Photographer: Duke Coonrad, Mercer Island, Washington Image Title: Tundra Swan Take-off Category: Wildlife   Technical Details: Canon D30, 800mm Sigma Auto Focus lens, Gitzo tripod, Kirk B-1 ball head Location: Skagit Bay, near Mount Vernon, Washington Description: The Skagit Valley, with Skagit Bay and the Olympic and Cascade Mountains as backdrops, is one of my favorite landscape and wildlife photography locations in the U.S, and fortunately for me, only one hour from my residence. In late fall and winter, it is one of the most important flyway feeding and resting areas for thousands of snow geese, and approximately 1500 to 2000 trumpeter and tundra swans, the latter heading north to Alaska, their nesting grounds. These geese and swan concentrations also attract a large number of birds of prey, including many species of hawks and eagles. This photograph is a combination of patience, knowledge of the subject matter, and early morning sunrise coinciding with high tide, which brings the swans closer to shore. This group of tundra swans is leaving the bay at first light to dine in one of the local farm fields.     Duke Coonrad is an award-winning and nationally-published wildlife and travel photographer from Mercer Island, Wash. and has been photographing for over 15 years. Some of his awards and publications include The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Woodland Park Zoo Calendar, Nature Photography, Birders World, Sierra Club, and The Nature Conservancy.   He now exclusively does all of his photography with a digital camera and various lenses. He posts many of his nature photographs on the web site, www.naturephotographers.net, (NPN), reviewed consistently as the best nature photography site on the Internet. There are over 6,000 international photographers who are members. In 2003, he has already been selected as a winner six times in five different galleries in the weekly Editor's Picks on NPN.   Duke Coonrad Phone: 206-232-4516 E-mail: coonrad1@comcast.net   Return to 2003 Galleries | Return to 2003 Wildlife Gallery     Home | Contact Us | Copyright