1/4/2025
Looking back over last year, it was quite a year. It was a year that saw me breaking some new ground, revisiting some familiar places, and experiencing a spectacular event. 2024 was also a pretty dismal year for local birding. As I look back over some of my favorite photos of the year, I have leaned heavily on the photos from trips outside my home state. I had joined a photo challenge for 2024 that I was hoping would motivate me to get out more locally. It did, and it did not. The challenge had a target type of photo to capture each month (e.g. in flight, eye-level, etc.). I drew up a plan at the beginning of the year and set targets for the year that would provide me with most of the challenge goals. I started off strong but ran into issues and then complacency. It was easier to lean on my travel shots than to get out and get the targets I had set of myself. The problem was not the challenge, which was great. The problem, as always, was me and finding motivation/time or even just being well, at times. Birding locally was a bit tough, too.
Migration, for me, was more miss than hit, last year. I did well enough with the typical spring migrants; those that nest here. I struggled to find passage migrants. Fall was pretty much a complete debacle. It did not help the I was lazily heading to the local park in early September instead of heading to lakefront, as I knew I should. The winds and weather for passerine migration were just not favorable, while the lakefront had quite a good year.
On the plus side, I added two new countries to my travel list for the year. India had long been in the plan to visit, and we found a tiger tour we could afford. It was a beautiful trip, but I have not had Indian food since returning. Maybe I will be ready for some more this year. I also returned to Alaska with Carmen. She has been eager to see a polar bear ever since my trip to Utqiagvik. We both headed there this year with a short visit to Nome beforehand. While it was not the best of views, Carmen did get to see a polar bear. I now hear that we need to go somewhere she can get better photos. A late addition to the travel plan for last year was a trip to Cape Town, South Africa. I had long dreamed of visiting and seeing many of the endemic birds from this area. The trip did not disappoint.
So, how about some photos? For 2023, I presented some favorite photos and then a collage of various photos. This year, I will do something similar, but I am going to talk a little more about my favorite moments. In no particular order-
Bobcat Bobcats are supposedly not rare in Indiana. Not to say that they are common, but they are around. Having said that, I have never seen one in this state; nor much of anywhere else. So, it was with quite a bit of disbelief when I found one at Atterbury FWA. As I pulled in to a lot, I spotted a backlit mammal sitting at the far edge of a pond. I had to take some photos before I could believe my eyes. I got out of the car to get better photos, but, even being across a pond, the cat was too shy to stick around for anything closer. Sadly, I see where the state has announced a hunting season for bobcat. Apparently, people feel they are too numerous.
Bluethroat Before heading to Utqiagvik to look for polar bears and Spectacled Eider, we went to Nome. Like every other birder up there, I had one bird on my mind - Bluethroat. I remember looking at field guides as a young kid and wanting to see this species. At that young age, everywhere seemed distant and unreachable. Maybe this is where my desire to travel stems from? We had a lot of tough weather with very strong winds for a lot of our trip. Birding was tough; photography was tougher. Our final full day in Nome, things calmed down, and birds were up and singing. It is such a beautiful bird.
Solar Eclipse Not just any solar eclipse - a total solar eclipse. I did not even have to travel any further than the sidewalk leading to my door to see it. It was amazing. I was not prepared for what this was going to be like. It did not last long, and I could totally use a re-do on photos. I am grateful to have witnessed it, though. I hope this will not be the only one I ever get to experience.
South Africa Pelagic It probably sounds weird, but I have long dreamed of taking a pelagic trip out of Cape Town. As 2024 was winding down, I was looking for a short trip to finish out the year. A local birder posted about his pelagic online, and it set the wheels into motion. The variety of albatross seen on this trip is spectacular. You are pretty much guaranteed four species. Of those four species, White-capped "Shy" Albatross is the most common. It was an amazing trip that ended too quickly. I hope to go back some day. We missed a few species; so, I have to go back, right?
Tigers I will be honest, we struggled. I am not sure what drove our "luck". Of the cars on our tour, we saw the least number of tigers and, by far, had the worst photo opportunities. Yes, we were birding along the way, and that may have caused some of our issues. We spent a lot of time driving, though. We just did not happen upon tigers (or leopards) the same as others. Regardless, we did not come out skunked. We had at least three really nice encounters, and that is what really matters. Of those, we were lucky to be one of the first vehicles to arrive where a tiger was walking the edge of the road. The driver was on top of things and kept us ahead of the tiger as it walked towards us; at one point fairly close. It was a bit unnerving but exciting. The jeep is entirely open. We talk of going back. Even with "bad luck", it was still good.
The Burn It has been a long time since I have been to Lye Creek. I am not sure why. My friend, Shari McCollough, has been doing a lot of good work out there, and it is showing. This year, a pair of Harris's Sparrow visited for a couple of weeks, and I was fortunate enough to make it out there to see them. So, why the picture of the Dark-eyed Junco? I was even more fortunate to spend a while talking with Shari while photographing there. We spent a while catching up and pointing out when the Harris's was coming in to feed. While talking to Shari, the topic of "Oregon" Juncos came up. A few seconds later, this bird pops out and starts feeding. It was a great moment of serendipity.
The Challenge While the photo challenge this year did not exactly push me to get out as much as I had hoped, it did provide me with one of my favorite photos of the year. It was very early Spring, and all I needed was a photo with a smooth background. The technical term for the background here is "bokeh", and I needed to capture an image with an ooey-gooey (more technical jargon, I am sure) bokeh. I wanted something contemporary with the time of season and knew what I wanted. In particular, I was looking to capture two Tree Swallows on a perch and interacting. I think I nailed it.
I think we will finish with favorite moments at lucky number 7. I could go on for a bit, but that really is not the point.
There were a number of highlights, locally. Long-eared Owl returned to the state this year. I spent an enjoyable day photographing Louisiana Waterthrush at one of my favorite spots in the state. I had a remarkable encounter with a Pine Warbler. At lakefront, I had a rather disappointing day looking for spring migrants, but I spent a really enjoyable time watching a Virginia Rail forage. There were a few state rarities this year. I missed the Vermillion Flycatcher by a couple of minutes, but I did catch the Harris's Sparrow, Brown Booby, and Red Phalarope. The trip to India was memorable for more than just the tigers. We saw a great number of birds and other animals. Alaska also had a good number of highlights. While photographing sparrows, my friend Jamie pointed to a snapped off tree and said she once had a Wilson's Snipe land on it. I said that would be amazing to shoot. A couple minutes later, one flew in and landed there. I got to see both Willow and Rock Ptarmigan there; closing out ptarmigans for me. A beautiful Long-tailed Jaeger circled us while we attempted to shoot Pacific Golden Plover. In Utqiagvik, I struck-out on Spectacled Eider but had another great encounter with King Eider. Unexpectedly, we had a Ruff that was busily displaying for every female Pectoral Sandpiper he could find. Speaking of Pecs, I had one fly at me and was able to get it in frame and snap a few shots as it zoomed past. Cape Town, of course was a spectacle. Cape Rockjumber, Cape Sugarbird, and Blue Crane have long been on my wish list of birds to see. Throw in a beautiful morning shooting at Kirstenbosch and the pelagic mentioned above, and it was a dream come true.
Instead of boring you further with my reminiscing, how about I just show you some more of my favorites?
That pretty much covers the highlights. It was a good year for travel. So, what does this year bring? Even I do not know. I have not booked anything. There is a lot of talk, though. We will just have to see what works out.
Thanks for reading,
Mike