Carolina chickadee

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I saw this Carolina Chickadee on a very early walk Friday.  I had about 2 seconds to get this photo before she flew off. I tried to get a second photo, but my experience has been to snap the first photo quickly, hoping for a good focus, and then try to get something better the second shot. As it turns out, this was the only photo I was able to capture of this beautiful bird (for now).

We are at the northern edge of how far this bird roams. If anyone has see one around here, I would love to know. Just email or post a comment.  

~ Rick  


Prints are available for many of the photos on this site on canvas, metal or glass. They are stunning and you can purchase them for a wall at home. Click the link or the ‘prints and such’ tab.

©2018 Rick Cartwright

Brown-headed cowbirds

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This is the first time I have photographed a male and female brown-headed cowbird together. I was surprised when I saw them. Teresa and I were setting in the parking lot at the Garbry Big Woods Sanctuary and I caught a glimpse of the male as he flew to this tree. When I focused in with my camera, I caught this view.

A herd of Brown-headed cowbirds

A herd of Brown-headed cowbirds

I am not suggesting this birds is rare, it’s just the 1st time I have photographed a pair. I have several photos of a herd of cowbirds, but never a male and female together. (Yes, a group of cowbirds is called a herd). 

The cowbird is a brood parasite. They drop their eggs in the nest of other birds. “The cowbird eggs typically hatch earlier than their host’s eggs which gives them a competitive advantage over the other hatchlings. Some of the birds they parasitize remove the eggs from their nests or cover them with new nest material so that they are not incubated.” Amazing. (Reference to the iBird Pro Guide to Birds app)

~ Rick


Prints are available for many of the photos on this site on canvas, metal or glass. They are stunning and you can purchase them for a wall at home. Click the link or the ‘prints and such’ tab.

©2018 Rick Cartwright

Curious squirrels

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For the last couple months I have been watching these three squirrels .. babies. They are not so little now, but the 1st time I saw them, the were so very small. Chipmunk small. These photos are from a period of 2 or 3 weeks, and the lighting is very different in the two shots. They are certainly cute. 

~ Rick

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 Prints are available for many of the photos on this site on canvas, metal or glass. They are stunning and you can purchase them for a wall at home. Click the link or the ‘prints and such’ tab.

©2018 Rick Cartwright

Things you can’t control ..

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I took this photo yesterday morning. Lately, the photos have become more difficult. The spring migration is done, and the trees are well covered. Every so often, a bird will pause in a tree or on somewhere in the open. This Goldfinch was like that. I saw a pair of them flying across the trees, then across the bike path .. and they stopped where I could capture this photo. Yes, I was thrilled, but there are things, like this beautiful bird, that you can’t control. 

I had a lens die today. How does a camera lens die? This lens is a 18mm to 200mm lens for my Nikon camera. It is good glass, and I have taken 100s of photos with it. Great photos. I was taking photos at an event in Dayton when it stopped focusing. I can manually focus, but only in a narrow range of focal length.

This is not the ‘long lens’ that I use for wildlife, but my favorite lens for general photos and portraits. I have used that lens for a long time. It is the first lens to die in years. I’m only sharing this to illustrate a point: you can’t control everything in life. If it’s not the bird or the deer .. it’s the equipment. Life goes on:).  

~ Rick


Prints are available for many of the photos on this site on canvas, metal or glass. They are stunning and you can purchase them for a wall at home. Click the link or the ‘prints and such’ tab.

©2018 Rick Cartwright

Still singing

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I have made a habit out of taking photos of not just birds, but birds singing. This one is a Indigo Bunting. It was a overcast day, but it was a beautiful photo, just waiting to be photographed. 

~ Rick  


Prints are available for many of the photos on this site on canvas, metal or glass. They are stunning and you can purchase them for a wall at home. Click the link or the ‘prints and such’ tab.

©2018 Rick Cartwright