Ok, here goes my favourite this year. I have only been shooting wildlife for a year now and can't seem to get enough of it. This picture is of a stoat, a very cute and hard to photograph animal. Me and my girlfriend were just going for a walk in a River nearby our cabin when we spotted this fellow. It simply made my weekend. It's not perfect but I'm happy with it.
Great pictures everyone!
Bruno Coelho
OK, here comes a second one from me, again blaming Jody for starting this. I have really enjoyed seeing all the spectacular pictures on this thread and consider myself lucky to be able to see the work of so many highly skilled photographers.
This is a wild black vulture that lives near the Chattahoochee Nature Center north of Atlanta. There is a group of three (two adults and a juvenille) that have become habituated to the people at the Center. This picture was taken well after sundown when the vultures were perching on a split-rail fence and let me approach to within about 6-7 feet. The 70-200/2.8 came in really handy in the low light conditions.
Sometimes, the better opportunities come when you are expecting them the least. I was trying to get a few shots of rails during high tide at the Baylands Nature Preserve in Palo Alto and I noticed that a few brown pelicans were hunting near the end of the boardwalk.
I'm narrowing in on my favorite and/or best (probably not the same thing) - but waiting for pbase to settle down. That's my excuse for not adding my "first" yet and I'm sticking to it.
It has been a real joy to look at all of these wonderful images. I'm pretty new at this and feel humbled by what I have seen on this list. And, I have learned a great deal and I am very grateful for that.. Here is my contribution.
On my recent trip to India I photographed these Langur monkeys in the Gir forest. I saw this one sitting "thoughtfully" at sunset. It struck me as such a human-like expression, I love it.
Thank you again for starting this thread Laura. When I saw your Egrets it reminded me of one I took at Venice Rookery this past spring. Since yours are back to back Egrets, here's a complimenting pair that are beak to beak.
its really hard to choose only one, but this immature cooper hawk made my day. First week on his own, learning to hunt. From his perch, he glided on 50-60 feet to land on this chipmunk. He brough it back to his perch to eat. A great day for him, and for me !
Keep this great thread alive !
Simon Chaloux, montreal, Canada.