All In The Family: Shayna's 17th Birthday

It's a family affair: Shayna's 17th birthday with son/uncle Eli, daughter-in-law/aunt Nila, and grandson/cousin/son Jameson. Celebrated at Ziki Japanese Steakhouse.

Color work followed by candids in black and white of everyone, including our Japanese chef at work on the hibachi, making fried rice, noodles, hibachi chicken, beef, lobster and shrimp. Food was good! 

Happy Birthday, Shayna! 

Shayna at 17

Jameson and Shayna

Shayna, Jameson, Nila and Eli

Me with the family (photo by Ziki host)

Exhibiting at Lake Barcroft Art League Show: Come on Out

The Lake Barcroft Art League is having a group show at the Crossroads Gallery at the Goodwin House Bailey's Crossroads, 3440 S. Jefferson St., Baileys Crossroads, VA, 22041. (703) 820-1488.  

Everyone is invited to the reception on Sunday, March 15, 3-5pm. I'll be showing three works, including this view of an oncoming storm on Beach 4. The show runs through April 19, 2015. 

Here is the flyer for the show. Hope to see you there!

Winter Melt; Sunny Day Birds

With the temperature hitting 58 on Sunday, the big melt has begun and looks like it will continue through the week. I took advantage of the day and took a walk with the long lens. Here are today's observations: 

Beach 3 in a Water Drop

Mourning Dove

Signs of spring: New buds

There was a lot of commotion and flapping of wings at the top of the trees near the Beach 5 entrance, and looking up, I observed a starling and two red bellied woodpeckers. I couldn't tell who was harassing who, but I was only able to capture the starling.

European Starling 

Grackle

Canada Geese over Potterton Bridge 

Song Sparrow

Song Sparrow

Song Sparrow

White-Throated Sparrow

Observed this flying object as well: a camera drone.

Branching Out...Twilight Architectural Photography

A client asked for some images of a couple of listings that begged for evening shots. These are the results. Photographed with a Canon 5D Mark III with 17-40mm f4 L lens. On a tripod of course.

Reprieve from the Cold: Songbirds Aplenty

The sky was a gleaming blue today, the sun nicely bright and warming, as I set out, camera in hand, to observe our lake's nature wonderland. I was not disappointed. The colorful songbirds were out, a true harbinger of spring. See the results below.

In case you aren't aware, however, songbirds everywhere are diminishing in numbers because their habitat is changing both in the Southern hemisphere, where many birds migrate, and locally. I've personally observed the reduced bird populations as I visit forested areas and parks to photograph whatever I can find, and some days, I do not see or hear a single bird. 

As homeowners, we can play a small part in turning the tide by ensuring our properties are sustainably landscaped with the plantings that our local feathered friends thrive upon. We also need to reduce the use of  pesticides, another cause of the loss of songbirds. Our local birds need the daily nourishment of fruits, nuts, berries and seeds from native plants and trees. They also depend greatly on the local insects that need local vegetation and the lake itself to thrive. 

According to National Wildlife Federation Chief Naturalist Craig Tufts, "during the late spring and summer months, insects make up the great majority of many avian species' diets." He says the trick to enticing these birds to your property is to first learn which of them range in your area, and then to plant appropriate types of native cover that provide insect- and bird-attracting natural foods -- leaves, fruit, pollen and nectar -- to sustain both adults and their insect-dependent nestlings.

So if we all continue to plant native trees and shrubs, we can help sustain our Lake's wildlife for future generations. 

Anyone interested in more on the subject can read biologist Bridget Stutchbury's Silence of the Songbirds, where she explains in detail why our songbird populations are decreasing.  The book, published in 2007, has been compared to Rachel Carson's Silent Spring.

Downy woodpecker

Red-bellied woodpecker

Bluejay

American robin

House finch

House finch

Female house finch

This thrush, below, (hermit or wood?) was recently photographed at Riverbend Park.

Rare sighting at the Lake; not so rare fox, too

Posting this on my blog as many on Lakelink aren't able to see photos posted there.

Recently heard an unusual bird call and after some searching, a yellow-bellied sapsucker appeared on an evergreen tree on Stamford Circle in Lake Barcroft. 

This bird, a rare find in our Lake community, is described on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology "All About Birds" website at http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/yellow-bellied_sapsucker/id, as follows: ... an enterprising woodpecker that laps up sap leaking from trees and any trapped insects with its specialized, brush-tipped tongue. Attired sharply in barred black-and-white, with a red cap and (in males) throat in summer, paler colors with just a tiny big of red on the crown in winter, they sit still on tree trunks for long intervals while feeding.”

A pair of foxes were also prancing around the lake's shore line nearby. Here's one of them, who stopped to look up at me: