Nature Photographer and Music Producer
Posts about birds in the Northwest that includes pictures and descriptions. Photos are by Jonathan Swanson
Some mornings the garden fills up with small, fast birds working the feeder. None of them hold still for long — which is half the fun of trying to photograph
Continue readingThe Garden’s Smaller Guests — Bushtit, Chickadees, and a Nuthatch
Spring is the season of new life. You can see it everywhere, if you slow down — in the hardhack (Spiraea douglasii) bursting open along the water, pink and soft
Some mornings the backyard becomes the story. This week a red-breasted nuthatch family has been visiting the feeder — mother and babies, working the suet, calling back and forth from
I wanted to share about the conditions on this shoot — the lighting was incredible. Around 5pm the sun hit the hummingbird perfectly, lighting up his rose-pink throat while the
Continue readingA Male Anna’s Hummingbird on the banks of the Willamette River
Wood Ducks are one of the most stunning waterfowl in North America — the males practically glow with iridescent greens, purples, and chestnut browns. When one stretches its wings, all
Continue readingWood Duck in Motion — Action Shots from Oaks Bottom
Perfect evening light at Oaks Bottom tonight. Seventy degrees, golden hour around 6pm, and the wildlife was out in force. The trails were full of people enjoying the spring weather,
Continue readingGolden Hour at Oaks Bottom — Eagles, Ospreys, and Spring in Full Bloom
Spring has arrived in Portland, and my backyard fig tree has become a stage for some of the Pacific Northwest’s most beautiful small birds. A suet feeder in the garden
Continue readingA Morning in the Cherry Blossoms —A variety of songbirds and woodpeckers
Some of my most popular Bald Eagle Photos.
Perched like a living sentinel above the glassy surface of the pond, the young bald eagle looked at once tentative and regal. Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge — an unexpected pocket
The morning I found myself beside the water, camera in hand, I expected the usual solitary moments — a single heron standing like a statue, a kingfisher’s brief flash of
Continue readingA Quiet Lesson from the Water: When Birds Teach Us to Live Together
In Oaks Bottom I had that rare, clear quality that makes the city seem to exhale: a low, golden sun, a thin, crisp air, and the marsh grasses catching light
There are mornings that remind you why you carry a camera. My recent walk into Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge turned into one of those days: a red-tailed hawk quartering the
Continue readingA Perfect Afternoon at Oaks Bottom: Hawks, Otters, and Herons in Flight
I published this as my first merlin. It is a juvenile Cooper’s hawk. Here is the correction, and the four field marks that separate a hawk from a falcon. … Continue readingThe Merlin That Wasn’t — A Juvenile Cooper’s Hawk at Oaks Bottom
I spent my birthday exactly where I wanted to be—at Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge—surrounded by crisp fall air, dripping gold and copper leaves, and the calm of wetland life. It
This morning’s walk through Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge stopped me in my tracks. A small, unassuming bird — the Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus) — hopped through the leaf litter less
Continue reading A Quiet Moment with a Hermit Thrush at Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge
On a recent visit to Oaks Bottom, I had the good fortune to photograph four striking woodpecker species: the pileated woodpecker, the Downy woodpecker, the northern flicker, and the red‑breasted
Continue reading– Drummers of the Oaks: Woodpeckers at Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge
For nearly ten years I’ve come to Oaks Bottom hoping to catch sight of a pileated woodpecker. I had heard rumors of people seeing a Pileated Woodpecker in the forest
Continue reading– Wood Chips kept falling on My Head — A Long Hunt Ends at Oaks Bottom
That afternoon in Sellwood was a beautiful fall day with perfect golden hour lighting. I was wandering through Sellwood Park and I noticed a high-pitched chatter. A busy, bouncing cloud
Continue readingFluff and Fury: A Flock of Bushtits in Sellwood Oregon
There are days when the river seems to hold its breath. On a recent fall day, the Willamette lay glassy and gold, fog lingering in low pockets and the cottonwoods
Continue readingUp Close with a Great Egret: A Quiet Fall Afternoon on the Willamette
This fall noisy visitors showed up at my feeder and made my backyard a little wilder — Downy woodpeckers They are small, bold, and surprisingly photogenic. After making a few
Continue reading Friendly Downy Woodpeckers Visit My Backyard