“O My God!”
Flocks of shorebirds in Cordova, Alaska.
What a fantastic day! Wow! Not just the sheer quantity of birds, but the way they fly together. It isn’t in perfect unison, but more like a synchronized dance where the entire group can continually vary the size, shape and color of the flock with endless combinations. I was mesmerized. Hugh Rose has lead tours here for many years, he says there had to be over a 100,000 birds today - they basically just arrived today. I was shooting non-stop thinking it couldn’t possible get any better, and that was when I heard the words “O my God!
What got my attention is the words came from Milo Burcham. You see Milo is a good friend and excellent wildlife photographer who works as a biologist here in Cordova. I have photographed with him before, he isn’t prone to exaggerated outbursts. So when I heard Milo, I immediately spun around just in time to see another 100,000 birds arriving to this wonderful stretch of mudflats. The estimate came from Hugh Rose - all I know is it was a huge bunch! Words can’t begin to describe this amazing migration - the fact it actually brought tears to Janine’s eyes should say it all. I went through 8 gb cards like they were 36 exposure rolls of film!
Now get this; the regulars tell me tomorrow should even be better, probably the peak. The peak comes and goes very quickly here. It is safe to say I will probably sleep as good tonight as a kid on Christmas eve!
Below, Michael Quinton is surrounded by birds.
May 6th, 2008 at 7:02 am
That first photo is the pure shizzle. My first impression was, “That’s (insert naughty word) insane!!!” Ya know I’m not a big bird photographer, but this easily falls into the realm of ‘one of the best I’ve ever seen’. Eye candy for sure. Congrats.
May 6th, 2008 at 7:10 am
Wow, thank you very much Gary!
Ron
May 6th, 2008 at 8:41 am
Birds are not really my thing but I think I would even be in awwwww at this!
May 6th, 2008 at 9:13 am
incredible Ron. That is on another level compared to other bird cluster shots.
May 6th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Oh, wow! I too would surely be in tears if I experience this. What an awesome experience, and thanks for capturing it greatly with your talent and sharing it to everyone.
May 6th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Wow, that’s incredible!
Ron, I’m a fellow Mira photographer and just recently found your website and blog. It’s great stuff and incredible photography! Your blog is in my blog reader now.
So my first question is, with 200,000 birds flying around did you avoid getting “bird bombed”?
Terry
May 6th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
Dang, I wish I were there to see this! All these years we’ve lived up here and been invited for the bird festival, and never went. I’m so glad you made it for the peak of the return, I know you will have winning shots from all of this.
Have fun,
Mom
May 6th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
Thanks for all the nice comments!
Good question Terry, I wondered about that myself.
The birds rarely flew overhead, so it wasn’t really an issue. Plus it was raining and blowing hard, so it would have cleaned me off pretty quick!
Mom, it sounds like you need to visit next year!
Thanks
Ron
May 6th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
Wow, that’s an amazing shot. You’ve taken bird photography to another level.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
Thanks a lot Adam!
May 7th, 2008 at 4:02 am
What an awesome sight! It’s Alfred Hitchcock all over again! Only these birds don’t look threatening. I bet that was just the coolest sound, too!! Very interesting!!
May 7th, 2008 at 11:21 am
Hey Ron,
The first shot is totally, unequivocably, positively, freakin awesome. Would you post it somewhere a little larger, to see, maybe? It’s crazy good.
Cheers
Carl
May 7th, 2008 at 11:47 am
Thanks Beth - I thought about adding a Hitchcock joke myself!
Hi Carl - Thanks a lot man! Size does hurt this one, I will try to add a link to a bigger version when a get home.
Ron
May 27th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
Hi Ron,
Your work has quite a lot of variety. I really like that “O My God” photo. Very artistic.
Steve
May 28th, 2008 at 7:38 am
Hi Steve,
Thanks a lot!
Ron