Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)
Wood Ducks are among the most strikingly-colored North American birds and very photogenic. This species can often be found in public parks where they become habituated to humans, especially those who offer handouts (please don't, especially not bread).
Technical notes: Sony a1, Sony 300mm f/2.8 GMaster, 2x teleconverter, hand-held. Photographed at Sacramento County's Sailor Bar County Park. 1/1000 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 800. Processed with Adobe Camera Raw & Photoshop.
more Wood Duck photographs
02 March 2026
Great Egret (Ardea alba)
A Great Egret hunting in a field of mustard blossoms.
Egrets and herons are often thought of as wading birds, and with their long legs they're well-suited to aquatic habitats, but they can also be found in fields where they hunt small vertebrates such as lizards, mice and small birds. The Great Egret is one of the largest members of the Ardeidae family and can be identified by its all-white plumage, yellow bill, black legs and in breeding season, green lores.
Technical notes: Sony a1, Sony 300mm f/2.8 GMaster, 2x teleconverter, hand-held. Photographed at Sacramento County's Cosumnes River Preserve. 1/2500 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 1250. Processed with Adobe Camera Raw & Photoshop.
more Great Egret photographs
09 February 2026
Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)
A Red-shouldered Hawk lowers its wings to expose its back to the morning sun as the moon sets in the background.
This photograph was made using the 'focus stacking' method where two separate photos are combined to make a single image, each of the separate photos focussed on different parts of the final image. Without this technique either the hawk or the moon would be in focus, but not both. The moon was actually in this position in the background.
Technical notes: Sony a1, Sony 300mm f/2.8 GMaster, 2x teleconverter, hand-held. Photographed at Sacramento County's Ancil Hoffman County Park. 1/1250 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 400. Processed with Adobe Camera Raw & Photoshop.
more Red-shouldered Hawk photographs
06 January 2026
Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus)
A 'spark' bird is the species that ignited a passion for all things avian; for myself the Acorn Woodpecker is that bird. The school grounds for my 3rd and 4th grade years - one of the locations where Escape to Witch Mountain was filmed - were filled with these woodpeckers and I've been obsessed with these winged clown-faced head-bangers since then. I rarely pass up an opportunity to photograph them. This bird's voice was also the inspiration for the Woody Woodpecker cartoon character.
Technical notes: Sony a1, Sony 300mm f/2.8 GMaster, 2x teleconverter, hand-held. Photographed at Sacramento County's Ancil Hoffman County Park. 1/400 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 400. Processed with Adobe Camera Raw & Photoshop.
more Acorn Woodpecker photographs
Acorn Woodpecker #69, Sacramento County California
06 January 2026
text & photographs Copyright © Douglas Herr
all rights reserved
last updated 11 March 2026