Farsighted Fly Girl

One of my favorite things about the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao is the color that drenches the architecture, landscape and culture. I was swept up by the joy of being completely encompassed by color but I was still taken aback to spot these flamingos. Splashing around in the shallow water of the Jan Thiel salt flats, this flamboyance of flamingos commanded attention with their bright pink feathers. They were just far way enough to be unbothered by tourists staring at them but close enough to cast a rosy spell.

There's nothing more iconic than a bald eagle soaring over the mountains so I was excited to get a close up experience of this in Quebec's Laurentian mountains. At the summit of Mont Tremblant, a Birds of Prey show demonstrates the beauty and skill of native aviary predators. It was raining and cold but I was determined to see and grab some shots of the birds and I was rewarded with the image above. That striking profile against the sweeping mountain backdrop makes it my fave animal photo so far. The falconer explained how there used to be only six nesting bald eagles in Quebec, just 15 years ago. Now, thanks to conservation and the banning of DEET insecticide, there are 200 nesting bald eagles in the region. We got the chance to see owls and smaller birds dive through the sky, and capture meals mid air but I liked the eagle the best. It's a rare thing to get so close to these majestic creatures and I feel lucky to have been close enough to gaze into its eyes. Have...

The stench arrives before you even spot them. Sailing to Bonaventure Island, absorbing the stunning scenery, you realize that you're near the world's second largest Northern Gannet breeding colony when the noxious aroma of pounds of bird poop accosts your nose. But the wonder of the spectacle of hundreds of thousands of birds quickly helps you forget that. Gazing at them from a distance, they don't even look like birds but blankets of white, covering slabs of rock. Even if I didn't know that these were birds I soon received sticky proof in the form of bird poop dropped on my shoulders from the 250 foot nesting cliffs. I was glad to arrive on the island and wander the pretty trails lined with lush greenery. We hiked through the cleared trails that lead to the birds. We hiked up hills. And down hills. And through forests. And we hiked some more. Finally, there were the birds. Flapping, squawking, flying, everywhere. Everywhere you tu...

The Spring Equinox in the Mayan Peninsula is a magical time. I didn't realize just how magical until I snapped this photo. No it is not photoshopped. No it is not posed. Cheray O' Neal  is feeding a french fry to the seagulls and they swooped down like a scene from The Birds. It started with two seagulls hovering around for scraps. They hopped around, waiting for crumbs, as I've observed them do many times. And then, swarms of them appeared as Cheray fed them fries. I've seen hungry birds. I've seen flocks of  seagulls (real ones, not the 80s band) soaring through the sky but I've never seen them gliding a few inches above my head.  It felt like magic and just a tad scary. Cheray had to ditch the fries before we were surrounded by a  fierce feathered  posse. I chalk it up to the magic of the Mayan Spring solstice. Either that or there was something in those fries...