Walking along the Stevens Creek Trail, I often see birds flying overhead. Not much good with a macro lens attached. So, I switched back to the multipurpose 28-300mm lens.

This area has a lot of great egrets. Some noisily hang out in the nearby trees. Others lounge around at Shoreline Lake. As I was nearing the end of the trail, I spotted a large white bird in the distance. Luckily, it headed towards me and then flew right overhead.

Nikon D800, AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR, ISO 200, 300mm, 0 EV, f/8, 1/800s

I’ve also been trying to photograph what looked like a hawk. Yesterday, I saw it gliding at the trail head. I had the right camera and lens, but was too far away. By the time I got to the rendezvous point, it was gone. Today, I headed up Crittenden Hill, where I saw the Space Shuttle Endeavor, to take a look and I got lucky. I could see a large brown bird gliding in the brisk wind. So, I started shooting. I momentarily put down the camera to check a setting and when I looked up again, the bird was right next to me.

Nikon D800, AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR, ISO 200, 300mm, 0 EV, f/8, 1/1,000s

I managed to grab a few photos before the bird flew away. Only back at the office did I notice that it had a red head. I had no idea what it was but a Google search for red headed raptor lead me to turkey vulture.

Headed out with the 28-300mm lens this morning, sans tripod. Indoors, the lens is much too slow. However, in the sunny outdoors, it covers a broad range without a hitch.

Nikon D800, AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR, ISO 320, 300mm, 0 EV, f/8, 1/1,600s

In the late morning, Shoreline Lake was almost empty. There were a few birds around the lake, but nothing close to the lake at dusk. At 300mm, the details of the tern are much more visible, compared to the July 4th photos.

Nikon D800, AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR, ISO 160, 300mm, 0 EV, f/8, 1/800s

This Great Egret was just standing by the shoreline, until it felt itchy. Scratch, scratch, scratch.

Nikon D800, AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR, ISO 180, 300mm, 0 EV, f/8, 1/800s

This one was really far away.

Nikon D800, AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR, ISO 1250, 300mm, 0 EV, f/8, 1/1,600s

I think this is a snowy egret. I’ve never seen a bird sitting on its rear with its legs sticking out.

Nikon D800, AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR, ISO 180, 300mm, 0 EV, f/5.6, 1/1,600s

I’m used to seeing pigeons hanging out in the eaves. Here is one on a tree.

Nikon D800, AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR, ISO 1600, 300mm, 0 EV, f/8, 1/1,600s

Finally, some butterflies. The Gulf Fritillary, which you can compare against one taken with a macro lens.

Nikon D800, AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR, ISO 1600, 300mm, 0 EV, f/8, 1/1,600s

And a Common Buckeye. This fellow kept twitching its wings, so I couldn’t capture an image with its wings fully spread.

Nikon D800, AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR, ISO 900, 300mm, 0 EV, f/8, 1/1,600s

Headed to the Stanford Dish by the dawn’s early light.

Nikon D800, AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED, ISO 100, 70mm, -1 EV, f/16, 1/15s

A lot of cloud cover. So much for the glorious morning light. So, I plodded up the hill. Higher up, I could see over the trees and all the way to the Palo Alto Baylands, which the morning sun had transformed into a sepia monochrome.

^ Click for larger image.

Nikon D800, AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II, ISO 100, 200mm, -1 EV, f/16, 1/125s

I ascended up some more and could see Hanger One at Moffett Federal Airfield. At this point, I was glad I brought along the tripod to steady the camera since I was out of breath. No amount of VR is going to help after a steep hill climb.

Nikon D800, AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II, ISO 100, 70mm, 0 EV, f/8, 1/100s

There is ample opportunity to photograph the Dish along the way from various vantage points. While the skies were a bit dreary, the hike was also comfortably cool. Tradeoffs.

Nikon D800, AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II, ISO 100, 200mm, 0 EV, f/8, 1/100s

I finally reached the Dish and head up for a closer view. About this time, the sun was starting to break through the clouds.

Nikon D800, AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED, ISO 100, 26mm, 0 EV, f/8, 1/640s

I did see a lot of squirrels. Pretty amazing to capture a sharp photo of a squirrel at 1/40s.

Nikon D800, AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II, ISO 100, 200mm, 0 EV, f/16, 1/40s

Instead of continuing down the trail, I headed back. Here’s the other dish.

Nikon D800, AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II, ISO 100, 185mm, 0 EV, f/16, 1/60s

Every once in a while, I would look back and see if I should photograph the Dish again. By now, the skies were bluer.

Nikon D800, AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II, ISO 100, 82mm, 0 EV, f/8, 1/320s

On the descent, there’s a hazy view of the Stanford campus.

Nikon D800, AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II, ISO 100, 70mm, 0 EV, f/8, 1/250s

The fallen. Love the golden grass and blue skies.

Nikon D800, AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II, ISO 100, 70mm, 0 EV, f/8, 1/320s

One last glance at the Dish.

Nikon D800, AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II, ISO 100, 70mm, 0 EV, f/8, 1/320s

The King of the Hill. Oops, dirty sensor.

Nikon D800, AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II, ISO 100, 145mm, 0 EV, f/8, 1/250s

And a pretty bluebird waiting by the exit to bid farewell.

Nikon D800, AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II, ISO 100, 145mm, 0 EV, f/8, 1/200s

While waiting for the July 4th fireworks, I observed the various birds at Shoreline Lake in Mountain View, CA. Apparently, dusk is feeding time for some of the birds. The terns would float through the air.

All of the sudden, they would look downward.

And away it would go.

Eyes on the prize.

Splash!

Dinner is served.

This bird didn’t have to do any acrobatics to catch its prey.

I was thinking about attending the Winter Wings Festival in Klamath Falls, OR to see the bald eagles. The long drive, challenging environment and my inexperience taking bird photos dissuaded me this year.

Fortunately, the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo was displaying Sequoia the bald eagle this morning. It was a real treat to see a bald eagle up close.

Nikon D800, Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II, ISO 500, 200mm, f/8, 1/200s

At f/8, the details in the feathers are all in focus with the background just a bit blurry.

Nikon D800, Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II, ISO 400, 200mm, f/2.8, 1/3,200s

At f/2.8, not all the feathers are in focus. The background is a smooth blur.

Nikon D800, Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II, ISO 400, 200mm, f/2.8, 1/2,000s

Sequoia is one gorgeous bird. The 70-200mm was great for taking a close-up photo of a bird. Not as practical for group shots.

Nikon D800, Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II, ISO 900, 200mm, f/8, 1/200

Boeing, a resident of the Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo, is a red-tailed hawk. Poor bird was injured in a collision with a plane.

Nikon D800, AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR, ISO 125, 300mm, f/5.6, 1/1000

Got lucky when a pelican flew nearly overhead.

Nikon D800, AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR, ISO 180, 135mm, f/5.6, 1/800

Most of the time, the pelican patrols skimmed along the the surf looking for the catch of the day.

Nikon D800, AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR, ISO 250, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/2000

Last time, I discovered that 1/200 is not fast enough to freeze a bird in flight and ended up with a bunch of blurry bird photos. 1/2000 seems to do the job; however, unlike the beach where seagulls are plentiful, the July 4th festival was a bit sub-optimal numbers wise. However, these birds did not seem to be spooked off by the masses or the live band.

In an open field, it was hard getting the bird in the right angle. The flights patterns were a bit random. Also, I was really reliant on that autofocus to be spot on.