Birds Through Words: Capturing Moments in Bird Photography

Not that easy to do…

I have been sifting through my extensive collection of bird photographs, and find myself facing the challenge of translating these visual memories into written narratives.

While sharing an image is straightforward — mentioning the location and adding a brief paragraph — crafting a more substantial article proves to be a bit more demanding. Recalling the emotions tied to each moment captured in my bird photography isn’t as easy as I anticipated.

Expressing the feelings I experienced then requires a different level of articulation. The process entails not just narrating where the picture was taken but also conveying the essence of my connection with these birds and the natural world.

The struggle lies in transforming a visual journey into a literary one, the sentiments of awe, excitement, and tranquility that accompany each photo taken.

Nevertheless, this challenge is an opportunity to share a deeper, more nuanced perspective on my many years as a bird photographer.

Such as the following images. Although these are not that good, I hope they are good enough to share the stories about what I’ve witnessed while living my life among the birds.

On this particular day, I stood in a Florida marsh watching this Moorhen. Moorhens have always been difficult for me to photograph and walk away with a sharp image—something about the 3D look they have in their face.

Anyway, this one spotted something in the water and was creeping up on it slowly. I moved closer to see what was so interesting and saw the back of a huge Alligator Snapping Turtle. Moorhens are always looking out for gators, especially since they coexist in the same waters.

I assume that is exactly what this one was thinking, but what possessed him to move so close and reach his foot to touch it was even more amusing.

Closer and closer he got until the turtle disappeared into the water and the Moorhen stepped down to get a closer look.

Then the Moorhen moved around to the other side of the turtle and, still not satisfied, decided to stick his head under the water for a better look — taking a big chance of getting his head snapped off, but he didn’t seem to care.

The image I couldn’t get was the funniest of all.

The turtle suddenly moved away from the Moorhen, causing him to jump about 5 feet into the air, landing to walk on water faster than anything I have ever seen.

Nature, you gotta love it. Right?