Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Photo of the Year 2013

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.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron
Heron Redux 2013

Here are my POY selections for 2002-2011.

Young red-tailed hawk Junior I (2002 edition) right outside my office window.
Junior I 2002
Gentoo penguins greet each other, Jougla Point, Dec. 4, 2003.
Gentoo Penguins 2003
Puffins on Machias Seal Island, Gulf of Maine, 2004.
Little Brothers 2004
Bald Eagle along the Mississippi River, 2005.
Bald Eagle 2005
Blue Jay, 2006.
Blue Jay 2006
Eagle with fish, 2007.
Eagle with fish 2007
Great Horned Owls, 2008.
Great Horned Owls 2008
Custer State Park Bighorn, 2009.
Custer SP Bighorn 2009
Keokuk eagle, 2010.
Keokuk Eagle 2010
Sertoma Butterfly
Sertoma Butterfly 2011
Dark Morph of Broad-Winged Hawl
Dark Morph 2012