Northern Pintail Ducks in Flight

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The photos were taken at the Bosque del Apache NWR in New Mexico on December 9, 2021. Compared to several previous years when I visited Bosque, drought conditions had dramatically changed the locations where photographers grouped to capture the early morning departure of the Sandhill Cranes from their roosting areas and the late afternoon arrival at those locations. Click on the image to see a slightly larger version.

Northern Pintails - Bosque del Apache NWR in New Mexico - December 9, 2021
All photos were taken handheld with an Olympus E-M1X camera and a 150-400mm f/4.5 TC lens. Settings for the first three images were 500mm focal length, 1/3200 sec at f/5.6 and ISO 500.

The pintails were feeding in the short grassy areas at the edge of the pool of water the sandhilll cranes were using as a roosting area.

Ample opportunity to try to capture images of the birds in flight existed because small numbers of the pintails were frequently entering or exiting this part of the refuge and/or changing locations within the area.

Settings for this image were 445mm focal length, 1/3200 sec at f/5.6, ISO 500.

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David Sparks

I retired in 2005 after 40 years of research and teaching at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (24 years), the University of Pennsylvania (8 years) and the Baylor College of Medicine (8 years). Photography is my retirement hobby.

Nature photography, especially bird photography, combines a number of things that I really enjoy: bird-watching, being outdoors, photography, travel, messing about with computers, and learning new skills and concepts.  I now spend much of my time engaged in these activities.

David Sibley in the preface to The Sibley Guide to Birds wrote "Birds are beautiful, in spectacular as well as subtle ways; their colors, shapes, actions, and sounds are among the most aesthetically pleasing in nature."  My goal is to acquire images that capture the beauty and uniqueness of selected species as well as images that highlight the engaging behaviors the birds exhibit.