Five photos from a rookery near Abbeville Louisiana

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My previous visits to this rookery were earlier in the year when the birds were building or modifying their nests. I had not been here after the eggs had hatched. On this visit in late June, the chicks were large. Next year I will try to make an earlier visit.

Snowy Egrets
Nikon D500 with 500mm f/4 lens
1/2000 sec at f/7.1, ISO 800

Snowy Egrets - look at what the adult is bringing to the chicks
Nikon D500 with 500mm f/4 lens
1/3200 sec at f/6.3, ISO 720

Cattle Egrets
Nikon D500 with 500mm f/4 lens
1/2000 sec at f/5.6, ISO 800

Roseate Spoonbills
Nikon D500 with 500mm f/4 lens
1/2000 sec at f/7.1, ISO 1250

Roseate Spoonbills
Nikon D500 with 500mm f/4 lens
1/2000 sec at f/8, ISO 2000

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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.