Tag: birds

British Columbia Birds with Jeff Wendorff

Bird Photography Workshop Overview

Join us on the best bird photography workshop in British Columbia featuring the most significant Bald Eagle migration in the world! British Columbia is the winter home for 2000 to 8000 Bald Eagles during their winter migration south to feed on the spawning salmon and to breed. They linger in the area through the winter months, raising their young before returning to their summer territory in Northern BC and the Yukon.

The bird photography workshop is organized for this time of the year because it is when the Bald Eagles put on their best show. You’ll be able to photograph all kinds of bird behavior from flying, besting, flirting, mating, eating and if we are really lucky, aerial battles with eagles In other words, you will be clicking a lot!

There are birds galore on the best bird photography workshop in British Columbia. In addition to the eagles, hundreds of thousands of migrating waterfowl are cruising the Pacific Flyway for their annual migration. All of the ducks and geese in one space causes the local raptor population to converge on the same area for easy hunting. All in all, this makes winter a very birdy season in British Columbia, and we are going to show you the best of the best!

We have lead this bird photography workshop for several years, and each year we tweak it as our local knowledge grows. We know the best locations, best times, heck we even “know” some of the birds! You will be set up for your photography in the best areas with the most birds at the peak time of the Bald Eagle migration in British Columbia!

Costa Rica – Osa Peninsula with Steve Gettle and Nicole Sudduth

Traveling to Osa Peninsula is an adventure into the heart of wildlife abundance. Osa is the gem of Costa Rica. This area hosts the largest population of Scarlet Macaws in the country, all four species of monkeys, both species of sloths, Costa Rica’s largest remaining population of jaguars and tapirs, over 100 species of reptiles and a huge diversity of frogs. The colors and sounds will excite and amaze you as we spend our entire tour in this magical place.

National Geographic named Osa peninsula as one of the most incredibly biologically intense places on earth and we will be in the heart of it. We will begin at a 750-acre forest reserve at a point where the Gulfo Dulce meets the Pacific Ocean. We will then move down the coast until we are literally at the doorstep of Corcovado National Park, the largest lowland rainforest in Central America.

Osa is where the rainforest meets the sea. Explore lush gardens and hiking trails that take us from pristine beaches with tide pools to spring-fed rivers and waterfalls to rich rainforest jungle where monkeys howl. Imagine flocks of macaws, toucans, and parrots, coatis, kinkajous, agoutis, and sloths as daily visitors that we may have the opportunity to photograph.

This is a location where we have the chance to photograph all four species of Costa Rica’s monkeys: Capuchin, Spider, Mantled Howler, and the endangered Squirrel monkey.

More than 460 species of birds call this place home. Bird photographers will enjoy enormous variety of species that range from tropical rainforest birds to raptors to ocean and wetland species. In addition to Scarlet Macaws which the place is known for, we may see Red-capped Manakins, Blue-crowned manakins, Yellow-billed and Turquoise Cotingas, Tinamou, trogons, honeycreepers, Black-mandibled toucans, red-lored parrots, and so many more!

Macro is also fun in this area as we shoot subjects such as Leaf-Cutter Ants, Red-Eyed Tree Frogs and Poison Dart Frogs and other small creatures. Over 10,000 species of colorful and unique insects and over 100 species of reptiles and amphibians are found here.

Costa Rica with Steve Gettle and Nicole Sudduth

Costa Rica – The nature photographers’ paradise! There is so much wildlife here, that you won’t want to sleep for fear of missing an incredible photo opportunity. Seriously! Costa Rica is home to more than 800 bird species including a huge variety of Hummingbirds, the amazing Resplendent Quetzal, Toucans, Macaws, and the vibrant Honey Creepers and Tanagers.

Along with those beautiful birds, we will get up close and personal to photograph a wide variety of insects, lizards, snakes, and those brightly colored poison dart frogs.
As if that weren’t enough to keep those shutters clicking, we will see monkeys, sloths, and other mammals too!

A trip to Costa Rica certainly wouldn’t be complete without experiencing the exotic orchids and other unique flora of Costa Rica, along with the beautiful jungle scenery and picturesque landscapes.

As a nature photographer, it should not come as a surprise that Costa Rica is one of our favorite places in the world to photograph wildlife. We will take you to the best and most iconic locations for nature photography in all of Costa Rica!

Also for your enjoyment, we will be bringing our high-speed flash system for our participants to use while photographing hummingbirds in flight when we visit the cloud forest. You will walk away with breathtaking photographs of hummingbirds in flight that without this specialized equipment, would be impossible to do.

One important piece of advice should you decide to join us on this trip… Bring lots of memory cards, charged batteries, and a very large hard drive for all your images, because you will need it!

Panama and Ethical Field Photography with Jennifer Leigh Warner

Have you ever wanted to travel to Central America and photograph exotic wildlife, such as Howler Monkey, Three-toed Sloth, or Toucan? Join conservation photographer Jennifer Leigh Warner in the Cocobolo Nature Reserve in Panama for this incredible opportunity to photograph species rarely seen anywhere else in the world, while learning valuable techniques on how to photograph your subjects more ethically.

Dates: March 16 – 23, 2019

Lead by: Jennifer Leigh Warner

Location: Cocobolo Nature Reserve, Panama

Price: $2,000 pp

Maximum Number of Participants: 10

Climbers, Crawlers and Flyers: A Guide to Ethical Nature Photography Workshop

Arctic Norway & Finland Birds with David Stimac

13 days of photographing King, Steller’s and Common eiders, Razorbills, Atlantic Puffins, Common and Thick-billed Murres, Shags, Black-legged Kittiwakes, songbirds of the Taiga, northern owls, Aurora borealis, Golden & White-tailed Eagles, cryptic Willow & Rock Ptarmigan, the flamboyant displays of lekking Black Grouse and even the possibility of gyrfalcon or wolverine, all in a beautiful wintry landscape.

Group size: 5

3 mornings in floating hide, boat trips, eagle hide, grouse hide, ground transportation, meals & lodging included.

America’s Better Idea: National Wildlife Refuges

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The National Wildlife Refuges were created to manage, conserve and restore fish, wildlife and plants and the ecosystems that sustain them.

The National Wildlife Refuges were created to manage, conserve and restore fish, wildlife and plants and the ecosystems that sustain them.

Story and photographs by Jeff Parker

The National Parks have famously been called “America’s best idea”.  I have visited many of our National Parks and they ARE awesome.  However, I tend to think that our National Wildlife Refuges are “America’s Better Idea”.

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Birds of San Diego County with Tim Boyer

Photograph Brown Pelicans, and cormorants in breeding plumage, and ducks, herons, shorebirds, gulls, terns, and skimmers. There are 60+ species of birds possible on this workshop. We go to more places and photograph more birds than other groups. We’ll also do some landscape photography of the Pacific Ocean, piers and waves at sunset. Four and a half days of instruction, with four morning, and four afternoon/evening shooting sessions. We’ll also do at least two post-processing session in the early afternoon.

Bosque del Apache and White Sands with Daniel J. Cox

It’s time for a winter break—join Daniel to photograph in Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico, one of the top birding hotspots in North America! Winter is the best time to photograph the thousands of sandhill cranes, snow geese, and various ducks that migrate through the area. Endless photo opportunities in this world-famous wildlife refuge make it the perfect destination to enhance your photography skills.

We will sneak away to White Sands National Monument for an evening and morning shoot of these beautiful white dunes. Relax… Transfers, touring, meals, hotel, and one-on-one time with Dan in the field are all included. A perfect long weekend getaway!

Grebes “Walk” On Water to Find a Mate

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Story and Photography by Krisztina Scheeff with KS Nature Photography

 

Western Grebes rushing on Lake Hodges, CA. © Krisztina Scheeff

 

When it comes to dating in the world of Grebes it is not as easy as just going out for a fish dinner or a morning swim. These birds have much higher standards. If a mate cannot “walk” on water, they are out of luck.

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