Wild Delmarva

Some days are better than others with wildlife. All of the photographs in this post were taken yesterday morning between sunrise and just a few hours later.

When you are photographing wildlife it is impossible to schedule any subjects. If you are a good observer you can learn to predict where you will find animals and when they might be likely to be there. For example, I found the osprey (above) in almost the same tree as the day before. Not only that, he had caught another large fish and landed to the minute as the day before.

Then there is the randomness of photographing wildlife. A few minutes after photographing the osprey I found this very large Snapping Turtle in the wetlands surrounding a fresh water impoundment. I moved in pretty close for a portrait and the snapper stood its ground.

After about an hour along Delaware Bay wetlands I joined my Wild Delaware book collaborator Jeffrey A. Gordon in search of songbirds along the edge of a pine forest. I can only hope to learn one tenth as much about birds and nature as Jeff knows. He can identify most every bird on Delmarva from its song, even if very distant. Within a couple of hours we were able to get close to a Prairie Warbler, Eastern Bluebird, Common Yellowthroat and an Indigo Bunting. By then the light was getting too bright and harsh and it was time to quit. But, without any doubt, it was a great morning in my wildlife “office.”

Photographs by Kevin Fleming

Snapping Turtle

Prairie Warbler

Eastern Bluebird

Common Yellowthroat

Indigo Bunting

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