I return to the same photo subject again and again, perhaps to a fault. I couldn't argue with renaming the site "eagles_elk_airplanes.com." But I see value in returning to familiar places and subjects again and again, such as last January when I had a few days in Florida. At Ding Darling NWR on Sanibel Island, I saw a juvenile yellow-crowned night heron hunting tiny crabs, just I had seen more than 10 years before in the same spot. The most striking feature about this species is the intense orange eyes.
The prize, which I award to myself every year, is a trip to Keokuk, Iowa to see wintering eagles. Other candidates for POY were various Mississippi River eagles in January, Montana lightning in June, a hawk that landed in my front yard in September, and an elk snapped by my trail camera in October. Here is this year's POY and previous winners. Click on the images for larger views.
Here are my POY selections for 2002-2011.
 Junior I 2002 |  Gentoo Penguins 2003 |  Little Brothers 2004 |
 Bald Eagle 2005 |  Blue Jay 2006 |  Eagle with fish 2007 |
 Great Horned Owls 2008 |  Custer SP Bighorn 2009 |  Keokuk Eagle 2010 |
 Sertoma Butterfly 2011 |  Dark Morph 2012 |
