. Our summer birds have now departed, and many of our winter birds are returning, but not nearly as numerous or plentiful as their warm weather counterparts. Many of our cold weather birds tend to flock together in large numbers through the chilly season for food and safety.

Creepy Bird of the Month #3: California Condor

It's way past time for an installment of Creepy Bird of the Week Month. Yes, that's right, I will be switching this from a weekly to a monthly post. A monthly schedule just makes more sense since a weekly post is just not sustainable for me at this time. It's been a couple months anyways since my last one.

This months Creepy Bird is the California Condor which was recommended by my sister Joanie who is an avid birder in Washington State. This bird is MASSIVE! Massively UGLY that is. Well, it is pretty huge in size as well. But make no mistake, this is one ugly beast and rightly qualifies for the Creepy Bird of the Month.

Reaching my goal

It's been a really great summer here in Southcentral Alaska, but the leaves have turned golden and mostly fallen from the trees. Winter is right around the corner which means cold, short days with minimal lighting.

My goal this year was to see and identify 150 different species of birds. I've had the pleasure to shoot many of them, and have had a blast doing it. Honestly, about a month ago, I was wondering if I was going to make it as the flocks began heading south for the winter and new birds were more and more scarce. Thanks to a community of active birders, I have continued to add them up. Someone would