Common Murre with baby food

I photographed this Common Murre (bringing fish home to feed its baby) against the out-of-focus cliffs of Bonaventure Island hand-held from a Zodiac Hurricane during my GANNETS GALORE WORKSHOP last June. I love my time on the daily Zodiac excursion photographing the other species that call Bonaventure Island home. The open boat trips are weather permitting, and there is some rain in our forecast, but my fingers are crossed that the current sunshine manifests and we start big on the Zodiac tomorrow morning.

Sea Wolf Howling or Grey Seal Calling

A Grey Seal (AKA Sea Wolf) howled under Bonaventure Island's cliffs in Percé, Quebec, Canada. I am returning to Percé to host my annual Gannets Galore (and so much more) workshop. Super excited to get back to one of my favourite places on Earth! Getting out in the 28-foot Zodiac Hurricane for four hours each morning is an absolute highlight - hearing the seals howl is pure magic to my ears - smile!

Bay-breasted Warbler

During my recent SONGBIRDS OF PELEE WORKSHOP, a Bay-breasted warbler pauses for a split second at eye level during migration at Point Pelee National Park.

Bay-breasted Warblers eat eastern spruce budworm, a native but often destructive insect. The two species are so closely tied that budworm outbreaks (or declines) affect the warbler's population. Bay-breasted Warbler's overall population has dropped about 74 percent since 1966, likely due in part to pesticide use to control the budworm.

Black-throated green warbler

A Black-throated Green Warbler pauses for a portrait during my recent SONGBIRDS OF PELEE WORKSHOP at Point Pelee National Park of Canada.

Golden-crowned Kinglet

A Golden-crowned kinglet took a brief pause from flitting restlessly from branch to branch as it plucked insects and their eggs and larvae from the foliage and crevices in the bark. Males have conspicuous orange crowns, so I expect this is a female with her yellow crown. The Kinglets are so fast and unpredictable that they annoyed everyone during my recent SONGBIRDS OF PELEE WORKSHOP.

Blue-headed Vireo

A Blue-headed Vireo from my recently concluded SONGBIRDS OF PELEE WORKSHOP. While everyone was distracted by the first Willow Ptarmigan ever to visit Point Pelee National Park, I decided that the crowds were too much and it was unlikely that I would get a decent image. This beauty showed up for a portrait - smile!

Marsh wren with nesting material

Here is a tiny Marsh wren with nesting material from my Sony-sponsored Gosselin Photo walk yesterday at Parc-nature du Bois de l’Île-Bizard. After many great discussions about camera settings, exposure and birds, and once the light got harsh, longtime Facebook friend and photo walk attendee Claude Gervais kindly pointed out this little gem to everyone: Merci, Claude!

Northern Harrier

A beautiful male Northern Harrier backlit by the setting sun and colourful clearing clouds was the final treat after a cold afternoon with a dozen short-eared owls during one of my Winter Owl Photography Workshops last winter.

Also known as the marsh hawk or ring-tailed hawk. The male is bluish-gray above with white underparts, a distinctive coloration that earns it the nickname among birders of "Gray Ghost."

Kentucky warbler

A Kentucky warbler poses briefly after bathing during my recent SONGBIRDS OF PELEE workshop at Point Pelee National Park of Canada. Kentucky warblers are rare visitors to Canada, but a few are seen yearly at Point Pelee National Park.

Prairie Warbler

During my recently concluded SONGBIRDS OF PELEE WORKSHOP, a Prairie warbler momentarily pauses in the open in nice light after migrating over Lake Erie to Point Pelee National Park.

Pelee always delivers the rarities! The Prairie Warbler is a scarce bird in Canada, occurring only in southern Ontario, where there are likely fewer than 300 pairs.

Nashville warbler in flight

Pioneer birdman Alexander Wilson encountered this bird first near Nashville, Tennessee. It has been called Nashville Warbler ever since, even though Wilson's birds were passing through in migration, and the species does not nest anywhere near Tennessee. This small warbler is relatively common in both the east and the west, often seen foraging in thickets and young trees, flicking its short tail frequently as it seeks insects among the foliage.

Northern Parula

Northern Parulas can be difficult to see and photograph as they rapidly flit and hop primarily through the upper levels of the forest and subcanopy, but during migration they also forage in the understory. We had a few moments with this species during my recently concluded SONGBIRDS OF PELEE WORKSHOP.

“Thanks again Chris for an amazing week! Lots of photo ops, great teachings and wonderful company! Now I just need to go through the thousands of photos I took, and then...decide which of your workshops to do next!!!”

— Louise Bertrand (Quebec, Canada) Songbirds of Pelee workshop May, 2023

Yellow warbler singing portrait headshot

A portrait of a male Yellow warbler singing from my recently concluded Songbirds of Pelee workshop in Point Pelee National Park of Canada.

Male Yellow warblers sing a sweet series of 6–10 whistled notes that accelerate throughout the roughly 1-second song and often end on a rising note. The tone is so sweet that people often remember it with the mnemonic sweet sweet sweet, I’m so sweet.

Prothonotary warbler

We had a blast photographing at least four Prothonotary warblers during my recently concluded Songbirds of Pelee workshop. This image was created using my Sony Alpha 1 and my Sony 600mm f/4 lens with 1.4X teleconverter attached. The warbler had flown over and landed on the boardwalk just behind me, before landing on this perch directly in front of me at minimum focusing distance.

Prothonotary warbler with a spider

We had a great time photographing the Prothonotary warblers during my Songbirds of Pelee workshop; this one brought its dinner to show off at the minimum focusing distance of my lens.

Prothonotary warblers eat adult insects and larvae (primarily aquatic insects), ants, caterpillars, mayflies, beetles, and other insects, as well as snails and other small mollusks, spiders, and some seeds.

Prothonotary Warbler Launching

Another image from my recently concluded Songbirds of Pelee workshop. As this Prothonotary warbler was foraging on this great perch, a Northern Waterthrush flew over it, and the Prothonotary warbler quickly gave chase. This was a lucky catch for me, as I was reorienting the camera from horizontal to vertical when I noticed it happening :)

Prothonotary Warblers are unique among the warbler family because they breed in nest cavities instead of making nests on tree branches. They choose tree cavities, dug out by woodpeckers or chickadees, that are either standing in water or within 5 m (16 feet) of water.

Prothonotary Warblers get their name from papal clerks, called prothonotaries, who wore yellow robes. However, it is also possible that the name derives from the notaries (known as protonotaires) who played a significant role in the 18th and 19th-century legal system of Louisiana, the state where the bird was first described. One point against that theory is that the notaries did not wear yellow.

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Here is a Black-throated Blue Warbler from my recently concluded SONGBIRDS OF PELEE WORKSHOP in Point Peele National Park of Canada. The sold-out trip was a huge success, with a fabulous group and extraordinary photographic opportunities and birding moments enjoyed by everyone. The last image I made yesterday (May 11) before making the 9-hour drive home. A special year for me, with my nephew, Shane, joining in the fun!

Special thanks to the whole Peele 2023 crew! Great times were had by all! Front row L-R: Me (Chris), Howard, Linda, Pierre-Alexandre, Louise. Back row l-R: Omar, Sanjeev, & Shane.

Learn more and sign-up for my Songbirds of Melee workshop May 7-11, 2024 HERE.

Deluxe Atlantic Puffin workshop just announced

Another from my recent Deluxe Puffins Galore Lighthouse Adventure in Quebec. An Atlantic puffin with a bill full of capelin in golden light against out-of-focus golden cliffs. This has quickly become one of my favourite images from one of my favourite places! There is no better place in the world to photograph than Puffin Paradise in Quebec, Canada.

Just announced! August 10-13, 2023 Deluxe Atlantic Puffin Workshop

If you would like to photograph Atlantic Puffins flying with fish in golden light while eating gourmet food, consider joining me in August. Wait! Did I mention that we live in a recently renovated lighthouse? The trips were sold out completely, so I added August 10-13. My trips are timed perfectly so the babies are big enough to need constant feeding, but it ends just before the adults abandon them to fend for themselves.

““Puffins Galore” is a very apt name for this photography workshop with Christopher Dodds on L’Ile Aux Perroquets in the St. Lawrence Seaway. Puffins, Razorbills, Guillemots, and many shorebirds use this little island in the Mingan Archipelago as their nesting home during the breeding season and the place is alive with activity with many opportunities for images of birds in flight and birds around their burrows. Chris Dodds is acquainted with every aspect of puffin behaviour and is very generous with time and advice; he helped me improve my skills capturing images of fast-moving birds. Everyone in the group came away with images that they were thrilled with. The guest house on the island is a converted lighthouse keeper’s residence and provides a very comfortable experience. The meals alone would be worth the trip. Puffins Galore and much, much more!”

— Paul Ludden (Wisconsin, USA)

Northern Gannet with Seaweed

Gannets Galore Workshop update

Two spots just opened up for my June 5-7, 2023, Gannets Galore (and so much more) workshop in Gaspé, Québec. Learn more about this epic adventure, with includes a daily four-hour Zodiac excursion HERE.

The best photographic event that any of us had ever experienced

Thank you for a magnificent workshop on Bonaventure Island. Your efforts on our behalf were nothing short of heroic. I don't know where you get your energy, from Sun up to long after it set, you were working to make this the best photographic event that any of us had ever experienced, and you succeeded. Bonaventure Island is a photographers paradise, I have never returned from a workshop with so many 'Portfolio shots. If all your endeavors as fruitful, can't wait to get my lens on those Snowy Owls this winter.............

I had a heck of a good time doing what I love, thanks to you.

Malcolm MacKenzie West Palm Beach, Florida, USA

Summer Tanager

Here is a Summer Tanager from my Songbirds of Pelee workshop in 2005 that I recently rediscovered while looking for the Ruby-crowned Kinglet image posted HERE.

For all intents and propose, it is simply a “bird on a stick,” but I love the monochromatic setting that accentuated the bird's colours. I significantly desaturated the red channel to prevent it from looking fluorescent, as the older digital cameras had a really hard time with the reds.

I had skipped over this one because there was too much noise (for me). I am blown away by the new AI-powered noise removal in the recently updated Adobe Camera Raw. The unfortunate side of this discovery is the time I will have to invest in reprocessing my older images.

There is still limited space for my free Sony Photo Walks at the end of May. The walks will be in English on Saturday, May 27, and in French on Sunday, May 28. There is a $15 charge to prevent no-shows with limited seating, but you will get a $15 Gosselin Photo gift card at the event. Click on the image below to register: