More bird photos by Joe Turner

Click on any photo to see a larger version

2013 Allegheny, NY Trip

May 2013, I attended another fantastic photo workshop led by Matthew Studebaker, this time to Allegheny State Park in New York, again to photograph warblers and other birds. The first 4 photos here were taken in Louisiana as my "warm up practice" before the trip.

Prothonotary Warbler, Whiskey Bay, LA Prothonotary Warbler, Whiskey Bay, LA Painted Bunting, Whiskey Bay, LA Painted Bunting, Whiskey Bay, LA American Redstart, Allegheny, NY Black-throated Blue Warbler, Allegheny, NY Blackburnian Warbler, Allegheny, NY Blackburnian Warbler, Allegheny, NY Chestnut-sided Warbler, Allegheny, NY Chestnut-sided Warbler, Allegheny, NY Louisiana Waterthrush, Allegheny, NY Black-throated Green Warbler, Allegheny, NY Black-throated Green Warbler, Allegheny, NY Nashville Warbler, Allegheny, NY Ovenbird, Allegheny, NY Black-capped Chickadee, Allegheny, NY Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Allegheny, NY Least Flycatcher, Allegheny, NY Tree Swallow, Allegheny, NY Tree Swallow, Allegheny, NY I know, not a bird photo, unless you can spot the thousands of seagulls in the mist. After Allegheny, we drove across to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. This was the view from our hotel room.

2012 Michigan Trip

After last year's Ohio trip, I attended another fantastic photo workshop led by Matthew Studebaker, this time to Michigan's Upper Peninsula. This time I was able to get shots of 13 species of warblers, plus 8 other bird species! Some of these photos are the best I've ever taken, including several of a very rare and difficult to photograph warbler. Many thanks to Matthew. We even had to dodge forest fires and withstand power outages in the cabins, but it was all worth it. I hope you enjoy seeing them as much as I did taking them.

Taquamenon Falls, MI Taquamenon Falls, MI. Shortly after taking this photo, the park was closed for the rest of the week because of an approaching forest fire. View of Whitefish Bay from my cabin. The cabin shadow at the bottom shows how close it is to the water. Whitefish Bay Our lodging was named "Saunder's Sunrise Cabins" for obvious reasons. Chestnut-sided Warbler Chestnut-sided Warbler Chestnut-sided Warbler Cape May Warbler Cape May Warbler Black & White Warbler Black & White Warbler Blackburnian Warbler Blackburnian Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Canada Warbler American Redstart American Redstart American Redstart Palm Warbler Palm Warbler Palm Warbler Pine Warbler Pine Warbler Pine Warbler preening Pine Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Nashville Warbler Nashville Warbler Nashville Warbler Nashville Warbler Connecticut Warbler-this is a very uncommon and very difficult warbler to find and even harded to photograph. Our guide has been photographing warblers for over 10 years and this was the first time he saw one, much less photographed it. Afterward he said that he thought our group may have just taken the best photos of this species ever! Connecticut Warbler Connecticut Warbler The bog where the Connscticut Warbler was located was spectacular with many interesting plants. This is American Wintergreen. This wild orchid called Pink Lady's Slipper is considered rare, but this bog had hundreds of them! Black-throated Blue Warbler Golden-crowned Kinglet Golden-crowned Kinglet Golden-crowned Kinglet Red-eyed Vireo Blue-headed Vireo Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Red-breasted Nuthatch Hermit Thrush White-throated Sparrow Scarlet Tanager Cygnus region Milky Way. Another advantage of being far from civilization...it has probably been 35 years since I've been able to see the Milky Way!

2012 Louisiana Warblers

After learning warbler photography last year in Ohio, I decided to try to photograph each of the 8 warbler species that nest in southern Louisiana close to home. Finding them is easy...getting a photo has proven to be very challenging. This spring I managed to get fairly good shots of 6 species, but I have what I call "snapshots" of 2 others (American Redstart and Swainson's). That's all I can do this year because they can usually only be photographed during nesting season. I'll try to improve on these in 2013. Next stop...to Northern Michigan for more Warblers!

Northern Parula Northern Parula Northern Parula Prothonotary Warbler Prothonotary Warbler Prothonotary Warbler Swainson's Warbler American Redstart American Redstart Common Yellowthroat Common Yellowthroat Common Yellowthroat Common Yellowthroat Yellow-breasted Chat Yellow-breasted Chat Hooded Warbler Hooded Warbler Hooded Warbler Hooded Warbler Kentucky Warbler Kentucky Warbler Kentucky Warbler Kentucky Warbler

Ohio Warbler trip, May 2011

Spectacular trip led by Matthew Studebaker. On past birding trips during migration I sometimes struggled to get a glimpse of 6-8 Warbler species through binoculars, much less have a chance to photograph them. On this trip I saw 17 Warbler species and photographed 9 of them! For those of you who have never seen them, Warblers are amazingly beautiful and very tiny, some as small as 4 1/2 inches long.  My primary target was the Cerulean Warbler which I had never seen before. Within 5 minutes of setting up the first day, I had my first photograph of a Cerulean Warbler! Following the Warblers, I have posted 8 other bird species photos taken on this trip. Click on the first photo to start.

Cerulean Warbler\nMy first time ever seeing this spectacular bird! Cerulean Warbler Cerulean Warbler Worm-eating Warbler Worm-eating Warbler Northern Parula Northern Parula Northern Parula American Redstart American Redstart Yello-throated Warbler Yello-throated Warbler Blue-winged Warbler Blue-winged Warbler Blue-winged Warbler Black-and-White Warbler Black-and-White Warbler Pine Warbler Pine Warbler Prairie Warbler Prairie Warbler Prairie Warbler Prairie Warbler

Red-eyed Vireo Chipping Sparrow Field Sparrow Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Indigo Bunting Indigo Bunting Eastern Towhee Eastern Towhee Eastern Bluebird Carolina Wren Carolina Wren

The photos in this section are from my Feb, 2011 trip to Florida to photograph the endangered Snail Kite. Click on first photo for more details.

Male Snail Kite Male Snail Kite Female Snail Kite Female Snail Kite Male Snail Kite Male Snail Kite Male Snail Kite starting courtship dive Male Snail Kite Female Snail Kite Male Snail Kite Male Snail Kite Composite of Snail Kite courtship dive at 10 frames per second Barred Owl Pileated Woodpecker Great Egret Immature Bald Eagle Great Blue Heron Great Blue Heron Male and female Anhinga Osprey Osprey with nesting material Osprey with large fish

I know, this one belongs in my heron's index. Two reasons it is here: 1) I've only seen this bird fishing with the shorebirds. Its behavior is very different from the others of its genus. In contrast to their methodical, stealthy, quiet stalking, this bird constantly jumps wildly around, spinning while lunging at fish. It is so much fun to watch. 2) I was lazy. It's a lot easier to add a large batch to a single index page!

Some shots from April 2007:

Home