Birds in the Wild
What does it take to capture birds in stills? Patience, patience, and more patience. Many of these flying creatures can run, jump, swim and dive. With their rhythmic chirping sounds and colourful plumage patterns birds in their natural habitats are a sight to behold.
Female Hooded Merganser all doled up for the New Year countdown. Huntley Meadows Wetlands, VA Dec 17, 2021
A female Mallard duck in a splashing takeoff at Huntley Meadows Wetlands, Virgina, USA Dec 3, 2021
Sealed with a kiss. Cedar Waxwings in a private moment at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens, Vienna, VA, May 2021
Late-bloomer photography enthusiast Parameswaran Ponnudurai (Param) knows this too well. Writing has always been his forte. He has been a journalist for more than 45 years.
Param only started bird watching and photography as a hobby in his home base Virginia, USA. He has since expanded his haunts and repertoire outside D.C. that now include butterflies and the occasional frogs, rabbits and other creatures in the wild.
"Capturing wildlife amid the magnificence of nature brings immense satisfaction but it requires lots of patience because everything is unpredictable,” he says.
A Great Egret on a graceful flight amid sweltering temperatures at Huntley Meadows Wetlands, VA, July 2021
A Roseate Spoonbill is set to land, displaying its vibrant, fancy feathers while on a rare visit at Huntley Meadows Wetlands, VA, July 2021
Param initially took up photography as a weekend outdoor activity to help relieve stress but that it has now become more than a hobby.
"Aside from photographing birds and animals in their natural surroundings, we're able to observe their behaviour, including how prospective parents build their nests and later gather food for their offspring and teach them to leave their nests."
Param was a journalist with global news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) for 20 years, serving in various capacities in Asia — including Bureau Chief in Manila and News Editor in Singapore — and in Washington DC, where he was first Asian Affairs Correspondent, covering the White House, State Department and the Pentagon, and then Economics and Financial Correspondent, covering Wall Street among other markets.
Great Blue Heron gives a final look at the fish, whose eye is wide with fear at Huntley Meadows Wetlands, VA, March 2020
Cool head! A female Ruby Throated hummingbird sticks its entire long bill into a Salvia tubular bloom to take a sip of nectar on a steamy day at Brookside Gardens, Wheaton, Maryland, July 2021
Drop dead gorgeous! Green heron catches a beauty at Huntley Meadows Wetlands, VA, May 2021
Near yet so far! Wood Duck pair at Huntley Meadows Wetlands, VA, April 2021
Table manners? Bury them! Cardinal feasting on berries at Huntley Meadows Wetlands, VA, January 2020
For excellence in journalism while with AFP, Param was honoured with the Chevalier of the National Order of Merit (Ordre National du Merite) by French President Jacques Chirac in 2002.
Before joining AFP, Param was with the Malaysian media, serving stints as specialist writer at The Business Times and journalist at the Bernama national news agency and The Star.
He retired as VP of Programming/Executive Editor of Radio Free Asia at the end of June this year. Param had also served as Acting President of the organization for periods in 2019 and 2020.
Debbie | ws
More of Param’s nature photography: Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
Param capturing Terns (seabirds) off New York's Long island along the Atlantic Ocean, 2019