February is the month of love so it is only fitting that the featured image is one I have titled “Mating Dance,” featuring a pair of Pigeon Guillemots in breeding colours engaging in flirtatious play over the ocean waters of Burrard Inlet in Vancouver, B.C..

Pigeon Guillemots are seabirds that can dive to depths of forty-five meters! They use their wings to propel themselves through the water in search of aquatic prey. I adore observing these birds for their bright red feet and especially for their acrobatics while in flight and at play.

For those interested in the technical details, I captured this image with a Nikon D7100 at focal length of 300mm, aperture of 4, shutter speed of 1/1600 second, and an ISO of 720.

This image of a mother deer and two her fawns in a farmer’s field brings back fond memories of a vacation in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. During my visit I would often glimpse deer on the road and in the fields, and it soon became apparent that White-tailed deer are shy. The deer would spook just at the sight of me!

Capturing this moment entailed formulating a plan which included arising before the crack of dawn, hiding in a tent on a field, and waiting for a deer to show up. I imagined that I was a photographer for National Geographic on assignment and much to my delight this beautiful doe showed up with her two fawns to graze on the greenery in the field.

Taking cover in the tent allowed me to be near without spooking the deer. Indeed, because I was sight unseen they hung around for a while. I captured a few images, but this was my favourite for the golden light and because they appear to be looking at me. Even though they could not see me it appeared to me that they had some sense of my presence.

White-tailed deer are also referred to as Virginia deer. Their coats are a beautiful reddish brown in the summer months and the underside of their tails are white. The fawns are born with white spots which provide camouflage.

I captured this image with a Nikon D80 at shutter speed of 1/60 second, F5 and an ISO of 400 at a focal length of 75mm, with a Nikkor DX 18-200mm lens at 5:15 a.m.. I used a tripod as the light was low.

Much to my delight this image was featured by Your Shot National Geographic as one of the daily dozen. So yes, it was worthwhile arising before the crack of dawn!

In honour of National Bird Day my first blog post and featured image is one I have titled “Racing the Surf,” showcasing the beauty of a Brown Pelican in flight displaying the beauty of its wings as it evades the white water of a crashing wave at Los Ayala beach in Nayarit, Mexico.   I am very fond of Brown Pelicans, a bird with Pterodactyl-like wings, a bird that appears rather plain and clumsy on land but I think is magnificently beautiful in flight.  On this particular morning the surf was up and the crashing waves made for a unique background.

Pelicans are the birds that instilled my passion for photography and will always hold a special place in my heart. Therefore I was delighted when this image was published and awarded by 1X Photography.

For those interested in the technical details, I captured this image with a Nikon D7100 at focal length of 300mm, aperture of 8, shutter speed of 1/2000 second, and an ISO of 900. It also   entailed waiting patiently for a pelican to take off in flight in front of a crashing wave, all the while avoiding getting myself and more importantly my camera wet!

National Bird Day is every January 5th and a special day created to celebrate birds! In 1970 Brown Pelicans were declared endangered due to environmental pollutants such as DDT. In 2009 they were removed from the endangered bird list as a result of the conservation efforts of  the Endangered Species Act which protects the habitat of birds. Another great reason to celebrate National Bird Day!