The tundra itself was less fun to shoot as the birds were pretty spread out. Twice our group leaders found nesting Willow Ptarmigan
for the group to shoot. The male would stick around as long as his hen did not take flight, with eggs nearby. They make the goofiest
calls, not unlike the frog-mouthed game booth heckler you’d hear along the midway at the fair. The tundra was loaded with songbirds, none more
pleasant to the eye than the ubiquitous Yellow Warbler, a denizen of the willows. Shorebirds are skittish on their nesting grounds, trying
to camouflage precious eggs amidst the short grasses. Tons of loons nest on the shallow tundra lakes, and we finally found a trio of unpaired
yearlings who responded well to Glenn playing Pacific Loon calls. Their velvety pearl gray heads are positively sublime! All in all, an outstanding
trip with blessings every day, and the best Arctic Tern photography of my life! Next year I’m off to Cambridge Bay in the Canadian high Arctic for
yet another round! Thank you for sharing in these amazing birds! God bless!

My primary interest was ducks in flight, and Glenn, an accomplished Canadian photographer and tour leader, had just the spot. At Esquimalt Lagoon, the Northern Pintail, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye and American Wigeon are quite acclimated to the locals, especially those with food! With the sun at our backs on two mornings, the ducks were “run” between two feeding stations while we clicked away hundreds of flight images. The pintails were full frame! The divers were not quite as predictable, but on a few occasions we had Bufflehead and Goldeneye flying in for the feeding frenzy. It was especially challenging to keep the tiny and supersonic Bufflehead in the frame. To my delight a few frames were sharp and captured the drake’s purple and green iridescence. Thank you God!

Esquimalt Lagoon is also home to swans, mostly the orange-billed Mute Swan, a native of Europe. Several pairs were engaged in courtship display, arching their angelic white wings over the back. In one split second, the heads of one pair crossed to form a heart, a most fitting symbol for these lovebirds! A lone Trumpeter Swan also winters on the lagoon, and he gave me a glorious wingflap sequence while preening on the beach. I love all the detail in the whites, something that digital photography highlights beautifully.

Before the group tour commenced I made a solo journey to Qualicum Beach (about two hours north by car) where Glenn said that I would likely encounter all three scoter species at close range. Just as I arrived for the noon high tide, the gray skies parted and the sun broke out, turning the flat water a heavenly blue which is very important for photographing mostly black ducks. At Qualicum there’s plenty of shellfish, and the ducks are used to locals walking on the beach, so I was able to position myself to intercept the rafts of mostly Black Scoters fishing the shallows. Several White-winged Scoters also joined in and surfaced with big clams in their bills. This I waited a long time to see, as I remember passing a raft of scoters in California, but too far away to shoot. Those big orange knobs on their bills are dashing, but little did I know that I would have to wait 12 years to see up close!

Back to the workshop, our group of four was treated to great opportunities on each day; even the overcast days held surprises. Most unusual was a male Anna’s Hummingbird (in Canada in February!) defending territory. Other treats were feeding Black Oystercatchers, a preening Common Merganser, Glacous-winged Gulls diving for huge clams, a friendly raft of the exquisite Harlequin Duck, and a Common Goldeneye hauled out on rock at close range.

North of Victoria there is a splendid temperate rainforest called Goldstream Park, with a lovely whitewater stream framed by old growth trees covered with green moss and patches of ferns.  American Dippers love this place, and I was excited to have another chance to photograph these most uncharacteristic waterbirds, having gotten some okay shots a decade earlier near the Oregon Coast. Just as Glenn promised, there were a few little dark gray dippers working the rapids… plunging in, zipping here, zooming there, always on the move. And there was virtually no light to work with! Regardless, I had this inspiration to make a wispy river habitat shot at 1/10 a second exposure with a 600 mm lens on a monopod! This was a most ambitious shot for such a spastic subject as the dipper, but I could see the shot in my mind. I must have clicked off a hundred pictures when he entered the rapids, knowing that the bird would blur for most shots and my own movement would mess up other shots at a very slow shutter speed. By the Grace of God alone, a few shots were quite interesting. Viva Victoria! Long live the Queen!!

 
These birding guides feature more than 130 common and notable species in each of three regions.

Grace has an interesting way of working through time. I’ve been photographing Maryland and Chesapeake birds for over 20 years, with countless extraordinary encounters. While many of my best images have found their way into a book or calendar, there are still plenty of “orphans” needing a good home. Last summer, seemingly out of the blue, I received a phone call from a most exuberant Texan who had seen my website and wanted me to author a Maryland bird guide…now this is a nice way to start your day!

Susan Schaffel of Quick Reference Publishing marveled at my raptor photos in particular and declared that we should collaborate on a new set of bird guides showcasing the Chesapeake Bay region. The pocket-sized, waterproof guides would feature about 130 common and notable species per region, with silhouette-cropped photographs from my collection and basic descriptive information. Despite the daunting task of mining through my extensive library of color slides and digital images, I readily accepted the challenge and signed on for a busy winter of editing, researching and writing.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I actually had good images for all the species on my wish list, representing nearly half the statewide total. For some species like the Indigo Bunting, I had to think “now where did I get that shot… oh yeah, 15 years ago at Irvine Nature Center,” and off to digging through slides again. January was turning into a treasure hunt, and adding up all these wonderful encounters over two decades, I could see how God was laying out for me all the pieces to the puzzle. These beautiful orphans finally found a home!

The Chesapeake region hosts one of the greatest assortments of birds on the continent, especially the waterfowl. From woodpeckers and owls to egrets and sandpipers, your favorite bird groups are all included. For novice and intermediate birdwatchers, these guides are a great way to get started in a hobby that can easily last a lifetime. In all, the guides are divided into three regions: Chesapeake East, Chesapeake West, and Virginia.
Hot off the press, the guides are currently stocked by a variety of nature centers, bookstores, garden centers and birding specialty shops.

The guides may also be purchased online by clicking on the following links:

• Birds of the Eastern Chesapeake: Maryland & Delaware
• Birds of the Western Chesapeake: Washington DC & Maryland
• Birds of Virginia

Happy Birding!